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Carolina Hurricanes Sign Noel Gunler

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Now that his season overseas has ended, Noel Gunler is on his way to North America. The Carolina Hurricanes have signed Gunler to a three-year, entry-level contract that starts in 2022-23, and an AHL professional tryout contract for the rest of this season. The young forward will join the Chicago Wolves for now, something Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell mentioned in a statement:

Noel is a sharpshooter who has the pace to play our up-tempo style. We’re lucky to have him join the Wolves for their playoff run.

Gunler, 20, was selected in the second round in 2020, 41st overall after his first full season in the SHL. After impressing at the World Juniors last year, and finding his way to Brynas, he’s taken his game to an entirely new level, scoring 13 goals and 23 points in 52 games. While those numbers don’t pop out and suggest he’ll become an immediate star in North America, Gunler’s upside is significant.

For the Hurricanes, adding another prospect with a high offensive ceiling is important, but it’s the Wolves who are going to benefit the quickest. Chicago is currently the best team in the AHL with a 40-11-10 record and figure to be a top contender for the Calder Cup. Adding another young talent will only help that chase, and allow Gunler to jump right into a competitive atmosphere to start his career with the Hurricanes organization.

Minnesota Wild Extend Alex Goligoski

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March 30: The contract is now official. A two-year deal that will carry a cap hit of $2MM.

March 29: When the Minnesota Wild signed Alex Goligoski to a one-year, $5MM contract in the offseason, it came with the expectation that the team would offer him another extension at a much-reduced cost. That would allow the team to spend a little bit more this season when they have some extra cap space, and less in the coming years when they have to deal with hefty buyout penalties due to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

That’s exactly what is about to happen, as Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports the two sides will soon announce a two-year extension. Michael Russo of The Athletic confirms the deal, and adds that it will carry an average annual value of $2MM.

If seen as a three-year, $9MM deal, it certainly makes sense from the Minnesota side of things, as they will pay a little bit less in the tight 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. But Goligoski has also been a healthy scratch of late after the acquisition of Jacob Middleton at the deadline and will turn 37 this summer. That means this extension comes with some risk, even if it does carry a relatively low cap hit.

The veteran defenseman has been asked to do a lot less this year than usual, averaging just 19 minutes a night for the Wild, a sharp drop from the 23 he saw in Arizona the last two seasons. In fact, over the first 900+ games he played before coming to Minnesota, Goligoski averaged 22:39, while racking up 429 points in the process. That puck-moving ability hasn’t left him just yet, as his offensive performance has still been strong for the Wild with 28 points in 58 games, which is actually tied for the team lead among defensemen, but Goligoski isn’t the kind of do-it-all option he once was.

Still, as a solid contributor on a good team, there’s reason to believe this might still end up a win for Minnesota. They have phenomenal depth on the blueline for this season and even if Goligoski takes a step back in the coming years, his cap hit is low enough that it shouldn’t drastically affect the team’s fortunes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Taylor Hall Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine

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The Boston Bruins will not be losing Taylor Hall for any length of time after his punch on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin last night. Though Lyubushkin left the game with an injury and did not return, Hall has been issued a $5,000 fine–the maximum amount under the current CBA–instead of any further supplementary discipline. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators won’t lose star rookie Tanner Jeannot either, as he was given a $2,000 fine for kneeing Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.

Hall was retaliating for a hit from Lybushkin that some considered dangerous, though it did not draw a penalty from officials. The Bruins forward would score later in the game to make it 6-4, but ultimately end up losing the game as Toronto held on with just four healthy defensemen.

It’s Lyubushkin’s health that will be the biggest concern for Maple Leafs fans, as the team doesn’t have a ton of depth on the right side. Given that Justin Holl also exited with a scary-looking head injury after taking a puck to the back of the helmet, the team could be forced to play several names on their off-side, or perhaps give a short opportunity to some young prospects.

For Jeannot, the incident came in the corner as he tried to get a piece of Tkachuk and missed, extending his leg in a dangerous manner instead. It barely slowed down the Senators’ captain though, who played another seven shifts after the third-period knee.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Joshua Roy

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The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to terms with Joshua Roy on a three-year, entry-level contract, that will begin in 2022-23. The deal carries an NHL cap hit of $857K and as CapFriendly notes, does not include any bonuses for the third year. Roy, 18, currently plays for the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL.

Selected 150th overall in 2021, Roy looked like nothing more than a lottery ticket at last year’s draft. After scoring 36 goals and 92 points in 50 games with Sherbrooke this season, it looks like the Canadiens will be able to cash this one in. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Roy has been considered a top prospect. The young forward was the first overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL draft, after dominating Quebec minor hockey with a shot that looked like it could score goals at the pro level.

