JVR available in Philly, Boeser drawing interest from multiple teams, and Minnesota searching for a top 9 forward plus Waiver and Signing updates
Here is my latest blog post as today I give my opinion on some recent Waiver news, a few signings in Ottawa and Columbus, as well as a few recent trade rumours involving the Wild, Boeser in Vancouver and JVR in Philadelphia.
Minnesota looking to acquire a forward.
As we have discussed a few times before the Wild still seem to be looking for a forward and really would like a top 9 forward to help replaced the production that lost when they moved Fiala to LA. Now the Wild are currently in a playoff spot holding down 3rd in the Central and have done alright this year but could use some more secondary scoring as they don’t have as much as they did last year as with Fiala gone they have used a few different pieces in the lineup and Rossi wasn’t able to nail down a spot so far and while Shaw has come up and shown he can be a good 4th line forward for Minnesota he is still no replacement for Fiala so it seems very likely that in the next few weeks and months leading up to the trade deadline there will be lots of talk around the Wild and them trying to acquire a forward. Now there are a few different options I think for them as they could go after a guy like Boeser who is a Minnesota native and could be a really good fit with Matthew Boldy, James Van Reimsdyk would be a short term fix for the Wild but has shown he can be really productive in a big role with the Flyers this year and could be of interest to Minnesota, there is a guy like Vatrano in Anaheim who has shown he can be a really good middle six winger and he could be a pretty good fit in Minnesota, Ritchie in Arizona has played more of a bottom six role this year but isn’t to expensive and is a great power play player and would probably help that Wild power play, and maybe a more depth guy who can play a big role like Nieto in San Jose or Hoffman in Montreal as both can be good 3rd line players and help give the Wild a little more secondary scoring, so these are a few names I think the Wild could have interest in before the deadline but I would also like to know what you think, could the Wild add one of these guys or is there another player you think could be a great fit for Minnesota, but definitely believe the Wild will add a forward before the deadline passes and I can’t wait to see who it is as the Wild look like a playoff team right now and adding to their forward group will just make them that much more scarier.
Boeser drawing interest from multiple teams including Washington, Montreal and Calgary.
Boeser name has been mentioned in trade rumours for the past few weeks now and teams are starting to show interest including the Caps, Flyers and Canadiens as we have geared just a few weeks ago. Now the Canucks are looking for a major shakeup right now and are considering a few things right now to try and shake up their core and one of them is possibly moving Brock Boeser. Now Boeser was mentioned in trade rumours last season before the deadline when Vancouver wasn’t doing to well and early in the offseason but the rumours sort of died down after Vancouver signed Boeser to a 3 year deal in the offseason and they have recently picked up again after Boeser’s agent got permission to seek a trade and the Canucks seem to be willing to give Boeser a fresh start but while I think it won’t take much to get Boeser I think the Canucks won’t move him unless they get what they want. Now first Washington has apparently shown some interest in Boeser and Elliott Friedman has even said that he thought the the Caps and Canucks could swap Mantha and Boeser possibly one for one but that was just him thinking and I could see that as Mantha is cheaper and on a shorter deal so maybe a deal with Washington is like Mantha and a 3rd pick for Boeser and I could see both teams doing that sort of a deal even though the Mantha thing is just a guess but I could see both teams doing that trade, the Canadiens have also been mentioned in Boeser Rumours and how adding Boeser could help the Canadiens future and rebuild go even faster and I think that the Canadiens definitely have the assets to pull off a Boeser deal as I could see just as a example by me that mate the Canadiens deal Dadonov or Drouin, a 3RD pick this year and maybe a Justin Barron or Mattias Norlinder for Boeser and I think the Canadiens might be willing to do that as they could get a player who could help their future for a defensemen and one of those forwards on expiring deals, and then the Flames are probably the less likely because they are in the same division as Vancouver but I think they would definitely have interest as they have been looking for a middle six forward for a while now and the Flames could usa a guy like Boeser to help round out their top nine and maybe a trade sort of looks like this and I’m just spitballing here but maybe Lucic or Zadorov are moved for cap purposes along with a 3RD pick and maybe a prospect like Schwindt or Kuznetsov or maybe even Pelletier but I think while it isn’t likely the Flames definitely have interest and would love Boeser. But definitely a situation to keep out eye on as the Canucks look poised to make a move and Boeser is at the forefront of it and I personally think it is now a matter of when and not if Boeser gets moved and maybe one of these three teams winds up being the one to nab him.
