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Archives for March 2023

Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard Transfers To Michigan State

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Back at the draft, things were looking up for prospect Isaac Howard.  He was coming off an impressive season with the US NTDP program where he put up 82 points in 60 games, helping him get picked 31st overall by Tampa Bay.

However, things haven’t gone as smoothly since then.  The 18-year-old struggled considerably in his first taste of college hockey, notching just 17 points in 35 games with Minnesota-Duluth.  Earlier this month, Howard opted to enter the transfer portal and he has found his next school, announcing (Twitter link) that he will be joining Michigan State next season.

Howard becomes the second drafted prospect to join the Spartans with Detroit forward Red Savage transferring there earlier this week.  They are the only two drafted forwards on the roster at the moment so there should be an opportunity for Howard to play an important role with his new school although Michigan State could bring back their top three scorers from this season for 2023-24 as well.

Sharks Sign Henry Thrun

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The Sharks have reached an agreement with a promising defensive prospect, announcing the signing of Henry Thrun to a two-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but it does begin this season.

The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Anaheim back in 2019 (101st overall) but has certainly outperformed his draft stock.  This season, Thrun was the captain at Harvard and led their blueliners in scoring for the second straight year, tallying seven goals along with 24 assists in just 35 games.  Those numbers were nearly identical to 2021-22 when he potted seven goals with 25 helpers in 35 contests.  That helped him earn several honors, including ECAC Defensive Defenseman of the Year, First Team All-ECAC, and First Team All-Ivy.

Earlier this season, Thrun informed the Ducks that he would not be signing with them and instead would opt for free agency in mid-August.  However, San Jose decided to jump the queue on trying to work out a deal with Thrun, flipping a 2024 third-rounder to Anaheim to get his rights earlier this month.  That has proven to be a wise decision as it certainly didn’t take long for a deal to get done considering Harvard was just eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Friday.

While the Sharks will have to burn half of the contract now for the stretch run, they’ve secured themselves a promising young blueliner to add to a prospect pool that is starting to improve considerably under GM Mike Grier.  They’ll likely give Thrun a chance to get his feet wet with a few games down the stretch to assess whether he might be ready for full-time duty next season or if some time at the AHL level will be acquired.

East Notes: Roslovic, Harris, Joseph, Greig

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Teams looking to add center help this summer might want to keep their eye on Columbus.  Aaron Portzline of The Athletic speculates (subscription link) that with the likelihood of the Blue Jackets landing a top center in this summer’s draft and the expected signing of prospect Dmitri Voronkov, the team might be willing to part with Jack Roslovic.  The 26-year-old has struggled with consistency this season but has once again reached the 40-point mark, pocketing nine goals and 31 assists through 68 games so far.  He has one year left on his contract with a $4MM cap hit so there wouldn’t be a long-term commitment for acquiring teams to worry about.  If Columbus was willing to use one of their three retention slots to lower that cap charge, they could land a quality prospect or pick if they were to move on from Roslovic in the coming months.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris confirmed to reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he will return to the lineup tonight against Columbus. The 22-year-old has missed the last two weeks with a lower-body injury.  Harris has 15 points in 60 games in his rookie campaign while averaging 18:34 per contest on a young Montreal back end.  He’ll take the place of Chris Wideman in the lineup.
  • Senators winger Mathieu Joseph has returned to practice but has been ruled out of at least the next two games, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The 26-year-old has been dealing with an upper-body injury for the last two weeks.  This season hasn’t gone great for Joseph; after scoring four goals in 11 games after being acquired last year at the deadline, he has just three tallies in 47 contests so far this season.
  • Still with the Senators, head coach D.J. Smith told TSN 1200 (Twitter link) that center Ridly Greig is out for the rest of the season with a sternum injury. The 20-year-old was recalled earlier this month but got into just five games before suffering the injury.  Greig’s first professional campaign comes to an end with a goal and five assists in 16 NHL contests plus 13 goals and 14 helpers in 35 contests with AHL Belleville.

