Updated:
Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland’s ears must ring 24-7-365. He’s one of the most talked about executives in the NHL. Seemingly, the Red Wings are involved in major trade rumors each season prior to the NHL trade deadline. Holland is your habitual annual trade deadline buyer. His modus operandi is to add an impact player or two at the trade deadline in order to propel his Red Wings club on a long playoff run. There’s no arguing with Holland’s body of work. His Red Wings have made the playoffs for 23 consecutive season and this year’s vintage looks to be positioning itself for a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Holland was a guest of TSN 1040 in Vancouver on Wednesday morning where he shed light on his trade deadline shopping plans.
First and foremost, is Holland in the market to add another difference-making, right handed defenseman?
“Well, I would say to you there’s a lot of talk about us looking for a right-shot defenseman. That was last summer when we weren’t sure about Daniel Alfredsson’s health, and we really wanted a right shot defenseman we thought could play on the power play. As we speak today, I think we’re number one in the league on the power play. Mike Babcock puts out four forwards on each unit. Danny DeKeyser, a defenseman, on one unit. Kronwall on another unit. With the development of Sheahan, and “Tats… (Tatar), and Nyquist, Helm is healthy, Abdelkader, Zetterberg, Datsyuk. We’ve been able to have two (PP) units.
“So ideally would we like to have a right-shot defenseman? Yeah, but I think it has to be the right right-shot defenseman. We’re not just looking for a right-shot defenseman. Our defense has played real good. We’ve come off it a little bit in the penalty kill. We were first or second on the penalty kill for a long time, but the last 10 games we haven’t done as good a job. We need to get better in that area.…
The Detroit GM is well aware that Tyler Myers is a right right handed D. Holland first inquired last summer about the availability of Myers. Is it a coincidence that the 6’8… Myers is also a right handed shot? At that time, there was no way to predict that Daniel Alfredsson would retire prematurely this season. To that end, Holland put out his feelers to see which D would be available if the time came that he would need a solution in the future. When this season began, the Red Wings were wildly inconsistent on both of their power play units. Once again, Holland revisited the conversations that he had begun the summer before. Holland and Myers have been linked in trade chatter all season long because the Wings have scouted the former Kelowna Rockets star extensively. There have been many a night when a Detroit scout and a senior member of the Wings’ scouting department has been in Buffalo. Granted, the Wings have been doing their advanced scouting reports on their division foes, however, they have also been studying Myers closely. Just because the Wings turned their power play fortunes around before Christmas doesn’t mean that Holland isn’t interested still in acquiring Myers. The thought process now is that Myers can be relied upon to play to add immediate value to Detroit’s struggling penalty killing efforts. Myers averages 25:12 minutes TOI per game (43 games played). Myers average 3:04 minutes TOI per game on the penalty kill. He has improved as a PK'er in his six year NHL career. Myers has the skill set to improve any team's penalty kill unit.
“So I think this time of the year between now and the deadline I’m hoping we can continue to put points on the board, and really feel that we’re a real good buyer at the trade deadline. Then we’ll see what’s available and what the price is".
Injuries have tested the depth of the Red Wings. Fortunately for Holland, he has stockpiled young NHL caliber talent in Grand Rapids. Many of the stars of tomorrow have been called upon to play vital roles today. A true testament to Holland’s organizational depth.
When Jimmy Howard was injured last month, youngster Petr Mrazek, the third goalie on the depth chart, took the bull by the horns and started winning games. Now, Howard can rehab his injury and do it on the proper timetable rather than rushing back early on to re-injure himself. Finnish forward Teemu Pulkkinen has been lighting it up in Grand Rapids this season. He now has 26 goals and 26 assists this season year. He also scored a goal in five games played for the Red Wings. In most NHL organizations, Pulkkinen would be playing on the NHL club. Not in Detroit. Holland refuses to rush his talent to the NHL before they are ready for the grind. See Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and Tomas Jurco last season. Highly touted prospect defenseman Xavier Ouellet has played 10+ NHL games this season. Right now, Alexey Marchenko is getting a look-see at the NHL level.
