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Lack Of Cap Space An Impediment For Lightning And Isaac Howard

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With more college teams starting to be eliminated, we’re seeing an influx of NHL prospects signing contracts.  With Michigan State losing on Thursday, several of their prospects will be turning pro.  While it’s expected that Lightning winger Isaac Howard will be one of them, his situation might take a little longer to resolve.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic relays (Twitter links) that Howard’s desire is to burn a year of his entry-level deal right away and join Tampa Bay for the stretch run where he could play for them, including in the playoffs.  However, that’s something they can’t afford to do.  Per PuckPedia, the team has just $8,372 of cap space which obviously isn’t enough to fit Howard in.  Even prorating by day, they’d likely only be able to sign him with two days left in the regular season.  That’s still not for another roughly three weeks and it might be harder for the team to consider using him in the playoffs after sitting for so long.

Alternatively, the Lightning could push for Howard to go to AHL Syracuse.  For that to happen, he’d have to sign an entry-level deal that begins next season (eliminating his NHL eligibility this season) or sign a tryout deal with the Crunch, play with them for a bit, and then sign an NHL deal with Tampa Bay beginning this year to be playoff-eligible.  The latter route is rarely taken but there is a recent instance of a player doing that; Anaheim’s Sam Colangelo took that path last season.

Howard started his college career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2022-23 but went to Michigan State via the transfer portal the following year.  He put up a point per game last season and found another gear offensively this year, tallying 26 goals and 26 assists in just 37 games, slotting him fifth in NCAA scoring while demonstrating he’s ready to make the jump to the pros.  But with Tampa Bay’s cap situation, just how exactly he’s going to start his professional career remains in question.

Predators Sign Matthew Wood

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Another top college prospect has decided that the time is right to turn pro.  The Predators announced that they have signed forward Matthew Wood to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal, which begins this season, were not disclosed.

The 20-year-old was the 15th overall selection back in 2023, following a very impressive freshman season at the University of Connecticut.  That year, he had 11 goals and 23 assists in 35 games before averaging nearly two points per game for Canada at the World Under-18s, further boosting his stock heading into the draft.

But things didn’t go as well for Wood last season.  His point total dropped to 28 in 34 games although 16 of those were goals.  Nevertheless, he opted to enter the transfer portal after the season, joining the University of Minnesota.

Wood played for Canada at the World Juniors last year but didn’t make the squad this season.  However, he had a strong year for the Golden Gophers, setting new benchmarks in goals (17) and points (39) in 39 contests, good for a share of second place in team scoring while earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention team.

Wood will now get his first taste of NHL action as he’ll report to the Predators in the coming days.  Because he’s burning the first year of his contract this season, he will not be eligible to report to AHL Milwaukee when Nashville’s season comes to an end.  The Preds have ten games left this season so Wood should have a chance to get at least a few games in with the big club, giving him a chance to make a good first impression toward a possible full-time spot next season.

Connor Zary Out Week-To-Week

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While it wasn’t the worst-case scenario for Flames forward Connor Zary as it pertains to his lower-body injury, he’ll still be out for a little while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Zary has been listed as out week-to-week.

The injury was sustained back on Thursday in their loss to Dallas in a collision with Mikko Rantanen, requiring some assistance to get off the ice.  Initially feared it could be a recurrence of the significant knee injury that caused Zary to miss 15 games recently, it doesn’t appear as if the injury is as severe but nonetheless, he’s set to miss some time.

This is Zary’s first full NHL season after he spent a bit of time with AHL Calgary last year.  The 23-year-old had 14 goals and 20 assists in 63 games in 2023-24 and is producing at a similar clip this year, tallying 13 goals and 14 helpers in 54 outings, good for seventh in team scoring, fifth among Flames forwards.

Zary joins Anthony Mantha and Justin Kirkland (who both have season-ending injuries) on the shelf for Calgary as they look to get back into a playoff spot.  Entering tonight’s action, the Flames are six points out of the last Wild Card spot held by St. Louis but also have three games in hand on the Blues.  But they’ll have to find a way to stay in the mix without one of their top-six forwards for at least the next little while.

Bokondji Imama Out Four To Six Months After Bicep Surgery

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Bokondji Imama’s first season with the Penguins has come to an early end.  The team announced that the winger underwent successful surgery to repair a bicep injury.  The procedure carries a recovery timeline of four to six months.

The 28-year-old joined Pittsburgh in free agency last summer, inking a one-year, two-way contract.  Imama started the campaign with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, notching three goals, two assists, and 47 penalty minutes in 24 games with them before being recalled to the big club in late January.

Since then, Imama has had his biggest taste of NHL action, getting into 16 games, tallying a goal, 30 penalty minutes, and 45 hits in a little under six minutes of playing time per night.  For his career, he has a pair of goals in 31 appearances at the top level.

