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Archives for December 2021

Devante Smith-Pelly Signs AHL PTO

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With a growing list of COVID absences in the organization, the Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket have turned to alumni to save the day. Devante Smith-Pelly, who played parts of two seasons for Montreal several years ago, has signed a professional tryout contract with Laval.

Smith-Pelly, 29, had a long, productive career in the NHL, spanning more than 400 games between the regular season and playoffs. He even won a Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, scoring two playoff game-winning goals along the way. The bang-and-crash forward last played in the NHL during the 2018-19 season with Washington, before spending 2019-20 in the KHL and last year in the AHL with the Ontario Reign.

Like with some of the other former NHL players signing odd contracts around the world, one has to wonder whether this contract for Smith-Pelly could actually be a precursor for bigger things. The Olympics are coming in a few months and without NHL participation, Canada will be looking for players to represent the country in Beijing that are currently not contracted to an NHL club. A PTO or an AHL deal should allow Smith-Pelly to participate if he finds himself on Hockey Canada’s radar.

If that ever did occur, it would be a redemption story for the Scarborough native. In 2011, Smith-Pelly had made the Anaheim Ducks out of camp but was loaned to the Canadian World Junior team when the tournament arrived. He was supposed to play a huge role for the club and was named an alternate captain ahead of the event. Unfortunately, while blocking a shot during a game that Canada won easily–the kind of heart-and-soul play that Smith-Pelly would become known for–he suffered a broken foot and would not play again the rest of the tournament. Since then, he hasn’t had another chance to suit up internationally.

Ottawa Senators Recall Matt Murray

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Out of pure necessity, the Ottawa Senators have recalled Matt Murray from the AHL. Both Filip Gustavsson and Anton Forsberg are in the COVID protocol, leaving the team without a goaltender on the active roster.

With the Senators off until Friday, there is a chance that Gustavsson could be activated in time to play. But even if he has experienced mild or no symptoms, it may be wise to give him a few days of practice before putting him back in the net. That would leave Murray as the only option, despite him not proving much has changed in the weeks since he was sent to the AHL.

The 27-year-old netminder, who has two Stanley Cups and a hefty contract to his name, was sent to the AHL after another poor start to the season. Since arriving in Ottawa, Murray has an .892 save percentage in 33 appearances, winning just ten of those games. Those numbers improved during his time in the minor leagues, but he was only able to appear in two games for the Belleville Senators given their own COVID issues. The fact that he only faced 61 AHL shots certainly doesn’t inspire much confidence that he’s turned around his game.

Still, the absolute best outcome here for the Senators is Murray playing well enough to stay in the NHL. With a contract that carries a $6.25MM cap hit through the 2023-24 season, getting some value out of the veteran netminder is imperative.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Three Players

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Play the kids! The Buffalo Sabres have made some interesting recalls today, bringing up Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka, and Arttu Ruotsalainen. With several players in the COVID protocol and the Sabres set to resume their season tomorrow night, the young prospects could get a chance to show what they can do at the NHL level.

Coincidentally, this means that Krebs will likely make his Sabres debut in the same game as Alex Tuch, who has recovered from injury and will be in the lineup tomorrow night. The pair of forwards came to Buffalo in exchange for Jack Eichel last month (along with draft picks) and will be under the microscope as they make their debuts. While Tuch has been rehabbing, Krebs has been lighting it up at the AHL level, scoring 14 points in 16 games with the Rochester Americans. The 17th overall pick in 2019, Krebs is potentially a long-term option for the Sabres down the middle of the ice.

Peterka meanwhile has been wowing Rochester fans all season, scoring 20 points in 23 games as an AHL rookie. The 19-year-old forward was the 34th overall pick in 2020 and is in his first season in North America. Notably, he could be playing for Germany at the World Juniors right now but was left off the roster to continue his development in the Sabres system, as he’d already competed in the tournament twice previously. It has proved to be a good decision as it looks like he’ll get his NHL debut a few weeks ahead of his 20th birthday.

