Corey Perry To Be Away From Blackhawks For Foreseeable Future
There have been plenty of questions when it comes to Corey Perry’s situation in Chicago. He has missed the last two games due to what head coach Luke Richardson termed an organizational decision although he declined to provide more information than that. Today, GM Kyle Davidson met with reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago and said that the veteran would be away from the team for the foreseeable future.
While Davidson failed to provide more specifics than that regarding the nature of Perry’s absence, the GM reiterated that this is a team decision, not Perry’s to be away from the team. When pressed about possible reasons by reporters, he stated that it would be irresponsible to rule anything out so he wouldn’t comment on any scenarios.
However, following the press conference, Perry’s agent Pat Morris of Newport released the following statement to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link):
Corey Perry has stepped away from the Chicago Blackhawks to attend to personal matters. Corey and his family appreciate privacy at this time.
Chicago acquired Perry’s negotiating rights back at the draft from Tampa Bay and quickly signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal. While that’s not a typical move for a rebuilding team to make, the Blackhawks clearly identified that they wanted some quality veterans on a young roster, one that added Connor Bedard with the top pick back in June.
While Perry has been more of a supporting cast type of player in recent years with Tampa Bay and Montreal, the 38-year-old has logged a little under 15 minutes a night so far this season and has been relatively productive, collecting four goals and five assists in his first 16 games. With nine points, he sits fourth on the team in scoring.
With the team already missing Taylor Hall – whose ACL surgery is set for Monday – and Perry, that’s a decent chunk of their scoring depth on a team that’s the third-lowest-scoring group in the league. However, Davidson indicated that going and adding a replacement is not something he is looking into right now, suggesting that there are other teams that are far more aggressive in trying to add to their rosters at the moment. At this point, getting into any sort of bidding war for one of those players wouldn’t make sense for the Blackhawks who are still clearly in a rebuilding situation but now will be without another key veteran in Perry for a while yet at least.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Minten, Senators New Arena
The Sabres are expected to recall a forward later today, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. They finished yesterday’s victory over Pittsburgh with just ten forwards as center Zemgus Girgensons left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury while winger Jordan Greenway was a late scratch with an undisclosed injury, resulting in Buffalo having to dress seven blueliners. Notably, the Sabres don’t have any open roster spots – they’re one of the teams carrying three goalies as well – so any recall would require an IR placement or waiver-exempt blueliner Ryan Johnson being sent down to AHL Rochester.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Maple Leafs prospect center Fraser Minten is on the move as WHL Saskatoon announced that they’ve acquired the 19-year-old from Kamloops. Minten made Toronto’s roster out of training camp and got into four games with them before being assigned back to junior last month. Since that re-assignment, he has been quite productive offensively, notching ten points in his first seven games. Saskatoon moved a pair of first-round picks as part of the swap, a fairly high price tag for a one-year rental as Minten will be eligible to play in the AHL next season if he doesn’t crack Toronto’s roster out of camp once again.
- Senators owner Michael Andlauer has received an extension on determining if LeBreton Flats is the right location for a new arena, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. Originally, their exclusivity agreement was set to expire in the fall but will now go until next September. This location has long been viewed as the best fit for a new building although Andlauer and his ownership group will need time to look into an assess other potential opportunities which this extension will give him a chance to do.
Islanders Place Adam Pelech On LTIR
Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech left yesterday’s game against Ottawa with an upper-body injury and it will keep him out for a while as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been placed on LTIR. This means that he will miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days, pegging his earliest possible return date as December 19th against Edmonton.
Pelech was injured on his second shift of the game on Friday, playing less than a minute in total. It hasn’t been a great start to the season for the 29-year-old as he missed three games earlier this month with a lower-body injury and has been a bit quieter than usual when he has suited up. Through 16 appearances, he has just three assists along with 28 blocks and 15 hits while averaging a little under 20 minutes a night, a number that’s skewed somewhat with his early exit yesterday.
Pelech is in the third season of an eight-year, $46MM contract (a $5.75MM cap charge), making him the second-highest-paid Islander blueliner behind Ryan Pulock. Even with his slower start, any sort of long-term absence will sting for New York, a team that has won just eight of their first 19 contests so far this season.