Imama will once again be an unrestricted free agent this summer.  At the long end of the recovery timeline, he could miss part of training camp which might negatively affect his market in free agency.  Imama indicated earlier this month that his preference was to remain with Pittsburgh but with this injury, it remains to be seen if they’ll be willing to do so.

Flames Sign Jacob Battaglia To Entry-Level Contract

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The Flames have agreed to terms with one of their more promising prospects.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Jacob Battaglia to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry an AAV of $931.7K and while not specified by the club, it will begin next season.

The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick last year, going 62nd overall after a promising sophomore season with OHL Kingston.  After potting seven goals and 20 assists as a rookie, those numbers jumped to 31 and 34, respectively, in 67 outings in 2023-24.

This season, Battaglia was able to add to those totals once again.  He finished up the campaign with 40 goals and 50 helpers in 68 games, good for a share of the team lead in scoring with Vegas prospect Tuomas Uronen.  Battaglia had a pair of assists in yesterday’s playoff opener as well.

As Battaglia won’t turn 20 until next March, playing in the minors next season won’t be an option.  He’ll have to make Calgary’s roster or be returned to Kingston.  The latter scenario is much more likely and in that instance, his deal will slide and still have three years left on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign.

Blackhawks Sign Sam Rinzel

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11:03 AM: The Blackhawks officially confirmed Rinzel’s signing.

10:17 AM: It appears Oliver Moore won’t be the only prominent prospect that the Blackhawks will be signing.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Chicago is also inking defenseman Sam Rinzel to a three-year, entry-level deal that begins this season.  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the contract will break down as follows:

2024-25: $830K salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K games-played bonus
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K ‘A’ bonuses
2026-27: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus, $750K ‘A’ bonuses

The above works out to a cap hit of $942K and an AAV of 1.363MM.  Rinzel isn’t eligible for ‘A’ bonuses in his contract this season since they’re unachievable with how little time is remaining in the schedule.

The 20-year-old was the 25th overall selection by Chicago back in 2022 out of Chaska in Minnesota’s high school system.  At the time, he was viewed as a high-ceiling but a long-term development project.

Rinzel spent his post-draft season exclusively with USHL Waterloo after spending a bit of time there the year before as well.  After a strong year offensively with them, he went on to the University of Minnesota where he has spent the last two seasons.  In his freshman year, Rinzel put up two goals and 26 assists in 38 games while this season, he notched 10 goals and 22 helpers in 40 contests, ranking him sixth among all Division I blueliners in points.

It appears Chicago feels Rinzel is ready for the next test.  Because the contract starts this season, he will not be eligible to play with AHL Rockford once Chicago’s season ends but there’s a good chance he’ll see some time with the IceHogs next season with GM Kyle Davidson shifting toward giving his top prospects a chance to play a prominent role in the minors before getting an extended NHL look.  But for now, Rinzel will be able to get his feet wet at the NHL level and get into a few games with the Blackhawks down the stretch.

West Notes: Oilers, Stancl, Fischer, Colangelo

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Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch provided injury updates to several reporters, including TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link).  While centers Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were ruled out for the week recently, Knoblauch clarified that Draisaitl will be the first one to come back, likely after this week ends or soon after; that suggests McDavid could miss a bit more time beyond that.  Meanwhile, newcomer Trent Frederic could still be multiple weeks away from skating with the team, calling into question if he’ll be able to get into game action before the end of the regular season.  Edmonton recently slipped into third place in the Pacific Division and they’ll have to find a way to at least stay close to getting that spot back while waiting for their two top players to return.

More from out West:

  • The Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield announced a pair of additions. First, St. Louis reassigned winger Jakub Stancl from WHL Kelowna to the Thunderbirds.  The 20-year-old signed his entry-level contract last year but spent the season with the Rockets where he potted 23 goals and 34 assists in 58 games.  This was his only year in major junior after playing professionally in Sweden last season.  His entry-level deal will officially begin in 2025-26 after sliding this season.  The Thunderbirds also added defenseman Lukas Fischer on an ATO for the remainder of the year.  The 18-year-old was a second-round pick last year, going 56th overall and spent this season with OHL Sarnia where he had 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games.  If he sees game action with Springfield, it will be his first taste of professional action.
  • The Ducks will have winger Sam Colangelo back in the lineup tonight against Boston, relays Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He had been out for the last two weeks with an upper-body injury.  Colangelo is in his first full professional season and has split time between Anaheim and AHL San Diego.  He has six goals and an assist in 20 games with the Ducks while being quite productive with the Gulls, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 38 outings on the farm.

Bruins Discussing Extension With Michael DiPietro

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Once viewed as a potential goalie of the future with Vancouver, Michael DiPietro’s career hasn’t panned out quite as planned.  However, he has turned into a solid goalie in the minors in Boston’s system and the Bruins would like to keep him around as Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek reports that the two sides are discussing a possible contract extension.

