Posts Tagged Carl Gunnarsson

Maple Leafs Notes: Komarov, Gunnarsson, Leafs RFAs, UFAs and Free Agent Fits

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 22nd, 2013

  • Dmitry Chesnokov: Maple Leafs RFA winger Leo Komarov: “Won’t hide it – I’ve held negotiations with Dynamo [KHL], but I’m waiting for an offer from Toronto.”
  • Luke Fox of SportsNet: Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson made $1.35 million last season and will be a RFA.

    “The ball is in their court right now, so they got to get it moving,” Gunnarsson says of the Leafs, who have seven unrestricted and seven restricted free agents to figure out this summer. “The four years I’ve had here have been great. We’ll see what they want from me next year. I haven’t thought about what I want.”

    Gunnarsson will meet with agent this week and go over their plan.

  • Jeff Simmons of SportsNet: The Leafs have a current projected cap room of $19,495,833 according to CapGeek.com. They have to decide if they want to re-sign UFA Tyler Bozak, and if so, how much do they want to commit to him. They need to re-sign RFAs Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson. Kadri could be a tough sign.

    UFAs: Clarke MacArthur future as a Leaf is up in the air after a disappointing regular season. Colton Orr showed improvement this season. Tim Connolly is gone. Ryan Hamilton could return with the Marlies. The Leafs will likely look for an upgrade on Ryan O’Bryne. Mike Kostka could be back as an No. 7 option.

    RFAs: Joe Colborne is still a project but could be an eventual Bozak fill-in. Leo Komarov is a nice bottom-six piece. Frazer McLaren is a Carlyle favorite but easily replaced. Reliable Carl Gunnarsson should be back. Mark Fraser performed well but future unclear.

    Free Agent Fits: Devils right winger David Clarkson would give the Leafs some size in their top-six. If the Leafs don’t re-sign Bozak, Mike Ribeiro could be a nice fit between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Defenseman Rob Scuderi would bring the Leafs blueline some toughness and experience.

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Maple Leafs Offseason Notes: Kessel, Phaneuf, Reimer, UFAs and RFAs, Buyouts, Bozak and Clarkson

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 17th, 2013

  • Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs Phil Kessel will have a $5.4 million salary and cap hit. He can’t sign an extension until after July 5th, and Koshan thinks the Leafs would foolish to not extend him. Kessel’s agent indicated that he wants to remain with the Leafs.
  • Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star: Leafs GM Dave Nonis will have some offseason questions to consider. Do the Leafs look to extend Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer. Kessel could look for upwards of $7 million a season. Can the Leafs even ask their captain to take a pay cut from his $6.4 million salary? Reimer would be due for a big raise from his $1.8 million salary if he’s a No. 1 goalie.

    The Leafs UFA list includes: Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Colton Orr, Ryan O’Byrne and Mike Kostka. Bozak could be looking for Mikhail Grabovski-type money. MacArthur didn’t have good regular season and the Leafs are deep on the wings. Orr will likely be back. O’Bryne will likely be gone. Kostka’s play declined as the season went on, but could be brought back for depth.

    The Leafs RFA list includes: Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson, Leo Komarov, Joe Colborne, Matt Frattin, Carl Gunnarsson and Mark Fraser. The Leafs could play hardball with Kadri in attempt to keep his salary low. Franson led the Leafs defenseman in scoring. The others are likely to be back. Frattin could be MacArthur’s replacement on the third line. Colborne appears to be ready for the next step.

    Compliance Buyout Possibilities: Mikhail Grabovski, Mike Komisarek and John-Michael Liles. Komisarek may be no-brainer, freeing up his $4.5 million cap hit. Liles has 3 years at $3.875 million a season. Grabovski has 4 years left at $5.5 million a season. Nonis may look to trade both Liles and Grabovski.

  • Howard Berger of Berger Bytes: Berger thinks the Leafs should save the money on Tyler Bozak, give Joe Colborne Bozak’s spot, and sign David Clarkson or make a trade.

    “Colborne has enviable skill,” an Eastern Conference scout told me this week. “If he can bring his emotional game to a similar level – even half the time – Leafs won’t have to worry about a No. 1 center. From what I hear, they like the kid, and I think he’s worthy of a long look in the NHL. There aren’t going to be a lot of centers with decent price-points on the market in July.”

    UFA center options are not that young: Patrick Elias (37), Andy MacDonald (35), Nik Antropov (35) and Mike Ribeiro (33). Stephen Weiss and Derek Roy are 30, and will want more money.

    The Leafs and Devils could talk about Clarkson before July 5th about obtaining his rights to discuss a long-term deal before he hit the open market.

