Archives for March 2022

Ryan Dzingel Clears Waivers

March 12, 2022 at 1:00 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Saturday: Dzingel has cleared waivers, Friedman reports. He’s now eligible to be sent to the Barracuda of the AHL.

Friday: After finding himself a healthy scratch again recently, Ryan Dzingel is now on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Because he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks themselves, the Toronto Maple Leafs now have an opportunity to potentially claim him and send him directly to the minor leagues. They’ll only be able to do that if they are the only team that puts in a claim though, so his future isn’t yet clear.

It’s been an odd year for Dzingel, who signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Arizona Coyotes in the offseason. After playing in 26 games and not really finding his footing with the Coyotes, he was included in a trade that saw Ilya Lyubushkin head to Toronto. Before even getting on a plane, the 30-year-old forward was put on waivers, where the Sharks claimed him as they dealt with some forward injuries. Now, after just six games with the Sharks, he’s available to the whole league once again.

In this case, that $1.1MM cap hit actually works against him, as teams won’t want to carry the extra money if he’s not a regular in the lineup. If he’s claimed tomorrow he’ll have to stay on the active roster, at least for anyone but the Maple Leafs. For Toronto, who were open about the fact that they hoped to slip him through waivers and stash him in the minor leagues after the trade, he could be a valuable injury replacement option.

Still, it’s a far fall for a player who scored 49 goals over a two-season stretch just a few years ago and was traded for Anthony Duclair and two second-round picks in 2019. Dzingel has struggled ever since, and has just five goals and eight points in 32 total games this season.

Senators Give Victor Mete Permission To Seek A Trade

March 12, 2022 at 12:18 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Senators defenseman Victor Mete has been a healthy scratch somewhat routinely as of late and as a result, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the team has given his agent Darren Ferris permission to speak to teams in an effort to facilitate a trade.

The 23-year-old was claimed off waivers from Montreal near the trade deadline last season and played a largely regular role for them down the stretch. That paved the way for the Sens to avoid arbitration with Mete as they agreed to a one-year, $1.2MM contract back in August.

However, things haven’t gone as well this year. Outside of a four-game stint in COVID protocol, Mete has been healthy all season but has played in just 31 of 57 games in 2021-22. When he has been in the lineup, he has basically been entrenched as a sixth defenseman and accordingly, his 14:56 ATOI is a career low. With a $1.2MM qualifying offer owed with salary arbitration eligibility again this summer, Mete currently stands as a possible non-tender candidate.

Despite his struggles, Dreger reports that there is some interest in Mete’s services, likely in the form of a draft pick coming the other way. If Ottawa was willing to retain half of his contract, that would lower the AAV for an acquiring team to just $600K or less than the league minimum. For cap-strapped teams wanting to add some low-cost depth, such a move would certainly make sense if Ferris is able to help facilitate a move between now and the March 21st trade deadline.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goaltending, Batherson, Pinto, Allen, Grzelcyk

March 12, 2022 at 11:55 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

To say Toronto’s goaltending has struggled as of late would be an understatement. Now, Jack Campbell is on injured reserve and Petr Mrazek didn’t exactly fare any better in his first game as the short-term starter. However, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun cautions that the Maple Leafs making a trade for a goalie wouldn’t necessarily be worth doing. Most of the goaltenders that are believed to be available aren’t sure-fire upgrades over Campbell and Mrazek and it’s quite possible that Campbell would still be the starter for the playoffs. Considering that Toronto has limited cap space to work with (since Jake Muzzin is expected to return before the season ends), would that be better off being used on a player who will play in every game over one that would more or less be a short-term goalie stopgap that isn’t necessarily an improvement over their current options?

AHL Shuffle: 03/12/22

March 12, 2022 at 10:50 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It’s another busy Saturday in the NHL with 20 teams set to play so there should be plenty of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

Atlantic Division

The Red Wings announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Luke Witkowski from Grand Rapids of the AHL. The 31-year-old has seven points and 62 penalty minutes in 43 games with the Griffins. He has been used on the wing in his last few NHL stints and with Robby Fabbri (injury) and Tyler Bertuzzi (unable to cross the border) unavailable for the next three games, it’s likely that Witkowski will have to play up front if he’s going to see his first NHL action since 2019-20.

