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Archives for February 2023

Valtteri Pulli Drawing NHL Interest

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Most of the news right now revolves around the NHL trade deadline, as media members try to find out where everyone will be playing when the dust settles. But yesterday, Jeff Marek squished in another interesting nugget during the 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet.

Valtteri Pulli, an undrafted Finnish defenseman, is drawing interest from several NHL clubs.

A number of teams that have shown interest but at varying degrees. I’ve heard of a couple different teams that are really hot on him, and a couple that just will kick tires. I’m having a hard time trying to figure out who is really aggressive and who is just curious.

It sounds like the teams with interest (and again to varying degrees) are the San Jose Sharks…the Winnipeg Jets, the Boston Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks, the Nashville Predators, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Islanders. 

Pulli, 21, is a 6’6″ left-shot defenseman who is in his first full season for TPS in the Finnish Liiga, and has three goals and 14 points in 47 games. While those numbers don’t sound too impressive, he has shown flashes of high offensive potential, as he learns to use his massive frame to protect the puck and get it to dangerous areas.

Of course, flashes of potential don’t get you NHL minutes, and Pulli is by no means a finished product. He’ll turn 22 next month, though, meaning teams will have lots of time to try and develop him into an impact player.

Since he turns 22 next month, Pulli will be limited to a two-year entry-level contract when he does sign.

Los Angeles Kings Reassign Tobie Bisson

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Feb 14: Bisson has been returned to the AHL without dressing for a game.

Feb 13: Of all the defensemen that the Los Angeles Kings could recall, it is something of a surprise that Tobie Bisson will be joining them ahead of tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Bisson, 26, only earned his first NHL contract last summer and has never been recalled to the league. Through 41 games this season for the Ontario Reign, the undrafted defenseman has 12 points and 31 penalty minutes.

It’s not that Bisson is undeserving; he plays hard minutes for the Reign and recently played for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. But the team has been recalling several other defensemen all season long, and sent down Jacob Moverare just yesterday.

Perhaps it is as simple as rewarding a player for his AHL work this season. Bisson is excellent in his own end and willing to engage physically when challenged. But with so much smoke swirling around the Kings and a potential Jakob Chychrun deal, an unexpected recall like this will raise some eyebrows.

Either way, it means NHL pay and a great moment for Bisson, who worked his way up from the AHL after going undrafted. After nearly five full minor league seasons, he finally gets a chance to go up to the biggest stage.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Ben Meyers, Brad Hunt

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With Erik Johnson moving to injured reserve, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled Ben Meyers and Brad Hunt to give them a little more depth. The club had been carrying barely enough players to dress a full lineup and went with only 11 forwards over the weekend (plus Kurtis MacDermid, who plays both defense and forward).

Meyers, 24, has played in 28 games for the Avalanche this season but can’t seem to find his way onto the scoresheet. He has just one goal and has yet to record an assist in the NHL. During his time in the minor leagues, he had eight points in 14 games for the Colorado Eagles. The undrafted college free agent is still getting his feet wet in professional hockey and will get another chance with the Avalanche.

Hunt, meanwhile, has played 27 games for the Avalanche this season and 22 more for the Eagles, playing in the minor leagues for the first time since 2016-17. The depth defender can rack up points at will in the AHL, and has six on the year with the Avalanche so far. Now 34, he certainly isn’t the long-term answer for Colorado, but Hunt is a reliable veteran call-up that can play games without much risk.

Johnson suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend but no timeline has been given for his return yet.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Three Players

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Feb 14: All three players are back up today, ready to rejoin the team and participate in tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. During their short stint in the AHL, Steeves scored the game-winner (assisted by Holmberg), and Woll picked up his 14th win in 15 appearances.

Feb 13: The trio of players that came up for Toronto’s last couple of games have been returned to the minors, as the team announced Pontus Holmberg, Alex Steeves, and Joseph Woll have all been loaned to the Toronto Marlies. The Maple Leafs don’t play until Wednesday and are now home until Sunday.

Woll’s inclusion could indicate that Matt Murray will return to the team this week after skating with the club in recent days. The injured netminder hasn’t played since January 17, leaving Ilya Samsonov to carry the load almost every night. Woll got his first game action of the season on Saturday in the second half of a back-to-back, but the Maple Leafs left him out to dry, allowing 40 shots from the Columbus Blue Jackets, which resulted in four goals.

Steeves, 23, also landed his first NHL action of the season, playing in both games against Columubs and registering three shots on net. The young forward is still looking for his first NHL goal but will be hard-pressed to earn regular minutes in the Maple Leafs lineup this season.