Ruotsalainen, 24, has been in the Sabres system for two years now after signing as an undrafted European free agent in 2019 and coming over to North America last season. In 33 games at the NHL level he has seven goals and 10 points, impressing whenever given regular offensive playing time. The 5’9″ forward doesn’t exactly come with the same kind of excitement that Krebs and Peterka bring, but could still help the Sabres fill out the lineup in the coming days and weeks.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 12/28/21

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The NHL is set to return to action today, with three games still scheduled for this evening. While nothing is set in stone anymore, it appears as though the season is finally set to resume. With that in mind, there will be more taxi squad shuffling all across the league as teams prepare, with players coming in and out of the COVID protocol. We’ll keep track of all the taxi squad moves right here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have added Louis Belpedio to their taxi squad who has joined them in Tampa Bay ahead of the game tonight. Belpedio, 25, has eight points in 24 games with the Laval Rocket this season and does have four games of NHL experience in his career.
  • As the Toronto Maple Leafs get players out of the COVID protocol, they’re making some changes to the taxi squad. Kristians Rubins has been added, while Brett Seney, Alex Steeves, and Joseph Woll have cleared it completely and were assigned to the Toronto Marlies.

Metropolitan Division

  • The New York Rangers have recalled Morgan Barron, Jonny Brodzinski, Tim Gettinger, Adam Huska, Zac Jones, and Matthew Robertson to the taxi squad, showing off some of their organizational depth on defense especially. Robertson, 20, isn’t often mentioned when discussing the Rangers’ youngsters, but he too was a relatively high draft pick, selected 49th overall in 2019. The 6’4″ defenseman has five points in 23 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack this season, his first as a pro.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned Kasper Bjorkqvist, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Juuso Riikola, and Louis Domingue to the taxi squad, four players that represent some strong depth for the organization. Joseph’s placement is perhaps the most surprising, given how important his development still is, but he’s proved already that he’s too good for the AHL. The 22-year-old defenseman has 11 points in 16 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. (UPDATE: According to Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Joseph actually tested positive for COVID today and will not be recalled).
  • The New Jersey Devils have assigned Jesper Boqvist and Kevin Bahl to the taxi squad, giving the team some more young talent to practice with in the coming weeks. Bahl, 21, has played four games for the Devils this season and 11 since arriving in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes in 2020.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Cam York, but it’s only to the taxi squad. The top prospect played three games for the Flyers last season but has spent this entire year in the minor leagues to this point.

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have added Mikey Eyssimont to their taxi squad, taking it to two players for the time being. Ville Heinola was recalled to it yesterday, but with another Jets game postponed, they won’t play until Friday. (Update: Heinola has subsequently been loaned back to the Manitoba Moose)
  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled Matias Maccelli straight from the AHL to the NHL, where he’s expected to make his debut tonight. The 21-year-old forward has 21 points in 21 games for the Tucson Roadrunners in his first season in North America.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Mathieu Olivier from the taxi squad, while sending Cody Glass all the way to the AHL. Glass, the sixth overall pick from 2017, has played just four games for Nashville this season.

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Martin Frk, Jacob Moverare, and Alex Turcotte from the taxi squad, while also pulling Jaret Anderson-Dolan straight from the AHL to the NHL roster. The Kings are set to play the Vegas Golden Knights this evening, where Turcotte could potentially make his NHL debut.
  • The Seattle Kraken have recalled both Kole Lind and Joey Daccord to the taxi squad, where they can provide a little insurance for the banged-up expansion team. Daccord leaving the Charlotte Checkers leaves them with Christopher Gibson and Devan Dubnyk, the latter of who is still there on a professional tryout.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Henrique, Pitlick, Oilers, Brisebois

