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Archives for March 2022

AHL Shuffle: 03/16/22

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The NHL has just four games on the schedule tonight, including one between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild that could have important playoff implications in both conferences. The Bruins find themselves just two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division playoff race after their recent hot streak, while Minnesota has lost seven of their last ten and has slipped down into a wild card position. As those teams prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling:

Atlantic Division

  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Jack Studnicka from the AHL, while assigning newly signed Marc McLaughlin to the Providence Bruins to start his pro career. Studnicka has played in ten games for the Bruins this season, registering two points, but has been nearly a point-per-game player in the minor leagues.

Metropolitan Division

  • Maxwell Willman has been recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers, giving them another forward for tomorrow’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. The Flyers have lost three in a row, seven of their last ten, and appear poised to trade their long-time captain in the coming days. The 27-year-old Willman has earned plenty of NHL action in this disappointing Flyers season, making his debut and playing in 34 games.
  • Morgan Barron has been returned to the AHL, after the New York Rangers acquired Frank Vatrano earlier today. Barron, a sixth-round pick from 2017, has one assist in 13 games for the Rangers but remains a bottom-six option because of his size, physicality and ability to play center.

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Ville Heinola to the minor leagues once again. The 21-year-old defenseman continues to be left out of the NHL lineup, and has played just eight games this season for the Jets. The 2019 first-round pick has 18 points in 31 games for the Manitoba Moose, where he’s headed now.

Pacific Division

  • Christian Wolanin has been sent back to the AHL, his third transaction in as many days. The depth defenseman continues to be bounced up and down between leagues while his waiver status allows it, this time as Alex Edler returned to practice for the Los Angeles Kings. Wolanin, 26, has been all over the place this season, playing 24 games with the Ontario Reight, eight with the Kings, and one with the Buffalo Sabres during a short period between waiver claims.
  • Sheldon Rempal and Noah Juulsen have been loaned to the Abbotsford Canucks, as the Canucks continue a homestand that will last through the weekend. Juulsen hasn’t played in over a month and has just seven games for Vancouver on the year, while Rempal played just his first game of the season a few days ago.
  • With Kris Russell nearing a return, the Edmonton Oilers have sent Philip Broberg back to the AHL. The top prospect played just 11:48 last night in the win over Detroit and has averaged just over 13 minutes in 22 appearances this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

New York Rangers Acquire Frank Vatrano

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The New York Rangers have added to their forward group, acquiring Frank Vatrano from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2022 fourth-round pick. The Panthers will receive the later of the two fourth-round picks the Rangers have. Florida did not retain any salary in the trade.

Vatrano, 28, turned into a huge success story after an early-career trade from the Boston Bruins. After scoring a total of 20 goals in 108 games with the Bruins, the team that signed him as an undrafted college free agent, he would go on to register 24 in his first season in Florida and 73 in his entire 273-game span. As the Panthers have gotten better though, filling out their lineup with other talented forwards, Vatrano’s minutes and role have diminished, to the point where he was a healthy scratch at times this season.

In 49 games, he has scored ten goals and 19 points, with two of those tallies coming last night in a win over the San Jose Sharks. That performance was apparently enough to interest the Rangers, who add a versatile scoring threat to a lineup that has at times been very inconsistent on offense. The price of a fourth-round pick is negligible for New York, who had two this season already and a pipeline filled with high-upside prospects, and there is very little risk in acquiring his cap given how much room they have this season.

Vatrano is in the final season of a three-year, $7.6MM contract he signed with Florida in 2019 and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. It appeared as though a return to the Panthers was unlikely because of how many other forwards they already had in place, meaning getting something at the deadline is a bonus.

Importantly though, the draft pick isn’t the thing to focus on here when it comes to what the Panthers received. Taking Vatrano’s $2.53MM cap hit entirely off the books at this point in the season will open up huge flexibility for Florida ahead of next week’s deadline, similar to how the Colorado Avalanche moved out Tyson Jost’s deal yesterday. The Panthers have been linked to several top names including Claude Giroux and Jakob Chychrun as they make a run toward the Stanley Cup.

In terms of the player’s future, Vatrano could be an interesting option for the Rangers to re-sign even, should he find a fit in New York. Though they already have several options on the wing, his ability to play both sides and proven track record scoring even in limited minutes could give them a nice option for lower in the lineup. There’s even a chance that he finds immediate chemistry with some of the other talented Ranger forwards and finds his way into the top-six on a regular basis. As a pending UFA, a chance to play on a competitive team was all that Vatrano could ask for if he was going to leave Florida, and he’s found that chance in New York.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic first reported the trade on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mark Jankowski Clears Waivers

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March 16: Jankowski has cleared and can now be re-assigned to the AHL.

