Maple Leafs Recall Martin Jones On Emergency Basis
With Ilya Samsonov being unavailable for tonight’s game against Boston due to illness, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Martin Jones from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. He will back up Joseph Woll against the Bruins.
The 33-year-old played in 48 games last season with Seattle, posting a 2.99 GAA but his save percentage was just .887, a career low. As a result, interest was limited in Jones on the open market as he had to wait more than a month to find a contract, eventually signing a one-year, $875K deal with the Maple Leafs to serve as injury insurance. For his career, Jones has a 2.71 GAA and a .905 SV% in 444 NHL appearances over parts of ten seasons.
With a couple of teams looking for goalie depth at the end of training camp, it came as a bit of a surprise that Jones ultimately went through waivers unclaimed with Toronto assigning him to the Marlies soon after. Jones has been in a three-goalie rotation with them this season and has played in just five games so far, putting together a 3.37 GAA with a .870 SV%. It’s his first action at the AHL level since the 2013-14 campaign when he got into 22 games with AHL Manchester. With Samsonov likely just being day-to-day with this illness, it’s likely that Jones’ NHL stint will be a short-lived one.
Penguins Recall Joona Koppanen
The Penguins have added an extra forward to their roster in advance of tonight’s game against Philadelphia as they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Joona Koppanen from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Pittsburgh had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to add him to the active roster.
The 25-year-old spent six years in Boston’s system before becoming a Group Six unrestricted free agent back in July. He quickly found a new home with Pittsburgh inking him to a two-year contract on the opening day of free agency. That contract is a two-way agreement for this season before converting to a one-way pact for 2024-25.
Koppanen has five games at the NHL level under his belt, all coming with the Bruins last season where he had an assist, four penalty minutes, and a faceoff success rate of nearly 57% while playing just under 11 minutes per contest. He put up a career-best 35 points with AHL Providence last season but has struggled offensively this year, collecting just three goals and three assists so far through 18 games. Nevertheless, his ability to play center and take draws has made him a viable recall option although it remains to be seen if he’ll suit up against the Flyers tonight.
Pacific Notes: Kylington, Irwin, Barabanov, Rutta, Kunin
Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington skated with a small group today but head coach Ryan Huska cautioned (video link) that the blueliner is still a long way away from returning. Kylington signed a two-year, $5MM deal in August 2022 but has yet to play a game on that agreement, missing all of last season and the first seven weeks of this one for personal reasons. Huska noted that Kylington has skated on his own a bit so this wasn’t the first time he hit the ice but there is no timetable for when he might be able to return. Kylington is currently on LTIR but with Calgary recently moving Nikita Zadorov to Vancouver, they now have some flexibility to work with when the time comes to welcome him back to the active roster.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Matt Irwin’s stint with Vancouver was short-lived as he has been returned to AHL Abbotsford, per the AHL’s Transactions Log. The 31-year-old signed with the Canucks in free agency but he wound up clearing waivers in training camp, resulting in Irwin seeing his first minor league action since the 2016-17 campaign. He has two assists in 13 games with Abbotsford so far.
- The Sharks could soon welcome back a pair of veterans as head coach David Quinn told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that defenseman Jan Rutta and winger Alexander Barabanov are very close to returning and should play at some point on their six-game road trip. Rutta has missed the last week and a half with an undisclosed injury and has struggled in his first season with San Jose, notching just one point in 19 games with a 37.7 CF%. Barabanov, meanwhile, has been out since late October with a finger injury. After putting up 47 points last season, he was held off the scoresheet in his first six games this year.
