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AHL, CHL Temporarily Suspend 2019-20 Seasons

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March 16: The AHL has advised its clubs that the league will not resume before May. Like the NHL, they have now recommended that players return to their primary residences.

March 12: As expected, and like the NBA G-League did last night following the NBA’s decision, the American Hockey League will also temporarily suspend their 2019-20 season. The AHL will follow the lead of the NHL who paused their season earlier today, with hopes of resuming at some point down the road.

The CHL will also temporarily suspend their season, after a meeting between leadership of the OHL, WHL and QMJHL according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The USHL and NAHL suspended their seasons earlier today.

It is not clear if the leagues will return at the same time as the NHL, but for now there will be no high level professional hockey nor any major junior hockey played in North America.

Overseas Notes: Canucks Prospects, Suomi, KHL Playoffs

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With the NHL season on pause and almost every other professional league shutting down around the globe, front offices and agents can potentially get ahead on contracts for next season. Rick Dhaliwal of TSN checked in with the agents of some overseas prospects, including Marcus Isaksson who represents Vancouver Canucks prospect Linus Karlsson. The 20-year old forward was acquired last year from the San Jose Sharks, but may not be coming over just yet. Isaksson told Dhaliwal that they will talk to the Canucks but believes it may be better for Karlsson to spend one more year in Sweden.

Nils Hoglander, another Swedish prospect that has wowed overseas will also be talking with the Canucks at some point, though is in no rush with all that is going on. Hoglander, a second-round pick in 2019, took home bronze at the World Junior Championship and held his own at the SHL level despite only turning 19 a few months ago.

  • Eemeli Suomi reached the point-per-game threshold for the first time in Finland’s Liiga this season, coming second in league scoring with 57 points in 57 games. That kind of performance by a 24-year old will always turn some NHL heads, and a report today surfaced linking Suomi to the Buffalo Sabres. While he is currently under contract through 2021, there are ways for Suomi to come to North America if he feels ready to make the jump.
  • After Jokerit voluntarily withdrew from the KHL playoffs over the weekend, another team has decided to end their season before the league does. Barys Nur-Sultan, a team based in Kazakhstan, has pulled out of the Gagarin Cup playoffs as well after government rulings. In response, the KHL has paused their season for one week in order to create a schedule for the remaining teams.

NHL Rosters To Be Frozen During Suspended Season

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According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the NHL will implement a league-wide roster freeze this evening after announcing a new directive for players earlier today. Johnston points to this freeze as the reason for several roster moves today, moving players between the NHL and AHL. We’ll list those moves below:

  • The New Jersey Devils have moved both Janne Kuokkanen and Matt Tennyson to the AHL. Both players are on two-way contracts, earning less at the minor league level.
  • The Minnesota Wild have moved Matt Bartkowski back to the AHL. He hadn’t played in a single NHL game this season and is on a two-way contract.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Mark Letestu from his conditioning loan in the AHL. He is on a two-way deal, but would need to clear waivers in order to be sent to the AHL full-time.
  • The Florida Panthers have moved Sam Montembeault back to the AHL. He is on a two-way deal and is still waiver-exempt.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent both Jani Hakanpaa and Anthony Stolarz to the AHL. Both players are actually on one-way contracts, meaning they don’t earn any less at the minor league level.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent Logan O’Connor to the AHL. The 23-year old is on a two-way contract.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Keegan Kolesar and Brandon Pirri to the AHL. Pirri is on a one-way contract, while Kolesar is still on his two-way entry-level deal.

Jonas Hiller Announces Retirement

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One of the best Swiss goaltenders of all-time has decided to hang up his pads, as ECH Biel-Bienne announced today that Jonas Hiller has retired. The former NHL goaltender has been back in Switzerland for the last four seasons still competing at a high level, but just turned 38 and will now move on to the next chapter in his life.

Undrafted, Hiller was an outstanding performer both in the Swiss NLA and on the world stage for his country, before finally coming over to the NHL in 2007. He quickly took control of the Anaheim Ducks net and posted excellent numbers, recording a .916 save percentage over parts of seven seasons. After three trips to the playoffs with the Ducks he ended up playing two seasons with the Calgary Flames, before returning to Europe to establish himself once again as a star in Switzerland. Perhaps most impressive of all his accomplishments was the performance he put on at the 2018 Olympics, posting a .956 save percentage and 1.14 goals against average, both numbers that led the tournament.

A three-time NLA champion, two-time NLA Goaltender of the Year and three-time participant at the Olympic Games, Hiller has had quite the career. He was even selected to the NHL All-Star game in 2011, though he never did capture the Stanley Cup. The 38-year old goaltender finished his career in the NHL with a .914 save percentage across 404 regular season appearances, posting a 197-140-37 record.