James Van Riemsdyk on the block in Philly.
As reported by Jeff Marek on the 32 thoughts segment on hockey night in Canada a few weeks ago the Philadelphia Flyers are open to moving forward James Van Riemsdyk before the deadline and he is available. Now James Van Riemsdyk was a hot topic in the offseason as the Flyers kept on trying to move the middle six forward to free up cap space in order to go after Gaudreau but while there was some interest in him a lot of teams wanted a 1RD pick to take on his $7 Million dollars contract and the Flyers weren’t okay with doing that so they kept Van Reimsdyk but now with JVR in the final year of his deal and the Flyers willing to retain half of his cap hit it makes sense that he may be moved before the deadline. Now Van Reimsdyk isn’t the 50-60 point, 25-30 goal player he was a few years ago but he is still a good middle six forward and he showed that last year as he was able to play a majority of the season on the 2nd or 3rd line and was able to hit the 20 goal mark for the first time in 3 seasons putting up 24 goals and 38 points in 82 games last year but has done even better this year. Now Van Reimsdyk has missed significant time due to some injuries but has gotten into 17 games this year putting up 5 goals and 15 points and he looks like a really good top six forward right now for Philly with a lot of players injured and I think if Philly retained salary and he was moved for $3.5 Million dollars at the deadline there would be a lot of teams interested in him. Now I don’t think it would take too much to acquire him and a team would maybe only need a 3RD pick and a mid level prospect to acquire him and he could play a 3rd line role for a contending team and could be a nice backup option for a team who missed out on a big fish so I think maybe a team like Minnesota, Calgary, Dallas, New York I or New Jersey who have all been mentioned in trying to acquire another forward for a playoff run could have some interest in trying to acquire JVR, so while it probably isn’t immanent right now it something to definitely keep our eye on from now until the deadline as JVR is a really good middle six forward and I would expect some teams to be willing to pay a mid level prospect and pick for him.
Here is what has happened with the waiver wire from DEC 8th to DEC 14th.
Cleared Waivers
Edmonton
Tyler Benson LW,RW (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
New York R
Ryan Carpenter RW,C (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Calgary
Kevin Rooney C (2 years left $1.3 Million dollars)
Colorado
Martin Kaut RW (1 year left $.863 Thousand dollars)
Arizona
Dysin Mayo RD (3 years left $.950 Thousand dollars)
Unconditional waivers
Victor Berglund (1 year left $.818 Thousand dollars)
Claimed off of Waivers
Eeli Tolvanen LW,RW (2 years left $1.45 Million dollars) was placed on Waivers by the Predators and was claimed by the Kraken.
Karson Kuhlman RW, C (1 year left $.825 Thousand dollars) was placed on Waivers by the Kraken and was claimed by the Jets.