- The news on the injury front wasn’t all good for the Sharks, however. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that winger Luke Kunin is dealing with an upper-body injury, resulting in him missing tonight’s game against New Jersey. Kunin sits third on San Jose in goals this season with five, one behind co-leaders Fabian Zetterlund and Mike Hoffman.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vegas Golden Knights
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Vegas Golden Knights
Current Cap Hit: $89,210,531 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Kaedan Korczak (one year, $789.1K)
Potential Bonuses
Korczak: $82.5K
Korczak has bounced back and forth between Vegas and AHL Henderson this season and that will likely continue. He’s someone who could be a candidate for taking less than his qualifying offer in exchange for a one-way salary. Meanwhile, his bonuses are games played-based and while it’s unlikely he’ll top out, he should reach at least some of that amount which, thanks to them being in LTIR, will result in a bonus carryover penalty for next season.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Michael Amadio ($762.5K, UFA)
F William Carrier ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Pavel Dorofeyev ($825K, RFA)
D Ben Hutton ($850K, UFA)
F Jonathan Marchessault ($5MM, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Daniil Miromanov ($762.5K, RFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($2.75MM, UFA)
Marchessault had a strong showing last year with 57 points and followed that up with a Smythe-winning performance to help Vegas win the Stanley Cup. Accordingly, some expected that he’d be a strong candidate for an early extension but the veteran acknowledged that there weren’t talks in the summer as GM Kelly McCrimmon tends to wait before handing out new deals. That hesitation might be wise on the part of the Golden Knights as the 32-year-old is off to a slower start. He’s still in line to get a multi-year deal but it might wind up coming closer to this AAV in the end whereas in the summer, he likely could have pushed for $6MM or more on a long-term agreement.
Stephenson has been one of the better bargains around the NHL in recent years; his trade from Washington certainly sparked his offense, making him a quality two-way center. He’s also off to a quieter start this season but his recent track record will be good enough for some teams to view him as a second-line fit. Accordingly, he should reach (or even surpass) the $5MM mark on the open market. Carrier, one of the few remaining original expansion picks, hasn’t really moved up the depth chart over his now seven seasons in Vegas but remains an every-game fourth liner that brings plenty of physicality. The open market isn’t always great for players in that role but after his good playoff showing, he could be one of the exceptions and push for closer to $2MM.
Dorofeyev is in his first full season with Vegas although a good chunk of that has been in a reserve role. While he’s arbitration-eligible next summer, he also doesn’t have enough of an NHL track record to command much more than his $866K qualifying offer. As for Amadio, he has become one of the better recent waiver claims around the league, going from a fringe player to a full-time bottom-six piece who has produced at a pretty good rate after notching 16 goals last season. If he stays on the pace he’s on now for this year, he could easily double this AAV on the open market.
At the time Martinez’s deal was signed, the belief was that the final season could be a bit of a drag for the Golden Knights. Unfortunately, injuries struck in the first year and since then, his minutes have been closer to the 19-minute mark compared to the 21 or 22 minutes he has been at in the past. Effectively, he has gone from being a number two blueliner to a fourth option. Given his age (36), that’s not entirely surprising. His next deal, if there is one, is likely to be a one-year agreement closer to half this price point and could also contain some games played incentives.
Hutton is a serviceable seventh defender who can hold his own on the third pairing when needed. It’s hard to see him commanding much more than this on the open market while the Golden Knights need to keep this roster spot as close to the league minimum as possible. Miromanov lands on here due to his LTIR presence as he has yet to play this season. When healthy, he’ll likely return to AHL Henderson and is another candidate to sign for less than his qualifier in exchange for a one-way deal in the summer.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Nicolas Hague ($2.294MM, RFA)
G Adin Hill ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Brett Howden ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Keegan Kolesar ($1.4MM, UFA)
G Robin Lehner ($5MM, UFA)
D Brayden McNabb ($2.85MM, UFA)
D Brayden Pachal ($775K, RFA)
D Shea Theodore ($5.2MM, UFA)
G Logan Thompson ($766.7K, UFA)
Howden wound up accepting what amounts to a third bridge deal over the summer, settling after filing for arbitration. His production dropped last season and is at a similar clip this year although he plays an important role on the defensive side of things. That said, unless his offense comes around, he’ll be in tough to get much more than this in free agency, even as a 27-year-old at that time. Kolesar is in a similar situation as Carrier, just without quite as long of a track record. He’s a true fourth liner which limits his earnings upside but some team is going to look at him playing a regular role in the playoffs last year and use that to justify an above-market offer that could also push him into the $2MM range.
Theodore showed plenty of promise but was a little inconsistent early in his time with the Golden Knights, understandable given his age at the time. That has changed now as he has become an all-around all-situations player who can log big minutes on the top pairing. His offensive game has blossomed to the point where he could make a case for number one money if he gets to the open market. Not to the top-end level, mind you, but a long-term deal in the $9MM range could be doable. It might be tough for Vegas to match that price point, however, so if he wants to stay with them, Theodore might have to leave a bit of money on the table to do so.
