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Archives for October 2021

AHL Shuffle: 10/29/21

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Just six games on the docket for this evening as the NHL gets ready for a busy weekend, but tonight’s schedule does include some interesting storylines. The Florida Panthers are back in action with new interim head coach Andrew Brunette behind the bench, while the Chicago Blackhawks try to secure their first win against the other remaining undefeated team, the Carolina Hurricanes. As preparations are made for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling:

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • With T.J. Oshie out week to week, the Washington Capitals have recalled Brett Leason from the Hershey Bears. The 22-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut and has just a single goal in five games for the Bears this season. Even worse, reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post watched Nic Dowd go down in pain during morning skate, meaning Leason may be forced into action this evening.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Kasper Bjorkqvist back to the AHL, though this doesn’t necessarily mean that Sidney Crosby–who was with the main group again at practice–will be returning, as the team also expected Jeff Carter back from the COVID protocol at the end of the week.

Central Division

Pacific Division

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Jonas Rondbjerg from the AHL, perhaps giving him another chance at the NHL after making his debut earlier this month. The 22-year-old winger has one goal in two games for the Henderson Silver Knights this season, but failed to score in his one game with Vegas.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Nic Petan from the AHL, moving Matthew Highmore to injured reserve to make room. Petan was a preseason regular in the top-six while Elias Pettersson dealt with his contract negotiation, but found himself sent to the minor leagues when the regular season began. He has two goals in two games for Abbotsford and has routinely shown he can score at a point-per-game at that level.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Pacific Notes: Gibson, Viveiros, Nieto, Hanifin

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With the Ducks fully engaged in their rebuild, it stands to reason that some of their veterans could be trade candidates as the season progresses.  On the surface, one of those would be goaltender John Gibson, a veteran that has been a capable starter in the past and has struggled a bit behind scuffling Anaheim teams in recent years.  However, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen argues otherwise, suggesting that their turnaround should be complete over the next few years and at that point, they’ll still need a starting goalie and Gibson is signed through 2026-27 so it’s quite possible he would still fit their target timeline for contention.  The 28-year-old has said he’s tired of losing – he actually led the league in losses the next two years – but if Ducks GM Bob Murray feels the same way as Rosen, Gibson may have to stick it out a while yet.

More from the Pacific:

  • Henderson head coach Manny Viveiros revealed (Twitter link) that his medical leave of absence at the beginning of the season was due to a prostate cancer diagnosis. Viveiros, who is in his second season at the helm of the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate, will be able to return behind the bench for the time being before needing to take another leave of absence in mid-December to undergo surgery.
  • Sharks winger Matt Nieto is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury stems from a blocked shot on Thursday in Nashville.  The 28-year-old had suited up in all six games for San Jose in the early going this season, collecting one assist.
  • Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin is dealing with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). He’s listed as day-to-day and was not in the lineup against Pittsburgh on Thursday night.  Michael Stone made his season debut in Hanifin’s absence while Nikita Zadorov remained a healthy scratch.

Joel Quenneville Resigns As Panthers Head Coach

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The Panthers are on the lookout for a new head coach after the team announced on Thursday that Joel Quenneville has resigned.  Panthers President and CEO Matt Caldwell released the following statement:

After the release of the Jenner & Block investigative report on Tuesday afternoon, we have continued to diligently review the information within that report, in addition to new information that has recently become available. It should go without saying that the conduct described in that report is troubling and inexcusable. It stands in direct contrast to our values as an organization and what the Florida Panthers stand for. No one should ever have to endure what Kyle Beach experienced during, and long after, his time in Chicago. Quite simply, he was failed. We praise his bravery and courage in coming forward.

Following a meeting today with Commissioner Bettman at National Hockey League offices, which was part of the league’s process to decide how to move forward, Joel made the decision to resign and the Florida Panthers accepted that resignation.

The independent investigation referenced in the above statement was released on Tuesday with Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and Senior VP of Hockey Operations Al MacIssac both leaving the organization immediately thereafter.  Quenneville had previously denied being aware of the allegations having been made but the report squashed that assertion.  As a result, Quenneville met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday.

Shortly following Florida’s announcement, Quenneville released a statement of his own:

With deep regret and contrition, I announce my resignation as head coach of the Florida Panthers.

I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered.

My former team the Blackhawks failed Kyle and I own my share of that.

I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone.

Should Quenneville wish to return to the NHL at some point, Bettman indicated in a statement of his own that “a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place”.  No further disciplinary action will be coming to the 63-year-old.

Quenneville had three years remaining on his contract (including this one) with a $5.25MM salary plus more than $1MM in bonuses, per CapFriendly.  It’s unknown at this time if there is any sort of settlement agreement in place between Quenneville and the Panthers.