The 25-year-old will qualify for unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, though not as a typical UFA.  Instead, his lack of NHL experience to this point in time will make him a Group Six UFA, one that allows him to reach the open market a little earlier than more established players.

DiPietro has just three appearances at the top level under his belt, those coming with the Canucks where he got into one game in 2018-19, one the following year, and the last in 2021-22.  The following season saw him play just once in the AHL with the bulk of his playing time coming with ECHL Maine.

However, things have gotten much better for DiPietro over the last couple of years.  After putting up a 2.51 GAA and a .908 SV% in 30 games with AHL Providence last season, he has bettered those numbers this year, checking in at 2.03 and .928, respectively, in 38 outings.  At a time where some third-string goalies have received one-way deals and others pricey two-way agreements with a strong guarantee, DiPietro is well-positioned to land a raise on his current $225K guarantee on his next deal.

At the moment, both of Boston’s AHL netminders are set to hit the open market this summer as Brandon Bussi is a pending unrestricted free agent as well.  The 26-year-old has played fewer games than DiPietro this season and after not getting a look with the Bruins in parts of four professional seasons with them, he might look to catch on elsewhere to see if his fortunes change in another organization.  That would seemingly position DiPietro to be the unquestioned number three option for Boston next season if they can come to terms on a new deal in the coming weeks and months.

East Notes: Zadorov, Reaves, Ciernik

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The Bruins won’t have defenseman Nikita Zadorov available to them tonight as they continue their road trip in Anaheim.  Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald relays that the blueliner has returned home to tend to a family matter.  No timeline for a possible return was given as interim head coach Joe Sacco would only confirm that Zadorov would miss this game.  The 29-year-old is in his first season in Boston after signing a six-year, $30MM deal last summer, one that has had some ups and downs.  Zadorov has 17 points along with 183 hits and a league-leading 135 penalty minutes in 72 outings this season while logging a career-high 20:33 per game.  Zadorov joins Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm as out for this one, meaning Boston’s three highest-paid defenders won’t be in their lineup.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • After clearing waivers on trade deadline day nearly three weeks ago, Maple Leafs winger Ryan Reaves reported to the Marlies on Tuesday and skated with the team for the first time, notes Nick Barden of The Hockey News. The 38-year-old didn’t see much action with the big club this season, playing in just 35 games, logging less than eight minutes a night when he did suit up while only collecting two assists and 103 hits.  It’s unclear if Reaves will actually play with the Marlies or if he’s just going to practice with them.  Reaves last saw action in the AHL back in 2010-11 with Peoria, the affiliate of St. Louis at the time.
  • Lehigh Valley, the AHL affiliate of the Flyers, announced that they’ve signed winger Alex Ciernik to a tryout agreement. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2023, going 83rd overall.  Ciernik spent this season with Nybro in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan and had a decent showing, notching 11 goals and 12 assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.  Ciernik doesn’t have a contract overseas next season nor has he signed an entry-level deal so he’ll be hoping that a good showing with the Phantoms could earn him a contract from Philadelphia in the weeks to come.

West Notes: Norris, Girard, Ohgren, Dach

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While Ottawa ultimately moved center Josh Norris within the division when they traded him to the Sabres on trade deadline day this month, that wasn’t the only team they had serious talks with.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported earlier this week that the Sens held trade talks with the Canucks and Predators before the deadline but obviously, neither move materialized.  Nashville certainly had ample salary cap space to absorb his $7.95MM cap charge along with three first-round picks but didn’t have the young impact center to send that Buffalo did in Dylan Cozens.  Vancouver, meanwhile, would have been able to cover Norris’ cap charge as well (though longer term, it would have been a challenge) but also lacked the core center to go the other way with Elias Pettersson pulled out of trade talks before the deadline.

More from out West:

  • Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard won’t play tonight against Montreal due to a lower-body injury, notes Corey Masisak of The Denver Post (Bluesky link). The 26-year-old suffered the injury late in Wednesday’s game against Toronto and was out the following night in Ottawa.  Already missing Josh Manson, Colorado’s recently strengthened defensive depth is certainly getting tested.  Girard has 22 points and 94 blocked shots in 66 games this season while averaging just under 21 minutes a night.
  • After being recalled on Tuesday on an emergency basis, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Liam Ohgren has been returned to AHL Iowa. The 21-year-old got into the lineup on Wednesday but with Marcus Johansson returning today against Buffalo, the emergency conditions no longer existed, necessitating his demotion or conversion to a regular recall which would have counted against their post-deadline limit of four.  Ohgren is in his first full season in North America and has five points in 24 games with Minnesota but has been quite productive on the farm, tallying 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 outings with Iowa.
  • Blackhawks winger Colton Dach won’t play tonight against St. Louis due to an elbow injury, relays NHL.com’s Tracey Myers (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has been a regular for Chicago since being recalled in early January, getting into 25 games.  In those outings, he has two goals and five assists along with 86 assists while averaging a little over 12 minutes a night in his first taste of NHL action.

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