This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
At this rate, there won't be anything to report on trade deadline day.
The league featured two peculiar trades yesterday, with Jaromir Jagr moving from the marshes in New Jersey to the Everglades in Florida for draft picks, while Toronto continued to clean house by swapping David Clarkson for Nathan Horton with Columbus.
It's no surprise that Jagr moved. The Devils aren't expected to make the playoffs and Jagr's always been one to move on quickly if he doesn't feel wanted. It's this kind of migratory pattern that have some labeling Jagr as a mercenary, but Jagr just wants to play on a team that he feels actually wants him. He doesn't seem like a guy who would look at the rearview mirror too often, and he'll play just about anywhere.
Florida is an odd destination, though. For Jagr, this is a no-brainer: fewer taxes, more sunshine, better hockey. Who says "no"? Dale Tallon's end game, however, is a little unclear. The Panthers don't have a shot at claiming the top three spots in the Atlantic Division, and will have to leapfrog Boston while fend off Philadelphia and Ottawa to make the playoffs. Even if making the playoffs counts as some sort of milestone for Tallon's Panthers, they're surely a lock for a first-round exit.
You hate to bring up the business side when evaluating hockey trades, but it's inevitable and the Panthers are financially struggling, so like it or not, it will become a topic of discussion. Even at 43 years old, Jagr is still a very well known and marketable player, so even bringing him in for the last quarter of the season could give the fan base a little morale boost. This summer, Tomas Fleischmann, Tomas Kopecky and Scottie Upshall – players signed by Tallon in 2011 in an attempt to reach the cap floor and help mentor the team's young players while making the team somewhat competitive – are set to become unrestricted free agents. Given the emergence of its young players, such as Nick Bjugstad and Vincent Trocheck, perhaps it has signaled to Tallon that the reins can finally be turned over to the kids. A fourth player, Sean Bergenheim, also signed in 2011 but has already been moved to Minnesota. Marcel Goc and Kris Versteeg left before that and Ed Jovanovski's career, for all intents and purposes, is over. Only Brian Campbell, signed through 2016, is under contract after this season.
The point is, with the cap expected to increase, the cap floor will also be set higher. Fleischmann, Upshall and Kopecky's $11 million combined cap hit will come off the books, and with no key RFA's expecting big contracts (Erik Gudbranson and Jonathan Huberdeau are up in 2016), maybe keeping Jagr around will help Tallon reach the cap. It's great if the Panthers make the playoffs, but Tallon is still playing the long game.
Many are also applauding Dave Nonis for managing to find a taker for David Clarkson's contract, but it's been routinely shown in pro sports that there's always a few teams that aren't afraid of big numbers and aren't afraid to take risks. There is no such thing as an untradeable contract. Ask Roberto Luongo. Better yet, ask former ballplayer Vernon Wells.
By shipping Clarkson to Columbus and getting Horton in return, the Jackets get a player who gets paid the big bucks but is still healthy enough to play, while Horton's career remains in jeopardy due to a vertebrae issue. A team like Toronto has deep enough pockets to bury players they don't need (Jeff Finger, anyone?) and not bat an eye, but a team like Columbus can't afford to have a player take such a big chunk of their cap and payroll and produce nothing. None of this is Horton's fault, of course. He's in an unfortunate situation beyond his control.
Clarkson should fare better in Columbus, playing on a team he seems to fit better and in a city where the spotlight doesn't burn as much. Toronto's skilled players all play at a fast pace, but for some reason the team was insulated with slow, aging skaters, including Clarkson and Stephane Robidas. The Jackets are fast, too, but Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno and Scott Hartnell can all play a strong, physical game if need be, something the likes of Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri can't.
Clarkson's contract was the poison pill Jarmo Kekalainen needed to swallow to get Horton's contract off Columbus' books, and Kekalainen has to be careful with his next few moves. The players with the team's top 10 cap hits are all signed long term, which puts the team in an inflexible situation. The team isn't convinced these are the 10 players they want to commit long-term to as well, with James Wisniewski reportedly on the block, but by using the no-trade clause in his contract, he has essentially prevented any sort of moves by only listing teams that cannot afford him on his trade list.
The Kekalainen era in Columbus is still in its infancy, but they should consider themselves quite lucky that a team was willing to take Horton's contract off their books. Opportunities like this don't come up too often, though more lucky may come Columbus' way given how the team has been devastated by injuries this season.
Friday notes:
- Rask has a career 1.51 GAA and .949 Sv% against the Devils, so I wouldn't worry much about him. Schneider's good, but he doesn't steal games often enough to be considered elite, and the Devils won't have Jagr.
- Ramo has been confirmed as the starter for Calgary with Jonas Hiller struggling. The Rangers have quietly become the biggest challenger to the Islanders' quest for the division title, but Halak should have no problem against the Flames. As desperate as the Flames are, the Islanders play with the same amount of pace, aggression and physicality and they're much deeper.
- Khudobin has a tough test against Holtby and the Caps, who must have some pent-up energy stored up after a wild game against Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin is as fired up as he's been since his rookie season and he's a tank when he's on his game.
