Slapshots - The NHL Roundup for February 2017

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

The NHL is past the All-Star Break hump and the quest for Lord Stanley is intensifying! But before teams move into the playoffs (or an early offseason), some will tinker with their roster before the trade deadline, which features a wrinkle this year thanks to the league’s newest team. The hockey world stands to look a lot different by next month, both because of rising contenders and moving players.
 
Where the Wild Things Are
If Max from Maurice Sendak’s children’s book were a hockey fan, he would find the Wild in the Land of First Place. Minnesota is leading the Western Conference and is looking impressive while doing it. The Wild have been competitive in recent years, but never as dominant as this year’s iteration. The uptick in performance can be attributed, at least in part, to a few key offseason moves. First, they hired Head Coach Bruce Boudreau shortly after he was released by the Anaheim Ducks. Boudreau has given the team a change of pace after former coach Mike Yeo struggled late in his tenure. Next, they made a splash in free agency by signing veteran center Eric Staal. That move not only gave them depth at center, but allowed them to move Mikael Granlund from center to right wing. Granlund has excelled at wing on a line with Koivu and Parise, leading the team with 50 points (16 goals/34 assists). Staal has contributed offensively too (16 g/28 a). Pair these new pieces with an existing amount of talent, an offense firing on all cylinders, and an immensely reliable league-leading goalie, and it’s easy to see why the North Star State is shining so brightly. 
 
Fear and Trading in Las Vegas
While rumors usually fly ahead of the NHL trade deadline, this season offers an added twist for why teams may or may not look different after Thursday, March 1st at 3 p.m. ET. This year, teams will have a lot more to consider due to the impending Expansion Draft for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Here’s a primer on what the new franchise means for the other 30 teams heading into this year’s trade deadline.
 
Before the Knights begin play in the 2017-18 season, they will fill out their roster in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 18-20. There, they will select 30 players – one from each existing team – including at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies. Additionally, Vegas will follow some salary cap limits and at least 20 of the players Vegas chooses must be under contract for the 2017-18 season.
 
Each of the existing 30 teams can protect some of their players from Vegas. They have two options: A) seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie, or B) eight total skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie. While option A allows teams to protect two more players total, it allows for less flexibility in who a team can keep. Players with no-movement clauses will be automatically protected but will count against the limit. First-year and second-year players are also automatically protected and will not count against the protection limit.
 
Whew…still with me? With the rules covered, here’s how the Expansion Draft should strongly alter the trade deadline this year. Teams won’t have to worry about their youngest talent or the stars they protect, but each team will have to fear losing some considerable talent and depth in players they leave exposed. If a team has a valuable player they don’t have the room to protect, it then makes more sense to try and trade that player prior to the draft to get some compensation rather than to lose them for nothing to Vegas. At the same time, however, teams might avoid trading for an additional player that they then have to worry about protecting. This could reduce the number of players a team would usually consider, limiting them to “rental” players – high level or aging talent that they can use to make a championship push – and younger players that are exempt from the Expansion Draft. Teams will be forced to deal with these complications that wouldn’t appear around a normal trade deadline when analyzing their rosters, and it may cause some teams to be a little reluctant to deal this year.
 
Rumour Has It He’s the One They’re Trading You For
With all that being said about the implications of the new Vegas franchise, there are still some very clear buyers and sellers that could engage near the trade deadline.

• The Colorado Avalanche are dead last (by a mile), have a few key pieces of talent, and will be sellers at the deadline. Matt Duchene, captain Gabriel Landeskog, and Jarome Iginla have been at the center of rumors so far. Duchene and Landeskog are talented and relatively young, and will command a high asking price. NHL legend Jarome Iginla is approaching 40 years old and has expressed interest in joining a contender and trying to win a Cup before he retires. Player scouts from virtually every team have been in attendance at Avs games all season long, and the Avs have been involved in deep talks with the Bruins, Predators, Penguins, and Canadiens. Look for Colorado to consider moving Duchene and Landeskog if the price is right and count on them to find a Cup-contending home for Iginla.
• The St. Louis Blues are looking to move pending free agent defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
• A wild card spot is still within reach for the Dallas Stars, but they are on the outside looking in. They’re in the awkward position of deciding whether to buy, sell, or stay put. The Stars don’t play between the 18th and the 24th and GM Jim Nill has stated that he will make a decision on the team’s direction after that bye week.
• Goalies are a rare commodity but Tampa’s Ben Bishop is an unrestricted free agent after this season and has been the subject of some speculation. The Sharks and Stars have some need for a backup goalie and may make a play.
• Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been floated around in some rumors, but the Penguins are in full Stanley Cup hunt mode and are comfortable hanging on to him, so he may not move after all.
• The Buffalo Sabres are falling out of the playoff race and, as a result, will likely trade defenseman Dmitry Kulikov who is an unrestricted free agent after the season.

 
Stay tuned for a special Trade Deadline Recap edition of Slapshots after deadline day for a rundown of all the moves!
 
A Look Back
Updates on the stories from January’s Slapshots.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets are still in line for a top playoff position, but have evened out a little since their big surge. They’ve gone 5-4-1 in their last ten games.
• The Washington Capitals still look like a true contender. The Caps have the best record in the league and have the best goal differential (+71) by a mile thanks to their impenetrable defense.
• Following the Brock Lesnar logo mishap, the Winnipeg Jets season may actually be doomed. The Jets have lost four straight, have only won four of their last ten, and now have a losing record.
• 2017 All-Star Weekend was decent, but nothing to write home about. No records were set in any of this year’s skill challenges, and the results of the “Fastest Skater” competition were blemished by controversy as the league used different rules than they did last year. The main-event, the three-on-three divisional tournament, was pretty lopsided in the early rounds. The Pacific blew out the Central 10-3, while the Metropolitan beat the Atlantic 10-6. The finals were much more competitive, as the Metro beat the Pacific 4-3.
• Red Wings Playoff Streak Tracker: With 56 games played, things are looking dire for Detroit’s 25 year-long playoff streak. The Wings are last in the Eastern Conference and are struggling to keep pace in the wild card race. 

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