After requesting a trade away from the Saint John Seadogs, and finding a new home with the Phoenix, he finally got serious about his conditioning and has become the outstanding offensive player that people saw as a youngster. For the Canadiens, he represents a late-round steal, if he can continue on his current development path, and become the player who was once expected to go in the first round.

Whether that actually happens still remains to be seen, though this entry-level contract is a nice step along the way. The deal can still slide forward one year should he fail to make the NHL team next season (which does still seem unlikely), meaning they’ll have quite some time to help him reach his potential.

Petr Mrazek, Ilya Lyubushkin, Justin Holl All Exit Tonight’s Game For Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs confirmed that goaltender Petr Mrazek exited tonight’s game with a groin injury and would not return. Toronto also confirmed that defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Justin Holl would also not return tonight for precautionary reasons. For now, Toronto will have to finish its game tonight against the Boston Bruins with only one goaltender and just four defensemen.

It has been a tough stretch for the Maple Leafs in net, as well as a tough stretch for Mrazek himself, and this injury certainly does not help either. It was early in the first period against the Boston Bruins that Mrazek appeared to come up limp. In pain, Mrazek tried to stretch, but was eventually pulled and replaced by rookie Erik Kallgren in net. While the Maple Leafs do expect Jack Campbell to return soon, an exact return date is unknown, and leaves Toronto without a true backup, certainly for tonight.

For Mrazek, a tough season gets tougher. After missing stretches early in the season with a groin issue, he appeared to be fully healthy and performing well before struggling greatly the past couple of months, eventually leading to being put on waivers on March 20th. After Mrazek cleared, he was re-called, he appeared to be refresh and back to his old ways, stopping 54 of 58 opportunities in two starts since returning, winning both.

NHL GM Meetings Roundup: Salary Cap, LTIR, No Trade Clause, Russian Draft Picks, Officiating, Revenue

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With the conclusion of this year’s NHL GM Meetings, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly gathered for media availability earlier today to discuss the meetings, including their thoughts on certain hot topics, potential changes to rules, and the overall state of the game.

One change reported earlier was that the salary cap is expected to increase by $1MM next year to $82.5MM. Although the salary cap is expected to remain flat through 2024-25, Bettman clarified that a $1MM increase on the cap is still in-line with a flat cap. Albeit a small change, the extra space could stand to benefit some teams who are already dangerously close to the cap ceiling and project to be in the same position next year. Bettman did add that after 2024-25, he expects that the cap would increase more substantially.

  • On the much-discussed LTIR situation in the NHL, Bettman and Daly did not express much concern, a relay of the feelings of the 32 teams. Bettman did acknowledge the situation, but said that it was “not going to be addressed as a front-burner issue anytime soon.” In regards to teams who have players return right at the start of playoffs, a seemingly convenient occurrence, Daly clarified the NHL’s process of handling these issues, noting that the league, when a player is placed into LTIR, requests the projected date of return, and if that date is around the start of the playoffs, they do look deeper into it and may even use an independent medical expert to verify the proposed timetable.
  • Touching on no-trade and no-movement clauses in light of the Evgenii Dadonov non-trade, Daly said that the league has already had discussions with the NHLPA about the possibility of having a rule requiring all such clauses to be filed with both the NHL Central Registry and the NHLPA. Ultimately, a new software that the two sides could share to store and access the clauses, appeared to be an idea on the table for the league. To get the process started, Daly added that a draft letter agreement had been written and the league was planning on sharing that with the NHLPA today in hopes of jumpstarting negotiations.
  • When asked about any possible restrictions on Russian players in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, Daly did not anticipate any restrictions, but did qualify that the state of the world could be much different at that time.
  • On the topic of officiating, Bettman explained that he thought the officiating meeting went well, with the topic of the meeting being merely an update, and that it was otherwise uneventful. Bettman also appeared surprised that anyone thought the meeting could be construed as contentious and did not share those beliefs when asked.
  • One last topic that many hockey fans may gloss over, is revenue. Bettman mentioned that the league expects revenue to once again hit the $5B mark this year, notwithstanding the attendance restrictions and movement of games in the Canadian markets in late 2021 and early 2022.

Injury Notes: Crouse, Heiskanen, Labanc, Zucker

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It’s bad news for Lawson Crouse and the Arizona Coyotes, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the forward suffered a broken bone in his hand when blocking a shot last night. Crouse, 24, was having the best season of his career, setting career highs in goals (20) and points (34) through 65 games. The big winger is also a restricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning every goal he scores meant a bigger ask through the arbitration process, if not extended before then.

