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Morning Notes: Manson, Daws, Lorito

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New Anaheim Ducks general manager has some big decisions to come in the next few weeks, as the team holds several players who would be top rental options at the trade deadline should they be put on the market. One of those names is Josh Manson, who has seemingly been linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs since the moment he entered the league. Well, if the Maple Leafs ever did want to pry Manson out of Anaheim, there’s another roadblock in the way. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast that Toronto is one of the teams on Manson’s no-trade list.

The 30-year-old can block trades to 12 teams as part of his modified no-trade clause, which gives him at least a little bit of power over where he’ll end up if the Ducks do decide to move him in the coming weeks. Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm are the other big names for the Ducks, who sit third in the Pacific Division but have played a league-high 48 games already.

  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled Nico Daws to the NHL roster today despite the All-Star break already being underway, sending Akira Schmid back to Utica in his place. While the Comets have a back-to-back starting tonight against the Laval Rocket and could be using it as a way to keep Schmid sharp, it will be interesting to see if Daws gets another look with the Devils down the stretch. The 21-year-old goaltender played twice in October, but with MacKenzie Blackwood’s season still up in the air perhaps he’ll get another shot to try and show what he can do at the NHL level. Daws, a third-round pick in 2020, has a .917 save percentage in 17 games for Utica this season.
  • Matt Lorito has signed a new one-year AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack, returning to the AHL after spending this season in the KHL and SHL. The 31-year-old forward is an experienced hand in the minor leagues and won a Calder Cup in 2017 with the Grand Rapids Griffins. In his last AHL appearance, he had 11 points in 27 games for the San Diego Gulls.

Snapshots: Coyotes, Botterill, Flyers

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Under new general manager Bill Armstrong, the Arizona Coyotes took a very clear path last summer. They shed long-term commitments while providing a cap haven for teams struggling to put together a roster in the current financial situation the league finds itself in. Taking on short-term bad-money contracts like Loui Eriksson, Andrew Ladd, Antoine Roussel, Shayne Gostisbehere, Anton Stralman, and Jay Beagle netted them a whole variety of draft picks, and they’re ready to do it again.

Chris Johnston explained this week on TSN’s Insider Trading that the Coyotes are “eyeing a chance to be an important go-between at this deadline” as other teams deal with a tight cap situation. With plenty of cap space themselves, they could take on more bad contracts or even retain salary in a three-way deal. Notably, however, they can only use that latter strategy once. After retaining money on both Darcy Kuemper and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes can only be involved in one other retained salary transaction this season. Kuemper’s agreement ends at the end of the year, meaning they could jump back into that ring in the summer.

  • While Pat Verbeek eventually landed the Anaheim Ducks general manager job, another assistant GM was apparently close. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Jason Botterill, AGM of the Seattle Kraken, was a finalist for the Ducks position. It would have been Botterill’s second chance in charge of a front office after his short stint with the Buffalo Sabres, one which did not go well. In three years leading the Sabres, the team finished no higher than sixth in the Atlantic Division and his draft results were certainly mixed. While he did land Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens, other high picks were used on Casey Mittelstadt (8th, 2017), Marcus Davisson (37th, 2017), Mattias Samuelsson (32nd, 2018), and Ryan Johnson (31st, 2019), all players who have either struggled or been unable to quite make their mark at the NHL level just yet.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers officially made a few changes to the front office. Alyn McCauley has been promoted to director of player personnel, while Tom Minton is now the director of hockey operations. McCauley has been with the Flyers for five years as a pro scout, while Minton was previously the director of hockey information and video. Recently, general manager Chuck Fletcher explained that the team is doubling the size of their analytics department and investing more in development staff.

AHL Shuffle: 02/03/22

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The All-Star break is upon us, meaning that taxi squads are now a thing of the past. The teams that played last night will dissolve it today, hopefully never to be seen again. Despite that, we’ll still be keeping track of all the shuffling between the NHL and AHL as always, though after today there will be a few days where no moves happen while players take a much-needed rest and get ready for what is going to be a hectic second half.

