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Archives for February 2021

Minor Transactions: 02/09/21

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With the AHL season underway, activity has started to pick up on the signing front as teams look to bolster their rosters.  Here’s a rundown of the latest moves:

  • The Avalanche have signed three players to minor league deals per a team release from the AHL Eagles. Wingers Jerry D’Amigo and Riley Woods plus defenseman Miles Gendron have all inked tryout agreements with the team.  D’Amigo is the headliner of the group having played in 31 career NHL games between Toronto and Columbus.  Woods spent last season in Toronto’s system while Gendron, a former Ottawa prospect, spent last season with the Sens on a minor league deal.
  • The Devils are taking a closer look at one of their prospects as Binghamton announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Graeme Clarke to a minor-league deal. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick of New Jersey back in 2019 and with the OHL not having started yet, he hasn’t played aside from a six-game stint in Slovakia.  Clarke, who must sign an NHL deal by June 1st, will have to return to OHL Ottawa if and when that league starts its 2020-21 season.
  • The Lightning released winger Maxim Cajkovic from his AHL deal, per the AHL’s Transactions log. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2019 and needs to sign by June 1st or Tampa Bay will lose his rights.  Cajkovic started the season with Bratislava of the ICEHL and will now report to Val d’Or of the QMJHL for his final junior season.

AHL Releases 2020-21 Regular Season Schedule

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Feb 9: Finally, we have a schedule for the Canadian teams—at least part of one. The AHL has released the first few games for each of the five teams that will be operating north of the border. Belleville and Laval will kick things off on Friday, Manitoba and Toronto start on Monday, and the Stockton Heat, who are operating out of Calgary this season, begin on February 21.

Jan 22: Two weeks from now, the American Hockey League will start what it is still calling the 2020-21 season. On February 5, things will kick off with several games around the minor leagues even without a handful of teams that opted-out. League president Scott Howson released this statement today, along with the schedules of the Atlantic, North, Central and Pacific Divisions:

As we prepare for a season unlike any other in our 85-year history, our priorities are first and foremost health and safety. Our main objective is to provide a safe environment for our players to continue their development towards a career in the National Hockey League.

The schedule for the Canadian Division will not be released for now as the Belleville Senators continue to work with Ontario health officials.

This will be the 85th season in the AHL’s history and is certainly one of the more unique campaigns in recent memory. The league announced new geographic-based divisions earlier this year that will reduce travel but increase rivalry. Teams across the league will also not be playing the same amount of games. For instance, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers have only 24 games on their schedule, while the San Diego Gulls will play 44 times this season.

The schedule runs through May 14, just a few days after the NHL season is set to finish.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/09/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. While Los Angeles is still listed as TBA, the rest of the league is in:

Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Chicago – Ryan Carpenter, Lucas Wallmark
Colorado –  Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – TBA
Minnesota –  Nick Bjugstad, Nick Bonino, Ian Cole, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, Brad Hunt, Marcus Johansson, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot*, Jonas Brodin*
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Yegor Sharangovich, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac
Philadelphia – Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun*, Claude Giroux*

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Victor Rask, Minnesota Wild; Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights; Jakub Vrana, Washington Capitals

The big news today is the addition of Braun and Giroux, leading to the postponement of tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers game. The league is continuing to monitor the situation to see if any further postponements are needed.

Minnesota also has two new additions as the virus continues “creeping through the team.” Their season is still on pause as they sort through this outbreak, which now has a total of 12 players in the protocol.

*denotes new addition

Zack Kassian Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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On Monday, Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett told reporters including Ryan Rishaug of TSN it was an “understatement” that the team wanted to see Zack Kassian get “a bit more engaged” in games this season. The physical forward had just two minor penalties heading into last night’s game but quickly proved to his coach and teammates that he was still willing to drop the mitts. Kassian fought Erik Gudbranson less than two minutes into the game and the team would go on to win 3-1, but Kassian wouldn’t see the ice again.

Leaving after the fight, Kassian played just 33 seconds and this morning Tippett said he would not play in the rematch tonight. The coach described his absence as week-to-week, though he is still undergoing further evaluation. Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports that Kassian has been placed on long-term injured reserve today thanks to some cap gymnastics the Oilers needed to perform, meaning he’ll miss at least ten games.

Kassian did have 29 hits in 12 games before last night, but had scored just a single goal and registered just three points. That isn’t good enough for a player who received another early chance to line up next to Connor McDavid and his ice time had been slashed heavily in recent games because of it. That means his absence won’t be too noticeable, but it does just test the Oilers’ depth even further. The team has recalled Devin Shore from the taxi squad in the meantime.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Hire Brian Burke, Ron Hextall

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Not only have the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Ron Hextall as the team’s next GM, but Brian Burke will be joining him. Burke will be installed as President of Hockey Operations, with Hextall as General Manager. Burke last held a similar role with the Calgary Flames until 2018 when he stepped down, joining the Sportsnet broadcast team and working in media since. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Hextall’s contract is four years long (with another option year), with the rest of the 2020-21 season counting as the first.