Jakob Chychrun To Miss Multiple Weeks

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When the Senators acquired Jakob Chychrun from Arizona just prior to the trade deadline, the hope was that his addition would help lead a late playoff push.  That push just got considerably more difficult now as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN 1200 (Twitter link) that the blueliner will miss at least a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.

Chychrun had made a nice impact on Ottawa’s back end since the trade, collecting five points in a dozen games while averaging more than two blocks per contest in 21 minutes a night of action.  For the season, he has played in 48 games between the Sens and Coyotes, picking up 33 points (the second most of his career) with his strong showing early on helping Arizona land three draft picks (including Ottawa’s first-round pick this season) in the swap.

Earlier this week, the Senators signed prospect Tyler Kleven to a contract that begins this season, giving him the opportunity to get into some NHL action down the stretch.  With Chychrun potentially out for the remainder of the regular season, it might not be long before he’s making his professional debut.  Meanwhile, Ottawa has ten games left in their push for a Wild Card spot and currently trails Pittsburgh by five points for the final seed.  They’ll be dealing with a considerably weaker back end to try to make that happen.

Jets Sign Parker Ford

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The Jets have dipped into college free agency, announcing the signing of forward Parker Ford to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry an AAV of $925K and will begin next season.  Ford has also agreed to an ATO deal with Manitoba of the AHL and will finish up this season at the minor league level.

The 22-year-old recently wrapped up his four-year college career at Providence.  His offensive numbers in the last two seasons were nearly identical; he posted 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 games this year after putting up 13 goals and 14 helpers in 38 contests in 2021-22.  Over his career with the Friars, Ford had 94 points in 131 contests, putting up a higher point per game average at the NCAA level (0.71) than his time in the USHL (0.62).  He was Providence’s captain this season and finished as a Hockey East Third Team All-Star.

Winnipeg has already moved three of its draft picks for the upcoming draft and had a three-year stretch between 2019 and 2021 where they made no more than five selections in a single draft.  Accordingly, their prospect pool has been thinned out so it makes sense for the Jets to look to fill some of those gaps in college free agency.  At 5’9, Ford is a bit undersized but can play both center and the wing, bringing them some positional versatility.

Kraken Assign Joey Daccord To AHL

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While he fared well in a pair of games on a recall earlier this week, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they have returned goaltender Joey Daccord to Coachella Valley of the AHL.  The assignment was needed with Philipp Grubauer returning from an illness to make the start against Nashville today.

The 26-year-old picked up a victory on Tuesday in Dallas while allowing only one goal in a shootout loss to Nashville on Thursday, allowing Seattle to maintain a one-point advantage on Winnipeg for the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.  However, to keep Daccord up, they would have had to use one of their two remaining regular recalls and they’ve decided that’s not the best strategy at this time, especially with AHL Coachella Valley being in a close battle for the top spot in the AHL.

Daccord has spent the bulk of the year with the Firebirds and has fared quite well, posting a 2.43 GAA along with a .915 SV% in 34 games so far this season.  He’ll once again partner with backup Chris Driedger who is working his way back after tearing his ACL at the World Championship last season.

Metropolitan Notes: Jarry, Lindgren, Milano

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It has been a rough season on the injury front for Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry who is dealing with his fifth injury within the last year.  Accordingly, Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posits that Pittsburgh should look to move on from the netminder instead of meeting a reported asking price of $36MM over six years to extend him, a price that might be too risky for someone who has struggled to stay in the lineup with consistency.  Jarry has had a bit of a rough season but has still managed an above-average .908 SV% in 40 starts.  Fortunately, he shouldn’t be out much longer as he was a full participant in their game-day skate although Casey DeSmith is expected to get the start tonight against Washington.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Rangers were hesitant to put Ryan Lindgren on LTIR when he was injured last month. He returned to the lineup only to re-aggravate his shoulder injury.  Accordingly, Mollie Walker of the New York Post wonders if New York might be better off doing so now.  A retroactive placement would keep him eligible to return for the playoffs while giving him ample time to ensure he’s fully ready to return.  Additionally, such a move would clear up their short-term cap difficulties, eliminating the possibility of them needing to play shorthanded for a game to become eligible for a cap-exempt recall.
  • Capitals winger Sonny Milano will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has had a nice first season with Washington, picking up 11 goals and 21 assists in 58 games, a nice return on a league minimum contract.  He has already signed a three-year extension that begins next season with a $1.9MM AAV.

