Larkin: Five players on non-playoff teams with a lot still at stake

We’ve reached April of the 2021-22 NHL calendar. That puts us deep into the stretch run leading into the NHL playoffs. The top teams have plenty to play for as they jockey for top seeds and home ice. The bubble teams are obviously in dogfight mode, trying to secure wildcard spots.

Many other NHL teams are simply playing out the string at this point, particularly in the Eastern Conference, in which the eight post-season seeds were seemingly decided by Christmas. In total, 13 NHL teams sit 10 or more points out of playoff positions right now.

That doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for, of course, particularly among each of their players. There’s just enough runway left on the schedule for certain players with murky futures to determine their long-term fates with their clubs. Who are some players with a lot to prove in the season’s final month? Consider these names.

Erik Brannstrom, D, Ottawa Senators

Brannstrom was supposedly the centerpiece of the blockbuster 2019 trade in which Ottawa sent star right winger Mark Stone to the Vegas Golden Knights. Brannstrom, one of the three first-round picks Vegas used in its inaugural draft, graded out as an elite-level prospect at the time with a ceiling to become a top-end offensive defenseman at the NHL level. It hasn’t happened so far. He has yet to stick in the NHL for an entire season. In his first few years as a pro, he battled confidence issues and struggled with his defensive awareness at times.

Now 22, he’s creeping toward “Is this going to happen?” status. He does have a tremendous opportunity during the season’s final month, however. Top Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot is done for the year with a broken hand, and Brannstrom has been thrust into Chabot’s chair on the left side of the top pair with Artem Zub. That sets Brannstrom up for a good showcase as he and the rugged Zub complement each other well. Seven different pairs have played at least 150 minutes together in Ottawa this season at 5-on-5, and Brannstrom-Zub have by far the best results, posting a team-best 56.33 CF% and 52.25% shots-on-goal share. They’re the only pair with a positive scoring-chance differential.

If Brannstrom, an RFA, can find his footing during this final stretch of the season, it’ll help him secure a bridge contract at an AAV that establishes him as permanent NHLer. So far, playing with Zub, things are trending promisingly. Brannstrom may finally be a full-time NHLer. It’s worth noting he’ll no longer be waiver-exempt next season, so it’ll be sink or swim time – with the Senators or another franchise if he’s traded.

Phil Kessel, RW, Arizona Coyotes

The Iron Man suit is up for grabs. The Philadelphia Flyers decided over the weekend they would end defenseman Keith Yandle’s NHL record streak at 989 consecutive games played so they could get a look at youngster Ronnie Attard.

Enter Kessel, who kept his own streak alive in a March 8 game by playing one shift before exiting to join his wife for the birth of their child. Kessel’s 969 consecutive games stand as the No. 2 ironman streak in NHL history. Since Yandle’s streak is complete, every consecutive game Kessel plays going forward is a game gained on Yandle.

The Coyotes have just 13 games left on the schedule, so Kessel can’t catch Yandle this season, but Kessel can get to 982, seven back, if he can stay in the lineup. That’s certainly something to play for, even on a last-place club.

Travis Konecny, RW, Philadelphia Flyers

Just a couple years ago, Konecny had established himself as rising young star and a crucial component of the Flyers’ long-term core. He landed in then-coach Alain Vigneault’s doghouse last season, however, even ending up a healthy scratch, and has struggled to rediscover his scoring touch since. From 2017-18 through 2019-20, he delivered back to back to back 24-goal seasons, the last one coming in just 66 games. He’s since scored 23 goals in 116 games in his past two seasons combined.

It’s hard to judge Konecny’s performance accurately when the entire Flyers team has underachieved since the start of 2020-21, and he’s young enough to still have tangible upside at 25. The question is whether it’s the Flyers who will try to unlock it or a new team.

As Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported at the conclusion of trade-deadline season, GM Chuck Fletcher had conversations involving Konecny. No deals materialized but groundwork might have been laid. Konecny’s play in the coming weeks may go a long way toward determining his future. He could show enough to make the Flyers hesitate to trade him or he could peter out and enter the offseason in need of a change of scenery.

Jack Roslovic, C, Columbus Blue Jackets

Is the speedy Roslovic a bona fide top-six forward in the NHL? He’s shown it in spurts. He had 28 points in a 33-game stretch in his first season as a Columbus Blue Jacket following his trade from the Winnipeg Jets. He has alternated between ice-cold stretches and small hot streaks this season. Looking at the big picture, however, he has fewer points through 68 games than he had in 48 last season, and his average ice time is down 3:42 per game year over year. The Columbus coaching staff wasn’t entrusting him with regular top-line minutes. That has changed in recent weeks, however. Roslovic is now getting regular looks on the top line between Gustav Nyquist and Patrik Laine.

Columbus’ final month of the season gives Roslovic, an RFA this summer, a crucial stretch to prove he can be a play-driving pivot on a scoring line. If he shows enough, the Blue Jackets will surely extend him a $2,206,034 qualifying offer. But would that be a precursor to a trade? He landed on Seravalli’s Trade Target board leading up to the deadline. Roslovic could also take a page from Laine and accept the qualifying offer in hopes of upping his value next season on a prove-it deal. That strategy has paid off beautifully for Laine.

Dylan Strome, C, Chicago Blackhawks

In a career of maddening fits and starts dating back to being drafted third overall in 2015, Strome has quietly delivered one of his more consistent NHL campaigns by his enigmatic standards. He opened 2021-22 with one goal and two points in his first 10 games has 19 goals and 41 points in 47 games since. Strome has been en fuego since being reunited with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat at start of March, piling up 11 goals and 22 points in 16 games. Strome has done so just in time for an off-season in which he’s an arbitration-eligible RFA.

Depending on how he performs for the balance of the season, he could wind up in many places. If he continues to display great chemistry with Kane and DeBrincat, Chicago could decide Strome is part of the long-term plan and re-sign him on a multi-year pact. If they’re out on him, they could decide not to extend him his $3.6-million qualifying offer and let him walk as a UFA. That seems unlikely given how well he’s played of late, however. He’s shown enough value to be a trade asset if he’s not part of the team’s long-term plans, so it wouldn’t make much sense to let him walk for nothing.