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Metropolitan Notes: Chytil, Fast, Martin, Seeley

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The New York Rangers will be joined by centerman Filip Chytil when they travel to Washington D.C. for Games Three and Four, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). It’s another substantial step in Chytil’s storied return from a November 2nd concussion. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a game since and took time away from the team around the holidays to recover in his native Czechia. He returned to New York in late January and received clearance to return to practice just two games before the end of the regular season.

Chytil has since worked his way out of a no-contact jersey, and back to full conditioning, even serving in Alexander Wennberg’s slot as the fourth-line center during the team’s Thursday morning practice while Wennberg took a maintenance day. There has been no indication of Chytil’s game availability, but his traveling is certainly an encouraging step. He’s been out of the lineup for six months and 74 games, ending his season with six assists in 10 games.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • Forward Jesper Fast will remain out of the Carolina Hurricanes lineup in Game Three, shares team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Fast hasn’t skated since exiting the team’s season-finale with an upper-body injury, missing the last two games. He was a steadfast piece of Carolina’s fourth line this season, recording 19 points in 73 games while averaging roughly 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time. His absence has made way for Jack Drury to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after playing in 13 games in last year’s postseason. Drury has recorded two assists in two games but is still searching for the first postseason goal of his career.
  • New York Islanders veteran Matt Martin sustained an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision for Game Three, head coach Patrick Roy shared with The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (Twitter link). Martin has averaged just north of 10 minutes of ice time through the first two games of the series, recording 16 penalty minutes, five hits, and two blocked shots. Forwards Ruslan Iskhakov and Oliver Wahlstrom will likely contend for the open spot should Martin sit. Iskhakov was impressive when he received his NHL debut in the team’s season finale, recording an assist and seeming well-adjusted. He’d be an interesting change-of-pace option if the Islanders are looking for a spark, though Wahlstrom’s 32 NHL games this season could earn him the edge. The Islanders are currently down 2-0 in their First Round matchup with the Hurricanes.
  • Carolina has recalled defenseman Ronan Seeley as a black ace, shares Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Seeley has yet to make his NHL debut, though he did record 14 points in 58 AHL games this season. He’s in his second pro season, after being drafted in the seventh-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Seeley is one of four extra defenders on Carolina’s roster, alongside Scott Morrow, Dylan Coghlan, and the injured Brett Pesce.

Logan Stankoven Wins AHL Rookie Of The Year

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Dallas Stars winger Logan Stankoven has won the 2024 Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s Rookie of the Year (Twitter link). This comes after Stankoven posted 24 goals and 57 points in his first 47 minor-league games. His 1.21 points-per-game is the highest scoring pace from an AHL rookie since Jack Quinn posted 61 points in 45 games in the 2021-22 season. Quinn also won the league’s Rookie of the Year award that year. The last AHL rookie to come close to Quinn and Stankoven’s scoring pace was Jake Guentzel all the way back in the 2016-17 season.

While it’s usually hard to find a correlation between most awards and NHL success, the AHL Rookie of the Year typically manages a fine NHL career – something made evident by past winners Quinn, Joshua Norris, and the 2015 tie between Mikko Rantanen and Frank Vatrano. Stankoven seems on a fast track to join his peers, gaining a consistent role in Dallas’ top-six just a few games into his NHL career. He finished the regular season with 14 points in 24 NHL games. He’s also recorded one point in his first two Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, looking plenty adjusted to the fast pace of the NHL postseason.

Dallas is undoubtedly giddy over just how well Stankoven’s first professional season has gone. The former Kamloops Blazers captain was very highly acclaimed during his four-year WHL career, posting 260 points in 179 games and becoming the highest-scoring Blazer since 2013. But played-out concerns about his 5’8″ frame and ability to engage physically dropped Stankoven to the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, where Dallas quickly took advantage of the rest of the league’s oversight. Two years later, he’s now being awarded for a dazzling start to his pro career and playing meaningful minutes in the postseason. Stankoven was Dallas’ second pick of the 2021 Draft, follwoing the team’s selection of Wyatt Johnston at 23rd-overall.

Stankoven was one regular-season game shy of solidifying this year as his NHL rookie season. That means he’ll remain eligible for the Calder Trophy next season, when he’s sure to have a much more clear-cut role in Dallas’ electric offense. He could also be more formally regrouped with center prospect Mavrik Borque, who led the AHL in scoring this season and formed a dynamic duo with Stankoven earlier in the year.

Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, McMann, Grebyonkin

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The reason for William Nylander’s playoff absences has been revealed, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing that the star winger has been facing severe migraines. Friedman adds that the exact reason for the migraines hasn’t been narrowed down, explaining why the club has stayed quiet about Nylander’s absences. Migraines have been an issue throughout his career, with Nylander even swapping to a tinted visor at the start of the 2022-23 season to try and remedy the issues.

Nylander’s last appearance was in the club’s regular-season finale – a 4-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s so far missed all three games of Round One, though Friedman shares that there’s hope he could be ready for Game Four. The Maple Leafs will certainly hope that’s the case, as Nylander represents one of their most dangerous postseason assets. He has 17 goals and 40 points across 50 career playoff appearances, and most recently posted 10 points in 11 games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And there’s reason to think Nylander could enter these playoffs with even more bite. The 27-year-old scored a career-high 98 points in 82 games this season while chasing his second-consecutive 40-goal season. He showed just how flexible he could be, too, stepping into a variety of roles and lines. The Maple Leafs are averaging just 2.0 goals per game in Round One, after posting a 3.70 average through the regular season.

Other notes out of Toronto:

  • Winger Bobby McMann is expected to miss the upcoming Game Four, though he hasn’t been ruled out for the series, per TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). McMann missed Toronto’s has missed the team’s last five games, going back to their second-to-last regular season game, with a lower-body injury. He’ll offer valuable depth whenever he’s able to rejoin the lineup, though he’ll need to get over a scoring drought – having posted just one point in his last eight appearances. McMann, who posted 15 goals and 24 points this season, has yet to play in the first Stanley Cup Playoff game of his career.
  • Toronto could be poised to sign forward prospect Nikita Grebyonkin to his entry-level deal – and may even slot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs – per Alexey Shevchenko of Russian media site Sport Express. Grebyonkin is coming off a Gagarin Cup win with the KHL’s Mettalurg Magnitogorsk. He served a pivotal role in the team’s championship run, ranking second on the team in regular-season scoring with 41 points in 67 games and adding six points in 23 playoff games. Icing Grebyonkin in the playoffs would burn the first year of his assumed three-year entry-level deal, though that may not be too costly for the 21-year-old winger. Toronto originally drafted Grebyonkin in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Bruins Recall Mason Lohrei With Andrew Peeke Out

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The Boston Bruins have recalled rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei from the Providence Bruins (Twitter link). This move comes after head coach Jim Montgomery designated defender Andrew Peeke as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury suffered in Game Two, shares Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link). Peeke left Game Two with seven minutes left in the second period after blocking a Tyler Bertuzzi shot with his left hand. Peeke isn’t expected to travel with the team when they head to Toronto for Game Three and Four.

Despite Lohrei’s recall, it’s Parker Wotherspoon who is expected to gain a role in Peeke’s absence. Wotherspoon played in half of Boston’s games this season, recording eight assists and 31 points. The matches brought his career totals to nine assists in 53 career games, though the 26-year-old defender is still searching for his first goal. He’ll be stepping into his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game if he does fill in for Peeke.

Lohrei will instead provide exciting depth for Boston, having scored four goals and 13 points in the first 41 games of his NHL career this season. He added 16 points in 21 AHL games. The flashy 23-year-old is off to a hot start in his first full year of professional hockey and even got a glimpse of pro playoffs when he appeared in three Calder Cup Playoff games last season. He’ll join Wotherspoon and Derek Forbort as Boston’s extra defenders, with the latter being recalled from a conditioning stint yesterday. Forbort has the most experience of the trio, having played in 496 regular-season games and 32 playoff games across his nine-year NHL career.

The trio will compete for Peeke’s third-pair role on the blue line. The Trade Deadline acquisition played in 17 minutes of ice time in Game One but was limited to just 10 minutes in Game Two as a result of his injury. He’s playing in the first Stanley Cup Playoff games of his career as well, still searching for his first postseason point. Peeke had a strong stint in Boston’s last 15 games of the season, where he looked entirely the part of the stout defender Boston wanted at the Deadline. The Bruins will have a few options to replace him over the next two games, though making the wrong decision could prove costly against a daunting Maple Leafs offense.