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The Golden Knights could be down several key regulars for tomorrow game against Los Angeles.  Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that wingers Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone along with goaltender Robin Lehner all missed practice today due to what’s being termed as bumps and bruises and are all listed as game-time decisions for tomorrow.  Pacioretty sits second on Vegas in goals despite missing more than half the season while Stone joins Pacioretty in being the only Golden Knights averaging more than a point per game so far.  Lehner missed last Tuesday’s contest with an undisclosed issue so his injury has lingered for a little bit.  Vegas will, however, have defenceman Nicolas Hague back after missing last Tuesday’s game.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • While the Ducks were hoping at one point that Adam Henrique could return before the holiday break, the center hasn’t yet resumed skating, relays Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). The veteran suffered a lower-body injury three weeks ago, derailing what had been a strong start to his season with 16 points in 24 games.
  • It was almost a full group of players for the Flames at practice today as all of their players that were in COVID protocol have returned. However, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis notes that winger Tyler Pitlick cleared protocol but is dealing with an undisclosed injury that kept him off the ice today.  The 30-year-old has two assists in 21 games in his first season with Calgary after being acquired from Seattle following their expansion draft.
  • The Oilers could be getting some help on the injury front soon as Postmedia’s Jim Matheson mentions that goaltender Mike Smith is likely to go on their upcoming three-game road trip. The 40-year-old has missed more than two months with a lower-body injury and would be a welcome addition to a goalie group that has had some ups and downs in the first two months of the season.  Meanwhile, defenseman Duncan Keith is expected to practice and could return on Wednesday against St. Louis.  He has missed a little more than a month due to a back injury.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Guillaume Brisebois has been placed on injured reserve. The placement is effective as of today which means he’ll miss at least the next 10 days.  The 24-year-old made his NHL season debut back on December 16th but also has suited up in six games for AHL Abbotsford.

2021 Year In Review: February

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2021 has certainly been another eventful year, both on and off the rink.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is a look at February.

New Front Office For Penguins: When Jim Rutherford resigned in January, the expectation was that Pittsburgh would hire a replacement GM and that would be that.  Instead, they went a step beyond that, bringing in a new team president as well.  That resulted in Ron Hextall being appointed as GM and Brian Burke taking over as president.  Hextall made a name for himself with their cross-town rival in Philadelphia both on and off the ice having been their goalie and GM in the past and his patient approach is a stark contrast to Rutherford’s previous wheeling and dealing style.  Burke, meanwhile, had last worked in the presidency role with Calgary in 2018 and had worked in the media since then.

Koivu Retires: After Minnesota opted to not retain long-time captain Mikko Koivu, the center signed with Columbus in free agency.  However, after struggling early on with the Blue Jackets, he decided that the time was right to hang up his skates, announcing his retirement.  He played in 1,035 games over parts of 17 NHL seasons with all but seven of those contests coming with the Wild.  He holds Minnesota’s franchise record for games played, assists, points, shots on goal, and plus/minus.  Aside from that last one, the other four records should stand for a while.

Julien Fired: After a hot start to the season, the Canadiens started to struggle and then-GM Marc Bergevin decided to make a change behind the bench, firing head coach Claude Julien and associate coach Kirk Muller.  Julien’s second stint with Montreal lasted parts of five seasons with the team posting a 129-113-35 record over 277 games with him at the helm.  Julien’s contract runs through the end of this season with the team paying him $5MM not to coach for them.  Meanwhile, Muller was also in his second stint with the team after joining them in 2016 and he has since moved on to Calgary.  Dominique Ducharme was promoted to head coach on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

Babcock’s New Coaching Job: Mike Babcock found his next coaching job but it’s not a route many NHL coaches decide to take.  Instead of coaching in the minors or in the NCAA, Babcock went back to where he once played, joining the University of Saskatchewan as their head coach on a volunteer basis.  The veteran bench boss is still under contract with Toronto through the end of next season and is still receiving his full salary not to work for them.  The Huskies have a 9-3-0 record this season, good for third place in U Sports’ Canada West conference.

Panarin Leave Of Absence: Rangers star Artemi Panarin took a leave of absence from the team following allegations that he beat up an 18-year-old girl back in 2011.  Those allegations came from former NHL tough guy Andrei Nazarov who was Panarin’s coach back in Russia at the time.  Many felt there was a political element to the allegation given Panarin’s public support of opposition leader Alexi Navalny.  Panarin vehemently denied the report and former teammates stepped forward to state that there was nothing to Nazarov’s claims.  While it was termed as an indefinite leave, the winger was able to return to the lineup two weeks later and finished with 41 assists and 58 points in 42 games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Predators Place Three In COVID Protocol, Activate Eight

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There was plenty of COVID-related activity for the Predators on Monday.  The team announced that defenseman Roman Josi, center Tommy Novak, and winger Colton Sissons have all been placed in COVID protocol.  However, they also got several players back from protocol in wingers Nick Cousins and Philip Tomasino, center Mikael Granlund and Ryan Johansen, and defensemen Mark Borowiecki and Ben Harpur.  Josi, Novak, and Sissons will be out for at least the next ten days as a result; today’s announcement from the CDC that cuts the quarantine period from ten days to five doesn’t automatically apply to the NHL.

