James Duthie is joined by TSN Hockey Insiders Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger to talk about Aleksander Barkov’s injury, the situation with Simon Edvinsson and the Red Wings, Alex Ovechkin’s path to the Hall of Fame, and more on Insider Trading.
James Duthie: Your insiders Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger.
I think we all winced when Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was helped off the ice the other night because it looked exactly like last year. But, fortunately for the Panthers it’s not like last year.
Pierre LeBrun: There’s a huge sigh of relief from the Panthers organization from top to bottom and happiness for their captain that it’s not like last year. In fact, it’s the best news possible given the circumstances.
As Dregs first reported on this day, he’ll be out 6-to-8 weeks and no surgery for Barkov. This should help quiet the Dylan Larkin trade speculation with the Detroit Red Wings. Now, I can tell you, according to sources, there wasn’t much validity to that speculation anyway.
Having said that, it’s a moot point now because Barkov stays on the books. You’re not going to replace your captain since he’ll be back in eight weeks.
In the meantime, the other thing with Florida is that they want to extend Brady Tkachuk this summer. He has one year left on his deal after this year, so they got to be careful about trying to go out and adding some more shiny toys. They’ve got to save their pennies.
Chris Johnston: The news is similarly encouraging on San Jose Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini, who was a surprising scratch on Monday night in Dallas. He took part in the morning skate with the team, took part in warmups, but didn’t end up playing in that game.
The sense right now is that there’s nothing to be too concerned about. He’s being evaluated and they will see how he responds to treatment to a lower-body issue that he’s been managing through training camp and the early part of this season.
Given how important Celebrini is to the Sharks and how they looked without him against the Stars, it’s good news that it’s not going to be a long-term absence.
Duthie: We mentioned that Larkin is making his return to the Red Wings’ lineup on Tuesday and he’s the one everyone is talking about in Detroit. But, under the radar a little bit is another Red Wing star in Simon Edvinsson.
How long can that stalemate last?
Darren Dreger: It’s uncertain, I guess it could go to the beginning of December and that will be the end of it.
There’re ongoing talks between the Red Wings and J.P. Barry, Edvinsson’s agent. But there’s not a lot, in fact, no progress to be mentioned.
What’s happening here is Detroit is, of course, taking calls and listening to whatever trade interest there is. They’re also comparing that to what they might get in way of a contract for Edvinsson.
He is a rare player at 6-foot-6 so there’s a lot of work to be done.
In the meantime, Kris Draper has moved over to become the director of pro scouting primarily to target some of the trade pieces that could be involved in both sides.
Duthie: As soon as Alexander Ovechkin announced this would be his last year, officially, there was immediate buzz that maybe he gets the Wayne Gretzky treatment and goes right into the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he retires.
Is that possible?
Johnston: That path is certainly not possible right now. After Gretzky in 1999, the Hall of Fame changed their rules and said we’re not going to waive that three-year waiting period anymore to put players directly into the Hall.
There’s another wrench in this potential plan when it comes to Ovechkin. That’s the belief that he will return to Russia and potentially play some games next year.
It would be similar to Jaromir Jagr, who is still not officially enshrined in the Hall despite how long it’s been since he played an NHL game. He’s viewed as an active player due to the games he’s played in Czechia
If Ovechkin plays in Russia, that would delay his induction as well.
Duthie: I’m always hesitant to comment on early season trends since it’s only been a week in. But it feels like there’s been more fights so far.
Are there numbers to back that up?
Dreger: There is. The anti-fighting crowd is not going to be happy about this when you look to recent numbers in past year.
It’s a small sample size but there’s a 50 per cent uptick to this point in the season in fighting. I think there’s an easy explanation to that.
Winnipeg Jets fans now know who Tyrell Bauer is and this guy has now fought a couple of times. You have Nathan MacKinnon, a veteran for the Colorado Avalanche, you’re not used to him doing this, but he’s done it to this point of the regular season.
No alarms, it’s just more competitiveness in the early part of the new year.
Duthie: Patrik Laine is still sitting out there, waiting for a new contract. Are teams calling?
LeBrun: There have been multiple teams calling at multiple times. But no one has been willing to say, ‘okay we’re going to bite now’.
It is strange.
This guy is only 28-years old, and yeah, he was hurt most of last year, but that’s exactly the reason why he’s almost a financial loophole. He can sign a performance bonus laden deal, so the only guaranteed money is his base salary.
Think about it this way. For about $150,000 a month, you can get a seven-time 20-goal scorer.
The Calgary Flames have kicked it around internally, but the Flames want to look at their young guys first for awhile. So, whether or not they call back, we’ll see.
Detroit has talked about it but so far Laine is skating in Florida, waiting for that phone to ring for good.
Duthie: Maybe a few more weeks and a struggling team makes that call.