Jakub Voráček Announces Retirement From Playing Career

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Long-time Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voráček has announced his retirement from playing in an exclusive March interview with Martina Jandová of Czechia’s Showtime Program. The 1,000-game veteran cited 12 concussions as the reason he can no longer play, describing four of the injuries as, “heavy”. This announcement brings an official end to Voracek’s career, something many speculated would happen after he accepted a job supporting Jaromir Jagr’s Kladno at the start of the season. Voráček said, “I started helping with the A team. [Jagr] called me in September to ask if I could help. So I decided to try it part-time. I enjoy it a lot. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I can’t go on the ice anymore.”

Voráček will retire as a member of the Arizona Coyotes despite never suiting up with the team. His rights were traded away from the Columbus Blue Jackets at last year’s Trade Deadline, with Columbus receiving Jon Gillies in return for the cap dump. Columbus drafted Voráček with the seventh-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, taking him in a top 10 that also featured Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk, and Logan Couture. Voráček played one more season in the QMJHL – the league he was drafted out of – before debuting with the Blue Jackets in the 2008-09 season. His rookie year brought just nine goals, but still a solid 38 points, in 80 games.

Voráček was the focal piece of the 2011 blockbuster trade that sent a then 27-year-old Jeff Carter to Columbus for a 21-year-old Voráček and the draft picks used to select Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins. It was in Philadelphia that Voráček built his legacy, recording six separate 20-goal seasons and consistently rivaling 50 or 60 points. His career-year came in 2017-18, when he managed 20 goals and 85 points in just 82 games.

Columbus would re-acquire Voráček in 2021, sending Cam Atkinson to Philadelphia. Voráček would play in 90 more games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 68 points, before his career came to a close midway through the 2022-23 season. Voráček totaled 1,058 games in the NHL, netting 223 goals and 806 points. He remains the third-highest scoring Czech player in NHL history, behind just Jagr and Patrik Elias.

Flyers Sign Ivan Fedotov To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension, per Anthony Di Marco of the Fourth Period (Twitter link) and confirmed by The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (Twitter link). Di Marco adds that the rough outline of this contract was agreed upon before Fedotov came to America, and that the player wanted more term but Philadelphia stood strong at two years. This extension comes three games into Fedotov’s NHL career.

Philadelphia drafted Fedotov in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft but didn’t try to bring him overseas until 2022. They signed him to a one-year contract, with the hopes of removing him from a country gearing up for conflict. But Fedotov was arrested before he could leave for the United States, and required to serve in the Russian military for one calendar year. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported that this service came on an aircraft carrier in the Murmansk region, far from the front lines. The military service kept Fedotov from playing any hockey during the 2022-23 season. He was, reportedly, pressured into a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow ahead of this past season – a deal that both the NHL and IIHF deemed invalid. Fedotov served one year of the contract before it was terminated by CSKA, opening the door for him to finally move to America.

In landing Fedotov, the Flyers were landing one of Russia’s top goaltenders. He did not record a single season of a save percentage below .910, across six seasons and 133 games in the league. His official career stats are 61 wins and a .921 save percentage – adding 18 wins and a .930 in 31 playoff games. Those are incredibly impressive numbers, though Fedotov didn’t translate them to the NHL as quickly as Philadelphia may have hoped. He saved just 43 of 53 shots through his first three NHL games, setting a .811 save percentage and still looking for his first win. Fedotov became the tallest active goalie in the NHL when he debuted, tying Mikko Koskinen and Ben Bishop as the tallest of all-time. That fact, and his history of success in Russia, were enough to earn Fedotov a confident extension from the Flyers. He now becomes the team’s second-highest-paid goalie, behind $5MM man Calvin Petersen, and will look to earn his first win and the starter’s net in his first full NHL season next year.

Prospect Notes: Brodzinski, Yager, Whitelaw, Cristall

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The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t expected to sign 2019 seventh-round pick Bryce Brodzinski before his rights expire on August 1st, shares Jess Myers of The Rink Live (Twitter link). Myers instead thinks Brodzinski will pursue free agency, after playing through a full five years at the University of Minnesota.

The Flyers drafted Brodzinski out of Blaine High, after he led the school to the State tournament’s semi-finals, serving as their top scorer and captain. He played in just 19 USHL games – scoring 17 points – before moving to college in the 2019-20 season. His lack of high-level experience showed through during Brodzinski’s underclassmen years, as he struggled to match pace and make plays around faster defenders. But Brodzinski improved in every single season at UMN, finding added scoring each season and working his way into a top-six role by the end of his collegiate career. He also maintained his lead-by-example work ethic, serving as Minnesota’s captain this season.