That’s partly because of the strong rookie season for Holmberg, who has 13 points in 35 games as the team’s fourth-line center. The emergence of Holmberg has been a nice bonus for a Maple Leafs team that hasn’t added a homegrown regular to the forward group for a few years now, instead securing depth through free agency.

With the team off for two days, this is essentially a cost-saving move, as all three are on two-way contracts. Still, because of the long-term injured reserve relief they are using, there’s no cap accumulation by sending them down. The Marlies play tonight, and you may see at least Holmberg back up for Wednesday’s game.

Snapshots: Boeser, Duclair, Senators Sale

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With Bo Horvat already out the door, Brock Boeser is one of the players remaining the Vancouver Canucks who has featured most prominently in trade rumors. The 25-year-old is a talented offensive player who is up to 35 points in 45 games this season. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was asked about Boeser in an interview with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, and said regarding any Boeser trade that he “[doesn’t] want to force anything.”

Allvin noted that he still believes Boeser is a good player, and that he doesn’t want to “give up on him,” but would also “definitely look at” a Boeser trade offer if it made sense for the organization. Despite a hefty $6.65MM cap hit, it’s easy to see Boeser drawing interest from teams looking to add scoring help at the trade deadline.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair skated in a regular jersey during practice today, something Panthers coach Paul Maurice called a “big step” in his recovery from an Achilles injury. While Maurice did add that he doesn’t expect to see Duclair in action on the team’s current road trip, it does seem Duclair’s return from long-term injured reserve is nearing, which could present cap-related challenges for the Panthers and add an interesting wrinkle to the trade deadline.
  • Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch has reported a potentially major development in the Ottawa Senators sale process, as star Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds has reportedly joined the Remington Group’s bid to purchase the team. Per Garrioch, the Toronto-based real estate development corporation is “poised to make a bid” for the Senators and is also “determined to build a new rink at LeBreton Flats.” Since the NHL has publicly communicated a desire for Reynolds to be involved in any ownership solution for the Senators, it seems his addition to the Remington Group’s bid could be a major boon as they look to become the new owners of the franchise.

Minor Transactions: 02/13/23

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Another day, another slate of NHL games to enjoy. Tonight’s lineup of games features matchups between two up-and-coming teams in the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings, two playoff hopefuls in the Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers, and two Central Division rivals in the Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators. As NHL fans take in tonight’s action, player movement is ever-active across the hockey world. We’ll track notable moves in minor and foreign leagues here.