Metropolitan Division

The Hurricanes have sent goaltender Alex Lyon to Chicago of the AHL, per a team release. The 29-year-old has been shuffled back and forth in recent days with Frederik Andersen dealing with an undisclosed injury, one that it appears he’s ready to return from. Lyon has played in two games with Carolina this season but has spent most of the campaign with the Wolves, posting a league-leading 2.14 GAA in 23 games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they have recalled forward Radim Zohorna from the AHL’s Scranton-Wilkes Barre Penguins, and have assigned forward Valtteri Puustinen to Scranton. This will not be Zohorna’s first trip to the NHL this season, as he already has two points in eight games, last playing for Pittsburgh back on February 10th. Despite being sent down, Pusstinen is an intriguing name for Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old, who was taken in the 7th round by Pittsburgh in 2019, made his NHL debut Friday night, tallying an assist, and has 34 points over 53 games with Scranton this season.

Central Division

The Wild announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Calen Addison back to Iowa of the AHL. The 21-year-old was brought up three weeks ago and got into six games with Minnesota in that stretch, averaging just under 14 minutes. However, with eight blueliners on the active roster, they’ve decided that playing top minutes in the minors makes more sense for Addison at this time.
The Stars announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned winger Riley Tufte to Texas of the AHL while recalling goaltender Adam Scheel. Tufte has been seeing regular action on the fourth line as of late but with Braden Holtby dealing with a lower-body injury, they needed to clear a roster spot and enough cap space to bring Scheel up to serve as Jake Oettinger’s backup tonight. Tufte makes more than their other waiver-exempt forwards so he had to be the one to go down.

Pacific Division

The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Christian Wolanin from AHL Ontario. The 26-year-old started off the season in the NHL but has spent most of the year with the Reign where he has 11 assists in 24 games. To make room for Wolanin on the roster, the team placed winger Andreas Athanasiou on IR retroactive to March 10th.
The Golden Knights have sent blueliner Daniil Miromanov back to Henderson of the AHL per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 24-year-old was recalled on Monday as injury insurance but hasn’t played since then. Miromanov has played in seven games with Vegas this season plus 41 with the Silver Knights where he has six goals and 24 assists.
The Sharks have returned goaltender Alex Stalock to San Jose of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log. The veteran was acquired from Edmonton to serve as goalie depth with both Adin Hill and James Reimer injured. Hill is set to return tonight so Stalock will head to the Barracuda. The 34-year-old was expected to miss the entire season due to a heart condition but returned to action last month.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Snapshots: Kotkaniemi, Staal, Foligno

March 12, 2022 at 9:37 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

Nothing has really been definitive on the various reports of a Jesperi Kotkaniemi extension in Carolina over the past 24 hours, and now there’s some clarity why. CapFriendly reports that Kotkaniemi, as a result of the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding that the league and NHLPA passed prior to the bubble playoffs, can’t actually sign his eight-year extension until after this year’s Trade Deadline. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported yesterday afternoon that an extension between the two parties was on the horizon, with Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland then reporting an eight-year extension in the $4.25MM-$4.5MM range while PuckPedia pegs it at $4.82MM. The hockey world will need to wait at least a week and a half to learn the official deal, however.

Some other Saturday morning notes:

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal will become the third Staal brother to play 1,000 NHL games tonight, setting a record in the process. It’ll be the first time in NHL history that three brothers will have played in 1,000 or more games, besting out the Sutter and Stastny families, among others. He’ll set the marker at the Saddledome in Calgary.
The Wild’s Marcus Foligno has been under scrutiny from NHL Player Safety for a variety of plays this season, and they may be handing out a punishment to ’Moose’ once again in the form of a fine. The Athletic’s Michael Russo says that while he’s likely to escape a suspension for a knee-on-knee collision with Columbus’ Jakub Voracek last night, he could see a fine in the near future. Update: That fine did indeed come with the Department of Player Safety issuing a $5K penalty.

Trade Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche

March 12, 2022 at 8:25 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

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 Colorado Avalanche.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic is widely heralded as one of the best in the league, and it’s easy to see why. His squad is once again in contention for a President’s Trophy and/or deep Stanley Cup Playoffs run despite some tough injury luck throughout the season. He truly hit it out of the park again this offseason, signing franchise cornerstones Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar to cap-friendly long-term contracts (and, while the cost of acquisition was steep, the Darcy Kuemper trade is starting to pay off). With a tad more salary-cap flexibility than some other contenders, Sakic has the chance now to add another player to the mix to push the squad over the top. After that point, though, it’s up to head coach Jared Bednar and the players to ensure the Avalanche get past the second round for the first time in 20 years.