Analysis: so over this stretch there were a few significant bottom six names placed on waivers and while most wound up clearing there definitely a few who would up being claimed and I don’t think those claims were all too surprising. Now I think it was quite funny to see the Flames and Rangers both waive their 4th line Center’s when they each have connections with the other team. Now I don’t think Rooney was really ever going to get claimed because of his second year he still has on his contract but I can see why the Flames placed him on waivers as he hasn’t had too good of a year this season and he had really showed how good of a 4th line forward he could be in the past few years with NYR as in the shortened season he put up 14 points and a career high 8 goals in 54 games and had a pretty decent season last year getting 12 points in 61 games with NYR and then wasn’t brought back in the offseason by NYR and signed a 2 year $1.3 Million dollar deal with Calgary but was only able to get into 17 games before being waived and put up 1 assist so with guys like Phillips and Zohorna looking ready for a NHL look he was placed on waivers and while he is a good 4th line Center I think with his play this year and extra season there wasn’t much interest on the waiver wire and now he is in the minors where he will hope to be called up and get another opportunity with Calgary, meanwhile the Rangers waived Carpenter who they brought in to replace Rooney and while he had done okay he was being a healthy scratch often and the Rangers wanted to get some more cap space so moving him down was a smart move, now Carpenter’s best years were the 18-19 year with Vegas and 19-20 year with Chicago and his past few years haven’t been great as he had 5 points in 40 games in the shortened season and had a pretty good season last year having 11 points in 59 games before being moved at the deadline to Calgary where he played 8 games and had 1 assist so he had a pretty decent season last year and that showing earned him a 1 year league minimum deal with NYR and he did okay in the games he got into having a goal and 3 points in 21 games before being waived but with the Rangers wanting to accrue cap space before the deadline and give Brodzinski a shot on the 4th line they waived Carpenter and while I thought he might wind up being claimed because he is a good 4th line forward I don’t think I was too surprised to see him clear and he has actually been a point per game in the AHL since going down so he has done good and I think if they were to run into injury troubles he would be one of the first guys called up. Now the Oilers placed underwhelming prospect Benson on waivers and quite frankly I am not too surprised that he wound up clearing. Now Benson was a high second round pick in the 2016 draft and had a lot of high expectations in Edmonton and he would play a couple more seasons in the WHL before turning pro and his first three seasons in the AHL were stellar but then last year he wound up playing in some NHL games and only mustered a goal and a assist in 29 games and then finished the year in the AHL putting up 12 points in 18 games and this year started out injured but after recovering got into 2 games and recorded no points before being g placed on waivers and I don’t think it was too much of a surprise that he cleared as he was a high pick but hasn’t been able to really succeed at the NHL level so now he goes back to the minors to once again try and build up his confidence as I think if he can just grow a bit more he could still be a decent bottom six forward but I don’t see much of a surprise in him clearing waivers.
Another guy who wound up clearing waivers was a former first round pick and someone I seriously thought would be picked up on the waiver wire. Now Kaut had already cleared waivers before the season started and I guess it isn’t too surprising he cleared again but I still believe the former first rounder could still be a good player for the Avalanche, he was picked 16th overall in the 2018 draft by Colorado and he turned pro right away and has mostly been a AHL player but has always gotten into a handful of games each years as he had 2 goals and 3 points in 20 NHL games combined over the past three years and with all of the Avs injuries he finally got a good look this year putting up 1 goal and 2 assists in 21 games this year and he still looks like at least a good 3rd line forward in my opinion but I think could still grow a bit more so him not getting into a deep Avalanche lineup on a regular night isn’t surprising to me but him not being claimed off of waivers does surprise me a bit and hopefully he can continue to show Colorado he is a really good player, and the other player who cleared waivers was Dysin Mayo and Mayo had a pretty good season last year as he put up 4 goals and 12 points in 67 games in his first NHL season after a handful of seasons in the minors and he started the season this year in the NHL lineup but after putting up no points in 13 games, being moved down the depth charts with the Yotes adding Valimaki, Stecher and Nemeth in the offseason and Chychrun coming back he just couldn’t remain in the NHL lineup and with 2 years left after this season I can see why no one claimed him but I think he can still be a good 6th or 7th defensemen and if the Coyotes do move a few defenders before the deadline I think Mayo could be someone the Coyotes call up but I am not too surprised he wound up clearing, as for the one player who was placed on unconditional waivers I don’t think it was too much of a surprise that he cleared. Now Berglund was a late 2017 pick of the Bruins and had spent a few years in Allsvenskan and the SHL before turning Pro and had 18 points in 46 AHL games last year but with no way to make the NHL right now and being scratched in the AHL Berglund and Boston thought it would be best to go their separate ways and terminate the contract and given he was on unconditional waivers and he hasn’t played much time in Pro I don’t think it was a surprise he cleared and now he will go over to Europe where he can hopefully have better luck getting into game action.