  • 2019 Carolina Hurricanes fourth-round pick Tuukka Tieksola, who signed his entry-level deal with the team in 2021, has been loaned to Liiga’s Karpat for the rest of the season. Tieksola had spent this year with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and scored 15 points in 40 games. With just one point in his last six games, though, and Karpat in the midst of a playoff push, Tieksola is headed back to Finland to get some more high-level professional experience under his belt.
  • The ECHL’s Worcester Railers have announced two trades: they have acquired forward Max Johnson from the Wheeling Nailers for future considerations, and Chris Ordoobadi from the Orlando Solar Bears in exchange for cash considerations. Johnson, 24, is in his first professional season after capping off a five-year NCAA career. Johnson was a star at Bowling Green State University, scoring around a point-per-game rate there, before he headed to the University of Wisconsin for his finals season. This trade gives Johnson a change of scenery as his pro debut with the Nailers had been difficult, and he struggled to the tune of just five points in 23 games, In Ordoobadi the Railers acquire a big, physical 28-year-old winger who was actually a waiver claim of the Railers in December 2021.
  • The ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies have released defenseman Jordon Stone. Stone was activated off of injured reserve just three days ago, and now finds himself released after playing in his first game with the team since December. Late in the third period of that game, the Grizzlies were losing 6-1 to the Rapid City Rush. After dumping the puck into the offensive zone, Stone chased it and appeared to shove a Rush player to the ground with enough force that the player’s helmet came off. As the Rush’s goaltender attempted to play the puck behind the net, Stone laid a body check on the goalie, appearing to follow through with his elbow up through the goalie’s head. Stone was assessed a game misconduct for charging, and now finds himself released by his team only a few days later.
  • The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals have released netminder Brett Epp and forward Sam Hu. 2017 Nashville Predators fifth-round pick Tomas Vomacka was re-assigned to Norfolk as well, meaning Epp was out of a job as the team’s backup with Cale Morris already on the roster. Epp signed with Norfolk on February 8th, just a day before his team, the SPHL’s Vermilion City Bobcats, ceased operations. Epp will now look to continue his pro career elsewhere after a difficult season with the Bobcats for reasons largely out of his control. As for Hu, this release comes after a 19-game run with the Admirals that saw him score just four points. Hu split time last season between the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star in his home country, China, and in Norway with Manglerud. It’s possible a return to overseas hockey could be in the cards after this release.
  • Per a team announcement, former Boston Bruins prospect Emil Johansson will be leaving his current club, Sport Vaasa in the Finnish Liiga. Sami Hoffren of Finland’s Ilta-Sanomat reports that Johansson is set to join current DEL leaders EHC Red Bull Munich. Johansson scored 23 points in 43 games for Vaasa as their number-one defenseman and will help Munich as they chase their fourth DEL title.
  • Liiga’s Assat Pori will be without their starting netminder, Niklas Rubin, for two to three weeks as he recovers from an injury. As a result, the team has signed Canadian goaltender Cody Porter from RoKi Rovaniemi, a club in Finland’s second-tier Mestis. The 25-year-old has a .920 save percentage in 21 games for RoKi, and has been brought in to help Pori down the stretch of this season. This move was potentially motivated by Porter’s performance last Wednesday, when he stopped 24 of 26 shots against Pori playing on loan for Tappara Tampere, winning the game for his temporary club by a 6-2 margin.
  • SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports that 20-year-old center Ake Stakkestad will be making the leap to the SHL next season. Per Svensson’s report, Stakkestad will play for HV71 next season, on a one-year contract. Stakkestad recently returned to the ice for his current club, HockeyAllsvenskan’s BIK Karlskoga, and has scored two points in three games. In total, he has scored eight points in 13 games this season.
  • Switzerland’s HC Lugano will retain their backup netminder beyond this season. The team has announced the signing of goalie Niklas Schlegel to a three–year contract extension. The 28-year-old is a Swiss NL champion who led his league in save percentage during a brilliant 2015-16 season with the ZSC Lions. He’s currently backing up former Edmonton Oiler Mikko Koskinen and has been decent with a .903 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average.
  • 19-year-old Konsta Kapanen, the brother of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen and son of former NHLer Sami Kapanen has been loaned to Liiga’s HPK for the rest of the season. Kapanen will seek a better opportunity at tenth-place HPK than he’d be likely to find at fifth-place KalPa, and will likely get a chance to finish his season in Liiga rather than in Mestis. KalPa also made another move today, signing veteran Jaakko Lantta to a one-year contract extension.
  • In addition to bringing in Tieksola, Karpat has also loaned netminder Karolus Kaarlehto to the SHL’s Timra IK. The 25-year-old began his season in France before a stretch playing for Karpat’s Liiga rivals, Jukurit Mikkeli. Now, he heads to Sweden to help Timra to fill the team’s backup goalie spot, a role left vacant by Thursday’s transfer of David Rautio to the SCL Tigers of Switzerland.
  • Nearly two weeks after his release from HC Slovan Bratislava, Carl Ackered has found a new place to play. The Sheffield Steelers, a club competing in the EIHL, the highest tier of professional hockey in the United Kingdom, have signed Ackered. It’s a major acquisition for the Steelers, as just two years ago Ackered led the Slovak league in points by a defenseman and was named an All-Star. He had a difficult 21-game run in the Slovak capital, though, and now returns to the league where he starred for three years as a member of the Guildford Flames.
  • HockeyAllsvenskan’s IF Bjorkloven have confirmed the transfer of former Arizona Coyotes prospect Jens Looke, a transfer we covered as a rumor two days ago. Looke is a difference-maker in Sweden’s second division, having scored 62 points in 52 games in his last season there, helping Timra earn promotion to the SHL. That’ll be his goal with Bjorkloven, who sit second in the league standings.
  • The DEL’s Grizzlys Wolfsburg have signed their captain, Canadian Spencer Machacek, to a two-year extension. The former Atlanta Thrasher has been a star in Germany, and has scored 285 points in 436 games there. He’s currently second in league scoring with 51 points in 47 games, and his extension should come as welcome news for Wolfsburg’s supporters who are hopeful the team can cement a place in the DEL playoffs.
  • 413-game KHL veteran Dmitri Yudin has signed a two-year contract extension with his current club, Ak Bars Kazan. The 27-year-old has been with Kazan since 2018-19, and before that he played for Spartak Moscow and perennial juggernauts SKA St. Petersburg. A teammate of former NHLers Alexander Radulov and Vadim Shipachyov, Yudin will hope to keep Kazan in playoff contention over the course of his new deal.
  • 23-year-old Slovenian forward Rok Kapel is headed back to the AlpsHL after spending most of this season in the higher-tier ICEHL. Per a team announcement, Kapel will play for Kitzbuheler EC moving forward, leaving HC Olimpija Ljubljana, the ICEHL club in the Slovenian capital. Kapel scored 14 goals and 29 points in 40 games for Ljubljana, leading the team in goal-scoring, and is expected to be a difference-maker moving forward now that he’s down a level of competition.
  • Nick Dineen, a star in Norway’s top professional hockey league, has signed an extension to remain with the Stavanger Oilers beyond this season. Dineen was formerly the captain at Lillehammer, where he hovered around a point-per-game scoring rate for six seasons. Financial issues at Lillehammer forced a January transfer to the Oilers, and he has continued his strong play there with 14 points in 11 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Philadelphia Flyers Make Several Roster Moves