Record

41-13-5, 1st in the Central

Deadline Status

Buyers

Deadline Cap Space

$3.17MM today, $3.89MM in full-season space by the deadline, 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: COL 3rd, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
2023: COL 1st, COL 2nd, COL 3rd, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th

Trade Chips

Building an elite team doesn’t come cheap. That’s evidenced by an empty cupboard of upcoming draft picks, especially in the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft with just four selections. The asset pool Colorado has to deal from likely revolves mainly around their prospect pool in order to keep their active roster intact.

That doesn’t mean the team couldn’t look to deal from their 2023 cupboard, however. Their 2023 first-round selection could absolutely be on the trade block, especially if the organization decides to go all-in on a big-name acquisition. While the organization is certainly about to feel the effects of a lack of draft picks in recent seasons, the time to win in Denver is now. Only three forwards (Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Logan O’Connor) are under contract past 2023, and the team is likely in the most favorable salary-cap position they’ll see for quite some time. Despite a deep class in 2023, the team shouldn’t have too much hesitation about moving their first-round choice at this year’s Deadline.

Contenders don’t love to deal players off their active roster if they can help it, and since Colorado has some salary-cap flexibility, they likely won’t need to. That means that top youngsters Alex Newhook and Bowen Byram are unlikely to depart the organization this month. That doesn’t mean, though, that there aren’t some other players in the Avs organization of interest to other teams.

For trade partners looking to add to their defense pool, there’s Justin Barron. The skilled two-way defenseman was selected 25th overall in 2020 and made his NHL debut this season, getting two games with the big club in his first full professional season. After captaining the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads and representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships last season, he’s notched five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 40 AHL games with the Colorado Eagles. A safe bet to grow into a dependable top-four defenseman, he likely carries the most trade value of any Avalanche prospect heading into the Deadline.

Another name to watch, and perhaps the most likely to be dealt, is forward Martin Kaut. The 22-year-old, who Colorado drafted 16th overall in 2018, has seen NHL action in each of the past three seasons, especially looking promising with three points in nine games back in 2019-20. In 11 NHL games since then, though, he’s been held pointless, and his production at the AHL level this season has somewhat stagnated with 11 goals and 18 points in 30 games. While he most definitely still has top-nine upside, it’s possible that his value to the organization’s likelihood of winning a Stanley Cup is higher in a trade than in keeping him around.

Others To Watch For: F Shane Bowers, F Sampo Ranta, F Oskar Olausson, F Alex Beaucage, G Justus Annunen

Team Needs

1) Bottom-Six Forward — The Avalanche would love a little more offensive production out of their bottom-six forward group. How they go about getting that at the Deadline, though, could either be through simply a depth acquisition or a trickle-down effect from a bigger name. If Colorado does go out and acquire Claude Giroux, as has been rumored for weeks now, then a fully healthy Avalanche squad would likely see Valeri Nichushkin, who has 31 points in 41 games, pushed back down to a bottom-six role. One of the most underrated two-way wingers in the game, he’d help create matchup nightmares for opposing coaches in the playoffs.

2) Depth Defenseman — Concussion symptoms have likely taken the young Byram out of the picture for the remainder of the year, and with Samuel Girard struggling at times this season, Colorado has had to rely on players like Jack Johnson and Kurtis MacDermid probably more than they’d like to. While Erik Johnson has been a huge boost this year, overcoming past health issues to play in all 59 of the team’s games this season, his luck with injuries (especially in the playoffs) is also a concern. A high-end third-pair defenseman would be the ideal security blanket for this Colorado defense in case of injury or poor play.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Sharks Goalies, Coyotes, Langhamer, Lindberg

March 11, 2022 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Sharks are set to get some much-needed good news on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays that Adin Hill is likely to start tomorrow against Los Angeles. He has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury and had posted a 2.78 GAA along with a .901 SV% in 24 games.