Penguins’ CEO David Morehouse released a statement on the hires, which were made official Tuesday afternoon:

We feel incredibly lucky to bring in two highly-respected executives with a combined 50-plus years of NHL management experience. Ron and Brian are well-known in the hockey world as fierce competitors with championship pedigrees. They’re very well-connected and experienced in all aspects of the game. They are both excited to get to work here in Pittsburgh, blending their skills and building on our long tradition of success.

Patrik Allvin, who served as interim GM since Jim Rutherford’s sudden resignation last month, will resume his role as assistant GM under Hextall.

This is certainly a change for the Penguins, who had been under the control of Rutherford since 2014. He had seen talented assistants come and go during that time, but it was ultimately Rutherford’s voice that ran the show. Now, by bringing in two veteran executives, there will be more voices in the room as they decide where to go next.

Burke, who famously mocked those who suggested the “Pittsburgh model” was one to follow while the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, first joined an NHL front office in 1987 and has been around the game basically his whole life. While there is some debate to how much credit he should actually receive, the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007 under his leadership and he has plenty of experience at the international level with USA Hockey, including a silver medal in 2010. There may be some who question his decisions, but there’s no one that questions the experience that Burke brings to the table.

Hextall’s arrival in Pittsburgh will come as a confusing moment for many Penguins fans, given how much he was hated during his playing days. A legend of Philadelphia Flyers hockey, the fiery goaltender was an easy villain for the cross-state rivals. That rivalry was reborn in retirement when Hextall took a position with the Flyers scouting department in 1999. After several years with the team, he left for the Los Angeles Kings, getting his first taste of managing by running the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL while serving as an AGM for the NHL squad. In 2013 he returned to Philadelphia and by the next year was named GM.

By 2018 however, he was fired from his job with the Flyers after seemingly being too patient in his approach. The team was slowly laying a foundation through the drafting and development of prospects, but Hextall refused to sacrifice any of it to take a big swing in trades or free agency. That foundation appears to be paying off for the Flyers now, as they contend for the East Division crown while also still having a strong prospect system.

In Pittsburgh, he’ll be challenged right away, given the team’s win-now decree. The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to anchor their forward group, meaning the Stanley Cup should always be a goal. But with those two stars and Kris Letang heading into their mid-thirties, it’s unclear if that’s a real possibility for the team at this juncture. Now it’s up to Hextall and Burke to decide where the franchise goes from here.

Mikko Koivu Announces Retirement

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In a sudden move, Columbus Blue Jackets center Mikko Koivu has announced his retirement after just seven games this season. The 37-year-old released a statement explaining his decision:

This was not an easy decision for me as I have loved every minute of my short time in Columbus and really hoped to be able to help this team accomplish its goals this season, but the bottom line is I haven’t been able to get to the level of play that I need to be true to myself and fair to my teammates, so the time is right for me to retire from hockey. I have been extremely blessed and I am eternally grateful to the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations for the opportunities they have given me to live out my dreams of playing in the National Hockey League for the past 16 years.

Koivu will forfeit the rest of his one-year contract that carried a $1.5MM salary this season and his cap hit will come off the books for Columbus. His career ends with 1,035 regular season games, all but seven of which came with the Minnesota Wild. Just two of his 711 career points came with Columbus.

This seven-game, two-point season with Columbus is an odd addendum to a great career that was spent almost entirely with one franchise. Koivu is the Wild franchise leader for games played, assists, points, and plus/minus, while also being the longest-tenured captain in Minnesota history. The team decided to part ways with him in the offseason after several down seasons, but instead of retiring Koivu gave it one last try in Columbus.

It has been obvious for some time that Koivu wasn’t the same two-way wizard he was for so long in Minnesota, but this season he was limited to just over 12 minutes a night for the Blue Jackets. He played just nine minutes on Sunday, was a healthy scratch on Monday, and now retired on Tuesday. If he wasn’t going to play much, it never really made sense for the veteran player to put his body through a gruelling COVID-affected season, especially after so many major injuries have taken their toll on Koivu over the years.

Though he unfortunately never found much playoff success, Koivu did reach the postseason on nine different occasions throughout his long career. He’ll be remembered as one of the most consistent defensive centers of his era, receiving Selke Trophy votes in ten different seasons and finishing in the top-five on three different occasions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces Postponement, Reschedule

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12:15pm: The league has officially postponed tonight’s game between the Flyers and Capitals after a second player entered the COVID protocol. No other games have been postponed at the moment, but the league will continue to analyze test results in the coming days.