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that forward Kieffer Bellows and goaltender Samuel Ersson have been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In addition, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivier Reiner notes that Zack MacEwen has been placed on injured reserve.

These moves bring Bellows back to the Flyers’ active roster just days after he was placed on waivers by the team. Bellows played one game in his stint in the minors, tallying an assist and three shots on goal in Lehigh Valley’s 3-0 win over the Bridgeport Islanders.

Bellows now has ten points in 12 AHL games this season, although he has found NHL success harder to come by. He has just one goal in 16 total games this season, but will at least bring some size and grit to reinforce the Flyers’ forward corps for their road trip.

In Ersson, the Flyers add a third goalie to their active roster. The 23-year-old 2018 fifth-round pick has had a strong season serving as the Flyers’ number-three goalie. At the AHL level, he’s played in 26 games and boasts a 15-10-1 record, a 2.58 goals-against-average, and a .911 save percentage.

In the NHL, Ersson has won five of his six starts with strong overall numbers: a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. While teams typically don’t like to carry three goaltenders, it’s possible this recall is designed to give the Flyers a chance to use a contest on this four-game road trip to further evaluate Ersson.

The final move, putting MacEwen on injured reserve, comes as no surprise. The forward underwent surgery to repair a broken jaw in late January, and was given a five-week timeline to return to the ice. His placement on injured reserve frees a roster spot for the Flyers to work with, allowing them to bring extra bodies on their road trip.

MacEwen is on an expiring $925k AAV deal and will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. He became an NHL regular with Philadelphia last season after he was claimed off of waivers from the Vancouver Canucks, and he ended up skating in 75 contests, where he registered three goals, nine points, and 110 penalty minutes.

Trade Deadline Primer: Dallas Stars

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

Usually, when a team is leading an entire conference 50+ games into the season, there is more chatter about them adding significant talent at the deadline to go on a long Stanley Cup run. But the Stars, sitting first in the West with 70 points, are somehow usually still left out of the conversation.

Fans and media are focused on what the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, or Winnipeg Jets may be up to. Dallas slowly hides in the shadows with a team that could rival anyone in the league. Over the next few weeks, that could change, with the Stars emerging as one of the most exciting deadline teams to watch, given a reasonable cap situation and interesting prospect pool.

Record

30-14-10, 1st in the Central

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$1.15MM today, $1.64MM in deadline space, 0/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2023: DAL 2nd, DAL 4th, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th

2024: DAL 1st, DAL 2nd, DAL 3rd, DAL 5th, DAL 6th, DAL 7th

Trade Chips

When the Stars traded a first-round pick for Nils Lundkvist in September, it removed their most significant chip for this season. Without a 2023 first to give up, it isn’t easy to get involved in some of the biggest deadline names. Bo Horvat and Vladimir Tarasenko, for instance, both returned first-round selections for the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, with names like Timo Meier expected to do the same.

But the interesting side effect of adding Lundkvist was how it clogged the path for some other defense prospects in the organization. The assumption when Dallas let John Klingberg go last summer was that Thomas Harley would likely establish himself as a full-time NHL defenseman this season, taking some of the easy minutes that Klingberg had been given in the past. But Harley, the 18th overall pick from 2019, has spent the entire season in the AHL with the Texas Stars.

Lian Bischel, their 2022 first-round pick is even further down that depth chart, and will have a number of players to leapfrog before he sniffs NHL minutes. He isn’t even signed at this point, meaning there are still years until he makes an impact.

Either of these defense prospects could be flipped in a deal, given Dallas has five defensemen signed through next season and looks like a legitimate contender this year.

A forward prospect like Mavrik Bourque could be dangled, too, after his first minor league season has been just okay. That likely isn’t the case with Wyatt Johnston, who has made an NHL impact as a rookie and looks like a long-term building block for the group, or Logan Stankoven, who was recently ranked ninth overall among drafted prospects by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic.

