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Archives for April 2022

Snapshots: Kuzmenko, Boudreau, Price

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While the IIHF recently announced an additional sanction on hockey in Russia, and the NHL has cut ties with the KHL, Russian players are still permitted to sign as free agents with NHL clubs. With the KHL season set to end shortly, KHL free agents seeking to cross the Atlantic and sign with an NHL team have come under the microscope. Perhaps the most attention has been paid to Andrei Kuzmenko, who is set to become a free agent on May 1st. Kuzmenko, 26, had 53 points in 45 games in this KHL campaign, along with 14 points in 16 playoff games. Kuzmenko’s offensive profile is tantalizing to many NHL teams, and since he is still just 26 years old it is not unreasonable to think there is room for him to grow.

Like many of the KHL free agents who came before him, Kuzmenko is expected to have a competitive market when he and his representatives choose to begin negotiations. On TSN’s Insider Trading program, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported that next week Kuzmenko will begin the interview process with NHL teams. Johnston reports that it is believed that 20 NHL teams will reach out to Kuzmenko with at least “some degree of interest.” In terms of what factors may play into Kuzmenko’s decision-making process, Johnston says that Kuzmenko “wants to go somewhere where he can play, where he’s going to have a role,” and that the market and city a team plays in is a less important factor. That should certainly make the competition to secure Kuzmenko’s services a bit more wide-open, and given that he only costs a signing team cap space and no assets to acquire, there will likely be many fanbases across the NHL hoping their team can be the one to land this intriguing KHL veteran.

Now, some more snapshots from across the NHL:

  • While Bruce Boudreau’s contract situation has been a major storyline in recent months, it seems the fears of a potential offseason departure for the 67-year-old Canucks skipper can be all but dismissed. In an interview with CHEK’s Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman gave an update on Boudreau’s status. In his interview, Friedman states that Boudreau will return as Vancouver’s coach “if everybody is reasonable.” Friedman believes that as long as neither party is “being ridiculous,” as he terms it, then there should be no real issue securing an agreement on Boudreau’s return. Both the Canucks’ players and fanbase have responded extremely well to Boudreau’s coaching, and since he arrived in Vancouver the Canucks have been among the tougher teams to beat in the NHL. So while there may have once been fears of an offseason divorce for Boudreau and the Canucks, it now seems that there is very little chance of those fears becoming reality.
  • Carey Price has made his return to the Montreal Canadiens, but that doesn’t mean his future is made any more certain. In another note from TSN’s Insider Trading program, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun gave an update on Price’s status. LeBrun reports that Price “wants to play next season” as a number-one priority for him, but in order to do so, he needs to have full health in the injured knee that cost him so many games this season. According to LeBrun, not a certainty that Price’s knee can get there. Lebrun doesn’t cast any majorly pessimistic forecasts on Price’s health, but he does state that there is “a bit of uncertainty” to Price’s health situation that may complicate not only his future but also the future of the Canadiens.

Injury Notes: Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Blue Jackets

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The Toronto Maple Leafs, while still remaining competitive with a tough schedule, have faced significant injury setbacks over the past few weeks. A mass of updates came today during a press conference with head coach Sheldon Keefe, where he revealed that forward Michael Bunting will miss the final two games of the regular season, defenseman Rasmus Sandin is likely to return for the team’s finale on Friday versus the Boston Bruins, and forward Ondrej Kase remains day-to-day with no timeline to return.

As the Maple Leafs prepare for a likely impending First Round matchup with the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, this is mostly positive news. The language surrounding Bunting’s injury wasn’t initially positive after he fell awkwardly during an April 23 game against Florida, but his prognosis has improved since then and it looks like a possibility that he could be ready for the beginning of the series. Sandin has missed over a month with a knee injury, while Kase has missed the same duration with a concussion.

  • There are some more updates on various players on a Stanley Cup contender, as the Colorado Avalanche deal with some injury issues of their own. Head coach Jared Bednar spoke to reporters today, saying that defenseman Devon Toews will return to the lineup tonight after dealing with an undisclosed injury, forward Mikko Rantanen is working toward a return on Thursday against the Nashville Predators, and captain Gabriel Landeskog won’t return until the postseason. Toews has missed just around a week and a half, but his absence cannot be understated, as he continues to be one of the most underrated defensemen in the league with 57 points in just 64 games this year (while averaging over 25 minutes per game). Meanwhile, the Colorado captain has been out since early March with a leg injury.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that both captain Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly will miss the short remainder of the season with respective injuries. Kuraly, in his first season with Columbus, suffered a foot injury last Sunday and will miss the remaining three games. Jenner will have missed the last month and a half of the season with a back injury.