For the past month, Holland has been playing the kids to see how they perform at the NHL level. He and his scouts have been in the organizational assessment phase for the past month and a half. Soon, he will have to decide whether he has to make a bigger acquisition at the NHL trade deadline or if playing the kids will help the Wings to beat the Penguins, Canadiens, Lighting, Bruins, and Rangers to secure a Red Wings berth in the Eastern Conference Finals. Personally, I like Ouellet and Marchenko, but I see them getting eaten alive in the playoffs by the aggressive forecheckers Sidney Crosby, Geno Malkin, Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan, Patrice Bergeron, Max Pacioretty.
The Red Wings have a treasure trove full of talented forward prospects and just a couple of D prospects. That’s why Holland is looking to fortify his Detroit roster with a veteran right-handed D. That’s why Tyler Myers and Toronto’s Cody Franson are linked to Detroit in trade rumors. Myers is a $5.5 million salary cap hit this season and for the next three seasons to come. Franson will become a UFA on July 1 and will be a serious candidate to earn $5-$5.5 million for five seasons. Franson is a solid D, however, he’s a rental property and Holland may shy away from sending top prospects to the Maple Leafs for a player who may opt to test unrestricted free agency in July. That’s why Myers maskes the best sense for Holland and the Wings. His cap hit is not exorbitant and he has nice term left on the deal. Myers would give the Wings an immediate puck moving dimension that they haven’t seen since Nik Lidtrom and Brian Rafalski retired. Myers is long, can skate like the wind, will join the rush, block shots, kill penalties and will eat 25+ minutes of ice time per night.
Holland admitted on Tuesday that he continues to work his cell phone.
“When things start to happen, we’ll have our information and our meetings and we’ll be ready to do whatever we’ve got to do. Maybe it might even mean standing pat, but we’re trying to see what we’ve got internally too.…
Holland continues to make his calls to his NHL GM counterparts. He’s not kicking tires. He’s asking what is it going to take to get the right right handed D.
Holland may want to reach a conclusion soon. Otherwise, Myers may be traded away to Anaheim, Colorado, or Los Angeles.
It would be a shame for Holland to see 8+ months of scouting Myers go for naught.
Anaheim GM Bob Murray, like Holland, has been keeping tabs on Tyler Myers all season long. The Anaheim D is composed of UFAs to be in Francois Beauchemin and Eric Brewer. They need a top four who can support and augment Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm. Myers is that guy. At what price Myers to Ducks? Power forward prospect Nick Ritchie, D Sami Vatanen, and a high draft choice.
In Denver, Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic find the,selves in a huge bind. Their #1 D Erik Johnson underwent knee surgery during the All Star break and will be out for the next two months. The Avs are out of a playoff spot right now and need help in order to leap frog those teams that stand in their way of claiming a wild card berth. Tyler Myers will cost the Avs Ryan O'Reilly, a prospect, and a draft choice.
LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi waived Mike Richards last week in an effort to create salary cap space so that he can make a trade for a difference making D-man. Lomabrdi saved $925,000 in cap space to invest in a D. Slava Voynov's trial will begin in Los Angeles on March 2. Thats NHL NHL trade deadline day. Lombardi's team lost 4-0 in Washington on Monday night and they are sinking like a sunset over the Hollywood Hills. Lombardi will have to act swiftly. If he wants Myers he will have to trade away Tyler Toffoli and perhaps goalie Martin Jones, plus a high draft choice. Is Lombardi willing to go there? He better do something or else his Kings will miss the playoffs after winning it last spring.
***
Bad things come in threes. Here's proof.
PK Subban and his Montreal Canadiens have been beaten in back to back games by NHL cellar dwellers Buffalo and Arizona.
True to its word, the NHL is identifying and fining frequent offenders for diving.
Today, the NHL has fined Habs D-man P.K. Subban $2,000 for diving.
Subban joins Nashville's James Neal, Florida's Vinny Trochek, NY Islanders Cal Clutterbuck, and Detroit's Gustav Nyquist as busted divers.
