CHL Trade Roundup: Sale, Toure, Sobolev, Thornton
The CHL Trade Deadline is set to hit on Wednesday and there have been several big moves made already that have involved NHL prospects. Several more have happened today; here’s a rundown of those moves.
- Kraken prospect Eduard Sale has been acquired by OHL Kitchener along with blueliner Olivier Savard in exchange for forward Kyle Morey, defenseman Blair Scott, and eight draft picks, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek (Twitter link). Sale was the 23rd pick back in June and is in his first season in North America where he has struggled a bit, notching just 20 points in 25 games with the Colts. He was more of a factor for Czechia at the World Juniors, picking up seven points in as many contests.
- A Senators blueliner is on the move as Windsor picked up Djibril Toure from Sudbury for a pair of draft picks. The 20-year-old signed with Ottawa as an undrafted free agent back in September. Toure, who stands 6’7, has been a shutdown defenseman at the OHL level but still has 12 points in 24 appearances this season.
- While Brantford was selling with yesterday’s Jorian Donovan trade, they also added to their roster, acquiring Canadiens blueline prospect Danill Sobolev for forward Masen Wray and defenseman Callum Cheynowski. Sobolev was a fifth-round pick by Montreal in 2021 (142nd overall) and has been a shutdown defender in his three junior seasons. He’ll be too old for junior hockey next season and it remains to be seen if Montreal will look to find a place for him in their system.
- Coyotes goaltender Anson Thornton’s junior rights have been moved from OHL Barrie to Niagara for a conditional draft choice. The 20-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent with Arizona 2021 but has missed most of the year with an injury, being limited to just four appearances with AHL Tucson where he has a save percentage of just .849.
Ducks Recall Robert Hagg
When the Ducks moved Jamie Drysdale to Philadelphia as part of yesterday’s trade that saw them acquire prospect Cutter Gauthier, a spot on their back end was opened up. It didn’t take long for them to fill it as Anaheim has recalled defenseman Robert Hagg from the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 28-year-old was an NHL regular on the blueline only a few years ago but injuries have limited him since then. After only getting into 38 games last season with Detroit, Hagg didn’t have the strongest of markets last summer in free agency, resulting in him settling for a one-year deal at the league minimum.
The thought was that Hagg would provide some grit at the back of their back end with GM Pat Verbeek clearly making toughness a priority over the summer. But things didn’t go quite as anticipated as Hagg wound up clearing waivers in training camp with several of Anaheim’s top defensive prospects getting roster spots instead.
Since then, Hagg has played regularly with the Gulls, getting into 22 games so far in his first taste of AHL action since the 2016-17 season and has four points in those appearances. This is his fourth NHL recall of the season but he didn’t get any playing time in the first three. He won’t be in the lineup tonight against Nashville so his season debut will have to wait a little longer.
Central Notes: Mrazek, Drouin, Kirkland, Thornton
Even with a handful of teams believed to be looking for goalie help, the market for Blackhawks netminder Petr Mrazek isn’t likely to be too strong. As a result, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic feels (subscription link) it might be more likely that Chicago winds up extending the netminder over dealing him for what’s likely to be a limited return. The 31-year-old has put up a .903 SV% in 25 games this season, a very respectable number on a team that’s in a battle for the bottom of the standings once again. He currently carries a cap hit of $3.8MM and while it’s unlikely an extension would come in at that amount, keeping him around on a short-term extension to allow Drew Commesso to have a bit more time to develop with AHL Rockford would make some sense, especially if the trade market isn’t likely to yield much in return.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- After a rough start with his new team, Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has settled in nicely and is in the middle of a strong stretch where he has 17 points in his last 22 games. To that end, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now evaluates the feasibility of trying to sign the 28-year-old to a contract extension. Drouin is playing on a deal worth $825K this season, opting for a short-term agreement in the hopes of establishing a better market next summer. His performance is worth a fair bit more than that but with Colorado’s cap situation, they’ll still be capped at a lower-cost offer. That said, if Drouin wants some stability and to stay in a good situation, he could be amenable to the possibility of re-signing now.
- The shuffling of Justin Kirkland continues. After being sent back down yesterday, the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that the winger has been recalled from AHL Tucson. It’s his third recall in the last two weeks although he has yet to make an appearance yet with Arizona. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old has been productive with the Roadrunners, recording 13 points in 12 games so far.
- Still with Arizona, while not yet announced by the Coyotes, the team has loaned goaltender Anson Thornton back to OHL Barrie, notes Colts color commentator Gene Pereira. The 20-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent with Arizona back in 2021 but has been injured for most of the season, being limited to just four appearances with Tucson where he has a save percentage of just .849. With the CHL trade deadline coming next week, he may find himself on the move at that level in the coming days.
