Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for May 2020

Washington Capitals Terminate Contract Of Brendan Leipsic

at CDT | by 20 Comments

Saturday: Leipsic has cleared waivers, reports Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link).  That paves the way for the Capitals to officially terminate the contract.

Friday, 10:00am: Just minutes later, the Capitals have announced that they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

9:55am: Earlier this week, private messages of a group chat that included Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic and Florida Panthers minor league forward Jack Rodewald were leaked. In the messages, the participants were using misogynistic language that the league immediately condemned, releasing the following statement:

The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible remarks made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media. There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved. 

Yesterday, Leipsic’s younger brother Jeremy Leipsic–who also took part in the chat– was removed from the University of Manitoba hockey team. Today, it seems as though the Capitals will come to the same decision.

Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Capitals will terminate the remainder of Leipsic’s contract today. The 25-year old forward is on a one-year, $700K contract for the 2019-20 season. After it is terminated, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

Though the Capitals must obviously believe a termination like this is within the rules given Leipsic’s behavior, it wouldn’t be surprising if the transaction is met with a grievance from the NHLPA.

It is not clear what will happen to Rodewald, who is also on a one-year contract but earns just $100K in the Panthers minor league system.

Blackhawks Forward Anton Wedin Signs With HV71

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

May 9: HV71 announced that they have indeed signed Wedin.  It’s a three-year deal which means he won’t be trying his hand in North America again anytime soon.

May 3: Last year, Blackhawks winger Anton Wedin decided to try his hand in North America and signed as an undrafted free agent with Chicago.  It appears that his stay will be short-lived, however, as Aftonbladet’s Tomas Ros reports that Wedin will be returning to Sweden and is expected to sign with HV71 of the SHL.  Farjestad was also believed to be interested in his services.

The 27-year-old played in four games with the Blackhawks this season but had a very limited role in those contests, averaging just 9:04 per game while being held off the scoresheet.  However, he was much more productive with AHL Rockford, recording seven goals and ten assists in 31 contests but he also missed time due to a knee injury.

He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason but considering his lack of NHL experience, it would be hard to imagine him getting much interest if he stuck around and waited for the market to open up.  Considering the NHL’s intention is to resume play, free agency may not be until September or later and by that time, international leagues may already be up and running.  As a result, reaching a deal back home now is likely a smart decision for Wedin who could always retry the NHL if things go well next season.

Tyler Wall Agrees To Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The New York Rangers already have several NHL-level goaltenders, but are still adding depth to the position. The perfectly-named Tyler Wall has agreed to terms on his entry-level contract with the team, which will begin in the 2020-21 season. The contract will be for two years.

Wall, a 22-year old netminder who was drafted 174th overall in 2016, became a star at UMass-Lowell over his four seasons there. As a senior in 2019-20 he recorded a .931 save percentage in 32 appearances, earning him a spot on the Hockey East Third All-Star Team.

While he may not come with the hype of Igor Shesterkin and may take longer than Alexandar Georgiev to make an impact at the professional level, Wall is a solid prospect in his own right. The 6’3″ goaltender posted a .918 save percentage over his college career and also served as an alternate captain this season.

Wall will likely join Adam Huska in the Rangers minor league system next season, but there are obviously still questions about how the team will deal with the NHL goaltending position. Even with Shesterkin and Georgiev ready to take over the full duties, Henrik Lundqvist remains on the roster with one more year left on his contract.

KHL Notes: Yakupov, Tolchinsky, Tryamkin

at CDT | by 6 Comments

While the NHL sits in a holding pattern while they decide what to do with the rest of the season, the draft and the playoffs, the KHL is moving along with their offseason. May is the major signing period for the Russian league and several interesting players have already moved around.

Today, a name very familiar to NHL fans was on the move. Nail Yakupov was traded away by SKA St. Petersburg in exchange for Pavel Koltygin, a sixth-round pick of the Nashville Predators, and the rights for Philadelphia Flyers prospect German Rubtsov. Yakupov scored ten goals and 20 points in 46 games for SKA this season.