Here's the NHL's official statement on the Subban fine:
Subban was issued a Warning following an incident flagged by NHL Hockey Operations during NHL Game No. 586 vs. Tampa Bay on Jan. 6. His second Citation, which triggered the $2,000 fine, was issued for an incident during NHL Game No. 712 at New York on Jan. 29.
Here's the choreographed goodness in all of its glory.
Subban fined 2Large for diving. But its ok for him to dot @zemgus94 with a clapper to the back of the legs after horn sounded to end period?
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) February 4, 2015
How about supplemental discipline for Subban ripping a slap shot at the back of the legs of Zemgus Girgensons well after a whistle had blown on Tuesday night. No penalty was called on the ice.
Just like the NHL to overlook major transgressions like Brandon Prust's blindside head shot on Tyler Myers on Tuesday night. No penalty was called. No review by NHL Department of Player Safety.
However, the NHL will fine Subban for diving.
NHL $2K. pic.twitter.com/0AQCexkDpx
— John Grigg (@John_Grigg) February 4, 2015
The NHL loves to trip over dollars to pick up pennies, doesn't it?
#NHLTypical
***
Hot off the presses, the International Scouting Service (ISS Hockey) has released its monthly rankings of the top prospects eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft.
Here is the-up-to-the-minute ISS Top 30, highlighting the rankings for the top 30 prospects. ISS Hockey releases their list on the ifrst Wednesday of every month during the hockey season.
No deviations or changes in the top 10:
Rank-Name-Position-Team-League
1 - McDavid, Connor - C - Erie - OHL 2 - Eichel, Jack - C - Boston University - H.E. 3 - Crouse, Lawson - LW - Kingston - OHL 4 - Hanifin, Noah - LD - Boston College - H.E. 5 - Rantanen, Mikko - RW - TPS Turku - FinE 6 - Werenski, Zack - RD - Michigan - BigTen 7 - Strome, Dylan - C - Erie - OHL 8 - Marner, Mitchell - C - London - OHL 9 - Provorov, Ivan - LD - Brandon - WHL 10 - Barzal, Mathew - C - Seattle - WHL
***
11 - Zacha, Pavel - C - Sarnia - OHL 12 - Kylington, Oliver - RD - Farjestad - SweJr 13 - Meier, Timo - RW - Halifax - QMJHL 14 - Connor, Kyle - C - Youngstown - USHL 15 - Konecny, Travis - C - Ottawa - OHL 16 - Merkley, Nick - C - Kelowna - WHL 17 - Chabot, Thomas - LD - Saint John - QMJHL 18 - Bittner, Paul - LW - Portland - WHL 19 - Zboril, Jakub - LD - Saint John - QMJHL 20 - White, Colin - RW - USA Under18 NTDP - USHL
**
21 - Carlo, Brandon - RD - Tri-City - WHL 22 - Svechnikov, Evgeny - RW - Cape Breton - QMJHL 23 - Greenway, Jordan - LW - USA Under18 NTDP - USHL 24 - Bracco, Jeremy - RW - USA Under18 NTDP - USHL 25 - Harkins, Jansen - C/LW - Prince George - WHL 26 - Roy, Jeremy -RD - Sherbrooke - QMJHL 27 - Boeser, Brock - C - Waterloo - USHL 28 - Meloche, Nicolas - RD - Baie-Comeau - QMJHL 29 - Carlsson, Gabriel - LD - Linkoping - SweJE 30 - Ek Eriksson, Joel - C - Farjestad - SweJE
McDavid (#1), Eichel (#2), Crouse (#3), Hanifin (#4) and Rantanen (#5) maintain the top five rankings in ISS Hockey’s release of its February ISS Top 30. Portland Winterhawks left winger Paul Bittner rises 12 positions to #18, and Saint John Seadogs defenseman Jakub Zboril follows suit to #19. Halifax Mooseheads Swiss player Timo Meier enters the ISS Top 30 at #13, making him the biggest gainer in ISS Hockey February rankings.
"Meier is a natural goal scorer, that goes to tough areas and is not afraid to drive the net hard…, says ISS Hockey Director of Scouting Dennis MacInnis. “His knack for anticipating loose pucks and forcing turnovers make him a potential steal in this year’s draft.…
Thanks, ISS Hockey