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Archives for February 2022

Philadelphia Flyers Place Rasmus Ristolainen On IR

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced Tuesday night that they’ve placed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Ristolainen had struggled mightily offensively this season up to this point, his first in Philadelphia. He’s played just 11 points in 42 games, averaging 21:05 per game with a -12 rating. His +/- is second-worst among Flyers defensemen, exceeded only by power-play specialist Keith Yandle. His point production trails all of Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Yandle among Flyers defensemen.

One can’t just look at the points production for Ristolainen, though. Some better teammates have led to an improvement in his overall play-driving ability from his days in Buffalo, and his low point production is likely somewhat a result of bad luck, as it has been for much of the team. The same improvement can’t be said for his defensive game, however, as he continues to have one of the worst even-strength defensive impacts in the league.

It’s also tough news for the Flyers off the ice. Ristolainen is a pending unrestricted free agent, and potentially a solid piece of trade bait at the upcoming trade deadline. While Ristolainen was listed as day-to-day earlier this week, the injured reserve placement now is somewhat concerning. The team offered no further update on the severity of Ristolainen’s injury.

Latest On Claude Giroux

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With the trade deadline approaching and the Philadelphia Flyers all but eliminated from playoff contention, trade rumours have spiked in recent weeks and days surrounding captain Claude Giroux.

Today, TSN’s latest edition of Insider Trading had plenty to do with the Flyers captain. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic had much to say on the topic, with the most important note being that there haven’t been any serious trade talks yet between the Flyers and other teams.

While the deadline is over a month away, teams are evidently looking to make moves early. Yesterday’s Tyler Toffoli trade began the cycle, and other names on the block (like Ben Chiarot) are rumoured to have already been involved in serious trade discussions.

It also appears as though the Flyers and general manager Chuck Fletcher have given Giroux and his agent some more leeway to seek out trade options themselves. They have clearance from the team to talk to potential fits and report back to the team with a shortlist of options, a solid courtesy. It’s also required, as Giroux has a full no-movement clause in his contract and has to approve any potential trade.

However, it likely won’t be just one team that Giroux approves a trade to. While the frontrunner (in the public sphere, at least) at the moment appears to be the Colorado Avalanche, there are a host of other teams in great contending positions who would likely be interested in a Giroux trade.

 

Scott Perunovich Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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It’s been a month since Scott Perunovich suffered an injury in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs that landed him on long-term injured reserve, and since the St. Louis Blues are on the road in Canada, he’ll be headed back to the AHL to get his game legs back. Perunovich has been loaned to the Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning assignment.

If you wanted to chart out an easy transition from college to the professional ranks, it certainly wouldn’t look like what Perunovich has experienced over the past two years. After winning the Hobey Baker award in 2020 following his junior season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Perunovich missed all of 2020-21 because of shoulder surgery. He has dealt with COVID and injury absences this season as well, limiting him to 12 games with the Thunderbirds and 19 more with St. Louis.

In those games with Springfield, the 2018 second-round pick showed just how dominant he could be offensively. Perunovich racked up 20 points in those 12 games, controlling play every time he was on the ice. With this new conditioning loan, he’ll try to get back to that same level before rejoining the Blues at some point down the road.

Once he does return to full health and is ready to play, his addition to the St. Louis lineup could feel just like a trade deadline addition. In his short time in the NHL he recorded incredible possession numbers and racked up six points in 19 games, though was very sheltered when it came to deployment by head coach Craig Berube. Perhaps with a longer run he’ll earn some more trust from the coaching staff and help St. Louis secure their playoff position in the Western Conference.

Vegas Golden Knights Checked In On Fleury, Georgiev

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2:55pm: McCrimmon has responded directly to Seravalli’s report, telling David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there is “absolutely no credence” to it and that Fleury will not be returning.