Josi is easily the biggest loss of the three for the Predators as he’s their leading scorer with 29 points in 30 games while averaging just shy of 25 minutes per game.  Sissons isn’t a minor loss either as he’s logging nearly 16 minutes a night on the wing while chipping in with 13 points in 29 contests.

The returns of Granlund and Johansen should certainly help Nashville’s offense.  Granlund is averaging just shy of a point per game with 27 in 28 games, sitting second behind Josi in team scoring.  As for Johansen, he is having a nice bounce-back campaign with 24 points in 27 contests.

On top of these moves, the Predators assigned wingers Matt Luff and Michael McCarron to the taxi squad.  Both players had been up in recent weeks to cover for injuries and absences before hitting COVID protocol themselves but with more players returning than leaving today, there wasn’t room on the NHL roster for them to be placed back there.

NHL Prospects Moved At The 2021 KHL Trade Deadline

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The NHL’s trade deadline is still nearly three months away but in the KHL, the deadline for player movement was today.  There were several deals completed including a few involving players whose rights are held by NHL teams.  Here’s a rundown of those moves.

  • Senators RFA winger Vitali Abramov was moved from Traktor Chelyabinsk to CSKA Moscow. The 23-year-old has five career NHL games under his belt but opted to head back home in the summer.  He has 17 points in 41 KHL contests this season and his contract overseas runs through the 2022-23 season.  Ottawa retains his RFA rights through the 2024-25 season.
  • Blackhawks goaltender Ivan Nalimov is on the move from Admiral Vladivostok to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The 27-year-old came to North America for the first time last season, getting in five games with AHL Rockford down the stretch on an AHL deal before returning to Russia this season.  The 2014 sixth-rounder has a 3.50 GAA along with a .891 SV% in 10 games this season and Chicago holds his rights indefinitely since he never signed an NHL contract and there is no transfer agreement in place between Russia and the NHL.
  • Golden Knights center prospect Ivan Morozov was dealt to HC Sochi from SKA St. Petersburg. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick (61st overall) back in 2018 but after spending all of last season in the KHL, he split this season between that league and their lower-tier VHL.  The swap should allow him to play a larger role with Sochi.  Vegas also holds Morozov’s rights indefinitely.

Other names of some note that were on the move were former Stars defenseman Julius Honka who went from Dinamo Minsk to Ak Bars Kazan, former Maple Leafs and Canadiens blueliner Rinat Valiev who went the other way in the Honka trade. Former Bruins prospect Pavel Shen was moved from HK Sochi to Admiral Vladivostok; his NHL deal was terminated back in May while former Jets winger J.C. Lipon was dealt from Sochi to Sibir Novosibirsk.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Rangers

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In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New York Rangers.

What are the Rangers thankful for? 

Youth.

The Rangers are a legitimate playoff contender this season, sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division but just one point behind the two teams ahead of them. They may not be considered a Stanley Cup favorite by many, but given how young their core still is that could change quickly. On defense, 27-year-old Jacob Trouba is the old hand, leading a group that includes Adam Fox (23), Ryan Lindgren (23), K’Andre Miller (21), and Nils Lundkvist (21). Even Patrik Nemeth, considered a grandfather by Rangers standards, is only 29.

Upfront, the ancient Chris Kreider will turn 31 in April and Artemi Panarin will do the same a few months after that. Otherwise, the only other regular who has crossed the 30-year-old threshold is Ryan Reaves, a player who averages only barely over 10 minutes a night anyway.

While not every player develops at the same rate, there’s a good chance that this group will be even better in a year or two without making any substantial changes. The rebuild that was committed to by management with that infamous 2018 letter seems to be coming together quite nicely.