McNabb has turned into a reliable second-pairing shutdown defender over his tenure with Vegas. He’s being paid at the level of a higher-end depth piece so this contract has certainly worked in their favor. The offense is limited which hurts to an extent but we’ve seen shutdown blueliners go well past $4MM in recent years. It seems reasonable to think McNabb will land there as well.
Hague was basically limited to a bridge deal in 2022 with Vegas not having enough cap room to entertain a longer-term agreement. However, his play has largely leveled out since then, slotting in as a fourth or fifth defender most nights. This is still a good value contract but perhaps a long-term next summer might cost less than it could have if Vegas had the ability to offer one last time out. He’ll be owed a $2.7MM qualifier and should land more than that with arbitration rights but his cap might be in the $4MM range if he stays at this level. Pachal is waiver-eligible this season which has helped keep him on the NHL roster. He’s in a depth role at the moment and until he can lock down a full-time spot on the third pairing, it’s hard to see him getting much more than this even with arbitration rights.
Lehner missed all of last season after undergoing hip surgery and remains on LTIR now. At this point, it’s reasonable to suggest that he might be on there for all of next season as well, especially based on what they did with Hill this summer.
Speaking of Hill, he certainly benefitted from his strong playoff performance, earning a deal that few would have seen coming just a few months earlier. It’s a deal they could afford thanks to Lehner’s LTIR. So far, he has been even better this season. It’s early but if he can maintain that level, he could push closer to the $6MM range on a long-term agreement. If he goes back to his level of play before his time in Vegas, he’s still on the upper end for platoon players so he could still come close to this contract.
As for Thompson, his first full season was quite good, earning an All-Star nod while finishing second on the All-Rookie team. Hill’s playoff run largely took away from that but Thompson remains an above-average NHL netminder with a cap hit below the league minimum, making him one of the top bargain deals in the league (and one I missed in a recent mailbag when discussing value deals). Even if he stays in a platoon through the end of this contract, he could also push past the $4MM mark, especially if multiple teams see him as a true starter. If that happens, $5MM or more becomes doable.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Paul Cotter ($775K, RFA)
F Jack Eichel ($10MM, UFA)
Vegas landed their long-coveted top center when they acquired Eichel and while no one can say that his contract is well below market value, they’re getting a decent return value-wise. Last season, he was close to a point-per-game player and is near that mark again this year. Accordingly, given the demand for centers, if he was on the open market today, he’d get pretty close to this, perhaps even a bit more. He’ll be 30 when he hits free agency and while there could be a cheaper year or two at the end on a max-term agreement, a small raise could still be doable. Cotter has become a quality fourth liner who can move up in a pinch. Three years for that at the minimum is a nice piece of business. If he can stay as a regular throughout the deal, he could have a shot at doubling this in free agency.
Metropolitan Notes: Chinakhov, Haula, Kuefler
Earlier this week, the agent for Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov indicated that his client was unhappy with his role and while the youngster hadn’t asked for a trade, he’d like to be moved. Speaking with reporters today including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post-Dispatch, the 22-year-old tried to pour cold water on that notion to an extent. He stated his affinity for the team and market but that he simply just wants to play. Chinakhov started the season on IR and then was sent to the AHL briefly before being recalled early last month. Since then, he has been a regular most nights but is playing under 14 minutes per game, lately spending time on the fourth line even but has five points in 13 games. Clearly, the 2020 first-round pick is looking to have a bigger role; he will once again be a restricted free agent in the summer but will have arbitration rights at that time for the first time.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While the Devils didn’t get center Erik Haula back in their lineup tonight against San Jose, he might not be out much longer. Ryan Novozinsky of The Star-Ledger notes that the veteran will accompany the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. The 32-year-old suffered a lower-body injury last week against Buffalo. Haula is coming off back-to-back 40-plus-point seasons and has produced at a better pace than that this season with a dozen points in 18 games.