Kiefer Sherwood Clears Waivers

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Monday: Sherwood has cleared waivers, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Sunday: The Anaheim Ducks have placed forward Kiefer Sherwood on waivers, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. While the timing of the transaction is unusual, Sherwood was on the roster of the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on Feb. 24, which means he is eligible to play in the AHL playoffs, if they resume at some point.

CapFriendly notes that Sherwood can remain on the roster for 10 games or 30 days before having to pass through waivers again. With the season currently suspended, Sherwood is likely to remain on the NHL roster and then be reassigned to San Diego immediately if play resumes. Anaheim is just trying to stay ahead.

Sherwood has struggled at the NHL level this year. He has just one assist in 10 games for the Ducks, but the 24-year-old has been a key contributor in San Diego, posting 16 goals and 23 points in 37 games. The Gulls are tied for third place in a struggling Pacific Division and if play resumes, will need Sherwood to help guide them into the playoffs.

Rangers Sign K’Andre Miller To An Entry-Level Contract

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Monday: The Rangers have officially announced the three-year contract for Miller.

Friday: K’Andre Miller has decided to turn pro.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Rangers have inked the defenseman to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal breaks down as follows.

2020-21: $925K salary, $300K in potential bonuses
2021-22: $925K salary, $350K in potential bonuses
2022-23: $925K salary, $400K in potential bonuses

The salary in each season includes the maximum $92.5K signing bonus while all of the potential bonuses are Schedule A ones.

Miller was drafted by New York in the first round of the 2018 draft, selecting him 22nd overall out of the US National Team Development Program.  While he wasn’t necessarily a key offensive player in his draft year, that changed when he went to Wisconsin where he put up 22 points in 26 games in his freshman year.  Although those numbers dipped this season on a Badgers team that underachieved considerably, he still managed 18 points in 36 games while making his second straight appearance for Team USA at the World Juniors.

It’s notable that the contract starts next season which means that Miller will not be eligible to suit up for the Rangers if and when the regular season resumes following the current pause on the schedule.  However, he would be eligible to sign an ATO with AHL Hartford and play for them down the stretch depending on what happens in that league.

The left side of New York’s back end is wide open following the trade of Brady Skjei to Carolina last month.  Marc Staal and Brendan Smith (speculative buyout candidates for the last couple of years) plus Ryan Lindgren are the only lefties on the roster with other unproven youngsters like Libor Hajek and Yegor Rykov hoping to be in the mix.  Miller could certainly play his way into roster consideration for next season depending on what activity the Rangers have on the trade and free agent markets this summer.

NHL Issues New Directive To Players

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After the CDC recommended all gatherings of more than 50 people to be avoided for the next eight weeks, sports leagues around North America quickly realized that their suspended seasons may not be returning as quickly as originally planned. With that in mind the NHL has now issued a new directive to players according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, indicating that they are allowed to go home or leave the country but must stay in self-quarantine until the end of March. As Johnston explains, this comes in stark contrast to the league’s previous plan to keep players in their team cities and ready to return to practice. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman quotes the memo directly:

Our objective will be that, in addition to continuing regular updates, we will be able to provide high-level guidance on potential of opening a training camp period roughly 45 days into the 60-day period covered by the CDC’s directive.

That timeline can obviously change by the minute as we have seen, meaning at this point it’s hard to even speculate on when the NHL will return to action. Players leaving the country will only make restarting the league take even longer once a decision is made, and will very much mean any activation would be dependent on the travel policies of the involved nations.

Five Key Stories: 3/9/20 – 3/15/20

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This past week was a rather unique one not only in hockey but the entire sporting landscape.  Naturally, those events dominate the headlines of the past seven days.

Season Suspended: Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first.  As a result of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the NHL has put the season on pause for the time being.  Players have been told to self-quarantine for a six-day period and it’s expected that things will be re-assessed at that time in a week or so to determine next steps depending on what other government decrees come into play between now and then.  Unlike the NBA which has committed to a 30-day shutdown at a minimum, the NHL hasn’t put any firm timelines in place.  The remaining schedule will likely be determined based on when they’re able to get everything back up and running while there is still some potential that games will be played in empty arenas even when play resumes.  In the interim, the players will still be paid their salaries at the regular intervals (though there will probably have to be some escrow adjustments) while some teams have made arrangements to pay their game day staff during this stoppage.

Other Leagues Follow Suit: Not surprisingly, other leagues have followed suit.  The AHL and CHL have opted to do like the NHL for the time being and temporarily suspend their seasons, allowing for the possibility to return down the road.  While the AHL still has a little more than a month left on their regular season schedule, the CHL playoffs were just about to get underway.  Other leagues have decided to cancel the rest of the season/playoffs outright, including the ECHL, SHL, and NCAA.  The latter, in particular, will have an interesting effect on the transaction front in the weeks to come as the college free agent market can pick up at any time instead of teams having to wait for college squads to be eliminated from the postseason.

