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Nashville Predators Acquire Anthony Angello

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The Nashville Predators announced Wednesday afternoon that the team has acquired forward Anthony Angello from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for future considerations.

NHL deals after the trade deadline are obviously a rarity, but players destined for the minors under NHL contracts can still be moved prior to Friday, March 10. That’s the date of the AHL trade deadline.

It means that “future considerations” are likely assets under AHL contracts with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s affiliate, heading to St. Louis’ affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Angello, 27, will report to Milwaukee. A 2014 fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Angello is amidst a down season with 11 points in 45 games with Springfield.

He does have 31 games of NHL experience, coming as recently as last season with Pittsburgh. Angello is ineligible to play with Nashville down the stretch run, and he would not be eligible to suit up in the unlikely event they clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

AHL Shuffle: 03/08/23

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The following players were involved in transactions between NHL clubs and their AHL affiliates.

  • Defenseman Lawrence Pilut was sent by the Buffalo Sabres to the Rochester Americans as an emergency loan. Pilut has split his season between Rochester and Buffalo, appearing in 17 games for the Sabres with a goal and an assist and suiting up for 30 games with Rochester with 19 points in 30 games.
  • Arizona Coyotes forward Bokondji Imama was an emergency send down to the Tucson Roadrunners. Imama, a veteran minor leaguer, has played one game for Arizona this season. He has played in five games over the past two seasons after four seasons playing exclusively in the AHL. He has 12 points in 39 games for Tucson this season.
  • The Washington Capitals have loaned Dylan McIlrath to the Hershey Bears of the AHL as an emergency loan. The former top-10 pick in 2010 has played in 72 NHL games with four teams, including six games for Washington this season, his first NHL action since 2019-20. He has one assist in six games for the Capitals this season.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Will Zmolek

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4:54 p.m.: CapFriendly reports Zmolek’s one-year ELC carries a cap hit of $920K, broken down across a base salary of $825K, a signing bonus of $95K, potential performance bonuses up to $30K, and a minor salary of $82.5K.

9:35 a.m.: College free agent signing season is upon us, as seasons end across the country for the unlucky programs that did not advance in their conference playoffs. Today, the Philadelphia Flyers have gotten in on the action, inking Will Zmolek to a one-year entry-level contract.

The deal will begin in 2023-24, but Zmolek is headed to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL on a tryout contract for the rest of this season.

Coming off an impressive senior season with Bemidji State, Zmolek is a 23-year-old undrafted free agent who brings a little of everything to the table. He’s big, standing 6’4″, 209 lbs, physical, has shown an improved offensive game, and was a locker room leader for the Beavers.

Nominated for this year’s Hobey Baker, Zmolek recorded 21 points in 36 games and led the club in blocked shots. He enters a Philadelphia system that once looked full of defensive prospects but has seen several fail to take the next step. With his age and experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Zmolek play NHL minutes next season in a limited, or part-time role.

He’ll turn 24 in April, meaning only a one-year contract was possible. Zmolek will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Corson Ceulemans

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3:48 p.m.: PuckPedia reports that Ceulemans’ deal carries a cap hit of $925K, with his salary structure the same in all three years of the contract. He’ll earn $832.5K in NHL salary, $92.5K in signing bonuses, and $80K in minors salary each season.

3:11 p.m.: The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Corson Ceulemans, a 2021 first-round pick, to a three-year entry-level contract beginning in the 2023-24 season, the team announced today. The team did not disclose financial details, although they noted he will be joining the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on a professional tryout for the remainder of 2022-23.

Ceulemans, 19, leaves his college hockey career at the University of Wisconsin just a day after the school announced the firing of head coach Tony Granato. The school won a Big Ten regular-season title in the COVID-marred 2020-21 season, but Ceulemans’ two-year stint there wasn’t met with any team success.

He did impress offensively, recording 15 goals and 45 points in 67 games there across his freshman and sophomore campaigns. A two-way defender, Ceulemans’ public draft rankings ranged wildly due to a COVID-stifled eight-game stint with the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits being his sole league play during his draft year. He ended up going to the Blue Jackets in the late first round, 25th overall, after the team selected both Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger before him.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen had the following words on one of his top prospects:

Ceulemans is an outstanding young defenseman who excels at both ends of the ice and we are thrilled that he is beginning his professional career this spring. He combines size and strength with excellent mobility and a knack to produce offensively and we are excited about his future with our organization.

With his collegiate season over, Ceulemans will join the Monsters, although he likely won’t get any playoff experience. Cleveland sits last in the North Division with a 23-25-6 record.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Ryan Poehling On LTIR, Recall Alex Nylander

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The Pittsburgh Penguins today placed forward Ryan Poehling on long-term injured reserve and used an emergency recall on forward Alex Nylander, per a team release.

Poehling’s LTIR placement is retroactive to February 14, meaning he’s eligible to be activated as soon as tomorrow. The 24-year-old forward has missed the past 10 games with a lingering upper-body injury.

Nylander, the eighth overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and the younger brother of William Nylander, earns his first recall as a member of the Penguins organization. Acquired in a one-for-one swap for Sam Lafferty with the Chicago Blackhawks last year, Nylander is amidst a breakout season in the AHL with 25 goals and 50 points in 54 games.

While he won’t reach the ceiling of a top-ten draft pick, his steady offensive increase in the minors over the past few years suggests Nylander can carve out a consistent NHL role for himself shortly. It wasn’t long ago that he produced decent numbers in a full-time opportunity with Chicago, recording 26 points in 65 games in 2019-20 before a knee injury held him out of the 2020-21 season.