March 15: The Buffalo Sabres have placed Mark Jankowski on waivers today, according to Chris Johnston of TSN. The move suggests that Zemgus Girgensons is ready to return from injured reserve.

It seems like a decade ago that Jankowski broke out with 17 goals as a rookie, even though it was actually in 2017-18. The 27-year-old forward has fallen off a cliff since then, and has been a healthy scratch for the Sabres over the last few weeks. With just two goals and five points this season, his totals from the past three seasons combined reach just 11 and 23, coming as a part of three different teams.

Now on waivers for the first time in his career, there will be an easy way to tell what kind of value the rest of the league places on the 2012 first-round pick. Jankowski is signed to just a one-year, two-way contract that carries an NHL cap hit of just $750K, one that he didn’t even ink until partway through the season. If there was anyone looking for a depth addition who can play both center and wing, there’s no financial reason why they couldn’t claim him.

Still, given his play so far and the fact that he can’t get into the Buffalo lineup, it seems more likely that he’ll clear and be sent to the minor leagues. Before signing the NHL deal in November, he had 12 points in 13 games for the Rochester Americans.

Top-10 Finalists Announced For 2022 Hobey Baker

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With the collegiate hockey season coming to a close, the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award have been announced. The trophy is given to the top NCAA player in the country and has an impressive line of winners over the past few years. In 2014, Johnny Gaudreau took home the award as a junior for Boston College, followed by Jack Eichel in his only year for Boston University in 2015. Jimmy Vesey, Will Butcher, and Adam Gaudette don’t bring quite the same impact but still became NHL regulars after winning from 2016-18.

2019’s winner was University of Massachusetts defenseman Cale Makar, who has gone on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie and is now dominating the league with the Colorado Avalanche. In 2020 the award was given to Scott Perunovich, who is dealing with some unfortunate injury issues to start his career but still looks like a future contributor to the St. Louis Blues blueline.

In 2021, Cole Caufield took home the award after leading the nation in scoring at the University of Wisconsin. Caufield made an immediate impact by helping the Montreal Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final a few months later and, while struggling early this season, still looks like a key building block for the future.

The award also has several top NHL alumni in its small fraternity, including Neal Broten, Tom Kurvers, Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller, and Brendan Morrison. With that group behind them, this year’s winner is certainly not someone to take lightly.

Earlier this year, 77 players from the NCAA ranks were nominated for the award, and today that number has been reduced to just ten. These ten players will be narrowed to just three, a process that anyone can be a part of by participating in the fan vote. Votes will be added to the decision from a selection committee to produce three finalists, from which a winner will be crowned.

The top-10 finalists are as follows, with the NHL organization who owns their draft rights in parenthesis:

Matty Beniers, University of Michigan (Seattle Kraken)

Bobby Brink, University of Denver (Philadelphia Flyers)

Luke Hughes, University of Michigan (New Jersey Devils)

Devon Levi, Northeastern University (Buffalo Sabres)

Nathan Smith, Minnesota State University-Mankato (Winnipeg Jets)

Dryden McKay, Minnesota State University-Mankato (undrafted)

Ben Meyers, University of Minnesota (undrafted)

Yaniv Perets, Quinnipiac University (undrafted)

Bobby Trivigno, University of Massachusetts-Amherst (undrafted)

Brian Halonen, Michigan Technological University (undrafted)

Washington Capitals Extend Joe Snively

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The Washington Capitals have completed a bit of offseason business ahead of time, signing Joe Snively to a two-year extension. The new deal will carry an average annual value of $800K.

Snively, 26, was one of many mid-twenties players who could have become a Group VI unrestricted free agent in the offseason. This move avoids that entirely and will keep the forward under contract through 2023-24. Brian MacLellan, Capitals’ general manager, released a statement on the deal:

Joe is a versatile, skilled forward, and we are extremely pleased with his development this season. Joe has worked hard and put himself in a position to earn a spot on our team. It is a great testament to him and all the local youth hockey coaches and programming in our area that guided him along through this journey.

It’s been only 12 games so far for the minor league veteran, but Snively has been excellent whenever he made it into the lineup for the Capitals. With four goals and seven points, despite averaging fewer than 12 minutes a night, there is at least some hope that he can transition into a regular spot moving forward. Even if he doesn’t continue at that pace–one that would mean scoring 27 goals and 48 points in a full 82-game season–an $800K means that Snively can be moved in and out without affecting the Capitals’ cap situation much over the next two years.