The Panthers are off to a hot start this season with a 7-0-0 record to sit first in the league and assistant coach Andrew Brunette will take over as interim head coach, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).  A search for a permanent head coach will soon be underway.

In the meantime, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, who first reported that a change was coming, suggests that veteran bench boss John Tortorella could be a potential candidate to take over behind the bench.  Florida GM Bill Zito is certainly familiar with Tortorella having been with Columbus between 2015 and 2020 and with the team performing well for a veteran head coach, it would make sense to go down that path again.  Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet, Claude Julien, and Mike Babcock are among the other veteran head coaches that are currently not working in the NHL at the moment.

Kings Looking For Right-Side Defensive Help

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With Drew Doughty out for at least the next eight weeks due to a knee contusion and Sean Walker out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL, the defensive depth for the Kings has certainly taken a hit, particularly on the right side.  To that end, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment (video link) that Los Angeles is looking to add a depth right-shot defender at a minimum.

It’s certainly understandable as their depth chart of healthy right-shot blueliners on the active roster is down to Matt Roy and Austin Strand; Strand cleared waivers earlier this month and was just recalled on Wednesday.  A depth piece could allow them to send Strand back to the minors at a minimum but a top-four addition would take some pressure of Roy, who logged more than 28 minutes last game out of necessity.  For context, his career average is about 10 minutes a night below that mark.

A complicating factor in this situation is the salary cap.  The Kings are basically up against the cap ceiling right now due to their recent recalls and while Doughty is eligible to go on LTIR, the fact he’s coming back this season eliminates the possibility of them spending big to replace him as they’ll need to be cap-compliant to activate him when the time comes.

That leaves Walker and his $2.65MM price tag for GM Rob Blake to try to work with to find a replacement.  Unfortunately for him and the Kings, there aren’t a lot of top-four defenders making that type of money and even fewer that are readily available.  Accordingly, looking for a depth option or two is a much more realistic target for Los Angeles.  The trade market is often quiet at this time of year but don’t be too surprised to see the Kings add a piece before too long, especially since this is a season where they’re hoping to get back into the playoff picture.

Mason McTavish Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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When the Anaheim Ducks decided to keep Mason McTavish for the start of the season, it came with the same caveat as any other freshly-drafted player out of the CHL. If they used him for ten games, he would burn the first year of his entry-level contract and become a restricted free agent sooner than if he was sent back to junior. They also couldn’t send him to the AHL, as he’s too young to be eligible for the minor league. That is of course, unless he’s coming off an injury, as he is now. McTavish has been loaned to the San Diego Gulls on a conditioning stint as he recovers from a lower-body injury, he is also no longer listed on the team’s injured reserve.

A normal conditioning loan can last up to 14 days and any games McTavish players in the AHL will not count toward that ten-game threshold for his entry-level contract. In this case, it’s a sly way to get him some additional professional experience while not clicking up his NHL game count. It’s also a good way to get him back on track after being injured earlier this month.

McTavish, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, had two points in his first three games with the Ducks including his first NHL goal. The 6’1″ forward plays with a physical presence but also has enough skill to contribute at the top of the lineup. Just 18, he spent last season playing in Switzerland when the OHL didn’t hold a season and hasn’t actually suited up for his Peterborough Petes since the 2019-20 season. If he sticks at the NHL level this year, it will have been a very interesting road for McTavish, who has just that one season of CHL hockey under his belt–in which he scored 29 goals and 42 points. The year before that, he was still playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings.

For at least a little while longer, the Ducks won’t have to make the decision on whether to send him back or not.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Ben Hutton

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The Vegas Golden Knights have added a bit of extra defensive depth, signing Ben Hutton to a one-year contract worth $750K. Hutton had attended the very end of Anaheim Ducks training camp on a PTO, but to this point had not carried an NHL contract. He’ll now join the Golden Knights organization on the league-minimum contract.

Hutton, 28, was an interesting case this offseason in terms of his unrestricted free agency. Despite having 379 NHL games under his belt, including 38 last season between the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, it appeared as though he couldn’t find a job as he only signed his PTO on October 4. He was released from it nine days later and was suddenly an NHL veteran on the outside looking in.

A fifth-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2012, Hutton basically skipped the AHL altogether, playing just four games for the Utica Comets at the end of the 2014-15 season after his college career came to an end. He was an NHL regular the following season and hasn’t suited up for a single minor league game since. He even signed a two-year extension with the Canucks in 2016 that carried a cap hit of $2.8MM, pointing toward a long, successful career. While things haven’t gone as smoothly in the years since he’s still a valuable depth option that was surprising to see unsigned.