- The Islanders have activated winger Daylan Kuefler off season-opening IR and assigned him to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old is in his first professional season but wasn’t able to participate in training camp after suffering an injury in the WHL playoffs back in the spring. Last season, Kuefler had 61 points in 54 games with Kamloops while adding seven more in 13 playoff contests and four more in as many Memorial Cup appearances.
West Notes: Byfield, McBain, Flames, Hertl, Suter
Kings forward Quinton Byfield has been one of the top breakout performers of the early season, notching 16 points in his first 19 games, just six points shy of his career-high already. The timing is certainly good on his part as the 21-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract this season. However, despite the hot start, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there have been no discussions about a possible contract extension just yet. At this point, it might make sense for both sides to wait it out for a while yet to see if Byfield is able to sustain this type of production over a larger sample size since that would greatly influence any negotiations. With the number of big contracts Los Angeles has on the books, a bridge agreement might be the eventual outcome for Byfield’s next deal.
More from the Western Conference:
- It will be a while yet before the Coyotes get Jack McBain back in their lineup. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that the center is still several weeks away from returning from his lower-body injury that has kept him out for a couple of weeks already. The 23-year-old was off to a nice start to his season before the injury, collecting three goals and four assists in 13 games while chipping in with 33 hits.
- The Flames announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jacob Markstrom will miss tonight’s game with the flu. However, as it was too late to recall a goalie from the minors (past the 5 PM local time deadline), the team has signed Dustin Nickel to an ATO agreement to serve as the emergency backup to Daniel Vladar tonight. Nickel spent four years at Mount Royal University, wrapping up that part of his career following the 2015-16 season.
- Sharks center Tomas Hertl will miss tonight’s game due to what’s being termed a mid-body injury, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. While many of San Jose’s players have struggled mightily this season, the 30-year-old has put up reasonable numbers, notching four goals and a dozen assists through 20 games. His injury paves the way for the recently-signed Justin Bailey to make his San Jose debut.
- Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet provided an update to reporters including Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link) that center Pius Suter is dealing with a lower-body injury that is taking longer to recover from than originally expected. He had a setback a week ago and has yet to resume skating. Suter, who has four goals in 15 games this season, was placed on IR last week.
Minor Transactions: 11/27/23
While the trade market is fairly light in the NHL, activity has started to pick up elsewhere. A couple of swaps highlight this list of minor transactions.
- Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate announced the acquisitions of center Peter Abbandonato and defenseman Owen Headrick from Chicago for future considerations. Abbandonato had 46 points with Laval last season but has been limited to just two in a dozen appearances this year. Headrick, meanwhile, had 54 points in 61 ECHL contests last season and played in five games this season with the Wolves. With Carolina recently loaning some players to Chicago, the Wolves had a bit of a roster crunch which this move helps to alleviate.
- Canadiens prospect Dmitri Kostenko is on the move in the VHL as the league announced that the blueliner has been moved to Yugra for cash considerations. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2021 (87th overall) and spent last season with KHL Kunlun but dropped down to the lower level this season. Montreal holds his NHL rights indefinitely as there is no transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Federation.
- Former NHL blueliner Alexey Marchenko has found a place to play this season as he has joined Ak Bars Kazan on a one-year deal, per a team release. The 31-year-old played in 121 games over parts of four seasons in the NHL between Detroit and Toronto where he had 21 points. This will be his third different team since returning to Russia for the 2017-18 season.
- The Ducks have reassigned forward Jaxsen Wiebe from AHL San Diego to ECHL Tulsa, per a team release. The 21-year-old signed an entry-level deal with Anaheim back in March but is off to a bit of a slow start in his professional career, notching just one assist through his first seven games.
Jets Assign Dominic Toninato To AHL
Earlier this month, the Jets recalled Dominic Toninato from AHL Manitoba under emergency conditions and then converted him to a regular recall one day later. His time with Winnipeg is up at least for now as the team announced (Twitter link) that the center has been sent back down to the Moose.
The 29-year-old has played in five games with the Moose this season and has been productive in those contests, collecting four points. Toninato produced at a similar rate in Manitoba last year with 19 goals and 16 helpers in 50 contests, helping him earn a two-year contract this offseason which featured a $400K guaranteed salary in each one.
