Today marked the real beginning to roster changes ahead of the trade deadline in the NHL. The 8 March deadline is weeks away, but will roar closer as teams figure out their chances for the playoffs earlier.
One team making a change on Thursday were the New York Rangers who placed Nick Bonino on waivers.
“He met with (general manager) Chris Drury this morning, it was a decision that was made,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “Nick is a great person and a great teammate. Just an organizational decision.”
Bonino had one goal and five points in 43 games for the Rangers.
“I don’t know what Nick’s intentions are so it would be wrong for me to comment on that,” Laviolette said. “I’ve worked with Nick for quite a few years going back to Nashville (from 2017-20 when Laviolette was Predators coach and Bonino was on the team) and I just can’t speak enough about him as a person. Just a good guy, a good teammate. Tough day with regard to that.”
The Ranges may be getting their injured forward, Filip Chytil back sooner than expected.
Chytil skated in practice on Thursday with a protected red jersey.
“Day One, so he started the process of working up to speed,” Laviolette said. “It was good to have him out there. There is no time frame. That was Day One.”
Elsewhere, the Ottawa Senators sent signals out on Thursday that they may be making serious trades and shuffling of their roster.
Two players are rumored to be at the to of their list for making changes.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Jakob Chychrun have been major disappointments in Ottawa.
Tarasenko signed a one-year deal ahead of the season to ice in Ottawa, and is an unrestricted free agent after the this campaign.
He has 31 points on 12 goals, and that is not cutting it for the value paid. The Senators will almost certainly have to eat some of his contract to unload him on some other club./
Chychrun has potted seven goals and collected 27 points in 43 games this season.
“I’m disappointed that his name is out there,” Ottawa general manager Steve Staios said. “I think when you have these conversations with other teams, I mean, if I’m on the other side looking at our team, I’m asking about Jakob Chychrun as well. So I’m disappointed for him.
“I guess it’s part of the game, but he’s a great player for us, he’s a great young man and loves Ottawa, so he’s going to have to deal with those types of things being out there.”
You can be disappointed the name is out there, but this is a business, and you need to be prepared for a deal you cannot refuse.
“Am I open for business? I think I’ve had some good discussions with lots of teams,” Staios said Thursday ahead of the Senators hosting the Eastern-leading Boston Bruins at Canadian Tire Centre. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t looking for all opportunities to make this team successful short term and long term. I think the long term vision is extremely important to keep an eye on here with our group.
“I think that you can’t have enough leadership and experience. I think that’s certainly an area that I’d like to look at. Also, I think we’re looking at complete players, as well, 200-foot players. Those are the types of things we’re looking at.
“If there’s an opportunity, the market will dictate. There may be an opportunity here at the deadline. And if not, we’ll continue to work on it.”
Staios seems to think the Senators have a late season run in them.
“Probably over the last four games, I’d say that the biggest difference is getting the players to commit to play with the same intensity and same commitment without the puck as they have with the puck,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said following the morning skate Thursday. “The second part, I think they’ve made progress in is their ability to manage a game better. The one thing that they had, and I always encouraged and pushed them to continue, is they played with a lot of emotion. And I think that’s really important, but it’s got to be controlled emotion.
“What got us in trouble in the past was that we didn’t handle the highs and lows within a game very well. I can remember the first game that I coached; I thought we had an outstanding first period, I’d never seen this club control the puck in the offensive zone as well as they did, but at the second period start, I could feel on the bench the guys getting tight, and then the third period was a debacle and we were skating in sand.”
One other club seemingly destined for change are the Los Angeles Kings.
They have won just two of their last 14 matches, going 2-5-7.
“If I was sitting in your seat and you were standing here, I’d ask you that,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “I’m responsible for this. And when you looked at the team that played the first, what would we call it, 25, 30 games if you will, it doesn’t look like the team that’s playing right now. And I’m responsible for it.
“Our staff is doing what we can or what we believe we can to get them to turn it around. We’re trying different things at different times. But I’m going to keep pushing away. I’m going to try and push buttons, poke people, praise people, look at how we do things.
McLellan took responsibility, but Drew Doughty put the blame squarely on the team.
“We feel that every single player on this team needs to give 100-percent effort,” Doughty said. “And you’re not going to have your best stuff every night, but if we all give our 100-percent effort, we’re a good enough team.
“If we play together, we’re going to win games, so you don’t need one player to be the best player on the ice every single night. That’s not the way we win games. We win games as a play, collectively and playing for the team.”
When Doughty speaks people should listen.
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