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Blue Jackets Assign Six Players To AHL

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Following the conclusion of their regular season last night, the Blue Jackets wasted little time making some roster moves.  Following that contest, they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Samuel Knazko, Stanislav Svozil, and Billy Sweezey along with forwards Tyler Angle, Joona Luoto, and Mikael Pyyhtia to AHL Cleveland.

Knazko made his professional debut in North America this season and has suited up in 49 games with the Monsters this season, picking up a goal and 20 assists.  He got into two contests with Columbus this month, averaging a little under 16 minutes per night of playing time.

Svozil spent most of this season with Regina of the WHL where he had a very productive season, picking up 11 goals and 67 assists in 56 games; his 78 points were the third-highest in the league.  He actually has yet to play in the AHL but also has suited up twice for Columbus, recording an assist in his debut on Thursday while logging over 20 minutes a night.

As for Sweezey, he has had a bit more experience in Columbus, suiting up in nine games for them this season, picking up an assist along with 39 hits and 20 blocked shots in his first taste of NHL action.  He has 11 assists in 55 contests in the minors this year.

Angle is nothing if not consistent.  He has 11 goals with Cleveland this season, matching his output from 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the process.  He also now has his first NHL tally in the books after scoring on Friday against Buffalo.

Luoto has been back and forth between the two clubs in recent weeks.  He got into seven games with the Blue Jackets this year in his first NHL action since the 2019-20 campaign with Winnipeg while he has collected 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 games with the Monsters.

Lastly, Pyyhtia spent the bulk of the year playing in Finland with TPS Turku of the SM-liiga before being assigned to Cleveland last month.  He has played in six games with the Monsters so far, scoring three times while he picked up an assist in his two games with Columbus.

All six players will have an opportunity to play in two more games this weekend as the Monsters wrap up their season.  However, with none of them available to play for Cleveland last night, they lost to Utica, eliminating them from playoff contention.

Hurricanes Sign Dominick Fensore

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Dominick Fensore’s senior year at Boston University was certainly a strong one.  He was rewarded for his efforts late on Friday when the Hurricanes announced that they’d signed the defenseman to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins next season so Fensore will not be eligible to suit up for Carolina in their upcoming playoff run.  GM Don Waddell released the following statement:

Domenick is a skilled, playmaking defenseman. He captained a BU team that was among the best in college hockey this season, and we’re excited for him to take the next steps in his development.

The contract pays $832.5K at the NHL in each season with a $70K minor league salary while Fensore receives a signing bonus of $185K spread out evenly over the two years, creating an AAV of $925K.

Fensore posted his second straight 31-point season in 2022-23, finishing tied for fifth on the Terriers in scoring and second among defensemen.  Boston University made the Frozen Four earlier this month before falling to number-one-ranked Minnesota in the semifinals.

The 21-year-old, a third-round pick back in 2019 (90th overall) is on the smaller side at 5’7 but has clearly shown an ability to produce at the college level.  He’ll now get his chance next season to see if he can become an impact point producer in the pros in the minors although, with AHL Chicago dropping Carolina as their affiliate for next season, it remains to be seen where Fensore will be eventually suiting up.

Blue Jackets Fire Brad Larsen

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Another coaching vacancy in the NHL has been opened up as the Blue Jackets announced that they have fired head coach Brad Larsen.  Additionally, they will not be renewing the contract of goaltender coach Manny Legace.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement:

This season has been extremely disappointing and the responsibility for that lies with all of us. These decisions were difficult and not made lightly given our respect for both Brad and Manny as coaches and people. Brad has been part of our organization for more than a decade, and we are extremely thankful for his hard work and many contributions – both on and off the ice – during that time. We wish nothing but the best for Brad and his family in the future.

While Larsen hadn’t been the head coach for long (just two years), he had been with the organization for close to a decade.  Prior to being promoted to the top job in 2021-22, he had served as an assistant under former bench bosses Todd Richards and John Tortorella.

When Larsen took over the top job, it looked like Columbus was embarking on a bit of a rebuild.  But the Blue Jackets got off to a hot start last season and while they eventually missed the playoffs, there was some optimism that they could turn things around a little quicker than expected.  That resulted in a surprisingly aggressive summer last year, one that saw them land winger Johnny Gaudreau in free agency in an effort to bolster their attack.  In doing so, expectations were heightened for 2022-23.