At last season’s deadline, he was acquired by the Maple Leafs for a fifth-round pick, though he played just four games down the stretch in Toronto. It appears as though he’ll be staying with the Golden Knights in the NHL for the time being, as Daniil Miromanov and Kaedan Korczak have been reassigned to the AHL.

Snapshots: Olympics, Crosby, Paajarvi

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When the Olympic groupings came out for the 2022 Games, many pointed to China as a team that is going to be overwhelmed by the competition. As host country, they are given an automatic bid and placed in a group with the U.S., Canada, and Germany. The first two are obviously favorites for the tournament, while even Germany has players like Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider, and Philipp Grubauer, talents that China wouldn’t be able to come close to challenging.

It appears as though the absolute mismatch is being recognized. Tariq Panja of the New York Times reports that there is serious consideration being made to dropping China from the men’s hockey competition altogether. Luc Tardif, president of the IIHF, suggests that Norway could take their place if they do move to take China out of the event.

  • Sidney Crosby is not yet ready to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup, but he’s getting closer. The veteran forward won’t be in the lineup when the team plays this evening, but has practiced in full for three days now and was back in his spot on the top line yesterday. Head coach Mike Sullivan told NHL.com’s Wes Crosby that there are no medical clearances keeping his captain from the lineup, just his own comfort level.
  • Magnus Paajarvi has found a new team, signing with the Malmo Redhawks for the rest of this season. The 30-year-old spent the last two seasons in the KHL after last playing in North America during the 2018-19 campaign. That year, he scored 11 goals and 19 points for the Ottawa Senators, his highest totals since that exciting rookie campaign in Edmonton. Selected 10th overall in 2009, Paajarvi burst onto the NHL scene with 15 goals and 34 points as a teenager in 2010, only to fizzle out almost immediately and struggle in the years to come. He’ll now return to the organization where he played much of his junior career.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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It’s been a month since our last mailbag and plenty has happened across the world of professional hockey. We have had a look at many of the biggest names moved in the offseason and panic has set in among several fan bases. Toronto, Chicago, and Montreal have all seen their leadership questioned, while things in Vegas aren’t going nearly as smoothly in year five of the expansion franchise.

Unfortunately, there is still no clarity on the biggest story of the offseason, as Jack Eichel is still a Buffalo Sabre and still in need of neck surgery. With all that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR Mailbag. If you missed the last one, it was broken into two parts. In the first, our Brian La Rose examined the upcoming Olympics, Philadelphia’s busy offseason, and gave some predictions on a surprise from each division. In the second, there were several New York Rangers questions, a note on Alex Barre-Boulet, and thoughts on some of the young players around the league.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend and answer as many questions as possible.

T.J. Oshie Out Week-To-Week

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The Washington Capitals have lost one of their most reliable forwards, as T.J. Oshie is now listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. As Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic tweets, Oshie blocked a shot against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, which could have led to the injury though he did finish the game. El-Bashir adds that his sources have indicated that the veteran forward is in a walking boot and on crutches.

Losing Oshie for a chunk of the season would be a huge blow to the Capitals, who use the 34-year-old forward all over the lineup and in different situations. He has four goals and six points in his first seven games after securing his sixth career 20+ goal season in 2020-21. That 22-goal, 43-point campaign came in just 53 games, making it all the more impressive for a player that hasn’t seemed to lose a step as he enters his mid-thirties.

It’s also tough news for the team after they failed to secure the win against Detroit last night, losing in overtime after getting out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. While the team hasn’t actually lost in regulation yet and technically sit at the top of the Metropolitan Division, they have now dropped three of their seven games in overtime. With the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes right behind them and other Metro teams starting to get healthy, losing Oshie for any length of time is obviously undesirable.

Remi Elie Clears Waivers

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Oct 28: Elie has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the AHL.

Oct 27: The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Remi Elie on waivers today, according to Chris Johnston of TSN. Elie started the year on season-opening injured reserve, but his placement on waivers today suggests he’s ready to return to action at the AHL level.

Even though Tampa Bay is without the services of Nikita Kucherov for the next two months, don’t expect Elie to get a chance with the big club. The 26-year-old is really just minor league depth at this point, given he hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since 2018-19 with the Buffalo Sabres. In each of the last two seasons he was exclusively with the Rochester Americans, where he recorded 19 points in 2020-21.

It seems very unlikely that he would be claimed, especially coming off an injury to start the year. He does have a pretty solid minor league guarantee though, as he’ll earn $350K this season even if he fails to spend a single day on the NHL roster. Elie could certainly see some time as an injury call-up, but shouldn’t be expected to be an impact player for the Lightning this season.

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