Pheonix Copley Out For The Season
The Kings have been without backup goaltender Pheonix Copley for nearly a month now and they won’t be getting him back this season. John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor was the first to report that the netminder has undergone successful ACL surgery which will keep him out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. The team has subsequently confirmed the news.
The North Pole native was a major bright spot for Los Angeles last season, coming up from the minors to pick up 24 victories in just 37 games played, helping to stabilize what had been an uncertain goaltending situation until Joonas Korpisalo was acquired at the trade deadline. That helped earn Copley a one-year, $1.5MM contract extension last February.
But things hadn’t gone as well for the 31-year-old this year. Before being injured, Copley struggled in his first eight starts of the season, posting a 3.16 GAA with a .870 SV%, leading to some speculation that they could once again look to the trade market as they did a year ago to try to shore up their second-string option behind Cam Talbot.
For the time being, veteran David Rittich will serve as Talbot’s backup with Aaron Dell joining their farm team in Ontario to back-fill that spot. But with Copley’s contract now destined to remain on LTIR, they may be able to use some of that money to try to acquire an upgrade on Rittich in the second half of the season. Failing that, they may at least be able to keep an extra player or two on the active roster once winger Viktor Arvidsson can return from his back injury which has had him on LTIR for the entire season so far.
Devils Place Timo Meier On IR, Recall Max Willman
The Devils have made a pair of roster moves before tonight’s game against Vancouver. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Timo Meier has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to December 30th. With the open roster spot, the team has recalled Max Willman from AHL Utica.
Meier has missed the last week with what was termed as a mid-body injury. That came on the heels of him missing a couple of weeks with a lower-body issue earlier in the season as well. The 27-year-old hasn’t had a great first full season with New Jersey, notching just nine goals with six assists through his first 28 games. That’s not the type of output they were expecting when they acquired him from San Jose last season and signed him to an eight-year, $70.4MM contract back in June. With the back-dated placement, he will have already missed seven days so he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.
As for Willman, he turned a PTO into a two-way deal in October and this will be his third recall of the season. He has played in four games with New Jersey so far, picking up his first goal since the 2021-22 campaign with Philadelphia while logging a little over 11 minutes a night. The 28-year-old has spent most of the year in the minors, notching nine goals and seven assists in 20 games so far. Assuming Meier’s injury is a short one, it’s likely that this stint on the roster will be a short one for Willman.
Jake Guentzel Could Delay Extension Discussions With Penguins
Jake Guentzel’s future with the Penguins is one of several questions surrounding the team as they continue to battle to get back into a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The fact he’s a pending unrestricted free agent would seem to expedite the need for extension talks to happen. However, in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that Guentzel’s camp could opt to wait until the summer before engaging in substantive discussions about a new deal. He adds that there have been no discussions between the two sides so far.
The 29-year-old is in the middle of what could be a career year as he has 18 goals and 25 assists in 37 games so far, a 95-point pace. His previous benchmark was sent in 2021-22 when he collected 84 points in 76 contests. Guentzel has reached the 40-goal mark twice so far in his career and is on pace for 40 this season as well, setting him up quite nicely for a substantial raise on his current $6MM AAV.
One of the elements that could delay Guentzel’s decision is Pittsburgh’s place in the standings. If GM Kyle Dubas decides to embark on any sort of retool or rebuild, it’s possible that could dissuade Guentzel from wanting to extend. Of course, it’s possible that in that scenario, the decision gets taken out of his hands altogether if the Penguins decide to move him altogether by the March 8th trade deadline. What Pittsburgh’s plans are moving forward will obviously go a long way toward determining Guentzel’s level of interest in sticking around.
Assuming the salary cap goes up to the $87.5MM range as anticipated, Pittsburgh should have enough flexibility to make a competitive offer to Guentzel, one that could push past the $9MM mark on a long-term agreement. Considering his value to the team and in a potential trade, it stands to reason that Dubas will at least approach Guentzel’s camp to get a sense of what a new deal might cost. But one way or another, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be putting pen to paper on an extension anytime soon.
Bruins Recall Jesper Boqvist, Assign Georgii Merkulov To AHL
With there being a bit of uncertainty with Boston’s lineup for tonight, the Bruins have opted to make a recall up front, announcing that winger Jesper Boqvist has been recalled from Providence. To bring Mason Lohrei back up after being papered down yesterday, Georgii Merkulov was assigned to Providence as well.
The 25-year-old had 21 points in 70 games with New Jersey last season but was non-tendered back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. Boqvist eventually settled for a one-year, one-way contract worth the minimum salary of $775K a couple of weeks later with the hopes that he could lock down a full-time spot on Boston’s fourth line.