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Joe Veleno back to the AHL, though again that is likely only a paper transaction through the break. The young forward has been a regular in the lineup recently and scored his fourth goal of the season against the Los Angeles Kings last night.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Washington Capitals have dissolved the taxi squad, meaning Lucas Johansen and Pheonix Copley have been returned to the Hershey Bears. There will likely be recalls in a few days, but for now, both of those two can join the AHL squad and keep playing.

Central Division

  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Kevin Czuczman and Zane McIntyre to the Iowa Wild, where they’ll wait for their next opportunity at the NHL level. McIntyre, 29, has only ever played eight games in the NHL and all of them came during the 2016-17 season. He does have a .914 save percentage with Iowa though, in his first season with the organization.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have returned Connor Carrick, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind to the Charlotte Checkers. Fleury, 23, has played nearly the entire season in the minor leagues, racking up 17 points in 36 games.
  • The Calgary Flames have assigned Byron Froese and Connor Mackey to the AHL, as expected. The team comes into the break on a three-game winning streak that has them poised for a second-half run, which kicks off with a seven-game homestand starting next week.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have sent Colton Sceviour, Stuart Skinner, William Lagesson, and Slater Koekkoek down, though some of those may end up back with the big team in the coming months. Lagesson especially has been an interesting find, even if he’s playing just a handful of minutes whenever he’s in the lineup.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Noel Acciari Sent To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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The already incredibly deep Florida Panthers may be getting even deeper. Noel Acciari has been loaned to the Charlotte Checkers for a conditioning stint, a sign that he may be ready to make his season debut at some point in the near future.

Acciari, 30, suffered an injury in the preseason that required surgery and has been on long-term injured reserve ever since. This move doesn’t actually remove that LTIR designation just yet, but even if it did the Panthers are still okay cap-wise because of Markus Nutivaara’s absence. The real question would be where exactly Acciari even fits into the lineup when he returns, given how incredible Florida’s forward group has looked to this point.

While he may not be a household name for many NHL fans, remember that Acciari has been a valuable bottom-six option for the Panthers the last two seasons, even registering 20 goals in 66 games during the 2019-20 campaign. He received Selke Trophy votes that year because of the hard defensive minutes he was asked to play–Acciari almost never started a shift in the offensive zone–and there was no Panther who averaged more short-handed ice time last season. Florida’s penalty kill has actually been one of their biggest weak spots this season, as they sit 19th in the league behind several Atlantic Division rivals.

As a lineup crunch seemingly approaches, Owen Tippett’s name keeps coming up in trade talks and just yesterday Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet threw Frank Vatrano into the rumor mill as well. While Acciari certainly wouldn’t be a one-to-one replacement for either of those offensive wingers, the Panthers will need to make room for him somewhere when he’s ready to return.

Meanwhile, the team has also loaned Spencer Knight to the Checkers, where he can continue to play through the All-Star break.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/02/22