Frederik Andersen Expected To Miss Beginning Of First Round

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There have been many conflicting reports over the past few days regarding the health of the Carolina Hurricanes’ goaltenders, and while there’s largely an optimistic tone around the health of their top netminders, it may not be all sunshine and roses just yet. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported today that the “current expectation” is that Frederik Andersen could miss the first few games of Carolina’s First Round series, which likely looks to be against the Boston Bruins. The report comes after sources suggested to The Athletic’s Sara Civian just yesterday that Andersen would be “good to go” for Game 1.

An undisclosed injury has sidelined Andersen since April 16, when he left the late third period of a game against the Colorado Avalanche. He’s run away with the starter’s crease in Carolina this season with a Vezina-consideration-worthy campaign, compiling 35 wins (7th in NHL), four shutouts (tied for 5th in NHL), a 2.17 goals-against average (2nd among qualified goalies), and .922 save percentage (tied for 3rd among qualified goalies).

With backup netminder Antti Raanta becoming injured a few days ago, it put Andersen’s potential return under the spotlight to shut down any goaltending issues for Carolina ahead of the playoffs. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina’s 36th overall selection in 2019, entered the game in relief and started the team’s game the night prior as well. While he’s earned a victory in both games, he has just a .889 save percentage in his now 89 career minutes of NHL ice time.

Especially as the Bruins have caused Carolina fits during their last two playoff meetings, continued stellar goaltending will be essential for the Hurricanes to avoid an upset. They’re just 1-8 in their last nine playoff games against their most likely First Round opponent.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Ivan Morozov

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The Vegas Golden Knights have landed an interesting Russian prospect, signing Ivan Morozov to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal begins in 2022-23, and Morozov has signed a professional tryout with the Henderson Silver Knights for the rest of this season.

Selected 61st overall in 2018, Morozov has been playing in the KHL for the last few seasons and even scored 31 points in 55 games during the 2020-21 campaign. Unfortunately, he ended up demoted to SKA St. Petersburg’s VHL team for part of this year and then was moved to HK Sochi, where he had three points in five games to end the year.

A representative for Russia at two World Juniors and last summer’s World Championship it was a curious fall for Morozov this season in the SKA program. Even in his 17 games with the KHL club he managed eight points, a fine performance for someone who was receiving just 15 minutes a night. Those minutes skyrocketed in his short stint with Sochi, as the young forward averaged over 20 minutes for his five games there, with the brief glimpse in January showing that he could still compete at that level.

Coming to North America now certainly seems like the right move, especially given how the Golden Knights will be desperately looking for inexpensive contributions next season as they continue to deal with salary cap issues. Morozov could very well break camp with the team in the fall should he perform well enough, or at least come up at some point during the regular season.

Tucker Poolman Placed On LTIR; Arturs Silovs Recalled

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The Vancouver Canucks are not technically eliminated from the postseason. When Timo Meier scored with 0.9 seconds left for the San Jose Sharks, who then went on to win in a shootout against the Vegas Golden Knights, the slimmest sliver of hope was saved for the Canucks. If they win out, the Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars tonight and then both of those teams lose the rest of the way, the Canucks would get in on a complicated tie-breaker. It’s not much, but it’s hope.

Unfortunately, it appears they’ll have to do their part without Thatcher Demko, at least for tonight. The team has moved Tucker Poolman to long-term injured reserve in order to recall Arturs Silovs from the minor leagues. Silovs is expected to serve as the backup for Spencer Martin tonight, as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV tweets that Demko is dealing with an undisclosed injury.

The 21-year-old Silovs has never played a game at the NHL level and has just 11 appearances in the AHL, not many of which have gone very well. He’s spent more than half of this season with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions, where he has a .920 save percentage in ten appearances.

Poolman, meanwhile, has played in just one game since January and lasted just seven shifts. The 28-year-old defenseman was signed to an inexplicable four-year contract in the offseason and averaged 17 minutes a night through the first half of the season, recording three points in 40 games overall. His first year with the Canucks has certainly not gone to plan, and the team has been much better without him on the ice (though he hasn’t had much of a chance to play for head coach Bruce Boudreau, who turned the team around and has them this close to the playoffs).