1:30pm: The Vegas Golden Knights never shy away from bringing in a big-name player, even if it seems impossible due to cap implications. So why wouldn’t they be interested in the reigning Vezina Trophy winner? Well, that’s a complicated question, given their history with Marc-Andre Fleury, who was reportedly blindsided by a trade to the Chicago Blackhawks last offseason. Despite that history, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Golden Knights have expressed interest in bringing Fleury back to Vegas.

The interest is because of an injury to Robin Lehner, which Seravalli reports is a torn labrum in his shoulder. Surgery is an eventual possibility and would suggest that the Golden Knights desperately need to address the goaltending situation in the coming weeks. Logan Thompson was recalled yesterday from the minor leagues when Lehner missed practice.

In addition to Fleury, the Golden Knights have apparently looked into Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers, whose role is dwindling because of the outstanding play from Igor Shesterkin. The 25-year-old Georgiev is in the second season of a two-year contract he signed in 2020 and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year. In 19 appearances (17 starts), he has recorded an .898 save percentage, the lowest of his career.

How will a Vegas team that is about to activate Jack Eichel fit in another big cap hit? Seravalli suggests that Lehner could end up on long-term injured reserve, where he would join captain Mark Stone who went there yesterday. It should be noted that Lehner’s injury and timeline have not been confirmed by the team at this point, with general manager Kelly McCrimmon explaining yesterday that his status for Wednesday’s game wasn’t yet clear.

After a rough start, Fleury has turned around his game of late and now carries a .910 save percentage on the season. Last night, he stopped 31 of 32 shots to beat the Winnipeg Jets.

Adam Brooks Placed On Waivers

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The Vegas Golden Knights had to remove one more player from their NHL roster in order to activate Jack Eichel, and they’ve decided it will be Adam Brooks. The depth forward has been placed on waivers according to CapFriendly, the third time he’s ended up there this season. Previously, Brooks had been claimed by the Montreal Canadiens from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then the Golden Knights from the Canadiens. He’s now up for grabs once again.

Brooks, 25, has played just seven games for the Golden Knights since being claimed in November, scoring his only two goals of the season. He did go to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint for a short period, but in order to be assigned there full-time, has to clear waivers.

Whether he clears this time still remains to be seen, as Brooks represents a useful fourth-line forward with a bit of powerplay upside in the right situation. Even in his short NHL career, which spans just 29 regular season games, he has scored six goals and 11 points. A superstar in junior, recording 250 points over his final two years with the Regina Pats, he’s exactly the type of player who seems to ride right on the edge between the minor leagues and NHL. The fact that he is a natural center but can also play the wing only helps his case, as does his super-low cap hit of $725K.

Unfortunately, given he has been on injured reserve since the middle of January, teams probably can’t be sure that he’s ready to contribute. That could allow him to slip through and be sent to Henderson, where he can remain useful depth for the cap-strapped Golden Knights.

Carolina Hurricanes Assign Pyotr Kochetkov To AHL

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The Carolina Hurricanes had such little goaltending depth earlier this season that Jack LaFontaine had to be signed in the middle of his college season. Now they’ve pulled off another interesting move, assigning Pyotr Kochetkov back to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.

Kochetkov had been loaned to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL for this season after signing his two-year, entry-level contract last year. He played 23 games there, recording an impressive .926 save percentage but with the recent announcement that following the Olympics the KHL will go directly into the postseason, his year was over. Torpedo missed the playoffs by just a few points, meaning Kochetkov can now come to North America and get his AHL career underway.

That KHL decision could have interesting impacts on NHL and AHL teams, as players are available a little earlier than expected. The 22-year-old Kotchetkov has a very high ceiling as a second-round pick from 2019 and could make an impact in the Hurricanes organization right away. At the very worst, he adds another interesting netminder to the system as the team looks to go on a long playoff run–Chicago, that is. The Wolves are 27-9-7 on the year, in first place in the AHL’s Central Division and eight points ahead of the second-place Manitoba Moose. A Calder Cup contender, they’ve received another reinforcement just in time for the stretch run.

