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If I were Malcolm Subban, I'd be wondering what the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on.
Malcolm Subban recently spent ten days practicing with the Boston Bruins. His hope was that he would finally earn his first NHL start. That opportunity never came and he was sent packing back to Providence. Subban has been patiently awaiting his NHL debut.
The Boston Bruins recalled the 21 year old net minder from AHL Providence on Monday morning. It was a very weird decision to recall Subban to Boston because the PBruins had a 3:05pm game against Manchester on Monday afternoon. Sunday's game was cancelled due to nasty weather and was rescheduled as a President's Day matinee.
Subban traveled all day on Monday and therefore didn't play in Calgary on Mondauy night.
On Monday night, the Bruins blew a three goal third period lead to Calgary and lost in OT. The Bruins have lost four games in a row. Rask has lost 5 of his 6 starts in the month of February. His backup Nic Svedberg has also struggled lately.
What perfect opportunity to pump Subban's tires by allowing him to start his first NHL game against the 29th place team in the NHL standings in Edmonton.
Subban will have to sit and wait even longer. Claude Julien is giving the Boston net to Tuuka Rask again tonight in Edmonton. Rask's ginormous contract is blocking Subban's transition from the AHL to Boston's net. Rask had four years remaining on his current deal at $7.5 million AAV per season.
Tuukka Rask leads #NHLBruins out for warmups
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 19, 2015
The Bruins will play in St. Louis and Chicago later this week.
I doubt very seriously that Julien will be starting the rookie against the Blues and/or Blackhawks.
If I was Subban's agent, I would be asking Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to explain to me why my client is good enough to be recalled from the minors to practice with the Bruins, however, he is not trusted enough to start his first NHL game. Its maddening. The Bruins are in trouble right now as they hold only a two point lead over the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference wild card.
Now might be a great time for Chiarelli to trade Subban away in exchange for a forward and D who can help the Bruins win games now.
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What will become of Ryan O’Reilly now that the NHL trade deadline is just twelve days away? Will “The Factor… be traded on or before March 2, or, will the Avalanche and his advisors wait until this summer to talk about a long term extension?
O’Reilly is earning $5.8 million this season. He will be paid $6.2 million for the 2015-16 season. ROR is a $6million AAV per season which means that his qualifying offer from the Avs on his next contract will be $6.5 million. O’Reilly will become UFA in July 2016 and you better believe that his ask will be in the $7 to $7.5 million AAV range per season. The 23 year old will be looking for a contract team in the 5-6 year neighborhood.
Trading for O’Reilly isn’t going to be easy because NHL GMs that are interested in him want to know up front whether or not O’Reilly is committed to signing his name on the line regarding a long term contract extension with that club that trades for him. In other words, no NHL GM is going to mortgage the farm and trade a whack of assets to Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic only to have O’Reilly want to test the free agent market next summer. That’s the kind of madness that will get an NHL GM and his assistant fired in today’s NHL. There are teams have been and still continue to be interested in trading for the two-way center. Those teams want the assurance that they have a legitimate shot at signing ROR to a long term $42-$49 million contract extension.
In terms of trade compensation for O’Reilly, the Avs are looking for a difference making defenseman, a highly regarded prospect and a first round draft choice.
Last week, Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray may have been inclined to make a deal with Colorado for O’Reilly that included Tyler Myers. However, the blockbuster trade that he crafted with Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff put the kibosh on any Myers to Denver opportunities.
My guess is that the Avs will wait until after the NHL draft and see what the market will bear for O’Reilly, who at present is the highest paid player on the Colorado roster. Matt Duchene will earn $6 million per season for the next three seasons after this one. O’Reilly’s qualifying offer of $6.5+ million will be a jagged pill for the Avs to swallow. Nathan MacKinnon’s entry level deal will be expiring at the end of the 2016-17 season, and he will be looking for a multi-year deal in the $7 million AAV per season range. The Avs be working on that extension well enough in advance to insure that they retain their best player for the next 8 seasons.
O’Reilly’s best option is to be traded. I foresee an Evander Kane-Tyler Myers style hockey trade where several assets in the form of players, picks, and prospects change hands.
It may benefit Murray and the Sabres that O’Reilly’s player agent also happens to represent Evander Kane.