Part of the impetus for the particularly quick LTIR placement is the fact that defenseman Sebastian Aho was also injured early against the Sens yesterday. These two injuries leave the Isles with just five healthy rearguards on the active roster heading into tonight’s game against Philadelphia. Unless Aho is able to suit up, a blueliner will need to be brought up from AHL Bridgeport but without Pelech’s LTIR placement, they would not have had enough money to do so.
Bruins Activate Matt Grzelcyk From LTIR, Assign Two To AHL
The Bruins are set to welcome back one of their blueliners as the team announced that Matt Grzelcyk has been activated from LTIR. To create the cap space necessary to do so, they’ve returned defenseman Mason Lohrei and forward Patrick Brown to AHL Providence.
Grzelcyk has missed the last three-and-a-half weeks with an upper-body injury sustained late last month against Florida. In order for a player to go on LTIR, they must miss at least 10 games and 24 days. Both of those were reached yesterday, paving the way for his activation for tonight’s game against the Rangers.
While the 29-year-old has been a capable secondary contributor from the back end, Grzelcyk has been a bit quiet on that front this season, collecting just a single point (a goal) over his first nine appearances. He’s coming off his fourth-straight 20-point campaign, one that saw him record a career-high 26 points in 2022-23 so it’s fair to say that Boston will be counting on a bit more from him moving forward.
Grzelcyk’s return isn’t the most welcome news for Lohrei who had been acquitting himself nicely with Boston in his first taste of NHL action. The 22-year-old has played in ten games with the big club so far this season, picking up a goal and three assists along with 18 blocked shots while logging 17:35 per contest. He also has four assists in seven games with Providence, making for a decent start to his first full professional campaign.
As for Brown, his return to the minors comes as no surprise after he cleared waivers last week for the second time this season. The 31-year-old is in his first season with the Bruins after inking a two-year deal with an AAV of $800K on the opening day of free agency this summer. However, he has been limited to eight appearances so far where he has an assist while averaging only 9:03 per night. When he suits up for Providence, it will be his first taste of AHL action since the 2020-21 campaign when he played in nine games for Vegas’ affiliate.
Canucks Sign Nils Aman To Two-Year Extension
Friday was a good day for Canucks center Nils Aman. Early in the day, he was recalled from AHL Abbotsford to take the place of Pius Suter on the roster with Suter being placed on injured reserve. He then made his season debut and picked up a pair of assists in a Vancouver victory. In between that, the team announced that they signed Aman to a two-year contract extension. While financial terms were not disclosed, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the one-way deal carries an AAV of $825K.
GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:
Nils has worked hard on his development since we brought him into our organization. He is a smart two-way hockey player who uses his speed to his advantage. We will continue to work with Nils to help him grow and improve his game.
The 23-year-old was drafted by Colorado in the sixth round in 2020 (167th overall) but didn’t sign with the Avs in 2022, making him an unrestricted free agent. Less than a week later, Vancouver inked him to a two-year entry-level deal; he’s in the final season of that agreement this year.
Aman spent most of last season with the Canucks, getting into 68 games where he had four goals and 14 assists in a little under 13 minutes a night of ice time. He was a bit more productive in a short stretch in the minors, however, notching nine points in 17 contests during a six-week stint with them midseason.
With Vancouver adding more forward depth over the offseason, that pushed Aman to the AHL at the start of this season where he has been quite productive with 15 points in as many games, helping him to earn this promotion.
While it would be reasonable to assume that Aman will be sent down once Suter is cleared to return, that’s unlikely to be the case. When he plays in his next game for Vancouver, he will lose his waiver exemption, meaning the Canucks would have to waive him to send him back to Abbotsford. Considering this extension, it doesn’t feel like that’s a route they will want to take which means he might be up with the big club for good now.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
American Thanksgiving is generally viewed as a good point for teams to assess where they are and what they might be looking to do on the trade front. One team – Edmonton – didn’t even wait that long before deciding to make a coaching change while another – Calgary – has flipped from looking to extend its key pending UFAs to putting a hold on those discussions; one has already requested a trade.