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What better time to dissolve the taxi squads once and for all than Groundhog Day. The daily cycle of moving players in and out of the taxi squad should come to an end after today, provided that history doesn’t repeat at some point in the future. After the five games on the schedule tonight, taxi squads will be no more. For many teams–those who don’t have a game today–that time has already arrived and several player transactions were needed. As always, we’ll keep track of all the shuffling right here.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Winnipeg Jets have assigned Mikhail Berdin, Declan Chisholm, Leon Gawanke, Ville Heinola, Johnathan Kovacevic, Mikey Eyessimont, and Kristian Reichel to the Manitoba Moose, where they can continue to play over the All-Star break. Heinola especially seems likely to have a role at some point with Winnipeg later this season, but for now, he’s headed back to the AHL.
  • The Dallas Stars have returned Riley Damiani and Anton Khudobin to the minor leagues after they finished their pre-All-Star schedule last night. The Stars are still within striking distance in the Central but have to deal with four excellent teams sitting ahead of them.
  • As expected, the Minnesota Wild have recalled Matt Boldy and Connor Dewar from the taxi squad ahead of tonight’s game. Boldy in particular is expected to stay with the Wild the rest of the season, though his waiver-exempt status could be taken advantage of by bouncing him up and down between games.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have assigned Joey Daccord back to the Charlotte Checkers, where he’s having a strong season in the AHL. The 25-year-old netminder has a .925 save percentage in 14 minor league appearances. Later on, they sent Max McCormick back to the AHL as well.
  • Ahead of their game tonight, the Los Angeles Kings have recalled Austin Strand and Christian Wolanin from the taxi squad, while loaning Rasmus Kupari to the AHL. Kupari, 21, has just nine points in 37 games for the Kings this season.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have reassigned Kaedan Korczak, Daniil Miromanov, Logan Thompson, and Brayden Pachal to the AHL, now that they are on break and no longer have a taxi squad.
  • The San Jose Sharks, who don’t play again until February 14, have sent Ryan Merkley, Adam Raska, Zachary Sawchenko, and Jasper Weatherby to the AHL. The San Jose Barracuda play tonight, tomorrow and next Friday, all games which this group could jump into while the Sharks are on break.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned Lukas Dostal, Jacob Larsson, Greg Pateryn, Vinni Lettieri, and Danny O’Regan to the AHL after dissolving their taxi squad. Dostal, the team’s prized goaltending prospect, has a .929 save percentage through his first three NHL appearances, allowing just six goals on 84 shots.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning Trade AHL Forwards

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have completed their second minor trade within a matter of hours, sending center Jimmy Huntington to the Nashville Predators in exchange for center Anthony Richard.

Earlier in the day, the Bolts sent Alexey Lipanov to the Dallas Stars, acquiring Tye Felhaber in return.

Huntington is a 23-year-old undrafted forward with no NHL experience yet. However, he’s put up somewhat decent numbers with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch over the past few seasons. After a tough professional debut in 2019-20 with just three assists in 33 games with Syracuse, he’s scored 11 goals, 16 assists, and 26 points in 55 games in the following two seasons.

Richard actually has some NHL experience to his name. The 100th overall selection in 2015 by Nashville is now 25 years old, and with his AHL numbers starting to plateau, the organization was ready to move on. Richard has seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 31 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals this year. He’s still searching for his first NHL point, with his two games of experience coming in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

 

Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning Complete Minor Trade

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired Tye Felhaber from the Dallas Stars, sending Alexey Lipanov back the other way. Lipanov will report to the Texas Stars of the AHL, while Felhaber is heading to the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.

While neither of these players is expected to make a big impact at the NHL level, it is notable that the Lightning have a history of taking undrafted, high-scoring CHL players and turning them into valuable assets. That describes Felhaber exactly, who had a 59-goal, 109-point season for the Ottawa 67’s in 2018-19 as an overage player.

Undrafted, he’s spent the last few seasons in the Stars minor league system and hasn’t been able to come anywhere near repeating those offensive numbers. He has just two goals in 14 games this season and eight in total over his Texas career.

Lipanov meanwhile was a third-round pick of the Lightning in 2017 but has spent most of his career to this point in the ECHL. The 22-year-old forward is in the final season of his entry-level contract and appears to be a likely candidate to go unqualified as an RFA this summer.

After some interesting performances internationally for Russia that led to his high draft position, Lipanov never really found his footing in the OHL, registering just 30 points in 61 games during his final season there. Last season he did record 15 points in 33 games in Russia’s VHL, but hasn’t even recorded a single goal this year in nine appearances in the Lightning minor league system.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/01/22

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It’s a new month for the NHL, and with that comes a full slate of games. Eleven different matches are scheduled for this evening, including one of the mismatches of the year. The Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best points percentage in the league (.779) and one of two teams averaging more than four goals a game, welcome in the Arizona Coyotes, owners of the second-worst points percentage in the league (.279) and the lowest goals for average (2.19). Can the Coyotes pull off an all-time upset? As they and other teams prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad moves.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Juuso Riikola to the taxi squad, as Brian Dumoulin missed practice again today. Riikola has played in just five games for Pittsburgh this season but has been outstanding for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, registering 12 points in 17 games in the AHL. A little later on, the team recalled Michael Chaput from the taxi squad to the active roster.
  • The New York Rangers have recalled Morgan Barron to the active roster, while sending Tim Gettinger, Lauri Pajuniemi, Tarmo Reunanen, and Jarred Tinordi to the AHL. After tonight’s game against Florida, the Rangers don’t have another scheduled match until February 15.
  • The Washington Capitals have reassigned Brett Leason to the taxi squad, making room for Nick Jensen to be activated from injured reserve. With the taxi squads dissolving this week, Leason will have to soon be sent to the minor leagues if he’s not on the active roster.