For Martin, it is a bit of a showcase for next season, when he figures to be the regular backup for Demko at the NHL level. The 26-year-old netminder signed a new two-year, one-way contract extension earlier this month and Jaroslav Halak’s deal will expire at the end of the season. With Michael DiPietro likely needing more time in the minor leagues before he really pushes for an NHL opportunity, it’s likely Demko-Martin for 2022-23, unless the team acquires another option in net. So far, so good, as Martin had a .958 save percentage in three appearances earlier this season.

Marc Staal Placed In COVID Protocol

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It appears as though Marc Staal’s season is over, as today the Detroit Red Wings announced that the veteran defenseman has been placed in the COVID protocol. Staal would have had to test to travel with the team to Toronto for tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs. The team recalled Riley Barber and Kyle Criscuolo under emergency conditions earlier today.

Staal, 35, played just nine minutes in a game on Monday against the New Jersey Devils, his 71st appearance of the season. He actually recorded 16 points in those games, his highest single-season total since 2014-15. Never much of an offensive presence, he was relied on in Detroit to provide stable defensive minutes while the team sheltered younger options, but will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Recently nominated for the Masterton Trophy, it will be interesting to see if the Red Wings decide to bring him back on another one-year deal, given the influx of younger talent. Simon Edvinsson recently signed his entry-level deal, while deadline acquisition Jake Walman has played regularly since arriving. With Staal and Danny DeKeyser both on expiring deals, the team’s blue line could lose quite a bit of its “veteran presence” in the offseason.

For now, hopefully, Staal is not presenting with any serious symptoms and he can get back to normal in the coming days. He will be held out for a minimum of five though, meaning tonight’s game and Friday’s finale are out of the question.

Anaheim Ducks Extend Sam Carrick

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced a two-year contract extension for Sam Carrick, keeping him from unrestricted free agency this summer. PuckPedia reports that the deal carries an NHL cap hit of $850K.

Carrick, 30, finally established himself as an NHL regular this season after a long career in the minor leagues, playing 64 games for the Ducks. The bang-and-crash forward racked up 122 hits and 85 penalty minutes, but also added 11 goals, a strong performance for a bottom-six option that was averaging just over 11 minutes a night. That performance has been rewarded, as the Ducks obviously see him as a useful depth piece to keep around for the next two seasons.

It’s not like Carrick is completely unfamiliar with scoring, despite having just four NHL goals before this season. He has routinely been a strong contributor at the minor league level, racking up 138 goals and 309 points in 467 career AHL games. For the last three seasons, he has been the captain of the San Diego Gulls, though it doesn’t really seem like he’ll be reprising that role next season with this new deal and his breakthrough campaign.

One has to wonder whether a signing like this is in response to some of the things that have happened to the Ducks over the last month, namely the incident between Jay Beagle and Troy Terry. When the team traded Nicolas Deslauriers and Josh Manson at the deadline, they got rid of a lot of the tough, physical players that could help “protect” their young stars. Carrick, who has 11 fighting majors this season, tied for third in the league behind only Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot of the Minnesota Wild, can fill that type of physical role in the bottom six while also adding a bit of offense.

For the player, this is obviously a huge win. Carrick hasn’t had a multi-year contract since a two-year deal he signed with the Ducks in 2017, and that contract was a two-way deal that saw him earn only a handful of days of NHL pay. This new two-year, one-way contract represents the biggest payday of his career, and a nice reward for one of the organization’s heart-and-soul players.

Michael Hage Headed To USHL

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The USHL’s Chicago Steel landed a top CHL prospect when they signed a tender agreement with Macklin Celebrini earlier this month, and now they’ve done it again. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Michael Hage has also signed a tender with the Steel, and will pass on the chance to play in the OHL.

Hage, 16, was expected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming OHL draft after his incredible performance at the 2022 OHL Cup, a tournament for the best U16 teams from Ontario and the United States. The young forward registered seven goals and 16 points for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, only trailing Michael Misa–the latest player to be granted exceptional status into the CHL–in both categories.