  • Four NHL games may be all that ever happen for former Carolina Hurricanes forward Sergey Tolchinsky. The 25-year old has signed a new two-year deal with Avangard, leaving CSKA Moscow after two seasons. The undersized forward was a strong offensive player in both the OHL and AHL, but failed to make an impact in his short time in Carolina.
  • That may not be the case for Nikita Tryamkin, who could be returning to the Vancouver Canucks next season. There is a delay in any contract announcement however because of the current league situation and Rick Dhaliwal of TSN reports that the uncertain salary cap situation could complicate things for the Canucks. Dhaliwal suggests that this waiting game could test Tryamkin’s patience, given that KHL training camps are scheduled to open in July. The giant defender played 79 games with the Canucks between 2015-2017 before returning to Russia for the last three seasons.

Paul McFarland Leaving Toronto Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for a new assistant coach once the 2019-20 season is completed. Paul McFarland, who was only brought in at the beginning of the year, will depart the organization after accepting a head coaching position with the Kingston Frotenacs of the OHL. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explained the organization’s support:

Paul has been a great member of our staff and I look forward to continuing our work together through to the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach.

McFarland, 34, was the head coach of the Frontenacs for three seasons before spending three years in the NHL as an assistant. His time with the Florida Panthers and then Maple Leafs included running powerplays, where he created a name for himself as a strong offensive coach.

While returning to the OHL may be seen as a step backwards, there’s no doubt that McFarland is still an up-and-coming head coaching prospect for the NHL. One thing to remember in this instance is that he wasn’t actually hired by Keefe, who took over from Mike Babcock midseason.

Notably, McFarland will be taking over a program that has one of the next great prospects leading the way. Shane Wright, who was granted exceptional status and played much of this season with Kingston as a 15-year old, is in line to be a potential first-overall pick in 2022. The young center scored 39 goals and 66 points in just 58 games, despite several years younger than his opponents.

2020 International Games Postponed

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL has announced the postponement of the 2020 international games, effectively canceling them for this year.

The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators were scheduled to play in Prague, Czech Republic, while the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets were to face off in Helsinki, Finland. The Bruins and Predators were also going to be taking part in exhibition games in Germany and Switzerland respectively.

None of that will be able to take place due to the COVID-19 situation and likely delay of the 2020-21 season. The league is hopeful they will be able to return to the Global Series in 2021.

Alexander Romanov Agrees To Terms With Montreal Canadiens

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Montreal Canadiens have made it official, Alexander Romanov is coming. The question now becomes when. The team has announced that Romanov agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract, though the start date is still dependant on whether or not the season resumes. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin was obviously excited about his newest prospect:

We are very happy to confirm that we have come to an agreement with Alexander Romanov. Alexander is a young, solid, and very reliable defenseman who is determined to pursue his career in the NHL. He is part of our group of young prospects, and we strongly believe he will become an important asset of our defensive squad for years to come.

Romanov, 20, is one of the most exciting defense prospects in the entire league, after finding his footing in the KHL and dominating players his own age (or older) at the World Juniors. The two-way defenseman has a bronze and silver medal at home from the tournament, along with two All-Star nominations and a “Best Defenseman” award from 2019. Basically, it was hard to watch any Russian game at the event without noticing Romanov, whose poise and awareness is almost unmatched among defensemen his age.

For the Canadiens, the expectation is that Romanov will move directly into the NHL lineup when he arrives (even if that is potentially a resumed season this summer). The team does have five defensemen already signed for next season, but one of them is Karl Alzner who has only played a handful of meaningful NHL games over the last year.

Even the other more veteran options on the roster may not be standing in Romanov’s way very long, as long as his performance continues.

Snapshots: Antipin, KHL Rumors, Bakersfield, Tugnutt

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Just one day after his KHL contract was terminated, former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Victor Antipin has quickly found a new team. KHL powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg has announced that they have signed Antipin to a two-year contract. The 27-year-old is joining just his second KHL club and third pro club ever, as Antipin grew up in the development system of Metallurg Magnitogorsk and played for their KHL team on either side of his 2017-18 season with the Sabres. Antipin heads to SKA with 144 points in 381 career KHL games, not to mention ten points in 47 NHL games. The puck-moving defenseman will still be on the right side of 30 when his new contract expires, so a return to North America in the future cannot be ruled out.