That hasn’t gone completely as planned as instead of securing a full-time spot, he cleared waivers at the end of training camp and has spent most of the season in the minors. Boqvist has done well down there, picking up 10 goals and 13 assists in 31 games with Providence while also making a pair of appearances with Boston.
As for Merkulov, he played in four games with Boston while on recall, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 10:35 per night. The 23-year-old has been quite productive with Providence, however, notching 14 goals and 16 assists in 31 games and should go right back to being in a top role for them.
As Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), winger James van Riemsdyk is day-to-day so it would appear Boqvist’s recall is to help cover against that. Lohrei could also take his place in the lineup if they want to go with seven blueliners while Matthew Poitras is also available after returning from his stint at the World Juniors.
Senators Notes: Tarasenko, Pinto, Joseph
With the Senators underachieving considerably this season, they’ll likely be selling leading up to the March 8th trade deadline barring some kind of significant turnaround in the standings. To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team is expected to approach veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko about waiving his no-trade clause before the deadline. The 32-year-old inked a one-year, $5MM deal in late July after longer-term agreements that were more to his liking failed to materialize on the open market even after changing agents just days into free agency. Tarasenko hasn’t lit it up with Ottawa but does have 24 points in 32 games and would add some secondary scoring to a contending squad. The Sens would likely need to retain up to 50% in order to maximize the return when the time comes to move him.
More from Ottawa:
- Garrioch notes in the same piece that while the original plan was for Shane Pinto to have a conditioning stint with AHL Belleville later this month when he’s eligible to return, that’s no longer the case. The 23-year-old is allowed to start skating with the team on Wednesday while his first eligible game back is January 21st, allowing for ample time for him to work on his conditioning and get up to speed before making his debut. Ottawa still needs to sign Pinto but that will likely have to be a low-cost one-year deal given their salary cap situation.
- In a separate piece from Garrioch, he notes that winger Mathieu Joseph has resumed skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. He was recently placed on LTIR to accommodate Thomas Chabot’s activation but that was a short-term solution as Joseph could return as soon as Tuesday. If that happens, the Sens will need to do some roster juggling to get back into cap compliance. Joseph was off to a strong start before suffering the injury last month, picking up 19 points in his first 25 games.
Blackhawks Claim Zach Sanford Off Waivers From Coyotes
As the injury bug continues to strike, the Blackhawks have turned to the waiver wire. As first reported by PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link), Chicago has claimed forward Zach Sanford off waivers from Arizona.
The 29-year-old was waived by Arizona on Friday. He has played in 11 games since being recalled in December, picking up a pair of points along with eight blocks and four hits while logging a little over nine minutes a night on the fourth line.
Sanford is a veteran of over 300 career NHL games but has bounced around a lot lately, spending time with St. Louis, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Nashville, and Arizona since 2021. At his best, he was a capable third-line power forward but in recent seasons, he has settled in as a recallable veteran when needed. Sanford has spent most of this season with AHL Tucson after inking a one-year, two-way deal with the Coyotes over the summer, picking up a goal and three assists in 16 games.
While on the surface, this might seem like a puzzling claim for a rebuilding team to make, Chicago now has eight forwards on injured reserve. After making several recalls from AHL Rockford, they also picked up Rem Pitlick in a trade from Pittsburgh earlier today and are now adding Sanford merely to get to 12 healthy forwards on the active roster. It stands to reason that Sanford could be back on the wire once some of these players come back but for now, his stay in the NHL will last at least a little while longer.
Predators Recall Denis Gurianov
Denis Gurianov has been one of the top scorers in the AHL so far this season and he has been rewarded for his efforts. The Predators announced that they have recalled the winger from AHL Milwaukee.
It has been quite the fall from grace for the 26-year-old in recent years. He had a 20-goal campaign with Dallas in 2019-20 and looked like he’d be part of their long-term core. However, Gurianov’s numbers had steadily dropped since then and near the trade deadline last season, the Stars moved on, sending him to Montreal in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov.
Things didn’t go much better with the Canadiens as Gurianov had just eight points in 23 games, resulting in the team declining to tender him a qualifying offer of $2.9MM, making him an unrestricted free agent last summer.
Gurianov’s market wasn’t particularly robust, resulting in him having to settle for a one-year, $850K one-way agreement. The expectation was that he’d add a bit of offensive depth to a bottom-six group that didn’t exactly feature much firepower on paper.
However, that plan didn’t exactly pan out either. After a tough preseason that saw him record just one assist in four games, Gurianov was waived and after clearing, was sent to the Admirals. To his credit, he has fared quite well down there, leading the team in scoring with 30 points in 27 games, good for a tie for sixth in AHL points. He’ll now get a chance to try to contribute to a Nashville attack that sits in the middle of the pack for goals, ranking 15th in that department.