- The Lightning have gelled quickly under Jon Cooper over the past few seasons, becoming one of the fastest, deepest teams in the league. That may cause the Blackhawks to look in the mirror a couple times and ask themselves what happened. Asides from the obvious pain of losing Patrick Kane for 12 weeks, reportedly the locker room is very divided at the moment between Patrick Sharp and some of the team's other key players.
- Varlamov has allowed four goals in each of his past two games so the goal judges will have busy thumbs in Dallas, where Lindy Ruff hasn't decided between equally porous goalies Lehtonen and Enroth. This game might feature more red lights than Amsterdam.
- Andersen is doubtful against the Kings, which means young Gibson will get the call again. The Ducks were shut out by a hot-handed Hammond and will now face the hottest goalie in the league in Quick, who has allowed four goals in his past four games with the Kings going on their customary late-season tear.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo*) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00 PM
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Carolina Hurricanes (Anton Khudobin*), 7:00 PM
Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Anaheim Ducks (John Gibson), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Boston Bruins
Gregory Campbell, C (upper body) – out one week.
David Krejci, C (knee) – out 4-6 weeks.
Kevan Miller, D (shoulder) – out for the season.
New Jersey Devils
Ryane Clowe, LW (concussion) – out for the season.
Bryce Salvador, D (back) – likely out for the season.
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Keith Kinkaid, G (groin) – will not dress Friday.
Calgary Flames
Paul Byron, C (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Matt Stajan, C (personal) – no return date set.
Joni Ortio, G (lower body) – out 6-8 weeks.
Mason Raymond, LW (personal) – will not play.
Ladislav Smid, D (upper body) – skated Thursday; questionable.
Mark Giordano, D (undisclosed) – game-time decision; questionable.
New York Islanders
Casey Cizikas, C (lower body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Kyle Okposo, RW (eye) – out one week.
Mikhail Grabovski, C (concussion) – no timetable for return.
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D (disc) – no timetable for return.
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – no timetable for return.
Nate Schmidt, D (shoulder) – no return date set.
Carolina Hurricanes
Ryan Murphy, D (leg) – no timetable for return.
Chicago Blackhawks
Johnny Oduya, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Patrick Kane, RW (left clavicle fracture) – out 12 weeks.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman, D (undisclosed) did not finish practice Thursday; probable.
Matt Carle, D (abdomen) – out two weeks.
Radko Gudas, D (knee) – no timetable for return.
Michael Blunden, RW (knee) – out for the season.
Colorado Avalanche
Erik Johnson, D (knee) – no timetable for return.
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – no timetable for return.
Borna Rendulic, RW (leg) – no timetable for return.
Jamie McGinn, LW (back) – out for the season.
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder) – out for the season.
Dallas Stars
Tyler Seguin, C (knee) – out 4-6 weeks.
Patrik Nemeth, D (arm) – out 4-6 weeks.
Rich Peverley, C (heart) – no timetable for return.
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) – began skating; no return date set.
Ales Hemsky, RW (undisclosed) – game-time decision; probable.
Kari Lehtonen, G (undisclosed) – game-time decision; probable.
Patrick Eaves, RW (concussion) – will not play.
Los Angeles Kings
Alec Martinez, D (concussion) – no timetable for return.
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – no timetable for return.
Tanner Pearson, LW (leg) – no timetable for return.
Anaheim Ducks
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) – out for the season.
Matt Beleskey, LW (shoulder) – no return date set.
Sami Vatanen, D (lower body) – no return date set.
Frederik Andersen, G (upper body) – will join team Sunday.
Nate Thompson, C (lower body) – game-time decision; questionable.
Hot
Mike Cammalleri, LW, Devils – He was never a complete player but, boy, could he shoot the puck. The sniper has five goals in his past four games and 23 goals on the season. The Devils will be leaning even more on him after trading Jagr to Florida. Cammalleri is the team's most dangerous offensive player now, but the 32-year-old has never proven he can carry a team.
Andrew Hammond, G, Senators – Undrafted after four years at Bowling Green, Hammond wasn't having a good season in Binghamton this year (3.51 GAA, .898 Sv%), so it was plenty surprising he managed to shut out the Ducks and Kings in back-to-back starts. He's allowed just five goals in five appearances and already has two shutouts. He'll try and complete the California sweep Saturday in San Jose.
Cold
Kari Lehtonen, G, Stars – Acquiring Jhonas Enroth was supposed to encourage Lehtonen, but not only has Lehtonen gotten worse, Enroth hasn't been any better, either. Lehtonen has allowed 10 goals in his past two starts and was benched for the past two games. He'll get another tough matchup against the Jets in Winnipeg.
Ryan Kesler, C, Ducks – For all the ruckus Kesler causes on the ice, there are periods where he just can't find the score sheet, like right now in the midst of a nine-game point drought. He doesn't have to score with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on the team, but if the Ducks want to go deep they need that depth scoring.
Recommended Pickup
Mark Scheifele, C, Jets – Scheifele must've been a popular waiver wire option this season with his ups and downs this season. Currently, though, the Jets' No. 2 center is on a three-game point streak. The Jets' forwards are banged up, which gives all the more opportunity for Scheifele to step up. Acquiring Jiri Tlusty and Drew Stafford certainly gives a few options for Scheifele to pass to.