In fact, had he made it to free agency there may well have been other teams willing to pay him even more, depending on what happens in the home stretch this season. Undrafted, the 5’9″ forward has shown incredible growth over the last few seasons, including now scoring at a better than point-per-game pace in the AHL. That growth has been rewarded with this new contract, though he still has plenty of work to do to establish himself as a legitimate NHL option.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Cross Hanas

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The Detroit Red Wings have inked a top prospect, signing Cross Hanas to a three-year entry-level contract. Hanas currently plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, where he will remain for the rest of the CHL season.

Hanas, 20, was picked 55th overall by the Red Wings in 2020 after a decent sophomore season with the Winterhawks but has turned some heads this year with his strong play. The Texas native has scored 22 goals and 70 points in 53 games, leading a Portland team that has already clinched a playoff spot and has its eyes set on the WHL championship.

Every time the Winterhawks get a powerplay, the puck goes onto Hanas’ stick, where he has racked up 20 assists with the man advantage (and leads the team with 48 overall). He also happens to lead all Portland forwards in penalty minutes with 65, a good chunk of which came from a boarding incident that earned him a two-game suspension in January.

Once Portland’s season is over, Hanas will likely be joining the Grand Rapids Griffins for the next stop in his hockey career. Whether that happens at the tail end of this AHL season or next, he’ll be another interesting prospect to watch come through the Red Wings’ system.

Dallas Stars Not Expected To Trade Klingberg, Holtby

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Though it had been trending this way for a while due to injury, illness, and the playoff race the Dallas Stars find themselves in, general manager Jim Nill made it clear today that John Klingberg and Braden Holtby will likely still be on the roster after Monday’s trade deadline. In fact, with regards to Holtby in particular, Nill was extremely clear that the veteran goaltender was completely off the market when he spoke with NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger.

I was never really actively shopping him. That was kind of more of the media. People were looking at our situation thinking we had an extra goalie. You never say never in case you get an overwhelming offer but the Khudobin surgery solidifies that Holtby is staying put.

That hip surgery that Nill references for Anton Khudobin will keep him out six months, meaning the Stars suddenly don’t have a ton of depth at the goaltending position despite coming into the year with too many options. Trading Holtby now would be risking everything on Jake Oettinger’s continued health (and continued strong play), and would leave Dallas with no legitimate NHL backup.

For Klingberg, things are still a little murkier, but Nill explained that for the Stars to succeed, the pending UFA defenseman needs to be there. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that he wouldn’t listen it’s not the same situation for Dallas as earlier in the year. When they were struggling, Klingberg was playing on the third pairing, and the playoffs seemed like a stretch, it made sense for teams to try and pry the 29-year-old out of the Stars’ lineup. But with Miro Heiskanen now out with mononucleosis and the team right in the hunt, Klingberg is back to playing nearly 25 minutes a game and leading the team’s offensive attack.

The term “own-rental” has been thrown around in recent years, and it appears as though that’s exactly what Klingberg represents for Dallas. An extension at this point hasn’t been negotiated and seems unlikely, but just as other playoff contenders are trading assets to acquire expiring contracts for a postseason run, the Stars will hold onto their own as they try to catch the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild card position. They currently sit just one point out after losing their last three, but still have four games in hand over Vegas.

For teams looking at right-shot defensemen at the deadline, the market is quickly shrinking. Josh Manson was already traded to the Colorado Avalanche and now Klingberg is unlikely to go anywhere. While there is always a premium carried by true right-side options, that cost could climb even further in the next few days.

Florida Panthers Sign Zachary Uens

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The Florida Panthers have convinced another college draft pick to turn pro, signing Zachary Uens to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will start in 2022-23 and ends his college career after three years at Merrimack–just like teammate Declan Carlile who signed with the rival Tampa Bay Lightning earlier today. Panthers general manager Bill Zito released a statement on his newest prospect:

Zachary is a dynamic and skilled defenseman who excels at moving the puck. He showcased his competitiveness during his three seasons at Merrimack and we’re looking forward to his continued growth and development taking place within the Panthers organization.

Uens, 20, was the 105th overall pick in 2020, after originally going undrafted in 2019. The young defenseman put up 19 points in 34 games for Merrimack this season, becoming–just like Carlile–a nominee for the Hobey Baker. While he’s not expected to make the Top-Ten Finalists list that will be revealed later today, Uens has taken the next step in his hockey career by joining the Panthers organization.