Morgan adds that Crouse is expected to undergo further evaluation this week, but could miss the rest of the season. Here are some more injury notes from around the league:

  • Miro Heiskanen will be back for the Dallas Stars tonight, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. He won’t carry his normal load, playing just 15-17 minutes with “situational” partners, as he returns from a bout with mononucleosis. The 22-year-old defenseman normally plays close to 25 minutes, but hasn’t suited up since March 2, and will be eased back into the lineup. It’s certainly good timing for the Stars, who have gone 5-5 in their last ten and risk losing their place in the Western Conference playoff chase if they can’t get back in the win column.
  • San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc could be in the lineup as soon as this weekend, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic, but the forward will consult with the doctor who performed his recent surgery before being completely cleared for action. Labanc went under the knife in December to repair a dislocated shoulder and has played just 21 games so far this season.
  • Jason Zucker has been cleared for contact and re-joined the Pittsburgh Penguins group in a regular sweater today. Head coach Mike Sullivan called it a “significant step in the process” for the veteran forward, who has played just one game since the middle of December and just 31 total this season. Notably, the Penguins were 13-2-1 in the last 16 games Zucker played before going down to injury and will certainly look like an even deeper forward group when he’s back at full-strength.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Ty Glover

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The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to aggressively pursue undrafted college free agents, a strategy that they’ve used for years now to supplement their prospect pipeline that is often bereft of draft picks. The next college player to join Pittsburgh will be Western Michigan University sophomore Ty Glover, who has agreed to a three-year entry-level contract.

The deal will start in 2022-23 and carries an average annual value of $859K at the NHL level. He will now report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season.

Glover, 21, recorded eight goals and 21 points in 39 games this season for the Broncos, whose season ended with a loss to Minnesota over the weekend. It’s been a winding road for the young forward, who failed to make the OHL–he was drafted by the Flint Firebirds in the 15th round–played two seasons of Junior B, a year in the OJHL, and a year in the USHL before heading to college. Despite landing 215th on NHL Central Scouting’s list of available prospects in 2019 he went undrafted but has now obviously done enough in two years of collegiate hockey to earn an entry-level deal.

Standing 6’3″ he represents another big body for the Penguins to try and develop, even if there likely isn’t a huge offensive upside available at the next level. The team has continually squeezed NHL minutes out of players who were otherwise overlooked, and Glover represents another one of those opportunities for Pittsburgh.

Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald broke news of the deal on Twitter. 

Minnesota Wild Sign Sam Hentges

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The Minnesota Wild have inked another college prospect, signing Sam Hentges to a two-year entry-level contract. Hentges–not the Sam Hentges that plays for the Cleveland Guardians–recently completed his senior season at St. Cloud State, suited up for the U.S. at the recent Olympics, and could have potentially reached unrestricted free agency this summer. Instead, he’ll join the Wild on a contract that begins in 2022-23.

Hentges, 22, had 12 goals and 22 points in 20 games with the Huskies this season, his best offensive season to date on a per-game basis. He added a goal at the Olympics and has come a long way from being the 210th overall pick–just a few selections from the very end of the draft–in 2018. Two players from that seventh round have already made their NHL debuts, and the young forward will try to make it a trio when he’s officially eligible for recall next season.

In all likelihood, he’ll join the Iowa Wild on an amateur tryout contract for the rest of the season in order to get his feet wet at the professional level. Given his age–he’ll turn 23 in July–and the polish to his game, he may be a quick mover through the organization, if things translate well down the stretch.

AHL Shuffle: 03/29/22

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There may not be another more interesting day on the NHL schedule than today, as the nine games include several hugely important playoff matchups. The Toronto Maple Leafs try to exorcise old ghosts against the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a battle for second in the Metro, the Carolina Hurricanes travel to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matchup of Stanley Cup contenders, and the Colorado Avalanche face the Calgary Flames in a war of the top two Western Conference seeds. Even around those games, there are some must-wins for teams like the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, making tonight an impressive slate of action. As all of those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced that they have recalled goaltender Victor Brattstrom from the Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions. Brattstrom has yet to make his NHL debut, and has spent a majority of the season with the Griffins, posting a 3.55 goals against average and .890 save-percentage in 20 games at the AHL level, as well as three games with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.

Metropolitan Division

  • The New York Islanders have officially recalled Cory Schneider from the minor leagues, as Ilya Sorokin continues to be unavailable for the team. The team explained that though he’s feeling better, Sorokin did not travel with the team and they will reassess in the coming days.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Anthony Angello from the AHL, giving them another body as they prepare for the game tonight. Angello, 26, has played just one NHL game so far this season.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goaltender Felix Sandstrom under emergency conditions, as Carter Hart deals with a minor injury. The team is in Minnesota this evening to take on the Wild, a game that could see Philadelphia officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Central Division

Pacific Division

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled Lane Pederson, who has actually played in 27 games for the team this season. It may be hard to remember many of those games though, as the young forward is still sitting on zero goals this year, and has just two points in those 27 appearances.

This page will be updated throughout the day

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