Who are the Rangers thankful for?

Igor Shesterkin.

Even though there are great signs of development all throughout the roster, there’s been one player more responsible than any other for the Rangers’ current success. The 25-year-old Shesterkin has an eye-popping .937 save percentage through 18 games this season, which is tied with Jack Campbell for the league lead. It puts him squarely in the Vezina Trophy race and makes that four-year, $22.67MM contract extension–one that was the largest second contract ever signed by a goaltender–look like a bargain at this point.

This shouldn’t be that surprising, given his history. In each of his three full KHL seasons, Shesterkin posted a save percentage of at least .933. In his final year, he went 24-4 with a .953, allowing just 31 goals in 28 games. When he arrived in North America, things barely changed, as Shesterkin put up a .934 in 25 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. In fact, among goaltenders with at least 50 appearances at the NHL level, his .925 career save percentage is the best in history.

What would the Rangers be even more thankful for?

The emergence of Kaapo Kakko or Alexis Lafreniere.

There have been flashes, including a stretch of solid play earlier this month by the former, but Kakko and Lafreniere have still not lived up to their draft status. The fact that Barclay Goodrow, an undrafted depth player with a career-high of 24 points has outscored both young players this season is a problem, regardless of the difference in ice time or linemates. Lafreniere and Kakko have combined for only 11 goals and 18 points in 56 appearances, numbers that aren’t indicative of the first and second overall picks that the team used on them.

These are two 20-year-old players, meaning it’s far from time to label them a bust or give up on their development, but if the Rangers want to take the next step from playoff team to Stanley Cup favorite, this is where it will come from. In fact, the Rangers being as good as they are without Kakko or Lafreniere developing into star players is a testament to how successful the rest of the build has gone.

What should be on the Rangers’ Holiday Wish list? 

A Ryan Strome extension (or trade).

Trading a top-six center that has obvious chemistry with your best forward is certainly not what any contending team is usually considering, but if the Rangers can’t get close to an extension with Strome they will have to. The 28-year-old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and it is still too early in the rebuild for the team to watch him walk for nothing. An extension should be first on the to-do list, but if it looks like it will be impossible to complete before the deadline or too cost-prohibitive moving forward, trading him for other assets would be prudent.

Strome has developed into a heck of a player in New York after some early-career inconsistency. Over his last three seasons he has 129 points in 152 games while averaging nearly 19 minutes a night. That’s a player a lot of teams would want to add, especially if they’re trying to contend for a Stanley Cup this spring, and it could result in even more talent that can grow with the young New York core.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Armstrong, Guerin Among Staff No Longer Involved In Olympic Selections

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Dec 27: As expected, Quinn will take over the head coaching duties of Team USA. John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of USA Hockey, will serve as general manager–a position he already holds for the National Junior Team that is currently competing in Alberta. Without NHL participation, several members of that junior group could find themselves on the Olympic team in a few months.

Dec 22: The NHL isn’t going to the Olympics, and that doesn’t mean just Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. The active NHL executives and coaches that had previously been announced will also be pulled out, meaning, for instance, that Bill Guerin is no longer the general manager of Team USA and Doug Armstrong is no longer with Team Canada.

For the U.S. the announcement that the managers and coaches will no longer be involved was made this morning, though no direct replacements have been officially named. David Quinn, formerly of the New York Rangers, has been linked to the head coaching position by several reports, including Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff. The U.S. management group is expected to name the final roster–one that will now be made up of players from college, the minor leagues, and European leagues–by mid-January. Peters projected a potential “Plan B” roster earlier this month.

For Canada, Armstrong confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he will step down as general manager. He’s handing the reins to Hockey Canada’s Scott Salmond who will now have to find a roster outside the NHL to compete at the Games, one that doesn’t have the luxury of the Spengler Cup later this month to prepare. In LeBrun’s interview with Armstrong, the St. Louis Blues manager confirms that Crosby would have been the team’s captain, something that was decided very early on. He also explained that they had already locked in “three full forward lines and two sets of D” with January 12 the date they would reveal the entire group.

The managers and coaches involved will all now have to focus on their own NHL schedules–ones that are currently on hold and seemingly changing by the hour.

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