He’ll likely now head to the Charlotte Checkers on an amateur tryout, where his career at the professional level will continue. Whether he can continue to develop is the question now, as there are still quite a few steps before he’ll be contributing to the Panthers’ blueline. Still, he’s joining a franchise that has proven over the last few years to have an eye for spotting overlooked talent, and perhaps he’ll be the next one to make a big splash after running mostly under the radar to this point.

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Declan Carlile

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have brought in another undrafted talent, this time on defense. PuckPedia reports that Declan Carlile has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, one that will kick in for the 2022-23 season. The contract carries a cap hit of $855K, and ends Carlile’s collegiate career after three seasons at Merrimack. Carlile will report to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season.

Carlile, 21, had an interesting junior career before heading to college, one that took him through the OJHL and USHL, playing for various teams. The 6’2″ defenseman turned in an impressive freshman campaign with Merrimack in 2019-20 but like many others, had a year to forget with the COVID-restricted 2020-21 season. He was back to full strength this year and scored seven goals and 24 points in 35 games, earning a Second All-Star Team bid in Hockey East.

Though he would eventually go undrafted, it’s not like Carlile was a completely under-the-radar prospect. He ranked 176th among North American skaters in 2018 and did get drafted into the OHL by the Oshawa Generals, though decided on the NCAA route instead. Now an effective player at both ends of the rink, he’ll jump into a Lightning organization that is known for polishing the rough edges of a prospect and squeezing NHL minutes out of unexpected places. With a contract in hand, he’ll be the next project for the Tampa Bay development staff.

Trade Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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As we enter the middle of March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the St. Louis Blues.

While many before the season thought the writing was on the wall for an aging Blues team, a variety of breakout years have kept St. Louis on track this year. Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, and Ivan Barbashev are all having career-best years that are giving St. Louis some of the best forward depth in the league, and that’s not to mention a good rebound campaign from Vladimir Tarasenko. They’ve also gotten extraordinary goaltending from Ville Husso in recent weeks, keeping the team near the top of the Western Conference after a hot Jordan Binnington start cooled off. Now, they aim to create a roster that’s capable of giving the city of St. Louis its second Stanley Cup in four years.

Record

34-17-8 (.644), second in Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$113,333 today, $133,333 in full-season space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: STL 1st, STL 3rd, STL 4th, OTT 4th*,  STL 5th, STL 6th
2023: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th

* – Blues receive Ottawa’s 2022 fourth-round selection if Logan Brown plays under 30 regular-season games for St. Louis in 2021-22. Brown has currently played 21 games.

Trade Chips

The St. Louis Blues have absolutely no salary cap flexibility at this stage to make a trade. While they are operating with a full 23-man roster, meaning they can send a player down and be okay (likely Alexei Toropchenko, who doesn’t require waivers), they’ll likely only have around $1MM to work with on Deadline day. With that in mind, any deal they make likely involves a roster player going the other way.

If they can offload him, the most obvious candidate here is defenseman Marco Scandella. Locked in for two more seasons after this with a cap hit of $3.275MM, his ice time has dwindled this year as injuries and age have limited his playing ability. It also doesn’t help that he plays the very position St. Louis is looking to upgrade the most — left defense. With him getting surpassed on the depth chart by Niko Mikkola, the fit for Scandella is simply no longer there.

In terms of the prospect pool that they have to deal from, Klim Kostin could be a piece desirable to other teams. He’s gotten into 40 NHL games this year but now finds himself back in AHL Springfield after just four goals and nine points, averaging nine minutes a game. The final pick of the first round in 2017 still carries significant trade value and would satisfy many teams’ want for an NHL-capable player without St. Louis having to deal from their active roster.

The Blues are also in an enviable position among contenders as they still have their first-round selection in each of the next two seasons. It’s a safe bet that the Blues will consider moving one of those picks, as their incredibly deep forward group and breakout year from Husso in net makes them a dark horse for a deep playoff run.

Team Needs

1) Top-Four Left Defenseman – Their top pairing of Torey Krug and Justin Faulk has been utterly dominant this season, but the team’s defense has been lacking behind that. Colton Parayko is still holding his own defensively, but the other half of the defense is plagued by inexperience and mediocrity. Finding a partner for Parayko has to be priority number one for St. Louis, and maybe Ben Chiarot or another defenseman fits that bill.

2) Depth Center – St. Louis could benefit from someone who can challenge Tyler Bozak and others for a spot in the lineup. Bozak’s age has caught up to him this year, and his -11 rating is the worst on the team. With just three goals on the season, a younger, cheap veteran option could be extremely beneficial.

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