With that in mind, it’s a good time for our next mailbag segment. In our last one, topics included the Shane Pinto situation in Ottawa, possible teams that could be looking to make an early trade, Mike Sullivan’s future in Pittsburgh, and much more.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks
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.
Vancouver Canucks
Current Cap Hit: $86,578,549 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None on the active roster
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Anthony Beauvillier ($4.15MM, UFA)
F Teddy Blueger ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($3MM, UFA)
G Casey DeSmith ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Mark Friedman ($775K, UFA)
F Dakota Joshua ($825K, UFA)
D Filip Hronek ($4.4MM, RFA)
F Sam Lafferty ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Tyler Myers ($6MM, UFA)
F Elias Pettersson ($7.35MM, RFA)
Headlines were made when discussions about an extension with Pettersson were called off by the center’s camp, citing a desire to play out the season and see where things sit. That apparently is on hold now as GM Patrik Allvin acknowledged recently that they’re working on a new deal. It’s fair to say it will be a very pricey one. After a career year last season, he’s off to an even better start in 2023-24 and has been among the league leaders in scoring (at times the outright leader). He plays a premium position and is a year away from UFA eligibility which also works in Pettersson’s favor. Heading into the year, an AAV between $10.5MM and $11MM felt like a possible landing spot. Now, it seems likely to fall about a million higher.
Beauvillier came over as part of the Bo Horvat trade last season and did well with his new team down the stretch but has underachieved this season. He has reached at least 18 goals in four of the last six years, however, and that type of offensive consistency will help on the open market. A big raise doesn’t seem likely but something near this on the open market could be doable. Blueger opted for a one-year deal over the summer after splitting last season between Pittsburgh and Vegas. As a bottom-six forward, his market shouldn’t be much stronger next summer unless he’s either able to hit new benchmarks offensively or is able to sustain his 56% success rate on the draw that he had down the stretch with Vegas.
Lafferty was acquired late in training camp with Toronto needing to clear salary. When he was with Chicago, he did well in a middle-six role but was a lot quieter on the fourth line with the Maple Leafs. Things have gone well so far with his new team which could push his AAV closer to the $2MM mark in the summer. As for Joshua, he did quite well in his first year with Vancouver last season, his first full year of NHL action. If he gets to the double-digit-goal mark again while bringing plenty of physicality, he could double this on the open market.
Myers was the subject of trade speculation throughout the summer but remains with Vancouver. He’s still capable of playing in the top four although his best role might be as a fifth that moves up when injuries arise. In free agency, that’s closer to a $3.5MM player. It’s worth noting that the bulk of his salary was paid in September as a signing bonus so if he was to be acquired midseason, his new team wouldn’t have to pay much in the way of actual money. Hronek was brought in from Detroit at the trade deadline, a confusing move on the surface for a team that was selling. He has been quite productive early on so far and should be in good shape to land much more than his $5.28MM qualifying offer this summer. Like Pettersson, he has just one year of club control remaining. Friedman has played regular minutes since being acquired early in the year but has cleared waivers in two straight years now, suggesting that he will probably stay near the minimum moving forward.
DeSmith is another newcomer to the team after being acquired at the start of training camp. Over the last few years, he has been a capable backup and with that market going up in recent years, a good showing this season could propel him to a deal closer to the $3MM mark next summer.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Brock Boeser ($6.65MM, UFA)
D Guillaume Brisebois ($775K, UFA)
F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($775K, UFA)
D Akito Hirose ($787.5K, RFA)
F Nils Hoglander ($1.1MM, RFA)
D Noah Juulsen ($775K, UFA)
F Andrei Kuzmenko ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Tucker Poolman ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Pius Suter ($1.6MM, UFA)
Boeser was in trade speculation last season when things weren’t going too well offensively. He stated his desire to stay and got his wish. That has worked out quite well considering the hot start he has had. That said, if he stays in the 25-goal range, it’s hard to see this price tag going much higher; he’ll need to carry this hot start to a career year to have a shot at any sort of significant raise. Kuzmenko had a very strong first NHL season but with his track record being short, the two sides ultimately worked out a bridge extension. If he has two more years of 70 or more points, he could push past the $7MM mark in 2025.