Brodzinski, 23, will now hit the open market, after totaling 119 points in 185 games with the Gophers. He’s the youngest brother of New York Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski and should find plenty of role from a team encouraged by his growth in the Big Ten.

Other notes from across the league:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins recalled a host of prospects to the AHL, including first-round pick Owen Pickering, who’s WHL season ended on April 19th. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton could be due for even more WHL reinforcements, with the fellow first-rounder Brayden Yager also likely to sign an entry-level contract and join the team following the end of his WHL season (Twitter link). This information comes following Kyle Dubas’ sharing that he hopes both Yager and Pickering could challenge an NHL roster spot next season. Yager is currently leading the Moose Jaw Warriors through the WHL Playoffs, set to meet the Saskatoon Blades in the league’s semi-finals. The 19-year-old centerman has 14 points, split evenly, through nine postseason appearances; after posting 95 points in 57 regular-season games. His availability for the AHL postseason largely depends on when Moose Jaw’s season comes to a close, though they could be poised for a run to the Memorial Cup with a two more series-wins.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick William Whitelaw has transferred from the University of Wisconsin to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, per an announcement on his Instagram. Whitelaw had a slow start to his collegiate career, recording just 10 goals and 17 points in 37 games and often serving in a third-line role. This came after Whitelaw served as the leading forward on the 2023 Clark Cup championship-winning Youngstown Phantoms, scoring 61 points in 62 games in his only full-year in the USHL. He’ll hope for a much bigger role with the Wolverines, who recently lost Frank Nazar, Dylan Duke, and Gavin Brindley to NHL contracts.
  • The Washington Capitals have assigned 2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, following the end of his WHL season. This kicks off the pro career of one of 2023’s most divisive prospects – with Cristall’s 280 points in 191 career WHL games clearly showing his scoring ability, but skeptics pointing out his lack of explosivity and off-puck fundamentals. He recorded 111 points in 62 games this season alone, the most of any Kelowna Rocket since 1996, and will now hope to translate his flashy style into a tougher scene.

Avalanche Recall Ivan Prosvetov, Assign Arvid Holm

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The Colorado Avalanche have swapped third-string goaltenders, recalling Ivan Prosvetov and assigning Arvid Holm (Twitter link). These moves come after backup Justus Annunen sat out of the team’s Monday morning skate, with head coach Jared Bednar sharing that the goaltender is “still sick”, per DNVR’s Meghan Angley (Twitter link). Annunen wasn’t available for Game One against the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, with Holm stepping in as the backup. Starter Alexandar Georgiev would go on to allow seven goals on 23 shots in the eventual 7-6 loss. Prosvetov was playing in his own game while Holm filled in, saving 28 of 31 shots in a 6-3 AHL win.

Georgiev’s struggles in Game One seemed to set up a perfect chance for Annunen to challenge the starting role. He was able to wrestle it away from Georgiev at the end of the regular season, ultimately recording eight wins and a .928 save percentage in 14 games. But with Annunen still questionable for the lineup, the Avalanche are instead turning to Prosvetov to challenge Georgiev’s role.

Prosvetov has appeared in 11 NHL games this season, recording four wins and a .895 save percentage. He’s been much better in the AHL, where he’s managed 11 wins and a .921 in 21 appearances. Prosvetov has made spot NHL starts throughout each of the last four seasons but hasn’t yet found his way into a full-time role in the league. He’s also never played in a Stanley Cup Playoff game, likely decreasing his chances of making a surprise appearance. That is, if Georgiev can rebound from a disappointing Game One.

Sabres Hire Lindy Ruff As Next Head Coach

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The Buffalo Sabres have hired Lindy Ruff to be their next head coach, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Ruff most previously served behind the New Jersey Devils bench, before being dismissed by the team on March 4th. He now returns to the Buffalo organization, where he received the first head coaching opportunity of his career in 1997. Ruff would serve 16 years behind Buffalo’s bench, becoming the longest-tenured, active coach in the NHL – and then the second longest across all four major sports leagues behind Gregg Popovich – before he was dismissed by the Sabres in February of 2013.

Ruff led the Sabres to the postseason eight different times over his tenure, including twice in his final three years. But that success wasn’t enough, with the team deciding to go a different direction just 17 games into the lockout season of 2013. Buffalo hasn’t seen a postseason berth since, extending the record for the longest playoff drought in NHL history at 13 seasons this year. That’s a dismal record to have, though it seems Buffalo’s worst days are behind them. They moved away from long-time general manager Jason Botterill in 2019-20 and have since brought in multiple key players, with incumbent Kevyn Adams adding Bowen Byram, Devon Levi, Jack Quinn, and John-Jason Peterka. He’s also built out the team’s prospect room, drafting Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, and Matthew Savoie in just the last two years.