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Injury Notes: Salvador, Kovalchuk, Calvert, Gunnarsson, Smith and Korpikoski

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on April 20th, 2013

  • Tom Gulitti: Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador on returning from his bruised wrist: ”It looks like I’m going to run out of time.”
  • Tom Gulitti: Devils Ilya Kovalchuk wants to play again this season, even if they are eliminated. He has had no thought of shutting it down.
  • Tom Gulitti of the Bergon Recond: It’s sounding like Kovalchuk could play today.

    “I felt the best so far that I felt,” Kovalchuk said. “I feel pretty confident. I took a couple of one-timers and a little bit of contact, so it’s good.”

    “I feel much better than even a couple of days ago,” Kovalchuk said. “With that kind of injury, it’s not just ups and downs. It’s always the same and then you make progress. It’s almost four weeks now, so I feel much better definitely, but if I’m going to play or not, you should ask Pete.”

  • Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert broke his finger on Thursday against the Kings. There is no timeline yet, but it could be two to four weeks, according to Calvert.
  • Jonas Siegel: Maple Leafs Carl Gunnarsson hopes to play tonight against the Senators.
  • Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic: Coyotes Mike Smith has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but he could return today. Smith skated for 45 minutes yesterday.

    “That’s a positive sign,” Tippett said about Smith. “So we’ll see where he’s at (Saturday) morning.”

    Coyotes winger Lauri Korpikoski, who has been out with an upper-body injury, could return as well.

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Injury Notes: Bergeron, Marchand, Neal, Malkin and Gunnarsson

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on April 16th, 2013

  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe: Bruins Patrice Bergeron was ready to return the lineup last night, but the game was obviously postponed. He’ll skate today and likely make his return on Wednesday against the Sabres.

    “Just making sure we’re all on the same page,’’ said coach Claude Julien, noting that club doctors and trainers still had to sign off on Bergeron’s return. “He’s been feeling a lot better for the last few days, seems to be doing extremely well. But when you’ve been through what Patrice has been through, we’re always going to make sure we’re extra safe with him.’’

    Brad Marchand has skated the last two days. The next step for him will be contact drills, which will likely happen later this week. If all goes well, he could get in 2-3 games next week.

  • Chris Nichols: The Penguins say that James Neal (concussion) is symptom-free. Evgeni Malkin is day-to-day with an upper body injury.
  • Jonas Siegel: Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said that Carl Gunnarsson was banged up last night. He skated in the warmup, but didn’t feel good enough to go.

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Free Agent Notes: Capitals – Ribeiro, Devils – Elias, Clarkson and Zubrus, Leafs – Bozak

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on April 10th, 2013

From twitter unless otherwise noted

  • Renaud Lavoie: Capitals Mike Ribeiro doesn’t expect to sign a contract extension before the end of the season. He does expect talks to start up again after the playoffs.
  • Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Lou Lamoriello and the Devils are following the same path as they did with Zach Parise last season, by not talking to key free agents and risking losing them like they did with Parise. The Devils haven’t talked with Patrick Elias, David Clarkson and Dainius Zubrus. Lamoriello has an unwritten policy to not talk to players or agents about a contract extension while the season is in progress. He did make an exception for Martin Brodeur.

    “Who wouldn’t want to talk about it during the season?” Elias asked. “Then you would see they have interest. And, if you like the offer, why wouldn’t you sign? But that never came up here.

    “If it had happened it would’ve been great, but it didn’t happen. It’s getting kind of late now.”

    Elias hinted that he could test the open market.

    “It comes pretty quickly right after the season,” Elias said about the start of free agency.

    Clarkson may see what the market offers. The Maple Leafs may be interested.

  • Jonas Siegel of TSN: Tyler Bozak holds value for the Maple Leafs, but at what price will cost them to retain the UFA.

    “I’m not really looking into that stuff right now,” said Bozak, in conversation with TSN.ca on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s more just focusing on the year at hand and trying to do our best to get as far as we can [as a team]. When the season ends and that time comes, I’ll deal with it then. I’ve just got to try and set myself up good, keep playing well, and then the rest should work out fine.”

    The Leafs won’t overpay him, but realize what he can and can’t bring. It won’t be at your typical No. 1 center price, but maybe something in the David Desharnais range, $3.5 million per season. The Leafs have about $20 million in cap space for next season, but have to sign RFAs Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson and Carl Gunnarsson and UFAs Bozak and Clarke MacArthur. If Bozak is looking to cash in, he may end up playing elsewhere next season.

    “They show confidence in me [and] I’d love to play as big a role as I can. I want to be out there as much as I can be out there, play big minutes, power play, penalty kill and all that stuff. Hopefully I’ll be able to do that still.”

    Other center UFA options that could be available this summers include: Derek Roy, Stephen Weiss, Mike Ribeiro and Andy McDonald.