Toninato is in his fourth season with Winnipeg, suiting up in 84 games for them. He also had stints with Colorado and Florida; all told, he has played in 169 NHL contests, collecting 12 goals and 18 assists.
The veteran has been up for two fairly long stretches with the Jets without seeing any NHL action. Between being up for 19 days on his October recall and eight more (on regular recall) this time around, Toninato was getting close to the 30-day threshold which would have necessitated him being placed on waivers to go back down. That clock is now on hold again, at least for the time being.
Kraken Recall Andrew Poturalski
Kraken center Andrew Poturalski didn’t get a chance to play in his first recall of the season but he’ll get another opportunity to play with the big club as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Coachella Valley.
The 29-year-old was brought up earlier this month for a week and a half but spent that time as Seattle’s reserve forward. He was sent back down to the Firebirds last week to get in some game action and suited up for his first contest in nearly two weeks on Saturday.
Poturalski is in his second year in the Kraken’s organization after signing with them as a free agent in the 2022 offseason. He has been quite productive at the AHL level throughout his career including a 101-point campaign in 2021-22 but it hasn’t yielded many opportunities as he has just four career NHL appearances under his belt where he has two assists.
For now, at least, Poturalski will likely resume the reserve role as Seattle has a dozen other healthy forwards on its active roster but should someone need a night off, he might get a chance to make his first NHL appearance since 2021.
Five Key Stories: 11/20/23 – 11/26/23
The final full week of November is in the books and it was a stretch that was dominated by injury news. We recap the biggest headlines in our key stories.
Back On The Market: Jaroslav Halak’s time with the Hurricanes came to a quick conclusion with the veteran requesting and being granted his release from his PTO agreement. The 38-year-old was brought in a couple of weeks ago when Frederik Andersen was diagnosed with blood clots with the hope that he’d give Carolina some extra depth between the pipes. However, the team wasn’t prepared to offer him a contract at this point, likely prompting Halak to try to move on. Halak has done quite well for someone picked in the ninth round, putting together a 17-year NHL career so far. He’ll have to wait a little longer at least before he has a shot at making it 18.
Done For The Year: When the Blackhawks picked up Taylor Hall over the summer, the hope was that he’d be a capable top-six scorer to give top prospect Connor Bedard some support. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone as planned. Hall has dealt with multiple injuries already this year and his latest one, a torn ACL, will end his season prematurely as he’ll undergo surgery on Monday. Hall’s year comes to an end with just two goals and two assists in ten games, hardly the start to his time in Chicago anyone was hoping for. He has one year left on his contract after this one with a $6MM AAV.
Perry Gone Indefinitely: Still with Chicago, midway through the week, Corey Perry was a surprise scratch with head coach Luke Richardson calling it an organizational decision. Saturday, GM Kyle Davidson stated that the veteran would be gone for the “foreseeable future” while declining to provide further details or comment on any speculation. Meanwhile, soon after that, his agent released a statement stating that Perry has stepped away to attend to personal matters, somewhat contradicting Chicago’s assertion of his absence being an organizational decision. Perry has been relatively productive this season, sitting fourth on the team with four goals and five assists through 16 games but those totals won’t be getting added to for a while by the looks of it.
More Injury News: A tough start to the season just got a bit tougher for Columbus as they’ll be without one of their top defensemen for at least the next six weeks as Damon Severson is sidelined with an oblique injury. Columbus picked up the 29-year-old in a sign-and-trade with New Jersey who gave him an eight-year, $50MM contract; he was off to a decent start with eight points in 19 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a game. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs will be without John Klingberg for a while as he has been placed on LTIR as his undisclosed injury is not healing as well as hoped. He had struggled when he was in the lineup and didn’t provide the offensive boost Toronto was expecting. It wasn’t all bad news on the injury front, however, as the Lightning welcomed back goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as he has fully recovered from the back surgery he had in training camp. How did Tampa Bay celebrate? By becoming the first team in NHL history to score at least eight goals on 14 or fewer shots in a game since shots were first officially tracked in 1955-56.
Girard Enters Player Assistance Program: Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard has taken a leave of absence from the team to enter into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The blueliner stated that he “made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse”. The 25-year-old has become an integral part of Colorado’s back end in recent years but will now be away from the team indefinitely as he works through the program.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.