However, things didn’t go as planned.  Not even close, in fact.  Instead, the team set a franchise record with 563 man-games lost to injury, many of which were to some of their key performers.  That played a big role in their offensive production dropping sharply by 50 goals in total, moving them from 14th in that category a year ago to 30th this season.  Meanwhile, with several key blueliners missing (including Zach Werenski who was limited to just 13 appearances), the defense struggled mightily as well, putting extra pressure on the goaltending which also had some challenges with starter Elvis Merzlikins having a year to forget, posting a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% which played a big role in Legace’s deal not being renewed.

The end result was a 25-47-9 record, putting the Blue Jackets last in the Eastern Conference while bringing Larsen’s record as head coach to 62-86-16, good for a points percentage of just .427, paving the way for this change to be made.

Columbus now joins Anaheim and Washington as teams that will be looking for a new bench boss for next season.  After a 2022 summer that saw them try to accelerate their rebuild, Kekalainen will need to decide if that’s the path they want to continue to go down or if they’ll take a step back once again.  Which direction they intend to go should influence if they look for another first-time bench boss to lead them through the rebuild or if their preference will be a veteran bench boss with more of a proven record of short-term success.

Rangers Unlikely To Sign Jayden Grubbe

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June 1st is an important date for quite a few drafted prospects.  Simply put, pretty much any CHL-drafted player who was drafted two years ago has until June 1st to sign an entry-level deal or have their rights relinquished.  It appears that the Rangers will be going the latter route with Jayden Grubbe as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that they’ve informed teams that they’re unlikely to sign the 20-year-old.

Grubbe was a third-round pick by New York in 2021 (65th overall) following an injury- and pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign that limited him to just five games with Red Deer of the WHL.  The hope was that as a big center – he stands 6’3 – he’d slowly develop into an impactful middleman and quality centers with size are typically hard to come by.

However, Grubbe didn’t exactly light things up last season, notching 14 goals and 21 assists in 68 games.  For a drafted player in his post-draft season, those numbers are a bit on the low side.  To his credit, Grubbe nearly doubled those totals this year, tallying 18 goals and 49 assists to finish second on the Rebels in scoring.  He has been quite productive in the playoffs so far, notching a goal and nine assists in their five-game victory over Calgary.

With the Rangers notifying teams early of their intentions, they’re hoping that there will be interest from a few teams that will enable them to pick up a late-round pick to flip his rights.  It wouldn’t be the best return on a high third-round selection but at this point, anything they can get is better than losing Grubbe’s rights for nothing.  If no one picks up and signs Grubbe, he will re-enter the draft in June.

Injury Updates: McLeod, Kulikov, Jenner, Vlasic, Larkin

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The Oilers welcomed back one of their centers before their game tonight against Colorado, announcing (Twitter link) that Ryan McLeod was activated off LTIR.  The 23-year-old missed four weeks with an upper-body injury and was retroactively shuffled to LTIR over the weekend.  McLeod has put up nearly identical numbers compared to his rookie season, notching 11 goals and 11 assists in 55 games heading into tonight’s action although he got to those numbers in 16 fewer contests than a year ago.

Other injury news around the NHL:

  • Prior to their game tonight against Chicago, the Penguins announced that they activated defenseman Dmitry Kulikov off LTIR. The 32-year-old was brought in from Anaheim at the trade deadline but suffered a lower-body injury in just his fourth game with his new team.  Kulikov has 16 points, 107 blocks, and 93 hits in 65 games this season and suited up on the third pairing.
  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that center Boone Jenner is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He took the pregame warmup but was a late scratch.  Jenner has had a nice season, notching 26 goals, the second-highest total of his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs.  While it would be easy to say Columbus should shut him down for their final two games after tonight, their AHL affiliate is currently one point out of a playoff spot and keeping Jenner out would result in Cleveland losing another player to recall, hurting their postseason chances.
  • Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic did not accompany the team on their season-ending road trip, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, meaning his campaign has come to an early end. The 36-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in their home finale against Edmonton over the weekend.  Vlasic saw his playing time increase by more than two minutes per game this season to 17:28 but with a $7MM AAV for three more years after this one, San Jose still didn’t get a great return on this contract this season.
  • The Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that center Dylan Larkin is dealing with a lower-body injury, keeping him out of the lineup tonight against Carolina. The captain is averaging a point per game for the first time, collecting 32 goals and 47 assists in 79 games.  His absence created the emergency conditions to bring up Danny O’Regan earlier today although they opted to play seven defensemen instead.