Now for the two players that were claimed I will start with the bigger name as I don’t think many people were surprised that Eeli Tolvanen wound up being claimed off of waivers. Now Tolvanen was drafted late in the first round of the 2017 draft and had played a few good seasons in the AHL before playing his first full year in the shortened season and he was able to get 11 and 22 points in 40 games and looked like a legit top 6 forward but his production trailed off last year as he was only able to get one more point then the year before putting up 11 goals and 23 points in 75 games so he definitely wasn’t as productive as the year before and this year he was only able to get into 13 games and was a healthy scratch often and only had 2 goals and 4 points in those games and with Nashville needing cap space and him being a healthy scratch it made sense to put him on waivers but I still think that on the right team he could be a good 3rd line player and I think a handful of teams wanted Tolvanen but he was claimed by Seattle and since being claimed by Seattle he has only got into one game which he played in recently and scored the GWG so I definitely think Tolvanen still has potential and hopefully he can show that with the Predators. And as for the other guy who was claimed on waivers I think it was a bit more surprising then Tolvanen. Now due to claiming Tolvanen the Kraken needed to send someone down and that wound up being Kuhlman who hasn’t gotten into a lot of games over the past few years but has been a good 4th line forward now Kuhlman had played 3 seasons prior to last year with Boston getting 6 goals and 13 points in 56 games and started with Boston last year but was lost on waivers to the Kraken and with the two teams combined he had 3 goals and 9 points in 44 games and started with Seattle again this year putting up 3 points in 14 games but was claimed by Winnipeg who could really use another depth pieces to their offense with guys like Wheeler, Ehlers and Appleton out right now and Kuhlman has already gotten into 8 games with Winnipeg so far getting two assists but Kuhlman is definitely a good pickup by Winnipeg and even though I was a bit surprised that he was claimed I think he should be a great fit in Winnipeg.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that have happened between DEC 19th and DEC 22nd.
Metro
Center, Right Winger Justin Richards and the Columbus Blue Jackets have come to terms on a 1 year contract that will carry a AAV of $.750 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Now Richards was a undrafted player that signed with New York R and he played majorly with the Rangers AHL affiliates over the past two seasons putting up 10 goals and 25 points in 87 games as well as getting into 1 NHL game and getting a assist but wasn’t retained in the offseason and signed with Columbus AHL affiliate and has shown enough to earn a 1 year 2 way deal with Columbus. Now he has done well in the minors putting up 6 goals and 21 points in 27 games and I could see him being called up with all of the injuries the Jackets have run into but i think he will probably play majority of the season still with Columbus AHL affiliate but should be a good depth forward for Columbus for the rest of the year.
Atlantic
Right Defensemen Artem Zub and the Ottawa Senators have come to terms on a 4 year contract extension and the deal has a AAV of $4.6 Million dollars and the deal is 1 way and will kick in the 2023-24 season. Now this has been discussed since late in the offseason to possibly be happening and it finally did as the Senators were able to lock up one of their top 4 defensemen for the next few years. Now Zub had his first Pro year in the shortened season putting up 14 points in 47 games and continued the strong performance into last year where he had 6 goals and 22 points in 81 games and over those two years has showed he can be a great top 4 defensemen for Ottawa and a really great stabilizing force on the backend and while he has mostly played with Chabot he could be a good 2nd pair defensemen for the Sens as well and he has only gotten into 16 games this year getting 4 points and the Senators have struggled defensively with him out so making sure they lock up one of their better defenders for the next four years is a good signing by the Senators and hopefully Zub can continue to be a stabilizing defensemen for the Senators for years to come.
Pacific
Central
Comments
Post a Comment