The league has also announced that the St. Louis Blues and Arizona Coyotes will move another game from later in the season, meaning they will now have seven games in a row against each other due to COVID outbreaks in other parts of the Central Division. Game #684, originally scheduled for April 15, will now be played this Friday, February 12.

10:15am: The Philadelphia Flyers are the latest NHL team facing the specter of postponement. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the team had another positive test result late last night and will likely have their game against the Washington Capitals this evening postponed. Travis Sanheim was the only Philadelphia player on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list yesterday, but that appears likely to change.

As we’ve seen with some of the other outbreaks, positive test results can come slowly and trickle in for several days after the initial positive test. It’s not clear how many players or staff have tested positive in Philadelphia or how widespread the damage is, but it appears as though they’ll miss at least one game (and, given the way the NHL has operated previously, more than that).

Of course, just 12 days from now the Flyers were set to take on the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s marquee outdoor event. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe is a set of two games including Philadelphia, Boston, Colorado, and Vegas that is supposed to start a modern trend of Mystery, Alaska-type events in the North American wilderness.

We’ll have to wait and see if that event is in jeopardy, but the focus now is getting the Flyers players healthy and safe. The list of postponements continues to grow.

Pittsburgh Penguins Offer GM Position To Ron Hextall

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have found their next general manager—if they can find the right terms. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the position has been offered to Ron Hextall, though the two sides are still negotiating a contract. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirms the negotiation, but neither insider is reporting that a deal is done at this point. Hextall was a front-runner from the beginning and had two interviews with the Penguins over the last week.

You likely couldn’t find two managers more unlike one another than Hextall and Jim Rutherford, the previous Penguins GM who suddenly resigned earlier this season. The former was fired from his last job with the Philadelphia Flyers for not taking enough chances and hoping a slow build would result in a championship program. The latter is a blockbuster-swinging gambler who is willing to sacrifice the future for a chance to surround his elite talents with the right supporting cast.

Perhaps offering the job to Hextall is a signal that the Penguins ownership sees the end of the run with this current group and wants their next hockey operations leader to have a history of building up a strong prospect foundation. After all, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are all entering their mid-thirties, the latter two with just one year left under contract after this season. The Penguins currently sit fifth in the East Division, well behind Hextall’s old Flyers team that is now challenging for division crowns.

That’s not to say the Penguins are going to blow things up immediately, but perhaps they will no longer be taking wild swings at the trade deadline to try and find the right winger for Crosby or Malkin. The team already doesn’t have their first, third, fourth, or sixth-round picks from the upcoming draft and have a prospect pipeline recently ranked 29th in the league by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Even if Hextall is given a win-now mandate, there’s not a lot in the cupboard to trade this season.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/09/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day.

West Division

North Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have sent Joey Daccord from the taxi squad to the AHL while recalling Filip Gustavsson to take his place as the third-string goaltender. Daccord, 24, was a seventh-round pick in 2015 but has turned himself into a legitimate NHL goaltending prospect who will need playing time.
  • The Montreal Canadiens recalled Nick Suzuki from the taxi squad while sending Jake Evans down, per CapFriendly.  When their roster has been fully healthy, they have been shuffling their waiver-exempt players on two-way contracts down one at a time to bank a bit of extra cap room.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Kristian Vesalainen and David Gustafsson from the taxi squad while also officially activating Pierre-Luc Dubois who makes his debut tonight.  Vesalainen and Gustafsson have both played in four games with the Jets so far this season in very limited roles on the fourth line.
  • Calgary has brought up Connor Mackey from the taxi squad with Brett Ritchie being sent down.  Byron Froese was also recalled in a separate transaction.  It’s the fourth time this season Mackey has been recalled although he has yet to make his NHL debut with the Flames.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their daily roster shuffle with Timothy Liljegren being recalled from the taxi squad and Pierre Engvall being sent down, per CapFriendly.  In addition, Kalle Kossila was assigned to the minors.