Tanner Jeannot Won’t Be Ready For Start Of Playoffs

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The Lightning paid a high price to acquire Tanner Jeannot from Nashville prior to the trade deadline, sending five picks (one in each round, first through fifth) along with defenseman Cal Foote to get the winger with the hopes he’d play an important role in the playoffs.  Instead, he won’t be available when they start next week as head coach Jon Cooper told reporters (video link) that while they’re hopeful he’ll be available at some point, it won’t be at the beginning of their first-round series against Toronto:

You’d have to sit here and say he’s more than day-to-day. Hopefully he’ll be back here at some point in the playoffs, but he’s definitely not going to start with us in the playoffs.

When asked if Jeannot is expected to miss the whole series against the Maple Leafs due to his lower-body injury, Cooper wouldn’t go that far, only indicating that he’s not going to be ready to play when the series opens up.

The 25-year-old was a big surprise last season with the Predators, tallying 24 goals and 17 assists in 81 games, albeit with a particularly high shooting percentage of 19.4%.  In the process, he looked like he’d become a part of their long-term core.

But things didn’t go as well this year as Jeannot notched just five tallies with nine helpers in 56 contests, resulting in GM David Poile opting to move him.  However, things haven’t gone any better for him since the move as Jeannot has only a goal and three helpers in 20 games.

Of course, Jeannot also brings a significant physical presence as he sits sixth in the NHL in hits with 290 after putting up 318 in 2021-22.  At a minimum, even if he’s not producing, he can still impact the game in a lesser role.  Unfortunately for Tampa Bay that impact won’t be coming at the start of the series.

Predators Reassign Kevin Gravel

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Apr 10: The Nashville Predators announced Kevin Gravel has once again been reassigned to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals after serving as a healthy scratch in Saturday night’s game.

Apr 8: Defenseman Kevin Gravel has been no stranger to being recalled this season and he is once again rejoining the Predators as Nashville has recalled him from AHL Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log.

It is the seventh promotion of the season for the 31-year-old, all of which have been on an emergency basis.  The recall is needed with four blueliners – Roman Josi, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon, and Mark Borowiecki – all banged up and the team hesitating to play college free agent signing Jake Livingstone in a regular role while the Predators remain in the hunt for a playoff spot; they’re one point out of the final Wild Card spot with four games left in their season.

Gravel has played in 23 games with Nashville this season, picking up an assist along with 36 blocked shots and 23 hits while averaging a little over 14 minutes on the back end.  It has been his first taste of NHL action since getting into three games with Toronto back in 2019-20.  Gravel will likely reprise his typical third pairing role in what is basically a must-win game against Winnipeg tonight.

Five Key Stories: 4/3/23 – 4/9/23

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The playoffs are almost upon us but there was still some notable news around the hockey world which is recapped in our top stories.

Going Independent: It has been nearly 30 years since an AHL team has been completely independent but that will change next season as the Chicago Wolves notified their parent team in Carolina that they will not renew their affiliation agreement and instead will be an unaffiliated squad.  GM Wendell Young indicated that it’s time for them to “follow their own philosophy” over following developmental instructions from the Hurricanes.  Carolina will now have to work to find a place for their prospects next season, either through a split affiliation or by loaning a handful of players out to multiple organizations.  Meanwhile, the Wolves could still look to add some NHL-affiliated players on loan agreements to help fill out their roster but those loans would come with the understanding that Chicago will have full control of their playing time.

Fantilli Wins Hobey Baker: Friday was a good day for Michigan center Adam Fantilli.  After taking home NCAA Rookie of the Year earlier in the day, the draft-eligible forward won the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in college hockey.  The 18-year-old led the NCAA in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games to make him the third Wolverine to take home the award.  Fantilli is the consensus second-overall pick in the upcoming draft and after a freshman year like that, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll be given the opportunity for an encore performance or if he’ll be playing in the pros in 2023-24.