While Misa is a top prospect for the 2025 draft, Hage is eligible for the 2024 event and figures to be a potential first-round selection at this point. While there’s still lots of time for that to change, joining the powerhouse Steel program should certainly help his development. It also means that Hage will retain his NCAA eligibility, perhaps leading to an opportunity to play college hockey in the future–something that disappears when a player suits up in the OHL.

At any rate, Hage will still likely be selected at some point in the OHL draft later this week and a team will hold his rights to try and convince him down the road. Fans in Chicago will be lucky enough to see him as he takes the next steps toward NHL relevance.

New Jersey Devils Recall Reilly Walsh

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The New Jersey Devils could have another player make his NHL debut in the coming days, as prospect Reilly Walsh has been recalled from the Utica Comets. The young defenseman has joined the team in Ottawa and is available for tonight’s game.

It wasn’t always even clear if the Devils would be able to sign Walsh at all before he reached unrestricted free agency but in 2020 when it became clear that Harvard may not even play the 2020-21 season, the college standout signed his entry-level deal. That brought him into the Devils system after three outstanding years in the NCAA, and Walsh picked up right where he left off.

In 33 games last season he registered five goals and 15 points, numbers that are now dwarfed by his production this year. Walsh has 42 points in 69 games with Utica in 2021-22, good for fifth among all AHL defensemen. The right-shooting puck-mover will now likely get a chance to dip his toes into the NHL waters before competing for a full-time role with the team next season.

Remember, the Devils have P.K. Subban coming off the books at the end of the season and will need someone to replace him. While Walsh likely isn’t the top candidate, a good showing in the last few games could certainly move him a spot or two up the depth chart. During his time in college he was seen as almost a can’t-miss prospect, and his performance at the AHL shouldn’t really dull that shine.

Notably, he also is still signed to his entry-level deal for next season, meaning these games pose no risk of affecting summer negotiations. He’ll also still be waiver-exempt next season, meaning he can pop up and down when needed. While there is no playoff chase for the Devils, they’ve at least made the last few games more interesting.

AHL Shuffle: 04/26/22

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After a quiet Monday in the NHL, things are back up and running with a 13-game slate this evening. That includes the game that most eyes will be watching, when the Vegas Golden Knights fight for their season when they take on the Dallas Stars. Vegas can’t lose this game if they have any hope of making the playoffs, though it still would only give them a glimmer of hope. Other matchups, like the St. Louis Blues taking on the Colorado Avalanche or Carolina Hurricanes taking on the New York Rangers, should give fans a nice preview of playoff hockey as good teams try to tune up before the postseason.

As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent Carl Dahlstrom back to the AHL, recalling Nick Robertson in his place under emergency conditions. With Michael Bunting out with an injury, Robertson could get a look in the top six for the Maple Leafs as the playoffs approach.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Riley Barber and Kyle Criscuolo under emergency conditions, giving them another pair of bodies for tonight’s game against Toronto. The Red Wings are well out of the playoff chase, but still have some time to give the fans a bit of excitement for next season.
  • As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled Scott Sabourin and Mark Kastelic once again. The team is not expecting to see Colin White or Connor Brown over the last few games, meaning they needed their depth players back from Belleville.

Metropolitan Division

  • The New York Islanders recalled defenseman Robin Salo today under emergency conditions. The 23-year-old defenseman has four points in 18 games with the Islanders this year, and with no extra healthy defenseman on the Islanders roster, he’ll draw in for the team tonight with an unknown injury occurring.

Central Division

  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled prospect Victor Soderstrom once again, as he continues to look for his first point at the NHL level this season. The 21-year-old defenseman has played in 13 games so far, 17 for his whole career.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Mathieu Olivier from the AHL, giving them an extra player for tonight’s matchup against the Calgary Flames. The 25-year-old Olivier has played in just eight games for Nashville this season and is still looking for his first goal. Overall, he has seven points in 46 games and represents more of a physical presence than an offensive one.

Pacific Division

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled Lane Pederson, with the Barracuda eliminated from postseason contention. Pederson, 24, has split time between the two levels this season, playing 28 games for the Sharks and 22 for the Barracuda. The results have been very different, with just two assists during his time in the NHL.
  • The Calgary Flames have announced that goaltender Dustin Wolf, who was with the team on an emergency recall, has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Stockton Heat. Wolf, 21, has been brilliant this season for Stockton, with a .924 save percentage in 46 starts. He’s widely considered to be the Flames’ best goalie prospect and among the best netminder prospects in hockey.

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