Kings Sign Cole Krygier To Entry-Level Deal

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It has been a busy week for defenseman Cole Krygier.  Earlier this week, his rights were acquired by Los Angeles from Florida in exchange for future considerations with the blueliner signing an AHL tryout soon after.  Now, he has put pen to paper on another contract as the Kings announced that they’ve signed Krygier to a two-year, entry-level deal.  The contract begins next season and carries an AAV of $837,500.

The 22-year-old was initially a seventh-round pick by the Panthers back in 2018 (201st overall).  He recently wrapped up a five-year college career with Michigan State, saving his best performance for last as Krygier had ten goals and six assists in 38 games with the Spartans while serving as an alternate captain.  He had 20 goals and 21 assists over his college career, spanning 160 contests.

By moving his rights earlier in the week, it was clear that Florida decided that they weren’t intending to sign Krygier, the son of long-time NHL winger Todd Krygier, and were likely to let him go in free agency in mid-August.  Instead, the Kings decided that he was worthy of signing and were able to jump the queue to get him without parting with a tangible asset going the other way as his rights were moved for future considerations.  Since the deal begins next season, he’ll be limited to play with AHL Ontario for the stretch run.

Blackhawks Sign Paul Ludwinski

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The Blackhawks have put pen to paper with prospect Paul Ludwinski, announcing that they’ve signed the forward to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins next season and carries a cap hit of $931,667.

The 18-year-old was a second-round pick by Chicago last year (39th overall) and has had a bit of a tough year with OHL Kingston.  Injuries have limited Ludwinski to just 47 games this season and his output has dipped to just nine goals and 25 assists, good for a tie for fifth on the Frontenacs in scoring.  Kingston is going to come up just short of reaching the playoffs this season which means after this weekend, Ludwinski will be permitted to join AHL Rockford for the stretch run in the minors.

However, while he’ll likely make his pro debut in the next few games, Ludwinski won’t be permitted to start next season in the AHL.  At his age, his options at the start of next season will be either Chicago or Kingston with the latter being the probable outcome.  Accordingly, his contract would be eligible for a slide next year which means this entry-level agreement is likely to run through the 2026-27 campaign.

Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen And Trey Fix-Wolansky

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While the Blue Jackets picked up an overtime victory on Friday, it came at a cost with both defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) and winger Mathieu Olivier (lower body) exiting with injuries.  Accordingly, they announced a pair of recalls from the minors as they have brought up defenseman Jake Christiansen and winger Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis.

Christiansen has suited up in 18 games with the Blue Jackets so far this season.  In that stretch, he has a pair of assists while averaging roughly a block and a hit per contest while logging just shy of 14 minutes a night.  However, despite not being particularly productive in Columbus, the 23-year-old has done well offensively with the Monsters, collecting eight goals and 21 assists in 43 games to help him earn this recall.

As for Fix-Wolansky, the 23-year-old has appeared in four games with Columbus this season.  He has been held off the scoresheet in those contests while averaging just under ten minutes a night.  However, Fix-Wolansky has been one of the top scorers in the minors this season, picking up 26 goals and 51 assists in 53 games with the Monsters, numbers that put him in fourth league-wide in points.  With the injuries that Columbus has, he might have a chance of playing a little higher in the lineup this time around.

As both of these recalls are designated as emergency ones, they will not count against the post-deadline limit of four per team.  However, as soon as Gudbranson or Olivier (or anyone else currently injured at their positions return), they will have to be returned to the AHL or converted to a regular recall at that time which would then count against the limit of four.

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