Central Division

  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Riley Damiani and Anton Khudobin from the AHL, giving them an extra netminder for tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames. Remember, after a team’s last game before the All-Star break the taxi squad will dissolve, meaning these recalls may not necessarily be to play immediately.
  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Zane McIntyre from the AHL to the taxi squad, likely joining the team on the road in Chicago for their last game before the break. The Wild sent Andrew Hammond, their third goaltender, back to the AHL to play yesterday.

Pacific Division

  • The Seattle Kraken have recalled Max McCormick, Kole Lind, and Connor Carrick to the taxi squad, while Will Borgen has been put in the COVID protocol. Borgen will miss the last two games before the All-Star break, just as he was getting a rhythm in the Seattle lineup.
  • Ahead of puck drop tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, the Vegas Golden Knights recalled a trio of defensemen in Kaedan Korczak, Daniil Miromanov, and Brayden Pachal from the Henderson Silver Knights. Both Korczak (NHL debut) and Miromanov are expected to enter the lineup with Alec Martinez and Dylan Coghlan in protocol and Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud out with undisclosed injuries.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/31/22

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Say goodbye to January with five games on the NHL schedule, including the first of a home-and-home between the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, the Devils will be without head coach Lindy Ruff for both games after his father’s passing a few days ago. Ruff is on leave from the organization, and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine will run the bench in his absence.

As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling:

Atlantic Division

  • The Detroit Red Wings have sent Calvin Pickard and Luke Witkowski to the AHL after the former made two appearances in recent days. Pickard, 29, stopped 36 of 38 shots he faced in an improbable win against the Pittsburgh Penguins a few days ago.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Mark Kastelic and Lassi Thomson from the taxi squad ahead of their game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. Erik Brannstrom has also been cleared from the COVID protocol and could be available.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Lucas Johansen from the AHL to the taxi squad, suggesting the young defenseman could be close to his second game of NHL action. Selected in the first round in 2016, Johansen has just one game under his belt with the Capitals, coming exactly a month ago.

Central Division

  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Andrew Hammond and Kyle Rau to the Iowa Wild. After its game on Wednesday, the taxi squad will be dissolved, meaning Hammond would have needed to go back anyway. Later in the day, they assigned Matt Boldy and Connor Dewar to the taxi squad. Boldy at least will be recalled again before the Wednesday game.

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have loaned Austin Strand to the taxi squad while moving Christian Wolanin up to it from the AHL. The team has one game remaining before the All-Star break, in Detroit on Wednesday night.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/30/22

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There are just a few days left before the All-Star break, but the NHL is still furiously scheduling to try and keep things on track. Despite two football matches that will likely dominate the ratings in North America, seven hockey games are on the docket. That includes a Los Angeles Kings-Pittsburgh Penguins match this afternoon, where newly-extended Jeff Carter will take on his former team once again. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • With Marcus Foligno unavailable for tonight’s game versus the Islanders, the Minnesota Wild recalled forward Kyle Rau from the taxi squad today. Rau will slot into the lineup as Foligno sits out with an upper-body injury.
  • Defenseman Cam Dineen is joining the big club again, heading up to the Arizona Coyotes taxi squad today from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Dineen is in the midst of his best professional season, notching four assists in his first 14 NHL games and five points in six AHL games.

Pacific Division

  • The Vancouver Canucks have returned Spencer Martin to the AHL, after he gave them some very valuable minutes. With Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak both hitting the COVID list at the same time, Martin stopped 113 of 118 shots in three appearances, continuing what has been an outstanding campaign for the 26-year-old netminder.

This page will be updated throughout the day

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