Not Calling It A Career Yet: Long-time winger Zach Parise has been going year-to-year when it comes to his playing future since being bought out by Minnesota in 2021.  However, the veteran knows that he isn’t ready to hang up his skates yet, revealing that he intends to play a 19th NHL season in 2023-24.  The 38-year-old has had a decent season with the Islanders, chipping in with 21 goals in 80 games, giving them a decent return on a $1.5MM contract (half base salary, half bonuses).  With how he has performed and Parise’s history with GM Lou Lamoriello dating back to their time in New Jersey, it’s hard to imagine that the two sides won’t be able to work out another one-year agreement but if it doesn’t happen, he should be able to generate some interest elsewhere.

Colorado Injuries: This is hardly an ideal time for injuries, especially for teams with eyes on a long playoff run.  That’s the case for the Avalanche who now find themselves without defenseman Cale Makar and forward Darren Helm who are both out indefinitely with lower-body injuries.  Makar, Colorado’s top defender, is logging a career-high 26:23 per night which leads the NHL while chipping in with 66 points in 60 games.  Any sort of extended absence for him would certainly hurt them heading into the first round while making it more difficult to lock down the top seed in the Central.  Helm, meanwhile, has missed most of the season with injury trouble and has been limited to just 11 appearances so far.

Key Activations: It wasn’t all negative news on the injury front across the league as a pair of Eastern Conference contenders welcomed key players back.  The Maple Leafs activated center Ryan O’Reilly from LTIR after missing a little over a month with a hand injury.  Toronto added him well before the deadline to give him time to get acclimated down the stretch but instead, they’ll be using the final few games to determine his best spot for the playoffs.  Meanwhile, the Bruins welcomed back winger Taylor Hall after the veteran missed over a month with a lower-body injury.  Hall has been a capable secondary scorer this season with 36 points in 59 games and will make an already deep lineup even deeper heading into the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Martin Frk Linked To Swiss League

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Martin Frk has consistently been one of the top-scoring threats in the AHL for the better part of the last decade.  However, it appears that there’s a chance he’ll be heading elsewhere for next season as Blick’s Stephan Roth reports that the winger could be joining EV Zug in the Swiss NLA for 2023-24.  No agreement has been finalized at this time.

The 29-year-old signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Blues last summer, a contract that guaranteed him $560K in total salary which is quite high for an AHL player.  However, St. Louis has yet to bring Frk up this season.  Instead, he has spent the full campaign with AHL Springfield, notching 30 goals and 34 assists in 64 games, good for tenth in the league in scoring.

Barring a recall in the final week, Frk’s streak of six straight years of seeing NHL action will come to an end.  He has 124 appearances at the top level with decent numbers of 20 goals and 21 assists but hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time role.  With his role now seemingly set as a high-end minor league scorer, the time might be right for Frk to try something new and see how things fare for him overseas.

Pacific Notes: Schwartz, Comtois, Demers, Vikman

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Kraken winger Jaden Schwartz was a late scratch in yesterday’s contest against Chicago.  Postgame, head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters, including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times, that it wasn’t a rest day for the 30-year-old but rather he was out and is listed as day-to-day.  Schwartz has had a much healthier season compared to his first year with Seattle and it has resulted in him having his fifth career 20-goal campaign.  The Kraken are still in a position to battle for seeding in the Pacific as they’re only two points behind Los Angeles for third place while they have a game in hand.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that winger Max Comtois will miss the final three games of the season due to an upper-body injury. His year comes to an end with just nine goals and ten assists in 69 games.  The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights but with a $2.55MM qualifying offer, he looks like a potential non-tender candidate in June.
  • The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defenseman Jason Demers back to Bakersfield of the AHL. The 34-year-old logged nearly 11 minutes on Saturday in his first NHL appearance since May 2021, his 700th in total.  Demers has spent the rest of the year with the Condors, recording 18 assists in 55 games.  It’s believed that the veteran is leaning towards retiring after the season.
  • The Golden Knights have given prospect Jesper Vikman his first pro contract but it’s only of the AHL variety as their farm team in Henderson announced they’ve signed the goaltender to a tryout agreement. The 21-year-old had a 3.29 GAA along with a .903 SV% with Vancouver of the WHL this season.  Vikman was a fifth-round pick by Vegas in 2020 (125th overall) and the Golden Knights have until June 1st to give him an entry-level deal or lose his rights.

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