  • Two other notable names are expected be on the move in Europe. Johan Svensson of the Kvalls Posten reports that Swedish winger Pontus Aberg is headed back overseas for the first time since 2013-14. The 26-year-old forward spent this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his fifth NHL franchise in six years, but played in only five games at the top level. Aberg has had a difficult time carving out a full-time role in any of his NHL stops, so he is expected to move on. Svensson reports that Aberg is currently negotiating with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk and is likely to end up in the KHL one way or another. Meanwhile, fellow Swede Oscar Lindberg is nearing an agreement with the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow, reports Russian source Championat. Lindberg surprisingly was unable to find an NHL home this past off-season and signed with EV Zug of the Swiss NLA. The 28-year-old had a strong season is Switzerland and is now upgrading to Europe’s top league. Lindberg, who has five full NHL seasons to his credit, has been a useful player throughout his pro career and it is no wonder that he is in demand for one of the KHL’s top teams.
  • The AHL’s Bakersfield Condors have made an intriguing signing, adding collegiate defenseman Yanni Kaldis on a two-year deal. Kaldis, 24, was the captain of the Cornell Big Red this season, one of the top teams in the NCAA. A productive two-way defenseman in college, Kaldis has proven that he has pro chops and could play a major role for the Condors. Bakersfield also extended forward Jakob Stukel, a former Vancouver Canucks prospect who suited up for 36 games with the team this season.
  • Matt Tugnutt, son of former NHL goaltender Ron Tugnutt, is transferring schools. The talented forward may not be going far geographically, but he is making a major move in terms of competition level and ability to compete for a national title. Tugnutt, 23, will play his senior season at Providence College after spending his first three years at Sacred Heart, he announced on his personal Twitter. A near point-per-game player and a +21 for a very good Sacred Heart team this year, Tugnutt is a big addition for the Friars. However, he will have to adjust quickly to the difference between Atlantic and Hockey East competition if he hopes to make a similar impact.

Focus Shifting To 24-Team Playoff

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Up to this point in the coronavirus pause, the NHL has maintained that their goal is to stage regular season games that remain on the schedule. The hope was that they could finish an 82-game campaign, even with a long break in the middle, in order to determine the playoff standings like any other year. Now, it seems as though that focus has shifted. Both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Larry Brooks of the New York Post have written today about a potential 24-team playoff instead of any regular season matches. Friedman lists it as a personal opinion, while Brooks has more firm reporting from sources on “both sides of the aisle,” meaning the NHL and NHLPA.

Brooks reports that the playoffs would include a “best-of-three play-in round” though the rest of the format is not clear. Both reporters list reasons why the league is headed that way, including the understanding that players do not want to be quarantined away from their families for several months.

While there is obviously no concrete plan of action at this point, moving directly into the playoffs does seem to be the most prudent course of action if the 2019-20 campaign is to be resumed at all. There are so many complications that will have to be sorted out before players are even allowed to practice again, that removing a third of the league would only help things along.

The teams that would be eliminated in this scenario, according to both scribes, are the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils.

Those are the teams most interested in a draft lottery (sorry San Jose) as well, given they reside at the bottom of the standings. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet has an update on that too, tweeting that momentum has slowed regarding a June draft. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Johnston that “everything is still on the table.”

Several managers have spoken out against the idea of holding a draft before the conclusion of the season, including Brian MacLellan of the Washington Capitals who told Pierre LeBrun and Scott Burnside of The Athletic (subscription required) that “most of the managers would like it to happen in a natural order.”

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Dmitry Semykin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning have convinced another prospect to join the organization, signing Dmitry Semykin to a three-year entry-level contract. Semykin has spent the last three seasons in Russia’s MHL with the SKA St. Petersburg organization.

Semykin, 20, was nabbed by the Lightning at the end of the third round of the 2018 draft, but was actually ranked as the 25th-best international skater by NHL Central Scouting. While he never did make it all the way up to the KHL, the Lightning have obviously seen enough development to reward him with an NHL contract.

The 6’2″ defenseman had 24 points in 44 MHL games this season and brings a history of physicality and toughness to the organization as well. You can bet he’ll start in the minor leagues and try to continue to develop, but there are few organizations with as strong of a track record in the middle or late rounds.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top