Buffalo Sabres Recall Lawrence Pilut

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team release Tuesday afternoon.

This is Pilut’s first recall since clearing waivers back on December 30, 2022. He failed to make the Sabres out of camp but was recalled just days into the regular season, recording a goal in three points in 17 games over the course of more than two months.

Pilut returned to the Sabres this season after two years with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL, remaining on Buffalo’s reserve list all the while. An undrafted free agent signing out of Sweden in 2018, Pilut was issued a qualifying offer upon the expiration of his entry-level contract in 2020 but did not accept, instead opting for more playing time in Russia.

It’s unclear whether Pilut’s recall means more injury troubles for the Sabres on defense. Mattias Samuelsson and new acquisition Riley Stillman are both day-to-day with upper-body injuries.

Pilut has had a somewhat productive season in Rochester, recording 19 points in 30 games. It’s still a step back from his rookie year in North America, where he hovered near a point per game in the minors and earned a 33-game stint in Buffalo.

Arizona Coyotes Recall Bokondji Imama

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A fan favorite in the Coyotes organization is getting another NHL opportunity. The team announced today that left wing Bokondji Imama has been recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.

This is the first recall of the season for the 26-year-old enforcer, who cleared waivers before the start of the season. A seasoned AHL veteran with the Roadrunners and Ontario Reign, Imama scored his first NHL goal last season while playing in four games with the Coyotes.

In Tucson this season, Imama has matched last season’s offensive totals in far fewer games, recording 12 points in 39 games and his first plus rating in the AHL.

The Montreal-born forward is in his second season with the Coyotes organization after a minor trade in the 2021 offseason sent him to Arizona from the Los Angeles Kings.

San Jose Sharks Recall Derrick Pouliot, Reassign Nick Cicek

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1:03 p.m.: The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports today that Pouliot will draw in tonight against Colorado, meaning MacDonald is officially out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury.

12:29 p.m.: The San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, the team announced Tuesday. In a corresponding transaction, defenseman Nick Cicek was reassigned to the Barracuda.

This is Pouliot’s first recall since signing with the Sharks last Thursday. Pouliot was immediately waived and cleared the following day, re-joining the Barracuda on an NHL contract.

Pouliot, 29, signed an AHL contract with the Barracuda last offseason. His season there has been productive, although he missed nearly two months with an injury that’s limited him to 28 games. The veteran of 267 AHL games has 21 points and a -9 rating in those 28 appearances with the Barracuda.

It’s his second straight season signing an AHL contract that was converted into an NHL contract later in the year. Pouliot started 2021-22 on a deal with the Henderson Silver Knights before signing a contract with the Vegas Golden Knights in mid-March. However, the Seattle Kraken claimed him on waivers just a few days later when Vegas attempted to return him to the minors.

Pouliot was an eighth overall draft pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, mainly due to his offensive acumen during his time in juniors with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. However, Pouliot’s defensive game never developed enough to build a sustainable NHL career,  last appearing full-time with the Vancouver Canucks in 2018-19.

He could make his season debut tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, depending on the status of former Colorado defender Jacob MacDonald. The 30-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury in last night’s 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets.

If MacDonald can’t go, Pouliot would be the only healthy defender available on the roster to replace him. Radim Simek is also out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury.

Cicek heads back down to the Barracuda after he served as a scratch for last night’s game. His recall lasted two days.

New York Rangers Recall Jonny Brodzinski

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The New York Rangers have recalled Jonny Brodzinski from the AHL, suggesting that trade deadline addition Tyler Motte might not be ready to go.

Motte was injured when Austin Watson ran him over last Thursday, a play that drew the focus of fans but not the Department of Player Safety. His return to New York hasn’t been very successful, with just one assist in six games and barely any playing time.

Given the team’s limited cap space, they don’t actually have room to recall Brodzinski without making another transaction or receiving an emergency exemption from the league. Since they played Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins shorthanded, it is likely the latter, with Brozinski not counting against the cap.

This was the risk of adding so many high-priced talents at the deadline. The Rangers may face similar situations down the stretch, forcing them to play with fewer than 18 skaters because of minor injuries. It is unclear how long Motte will be out, but moving him to long-term injured reserve for the added cap flexibility would rule him out for ten games and 24 days.

Brodzinski, 29, has played in 16 games for New York this season but has just two points.

Gustav Rydahl Expected To Return To SHL

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After slowly developing into a star overseas, Gustav Rydahl drew the attention of NHL scouts, and earned a contract with the New York Rangers last spring. The signing was buried in the headlines of the Rangers first-round win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning some fans may not have even noticed his acquisition.

Less than a year later, Rydahl was shipped off at the trade deadline. The 28-year-old forward was sent to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Anton Blidh in one of the day’s more minor moves. He never played a game for the Rangers, and it appears his North American career could be over in the blink of an eye.

Reports out of Sweden indicate that Rydahl will return to the SHL next season, leaving any dreams of an NHL career behind. He won’t be returning to Farjestads, though. Instead, the big center will jump ship and play for rival Frolunda on a long-term contract.

It hasn’t gone according to plan for Rydahl in North America. Through 41 games in the AHL—all but one coming with the Hartford Wolf Pack—he has just seven goals and 15 points. While those numbers would likely increase with more experience here, the 2022 Olympian is expected to return home. A long-term deal with Frolunda at his age would suggest another stint in North America is out of the question.

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