Adams has had plenty of time to put the Sabres on a new path, even if it’s come at the cost of a few playoff races. But now, coming off the heels of their two highest-scoring seasons since Ruff left, the Sabres are ready to pursue the postseason

Adams has had plenty of time to chart a new course for the Sabres, and it’s clearly paid off – with the last two years marking Buffalo’s two highest-scoring seasons since Ruff left. But their woes now seem to be a question of performance, instead of talent, and there’s no doubt that the right system could spark talent throughout the Sabres lineup. They seem ready to lean into that talent with this move – gearing up to pursue the playoffs in the only way they know how: with Lindy Ruff behind the bench.

Five Key Stories: 4/15/24 – 4/21/24

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With the regular season ending and the playoffs beginning, there was no shortage of storylines across the NHL this past week including Arizona’s relocation being made official.  We recap the biggest ones in our key stories.

St. Louis Extended: The Canadiens haven’t had much on-ice success in recent years since their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.  However, that didn’t stop the team from exercising a two-year contract option on head coach Martin St. Louis.  The Hall of Fame winger has spent parts of three seasons behind the bench in Montreal, originally coming on as an interim coach during the 2021-22 campaign.  His teams have played to a 75-100-26 record, good for a points percentage of just .438 with the team in the middle of a full-scale rebuild.  However, quite a few key young players have shown improvement under his tutelage including 2022 first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky who put up 50 points in 82 games this season after notching just 10 in 39 appearances in his rookie year.  Montreal will be counting on St. Louis to continue to get those young core players to improve.

Granato Fired: The Sabres’ playoff drought reached 13 years after they failed to make the postseason.  That resulted in the team electing to make a coaching change as they fired Don Granato before his extension signed back in 2022 had even started.  Granato led Buffalo to a 122-125-27 record over parts of four seasons having taken over during the 2020-21 campaign.  Expectations were higher for the Sabres coming into this year after they narrowly missed making the playoffs the year before but instead, several of their key young players took steps back offensively, resulting in a drop-off of 50 goals, a gap that was too much to overcome.  Buffalo will now be searching for their eighth head coach since last reaching the postseason.

Sticking Around: It was expected that this season would be Marc-Andre Fleury’s last but that won’t be the case.  Instead, 2024-25 will be as the veteran goaltender signed a one-year, $2.5MM contract extension and indicated that he will retire at the end of that season which will be his 21st at the NHL level.  The deal does not contain any performance bonuses while Fleury receives a full no-move clause.  The 39-year-old struggled this season, posting a 2.98 GAA with a save percentage of just .895, a career-low.  With Filip Gustavsson still under contract for two more years and top prospect Jesper Wallstedt looking like he’s ready for a longer look, Minnesota will at least have strong depth at the goaltending position next season.

Not Sticking Around: Veteran center Jeff Carter has elected to not see what type of offers he could have received in free agency, instead announcing his retirement at the end of Pittsburgh’s final game, one he scored in.  The 39-year-old struggled this season, notching just 11 goals and four assists in 72 games while seeing his ice time dip to a career-low 12:34 a night.  However, that shouldn’t take away from what was a very strong career overall; in 19 seasons, Carter amassed 442 goals and 409 assists while also winning a pair of Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 with Los Angeles.  Meanwhile, Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz confirmed he’s also retiring.  He missed all of this season and most of last season with groin and knee injuries.  When healthy, he was a very effective netminder, posting a .919 SV% in 73 career NHL appearances, all with Colorado.

Johansen Unlikely To Play Next Season: When Philadelphia took back Ryan Johansen as part of the Sean Walker trade last month, it was expected that he wouldn’t play for the Flyers and that they’d try to move him elsewhere.  However, it was revealed after the swap that he had a hip injury, one that kept him out for the stretch run and now, all of next season as well; GM Daniel Briere indicated that the veteran isn’t expected to play at all in 2024-25.  The 31-year-old struggled with Colorado this season, notching just 13 goals and 10 assists in 63 games, making him a possible buyout candidate this summer.  But due to the injury, that won’t be an option as injured players can’t be bought out.  Instead, the Flyers will be forced to carry him on the NHL roster next season although he will be eligible for LTIR if Philadelphia needs to use it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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