Meanwhile, James Reimer has resumed on-ice workouts and could be cleared to return at some point next week from his own lower-body injury sustained at the beginning of the month. Since then, the Sharks have gone with veteran Alex Stalock and prospect Zachary Sawchenko who picked up his first career NHL victory on Thursday.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that he anticipates the team making one or two small deals by the trade deadline. Arizona has made it known that they’re willing to utilize their cap space to yield other assets as they’ve done several times already over the past year but they’re trying to space out their draft picks. To that end, Armstrong indicated that they’ve nearly accumulated enough picks for 2024 and will soon be starting to work on adding more selections for the 2025 draft.
Still with Arizona, Coyotes goaltender Marek Langhamer has signed a one-year extension with Ilves, the Finnish team announced. The Coyotes still hold the rights to the 27-year-old when they tendered him a qualifying offer that went unaccepted in 2018. Those rights will expire in July and with this deal, it’s clear that Arizona will be losing him in a few months.
Penguins prospect goaltender Filip Lindberg is out for the rest of the season, notes Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 23-year-old was drafted by Minnesota but signed with Pittsburgh after three stellar seasons at UMass (Amherst). However, he suffered an ankle injury in November in just his seventh professional game and it appears it’s significant enough that he won’t return for the stretch run.

Kings AHL Head Coach John Wroblewski Resigns

March 11, 2022 at 7:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Back in December, John Wroblewski took a leave of absence for personal reasons as head coach of the AHL’s Ontario Reign, the top affiliate of the Kings. Today, the team announced that Wroblewski’s absence would be a permanent one as it was mutually determined that he would not return. Wroblewski released the following statement:

Thank you to the Ontario Reign and everyone with the LA Kings organization for all of their support during my leave of absence. After discussions with the team, we have come to an amicable agreement that will allow me to go in a different direction. I’m looking forward to returning to coaching at the appropriate time.

The 40-year-old joined the Kings organization in 2020 after leading the U.S. National Team Development Program for four seasons where he worked with many top prospects, several of which have already moved into top roles in the NHL. Wroblewski has been coaching since 2007-08 and has clearly indicated a willingness to return behind the bench down the road.

In the meantime, Reign assistant coaches Chris Hajt and Craig Johnson had been running the team and that will continue, per the team’s release. A search for a full-time head coach will likely need to wait until the offseason now.

Blackhawks Notes: Fleury, Kubalik, Carpenter

March 11, 2022 at 6:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 9 Comments

While Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t decided on whether or not he’ll agree to be traded before the March 21st trade deadline, it appears he has made a decision in terms of his preference for free agency in the summer. In particular, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times relays, the 37-year-old wants to avoid hitting the market altogether with his preference next season being either to sign with Chicago or re-sign with whoever winds up acquiring him. It’s worth noting that a condition can’t be placed on a draft pick regarding whether the player signs an extension or not – it used to be allowed but it was taken out in the last CBA. Accordingly, if Fleury winds up being amenable to a move, it wouldn’t be surprising if the acquiring team winds up with a window to speak with him about an extension before the trade is made official.

Injury Notes: Matheson, Edmundson, Donskoi

March 11, 2022 at 5:47 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins activated defenseman Mike Matheson from injured reserve today, per the team, sending down young Pierre-Olivier Joseph to the AHL to make way for Matheson’s return. Matheson’s been absent from the lineup for about two weeks, originally classified as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. His offensive production has been a nice surprise for Pittsburgh this season, as he’s on the best pace of his career with 21 points in 50 games. He’s been a solid bottom-four rock in Pittsburgh this season, but he’ll jump up alongside Kris Letang in his return to the ice with Brian Dumoulin out of the lineup.

More injury notes from around the league:

In what’s been a solid recent surge for the Montreal Canadiens, they could be getting a fan-favorite back into the lineup soon. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been sidelined all season with an injury, but the team said today that he’s close to making his season debut. What was originally an undisclosed day-to-day injury during training camp in September snowballed into a back injury that’s prevented him from taking the ice this season. He’d be, in effect, Ben Chiarot’s replacement in the lineup after Chiarot is inevitably dealt at the Trade Deadline, which is arguably an upgrade for the team if Edmundson is at full strength and form. He’s in the second season of a four-year, $14M deal.
In the midst of a tough season, Seattle Kraken forward Joonas Donskoi has landed on injured reserve. The Kraken recalled forward Kole Lind from the Charlotte Checkers in his place. Donskoi suffered an undisclosed injury during the team’s March 8 game against Toronto. He has just two goals in 57 games this year, shooting at a rate of just 3.0%. Locked in through next season, hopefully, the tides turn over the offseason for Donskoi’s scoring luck.

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