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Sunday Morning Hits: CBA, Malkin, Benn, Glencross, Gunnarsson, Steen, Tarasenko, Backlund, Leighton and Hedberg

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 10th, 2013

  • Eric Macramalla via twitter: The NHL and NHLPA have agreed on a final draft of the CBA. It has been sent to all NHLPA agents and members. It is subject to minor modifications.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins via twitter: Evgeni Malkin suffered an upper-body injury, not a head injury. He was kept out of the last part of the 3rd period and OT for precautionary reasons.
  • Calgary Flames via twitter: Flames Curtis Glencross missed last night’s game with an upper-body injury. He’s returning to Calgary today to be re-evaluated.
  • Jonas Siegel of TSN: Maple Leafs Carl Gunnarssonexpects his hip issue to linger all season.

    “It’s good,” he told TSN.ca before Saturday’s game. “It’s tough playing back-to-backs and all that, [but] it’s actually been better than I thought. It’s going in the right direction every day here. It’s getting better actually.”

  • Calgary Flames via twitter: The Flames activate Mikael Backlund from the IR and assigned Sven Baertschi to Abbotsford of the AHL.

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Quick Hits: Filppula, Coach’s challenge, Wider nets, Iginla, Smith, Scouting Leafs-Flyers, Sit Kulemin?

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 26th, 2013

  • Elliotte Friedman of CBC: If there is NHL expansion, it won’t happen in the next year or two. You have to think that Gary Bettman as a good idea of the scenarios for the Coyotes for next year.

    A couple teams may be eyeing Red Wings pending UFA Valtteri Filppula. Wings GM Ken Holland said they may have to wait as ”I’m still trying to find out what we are.” He added that they’ll wait closer to the trade deadline to decide on anything. Indications are that Franzen would like to stay.

    A couple of years ago when Panthers Dale Tallon brought up the idea of a coach’s challenge, it was shot down 28-2. Some other GM thoughts are that there needs to be some sort of penalty if a the challenge is ‘wrong.’ What instances will the a challenge be allow for? Goals only? Goalie interference? High-sticking major/double minor that may have been caused by a teammate?

    At the March GM meetings they may talk about goalie equipment again. Also, some people would like wider, but not taller nets.

  • Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly: Panaccio wonders if the Flyers would go after Jarome Iginla if he became available. Panaccio does say that Bruins are in better shape to make a deep run in the playoffs than the “bubble team” Flyers.
  • Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona: The Phoenix Coyotes won’t be signing goalie Mike Smith to a long-term deal any time soon.

    “Our thought is to let the season play out,” Maloney said. “Until our ownership is resolved, we’re going to table Mike’s contract and hope things work out later.”

  • Gord Stellick via twitter: (before last night’s game) Stellick thinks it’s time for Maple Leafs Carl Gunnarsson to sit. Nikolai Kulemin would be an easy choice to sit when Joffrey Lupul or Matt Frattin return.

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Quick Hits: Simmonds, Wisniewski, Goligoski, Lander, Gunnarsson, Halak, Letang, Burns, Rangers lines, and Hiller starts

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 8th, 2013

  • Stars PR via twitter: Alex Goligoski will be back in the Stars lineup and will be paired with Jamie Oleksiak.
  • David Alter via twitter: There is still no timetable on when Maple Leafs Carl Gunnarsson will return to the lineup. He has a hip issue, some days are better than others.
  • Lou Korac via twitter: Blue Jaroslav Halak has skated the last two days and plans to stop pucks tomorrow. The earliest he would play is Monday.
  • Boston Bruins via twitter: Brad Marchand is “day-to-day” and Claude Julien said ”he felt really good today, to the point where we have to consider him being a possibility for tomorrow.”
  • Kevin Kurz via twitter: Sharks defenseman Brent Burns was paired with Brad Stuart today in practice. Coach McLellan confirmed that Burns will play “very soon.” The Sharks will have to make a roster move before Burns is able to return.
  • Andrew Gross via twitter: Rangers lines: Hagelin-Stepan-Nash, Gaborik-Richards-Pyatt, Kreider-Miller-Callahan, Boyle/Powe-Halpern-Asham.
  • Eric Stephens via twitter: Jonas Hiller will start in net for the Ducks tonight against the Stars. Viktor Fasth will likely start tomorrow against the Blues.

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Injury notes: Helm, Gunnarsson, Brown, Simmonds, Lander, Eager, Bogosian, Byfuglien and Miettinen

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on February 8th, 2013

  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: On Red Wings Darren Helm back injury:

    “They ruled out everything bad,” general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press. “It’s a small strain or tear in a lower back ligament. He got an injection, said he felt better right away.”