AHL Shuffle: 02/15/22

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It’s another full slate of action in the NHL today as 18 teams will do battle. That includes Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins as they welcome in their cross-state rivals from Philadelphia. Crosby is sitting on 499 goals for his career and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him hit the 500-goal mark against the Flyers. In 78 career games against Philadelphia, the future Hall of Famer has 49 goals, most against any opponent. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have sent Johnathan Kovacevic to the minor leagues, now that Neal Pionk has waited long enough to rejoin his teammates in Canada. Kovacevic has played four games this season for the Jets, his first taste of NHL action after being a third-round selection in 2017. Still looking for his first point at that level, he’ll have to wait for another chance to suit up down the road.
  • There’s some shift on the goalie front for the Chicago Blackhawks. NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports the team recalled goalie Cale Morris from the Rockford IceHogs today, sending goalie Arvid Soderblom and defenseman Jakub Galvas back to the minors. With Rockford playing at home tonight, the organization wanted Soderblom to play.

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Jacob Moverare, giving them another defenseman ahead of their match against the Oilers tonight. Moverare, 23, has played in three games for the Kings, most recently seeing 18:45 of ice time against the Detroit Red Wings on February 2.

This page will be updated throughout the day

2022 CHL Top Prospect Game Roster Announced

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On March 23 in Kitchener, Ontario, the 40 best draft-eligible prospects from the CHL will take part in one of the most intriguing scouting events of the season. The 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is a place where the best-on-best battle for attention in front of scouts from every team in the league, trying to show exactly what kind of player they can be when the competition increases.

It’s not often you get to see players from the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL all compete with and against each other. Shane Wright, who has long been expected to go first overall in this summer’s draft–though that opinion has been questioned of late–will be there, along with other players competing for top spots like Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie.

The full roster of talent is below, while teams will be announced at a later date:

G Mason Beaupit
G Tyler Brennan
G Reid Dyck
G Ivan Zhigalov

D Michael Buchinger
D Jorian Donovan
D Isaiah George
D Kevin Korchinski
D Maveric Lamoureux
D Mats Lindgren
D Tristian Luneau
D Ty Nelson
D Denton Mateychuk
D Pavel Mintyukov
D Owen Pickering
D Noah Warren

F Maxim Barbashev
F Owen Beck
F Luca Del Bel Belluz
F Josh Filmon
F Jagger Firkus
F Nathan Gaucher
F Ruslan Gazizov
F Conor Geekie
F David Goyette
F Jordan Gustafson
F Hunter Haight
F Jake Karabela
F Paul Ludwinski
F Bryce McConnell-Barker
F Fraser Minten
F Matthew Poitras
F Vinzenz Rohrer
F Matyas Sapovaliv
F Matthew Savoie
F Reid Schaefer
F Matthew Seminoff
F Antonin Verreault
F Shane Wright
F Danny Zhilkin

“No Urgency” For Canucks As Deadline Approaches

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When the Vancouver Canucks started the season poorly, costing Jim Benning and Travis Green their jobs, players all across their roster started being included in trade speculation. J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and others were all in the news as potential deadline deals, with the rumor mill expecting a clean sweep of the Vancouver roster. The new president of hockey operations is here to tell you that may not happen.

Jim Rutherford spoke with Scott Burnside of Daily Faceoff and explained how because none of those players are pending unrestricted free agents, the team doesn’t feel any pressure to make moves before this year’s deadline.

Well, we’re in a position that we don’t have to feel any pressure this year because we don’t have top players where they’re going to be UFAs. So there’s no urgency here to make those kinds of decisions. Our decisions will be made step by step as to what we think is best for the franchise now and in the future.

While that’s technically true, it is a bit disingenuous, to say the least. Boeser is a restricted free agent this summer and is owed a qualifying offer that far outpaces his 2021-22 production. Miller has just one more year before unrestricted free agency, meaning his trade value will likely decrease substantially if the Canucks wait until the summer to deal him. Horvat too is a UFA after next season, and though his name isn’t brought up as often because of his role as captain, a decision will have to be made sooner or later on his future in Vancouver.