Central Division

  • Mathias Brome and Givani Smith have been recalled from the Detroit Red Wings taxi squad, an expected game day move. Smith is quickly turning into quite the story for the Red Wings, with four points in his first six games. The 6’2″ forward was the 46th overall pick in 2016 and is finally working his way into a full-time roster spot.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned Liam Foudy and Cam Johnson to the taxi squad. Foudy, 21, has played in 12 games this season but was made a healthy scratch on Monday night. Johnson served as the backup during that game but still has not actually made his NHL debut. The 26-year-old is basically a practice goaltender for the Blue Jackets at this point, given he hasn’t even played an AHL game since 2018-19 (in seven ECHL games this season, he registered a .941).
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Sean Malone from the taxi squad, moving Eeli Tolvanen down in his place. Anthony Richard has also been brought up from the AHL to the taxi squad. If Malone gets into the Predators lineup, it would be just the second NHL game of his career. The Harvard University star played in a game for the Buffalo Sabres at the end of the 2016-17 season, but has spent the last three years exclusively in the AHL.
  • Ryan Lomberg has been recalled to the Florida Panthers’ active roster after playing in one game for the team last month. The 26-year-old forward isn’t known for his scoring ability but can add some energy to the fourth line if put back in the lineup.
  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Tanner Kero from the taxi squad while also activating Joel Kiviranta from injured reserve.  Kero has played in seven games so far this season, recording two assists while Kiviranta missed the last seven games due to a lower-body injury.
  • After being recalled on emergency loans yesterday, the Carolina Hurricanes have returned Morgan Geekie and Alex Nedeljkovic to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Geekie has played in eight games with Carolina so far this season while Nedeljkovic is serving as the backup with Petr Mrazek out after thumb surgery and allowed three goals on 22 shots in his 2020-21 debut last night.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Madison Bowey, notes Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.  Bowey’s insertion in tonight’s lineup allows Chicago to meet the criteria needed to expose him to Seattle in expansion, permitting them to potentially protect Connor Murphy.  Coincidentally, Bowey is taking Murphy’s spot in the lineup with the latter dealing with a hip injury.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have Callan Foote from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly, with Christopher Gibson being sent down.  Foote, who isn’t in the lineup tonight, has a goal in seven games so far this season.

East Division

League Notes: Hurricanes, 2021-22 Schedule, Canadian Rivalries

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On Monday night, the Carolina Hurricanes answered a common question from many fans: what happens if you can’t fit under the salary cap? With four players injured (all unrelated to COVID), including late scratch Vincent Trocheck, but none who they were willing to lose for 24 days by shifting to Long-Term Injured Reserve, the ’Canes found themselves in a conundrum. The team had fewer than 18 healthy skaters to ice a full lineup, but also had less cap space available than even a minimum salary contract whom they could recall. As a result, Carolina took the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets – in front of rookie goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in the second game of a back-to-back no less – with just eleven forwards and six defensemen.

By playing this game short-handed, the Hurricanes have now established that they are in an “emergency” state. Following Monday’s match-up, the team will now be eligible for an emergency roster exception in accordance with the CBA. This will allow them to go over the salary cap moving forward, if need be, to recall a player making less than $1MM AAV. This roster exception can be used until such time that they can get one of the four players healthy or opt to give themselves more flexibility by transferring one or more of the injured players to LTIR.

  • In putting together the delayed and shortened 2020-21 season, one of the main objectives of the NHL was to make sure that the 2021-22 season would not be impacted in any way. They formulated the length and scheduling of the current campaign to ensure that next season started on time and ran normally. Well, that plan seems to be somewhat on track. Sportsnet’s Nick Alberga reports that the league is anticipating a start date of Wednesday, October 13 for the 2021-22 regular season. Opening day is typically the first Wednesday in October, but the current plan is to open on the second Wednesday, extending the off-season by one week. All things considered, this is still an ideal result however as the off-season will still be shorter than usual. The postseason is expected to extend into July and free agency is scheduled to open nearly a month late on July 28. One extra week will hopefully allow for off-season transactions to be given a fair amount of latitude, especially as teams deal with the repercussions of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, and will not rush training camp and the preseason either.
  • One of the highlights of the makeshift 2020-21 season structure has been the all-Canadian North Division. The realigned division is only a temporary fix, but the constant battling between Canada’s seven teams, which has been accompanied frequently by high-scoring affairs, has been not only by fans but also by the teams themselves. Players, coaches, executives, and owners of the Canadian clubs are all feeling the increased excitement surrounding their games, even without fans in the building. This begs the question: how can the NHL keep this up? An all-Canadian division does not seem feasible beyond this season, but The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun posits that scheduling could be better implemented to encourage rivalries, like those seen in the North Division this year. Rivalry is the key too; LeBrun notes that the North Division is not the strongest, nor does it contain any of the teams that he sees as the top candidates to win the Stanley Cup this year. Instead, there is simply an excitement about teams from Eastern and Western Canada getting to play each other far more frequently than in a standard campaign. Perhaps the residual effect of the current temporary divisions will be a focus on more regional match-ups moving forward. There will always be an emphasis in the NHL on divisional play as well as on every team facing every other team at least once each year. However, more Canadian clashes, Bible Belt battles, and Northeast fixtures could help to use those extra games in the schedule to maintain some of newfound emphasis on regional rivalries.
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