Suter was a late signing in free agency after a down year with Detroit. That said, he has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons and spent most of that time at center. As long as he holds down a regular spot on the third line, they’ll do well with this contract. Meanwhile, a couple more years scoring at that rate would give Suter a much better platform to hit the open market with. Hoglander spent most of last year in the minors but did enough before that to get a seven-figure bridge deal. Now, it’s about re-establishing himself as a regular and if he can produce in a top-nine role (he’s not an ideal fourth line candidate), he could push for closer to $2MM with arbitration rights. Di Giuseppe has largely been a journeyman, often splitting time between the NHL and AHL with several organizations but has found a home with Vancouver where he’s seeing regular minutes and producing. Given his age (30), it’s unlikely a significant bump is coming his way but if he stays a regular, a one-way deal around the $1.5MM mark could be doable.
Poolman is once again on LTIR with concussion issues that have limited him to just 43 games with the Canucks over the last two seasons, only three of which came last year. At this point, it’s hard to see him playing again. If he does try to push through it and play after this deal, his injury history will limit him to a league-minimum contract. Hirose impressed after signing as a college free agent down the stretch, earning this deal for his efforts, one that converts to a one-way salary next season. If he’s established as a roster regular at that point (even if he’s in the sixth or seventh depth role), arbitration eligibility would push him past $1MM. As for Juulsen and Brisebois, both are depth defenders who are likely to continue to stay at or close to the minimum moving forward.
Signed Through 2025-26
G Thatcher Demko ($5MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($4.95MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Carson Soucy ($3.25MM, UFA)
Garland has been a capable secondary scorer throughout his career but his contract was viewed as a negative with Arizona and he’s now in that situation with Vancouver despite starting off rather well with them. While his agent has been given permission to try to facilitate a move, that will be hard to do without salary retention and possibly taking a contract back. Meanwhile, Garland will need to get back to the 50-point mark if he wants a shot at another deal like this. Mikheyev’s contract raised some eyebrows given his limited track record and injury history with Toronto. However, when healthy, he has produced at a rate worthy of this type of contract. If he can continue that and stay off the injury list, he could tick past the $5MM mark next time.
Soucy came over from Seattle as a pricey third pairing option. He does well in his limited role, however, which helps to justify the price tag. Given his playing style and the fact he’ll be entering his age-32 year on his next contract though, it would be surprising to see a big raise coming his way.
When Demko is on his game, he can be among the top goalies in the league. We saw it a couple of years ago when Vancouver nearly pulled off the improbable comeback to make the playoffs (coming up just short) and we’re seeing it early on this year. When things are going well, this is a contract that’s well below market value. Of course, things didn’t go anywhere near as well last season which was a big reason for their drop in the standings. While the starting goalie market has largely stagnated lately with the backups getting a boost in free agency instead, Demko could help break that trend. If he plays up to his capabilities for the rest of this contract, a long-term deal worth $7MM or more should be doable. If it goes really well, he’ll be eyeing Connor Hellebuyck’s $8.5MM but his track record isn’t as strong at the moment.
Minor Transactions: 11/20/23
Here’s a rundown of some of the latest minor moves from around the hockey world with an NHL connection:
- Free agent forward C.J. Smith has inked a tryout deal with JYP in Finland per a team release. The 28-year-old spent last season under contract with the Rangers but was limited to just 21 games at the AHL level with Hartford where he had four goals and two assists. Smith has 15 career NHL contests under his belt over parts of four seasons with Buffalo and Carolina.
- Simon Despres’ international journey will take him to Nottingham in England as the Panthers announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 32-year-old played in 193 NHL games over parts of six seasons with Pittsburgh and Anaheim and since then, he has played in the AHL along with stints in Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, and Austria.
- With Jesper Wallstedt returning to AHL Iowa earlier today, the Wild have reassigned goalie prospect Hunter Jones to ECHL Iowa, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 23-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level deal but has struggled considerably in a short sample size this season, posting a 4.98 GAA with a .845 SV% in four games with the Heartlanders.