Simek Extension: Sharks defenseman Radek Simek officially signed his four-year, $9MM extension.  The 27-year-old got a late start to his NHL career as he only debuted with San Jose last season but he has become an important part of their back end.  Injuries have limited him to just 48 games this season where he has nine points while logging over 17 minutes a night.  Given his overall lack of NHL experience, the deal does carry some risk but clearly, San Jose is also banking on Simek taking another step or two forward in his development as well.  The Sharks now have $28.75MM committed to their top four defensemen through the 2023-24 campaign so it’s likely that they will be rounding out that group with players on entry-level deals or low-cost veterans to give them more room to spend elsewhere.

Wisconsin Departures: A pair of top NHL prospects decided to forego the rest of their NCAA eligibility at Wisconsin.  First, the Kings inked 2019 first-rounder (fifth overall) Alex Turcotte to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins in the 2020-21 season.  The center had 26 points in 29 games in his freshman year with the Badgers and was slated to join AHL Ontario before the season was suspended.  Meanwhile, the Rangers agreed to terms on a deal with blueliner K’Andre Miller on an entry-level pact as well.  Miller, the 22nd pick in 2018, saw his offensive numbers dip a bit in his sophomore campaign but he still posted a respectable 18 points in 36 contests.  While Turcotte isn’t quite NHL ready yet, Miller could contend for a spot on New York’s back end as soon as next season.

Lemieux Suspended: The NHL has decided to suspend Rangers winger Brendan Lemieux for his hit on Colorado winger Joonas Donskoi back on Wednesday.  However, the number of games he will miss has not yet been determined and will be dependent on what the schedule situation turns out to be.  This will be Lemieux’s second suspension of his young career after receiving a two-game ban back in November of 2018 for an illegal hit to the head.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Originals: 3/9/20 – 3/15/20

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Here is a rundown of the original content at PHR over the past week.

Group VI free agency doesn’t typically get much attention but one of the things to watch for down the stretch each season is which players can still avoid it and whether or not those teams bring those players up to retain their rights.  I took a look at the four players that could still avoid hitting the open market although those situations could change depending on what happens with the schedule in the weeks to come.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday chat in the immediate aftermath of the suspension of the schedule.  Topics included the annual awards, college free agency, minor league postponements, and more.

Our Stretch Run Storylines series kicked off as we look at the Central Division.  I examined what to watch for in St. Louis where the defending Stanley Cup champions could be a team to watch for if play resumes.  Vladimir Tarasenko’s return should bolster an already strong and deep attack while they possess arguably the top pending unrestricted free agent in Alex Pietrangelo as well who could be too expensive for them to keep.

The NCAA announced this past week that they would extend eligibility for those playing spring sports and added that they would discuss the issue for those (including hockey players) that weren’t able to complete their conference and NCAA championships.  Zach broke down how that could potentially be accomplished as well as forecasting what the field for the NCAA tournament could have looked like.

Every year, there are trades that contain conditional elements for a draft pick to be transferred over.  These can often pertain to games played although there has also been the odd one also is based on the production of a player with his new team.  Some of those are still in flux; Gavin assessed those and how the potential return of regular season contests could make or break those conditions.

Part two of our mailbag is now available.  Topics I tackled in this one included Henrik Lundqvist’s future with the Rangers now that he’s the clear-cut third option, Kyle Dubas’ tenure as the GM with Toronto, a projection for Philadelphia in the playoffs, and more.

College Players Restricted To Signing Future Contracts

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One of the common things to watch for normally at this time of year is college free agency.  Undrafted players that have been eliminated from the NCAA postseason quickly sign with NHL teams.  Some sign a contract that begins in the next season while in recent years, more teams have shown a willingness to sign players to a contract that begins in the current season and therefore quickly pass through one of the salary-restrictive entry-level years.  Teams have even shown an openness to doing so with their own drafted prospects such as Cale Makar last year or Charlie McAvoy and Brock Boeser back in 2017.

However, that option won’t be available to teams during the current suspension of the schedule.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that while teams can sign college players to contracts now, they can only do so if the contract becomes effective on July 1st, meaning for the start of the 2020-21 season.  Deals that begin now are off the table due to the uncertainty surrounding the schedule in the immediate future.

This means that over the days and weeks ahead, there should still be some activity on the college UFA market.  While there is a chance that some players could be granted an extra year of eligibility, that would be restricted to tournament-bound teams, not ones that were already eliminated.  As a result, there will still be some players on teams that wouldn’t have made the top-16 playdowns that will be seeking NHL contracts.  Only this time, the playing field will be more levelled out with this current restriction of future contracts being the only ones allowed.

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