One interesting name is Denis Gurianov, who continues to frustrate the organization. The talented 25-year-old forward has moments of pure brilliance when he looks like a dominant NHL player. That’s how he scored 20 goals as a sophomore and nine more in the bubble playoffs as Dallas went to the Stanley Cup Final.

But his game is just rife with inconsistency, leading to regular scratches and just two goals in 38 games this season. The 12th overall pick from 2015 might be an interesting reclamation project for a rebuilding club, though it’s hard to see someone pay a premium for him at this point.

(As an aside, this isn’t the first time a big, talented winger has frustrated the Stars front office. After Valeri Nichushkin failed to score a single goal in the 2018-19 season he was bought out by Dallas, only to find an organization in Colorado that would patiently develop him into one of the best two-way forwards in the league. Gurianov certainly doesn’t look like that right now, but neither did Nichushkin during those frustrating years.)

Other trade chips: F Ty Dellandrea, F Christian Kyrou, G Anton Khudobin

Team Needs

1) Top-six forward: Even with the return of Jamie Benn as a top-end player and Tyler Seguin’s recovery from injury going better than many imagined, the Stars could still use a little bit of punch upfront. The nice part about this is the versatility that some of their players bring, meaning it could be any of the three forward positions they add. If Mason Marchment had brought last season’s scoring touch with him, this might not be an issue, and Johnston could be an internal option for more offensive minutes.

But adding a difference-maker from outside the organization seems the most likely outcome for Dallas at the deadline if they’re willing to part with the assets to get one.

2) Defensive depth: Defense? Didn’t we just finish saying how Dallas has a full blueline? Well, yes – but if the team isn’t comfortable with Harley as the next man up for this playoff run, it might make sense to add another depth piece. The kind of veteran player who can step in and give you 12-15 hard, mistake-free minutes is a valuable thing to have at playoff time, and if they aren’t making a big splash up front, Dallas might pivot to defense.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Devin Shore Clears Waivers

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As most sports fans prepared nacho dips and buffalo wings ahead of the Super Bowl, the Edmonton Oilers quietly placed Devin Shore on waivers to help clear additional cap space. The veteran forward has cleared and can now be sent to the minor leagues.

The demotion of Shore, 28, should come as no surprise. He hasn’t scored a single goal through 29 appearances and has just three points on the year, a far cry from the player that was once a 30-point contributor in Dallas. He is averaging fewer than nine minutes a night and has been held without a single shot on goal in half of his games.

By waiving him and sending him down, the team is getting closer to having enough cap room to activate Kailer Yamamoto. It will still require an additional transaction, though, which could end up being Jesse Puljujarvi hitting waivers as well tomorrow.

Because of their cap situation, every move from here on will be complicated for the Oilers. Adding anyone before the deadline will require money to go the other way, unless more players end up on long-term injured reserve.

Jakob Chychrun Remains Out Of Arizona Lineup

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Though he still hasn’t been traded, it appears as though Jakob Chychrun’s time as an Arizona Coyote is over. According to Adam Vingan of Sportsnet, head coach Andre Tourigny confirmed Chychrun will remain out of the lineup “until something happens.”

Notably, Karel Vejmelka will start tonight. Vejmelka has also been the center of trade rumors recently, but the team will not pull him out of the lineup like Chychrun.

It appeared as though there was a deal in place for Chychrun over the weekend, but nothing has happened to this point. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast today speculated that a different contract or trade situation was holding up a deal (potentially with the Los Angeles Kings). Brandt Clarke, who had his name reported as a return for Chychrun, has apparently been told by the Kings he is not involved in any deal and will not be traded.

At the very least, it appears as though the months-long speculation about Chychrun will soon come to an end. The young defenseman wanted a trade out of Arizona to play for a contender, but general manager Bill Armstrong would never rush to move him. If a team wanted Chychrun, they would have to pay a high price that Arizona set.

With 28 points in 36 games and outstanding possession numbers, Chychrun has certainly made the Coyotes’ job easier. His play coming back from injury has warranted interest, and it appears as though someone is finally willing to meet that price.

Remember that Arizona already has a huge number of high picks over the next few seasons, and should only add more at this year’s deadline. No rebuild is guaranteed to work, but the management group there has at least set itself up for future success by pulling off creative transactions to add future value. The trade of Chychrun could be the capstone to that strategy, as a 24-year-old defenseman under control for two more seasons at a reasonable cap hit is one of the most valuable assets in the league. Risking that return by playing him the next few nights doesn’t make much sense.

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