- The Sharks have promoted goalie Eetu Makiniemi back to the AHL level, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old was sent down last week to get some playing time as he has just one AHL appearance under his belt so far. However, he didn’t fare particularly well in his two games with ECHL Wichita, allowing nine goals on 72 shots. Makiniemi, who got into two games with the Sharks last season, is in the final season of his entry-level contract.
- The Devils have re-assigned goalie Tyler Brennan to ECHL Adirondack, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 20-year-old is in his first professional campaign and playing time has been hard to come by as he has played just twice for the Thunder, allowing six goals on 33 shots.
- Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate in Manitoba announced that they’ve returned netminder Thomas Milic to ECHL Norfolk. The 20-year-old was drafted in the fifth round by the Jets back in June following a stellar season with Seattle of the WHL and has split the season between the Moose (four games) and Admirals (six appearances).
Metropolitan Notes: Joseph, Nedeljkovic, Ruff, Del Bel Belluz
While it had been believed that defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been a frequent healthy scratch lately, it turns out that isn’t exactly the case. Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now that he’d have liked to reinsert the blueliner in their lineup tonight against Carolina but Joseph is dealing with a lower-body injury. It’s an issue that he has been dealing with for a little while which helps explain why he hasn’t played over the last couple of weeks. The 24-year-old has played in five games so far this season, picking up an assist while averaging a little over 13 minutes a night.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with the Penguins, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that Alex Nedeljkovic has been recalled from his LTIR conditioning stint. The 27-year-old is working his way back from a lower-body injury and stopped 17 of 19 shots in a victory on Friday night. Nedeljkovic also scored an empty-netter in that game, making him the first goalie in AHL history to have scored two career goals.
- While Lindy Ruff has done well behind the bench in New Jersey, he nearly didn’t get the opportunity to coach there. Ryan Novozinsky of The Star-Ledger notes that Ruff was not on GM Tom Fitzgerald’s original shortlist of eight candidates to take over the head coach position back in 2020 but one of Fitzgerald’s friends encouraged him to interview Ruff. The Devils set a franchise record for points last season, helping earn him a multi-year contract extension last month.
- The OHL rights to Blue Jackets prospect Luca Del Bel Belluz have been acquired by Saginaw, per a team release. The 20-year-old is in his first professional season with AHL Cleveland and has fared well in his limited action so far, collecting two goals and three assists in six games. Saginaw is hosting the Memorial Cup this year and if Columbus decides that they want Del Bel Belluz to go back and get top-line minutes, they’ll be sending him to a team that’s loading up for what should be a long playoff run.
Atlantic Notes: Klingberg, Timmins, Barkov, Andersson
The Maple Leafs are concerned that John Klingberg’s undisclosed injury could linger for a while, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. The veteran has struggled mightily in his first year with Toronto and it was recently revealed that he has been playing through an injury. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that they’re trying a more aggressive treatment with Toronto having a light schedule at the moment due to their trip to Sweden but that Klingberg is taking longer than they hoped to bounce back from it. He has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest against Minnesota and if they want to consider an LTIR placement, that would keep him out through December 12th at a minimum.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Still with the Maple Leafs, defenseman Conor Timmins skated today but isn’t expected to play against Minnesota on Sunday, Alter adds (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is still working his way back from a lower-body injury sustained late in the preseason. Timmins, who is on LTIR, has been upgraded to being out day-to-day. Toronto will have to send two players down to activate Timmins and his $1.1MM price tag once he’s cleared to return.
- Panthers center Aleksander Barkov left Friday’s game against Anaheim after a hit from Jackson LaCombe early in the third period and did not return. Postgame, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards that there was no immediate update on him after the game. Florida is flying back from its road trip today so an update on the captain likely won’t come until Sunday. Barkov is off to a strong start to his season with 17 points in his first 16 games.
- Lias Andersson had a good start to his season in Montreal’s farm system but that will be on hold for a while as their AHL affiliate announced (Twitter link) that the forward will miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old signed a two-way deal with the Canadiens in the summer after being non-tendered by Los Angeles. Andersson, the seventh overall pick in 2017, has seven goals and two assists in ten games so far this season.