  • James Mirtle via twitter: The Maple Leafs put Carl Gunnarsson on the IR yesterday. It will allow Mike Brown to return to the lineup, which will happen likely by the weekend. Jonas Siegel via twitter: Gunnarsson could return next week and it shouldn’t be a long-term issue.
  • Randy Miller via twitter: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said that Wayne Simmonds is “probably” cleared for contact, but is not 100% yet. A Saturday return is possible.
  • Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press: Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian is getting close to returning. There is no set date, but he’ll travel with the team to Ottawa for Saturday’s game. Once his injured wrist passes a few more tests in practice, he’ll get the green light to return. Dustin Byfuglien is still out with an undisclosed injury. Antti Miettinen is out with an upper-body injury. There is no timetable for when Byfuglien or Miettinen could return.

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Trade winds blowing in Buffalo and Edmonton … Leafs dangling Dmen … Someday Flyers will target Ryan

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 5th, 2013

  • The Fourth Period: It is believed that the Sabres are looking for a gritty, defensive minded forward that could play on their 2nd or 3rd line. They are also looking for a shutdown defenseman. There were scouts from 18 teams at the Sabres-Panthers game.
  • The Fourth Period: The Oilers would like to improve their overall defensive game, and GM Steve Tambellini has sent scouts out to watch some Eastern Conference teams. The Oilers and Maple Leafs held several trade discussion last year, but were not able to make a deal. This could change now that Dave Nonis is the GM. The Maple Leafs have been dangling Mike Komisarek and Cody Franson, and possibly Carl Gunnarsson. The Coyotes have been taking calls on Keith Yandle, but the cost to acquire him is high.
  • Sam Carchidi via twitter: Carchidi thinks that someday the Flyers will make a legit run at Bobby Ryan. The organization liks him.

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Injury notes: Horcoff, Leino, Martinek, Gunnarsson, Smith and Lombardi

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on February 5th, 2013

  • Mike Harrington via twitter: Sabres Ville Leino’s hip is not improving and coach Lindy Ruff is worried that he may not play at all unless another treatment can help.

    “This latest treatment option we hope will work,” Ruff said. “Surgery is always the the end of the line. You go to a surgeon, he’s going to recommend surgery. That’s just the way it goes.”

  • Arthur Staple via twitter: Islanders Radek Martinek had an MRI yesterday for an abdominal injury. Likely to go on IR to make room for Bailey.
  • James Mirtle via twitter: Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said that Carl Gunnarsson had an MRI on his hip. No muscular damage, but needs rest and treatment.

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Trade Rumors involving: Roberto Luongo, Jonathan Bernier and the Phoenix Coyotes

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 14th, 2013

  • Ben Kuzma via twitter: Canucks GM Mike Gillis on Roberto Luongo trade rumors: ”I haven’t talked to anybody about taking a portion of his contract. Everything is on the table.”
  • The Fourth Period: Several teams have contacted the Canucks about Luongo over the weekend. Other than the Maple Leafs, it’s unknown at this time which other teams have held talks. The Oilers, Flyers, Panthers and Blackhawks have expressed some interest in the past. The Canucks are looking to get a 2nd line center or top forward prospect and a top 4 defenseman in a package. From the Maple Leafs, the Canucks may be after a package including Tyler Bozak, Carl Gunnarsson and Nazem Kadi. Gillis may be looking to find a 2nd line center in a deal not involving Luongo as well.
  • Dan Murphy of Sportsnet: GM Mike Gillis has said there have been “lots of discussions” regarding Luongo.

    “There’s been a lot more interest in Roberto than people wanted to recognize because (they thought) the contract was onerous or difficult,” Gillis said. “That has never been mentioned to me by one team. I know some people like to make a big deal of that but it’s a very friendly contract for a lot of reasons.

    “That’s one of the reasons why in the new collective agreement there are penalties and you can’t sign these types of contracts because they are favourable. So contract is not an issue.”

    “I haven’t talked to anyone about keeping a portion of his contract. Is that off the table? No, I mean everything is on the table when you talk about those things. There are concepts you can discuss. But Roberto is an all-star goaltender and I don’t feel compelled or see any reason why we would go down that path with a player of this calibre.”

    Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis:

    “No. We don’t need to make a move. No. We don’t. The one thing — you hear the buzz over the last 48 hours — is that there is going to be a change in goal. There’s only going to be a change in goal if we can upgrade at that position without severely hampering the ability to play in front of that goaltender, and without taking away very good young players from our reserve list. If we can add a veteran, if we can add a goaltender to help these guys along, we think that would be helpful. But if we can’t, then it’s up to our whole group to play in front of them and to put wins on the board.”

  • The Fourth Period: The Kings could be trading goaltender Jonathan Bernier sooner than later. Bernier is in the last year of his deal that will pay him a pro-rated $1.525 million, with a $1.25 million salary cap hit. The Devils are one team that has believed to have shown some interest in Bernier. The Kings could be looking help on the blueline.

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