So perhaps there is no risk of slow-playing these assets because they aren’t walking in the summer, but there is also a very real chance that they would be costing themselves value by holding on through the deadline. Of course, that value loss has to be weighed against the rest of this season, one in which the Canucks are not actually out of the running in the Western Conference yet. The team has performed better under Bruce Boudreau and sits just five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the final wildcard spot. With Edmonton and Dallas–the two teams between them–not really inspiring much confidence as Stanley Cup contenders, there’s always a chance a late-season run could catapult the Canucks into the playoff picture.

For a new management group taking over, any time you have to gather information is extremely important. After March 21, the offers disappear for a while, with no guarantee they are back on the table in the summer. Patrik Allvin and his new staff have just over four weeks to make decisions that could change the direction of the franchise. No pressure.

Trade Deadline Primer: Carolina Hurricanes

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With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We begin our look around the league with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, being eliminated in each of the first three rounds over that span meaning there’s one more hurdle to reach – the Stanley Cup Final.  While they’re in a tight Metropolitan Division, they sit at the top of it heading into Saturday’s action with multiple games in hand so they’re poised to make a splash.  And with several veterans slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer and a situation where they probably won’t be able to keep them all, this may be their best opportunity to push their chips to the table and try to make a serious run.

Record

32-10-3, 1st in the Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

No base cap room, $1.801MM in full-season space with LTIR, 0/3 retention slots used, 49/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: CAR 2nd, CHI 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, ANA 6th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th, CBJ 7th
2023: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, CAR 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th

Trade Chips

It’s hard to see Carolina willingly taking a regular off of their roster unless that’s required to match salaries which could put someone like Ian Cole ($2.9MM, pending UFA) on the radar, particularly if they make a move to upgrade their third pairing.  Beyond that, their prospects are where the trade options will be.

One player that stands out as a potential trade option is center Ryan Suzuki.  The 20-year-old was a first-rounder (28th overall) back in 2019 but hasn’t had much luck since then, particularly when it comes to staying healthy; he has been limited to just ten games this season with AHL Chicago.  His final major junior season was lost last year when the OHL didn’t play and while he got into 26 games with the Wolves, it was in a limited role.  In the meantime, others are getting to play ahead of him in the minors and his spot on the organizational depth chart has likely dipped.  Still, with recent first-round pedigree, Suzuki is someone that teams will likely be asking about.

Jack Drury is one of those prospects that has slipped ahead of Suzuki on their depth chart.  He didn’t look out of place in a two-game stint with Carolina this season and he’s one of the leading scorers for their farm team.  He’s someone that could very well push for a roster spot next season in an effort to save a bit of cap space but these are precisely the types of players that teams looking to sell but not get into an expedited rebuild will be looking for.

Defenseman Joey Keane has fared a little better this season, the last one of his entry-level contract.  He’s someone that’s going to be eligible for waivers next year and could be in the mix for a seventh defender spot in Carolina as a result.  But there should be some teams that would be interested in getting him into their system now for evaluating, either with their own farm team or at the NHL level down the stretch.

Other Potential Trade Chips: D Anttoni Honka (unsigned draft pick), F Andrew Poturalski ($750K, UFA – AHL’s leading scorer), F Patrik Puistola (unsigned draft pick)

Team Needs

1) Middle-Six Two-Way Winger: Carolina finds themselves pretty deep down the middle but they’re not quite as strong on the wing.  Another player like Jesper Fast that can play up and down the lineup while providing some defensive value would certainly help give them a deeper lineup with more versatility.

2) Third Pairing Upgrade: Ethan Bear hasn’t been able to have the impact Carolina hoped when they picked him up from Edmonton while Cole is a role player, a shutdown, stay-at-home piece.  The same can be said for Brendan Smith.  That’s not a bad group of fifth to seventh defenders behind their strong top four but it can be improved upon.

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