Brendan Guhle Retires
Not that long ago, Brendan Guhle was viewed as an important part of Buffalo’s rebuild and later Anaheim’s after he was traded there back in 2019. However, he wasn’t able to establish himself in the NHL and headed overseas this past summer. His time there, and in hockey, has come to an end though as Eisbaren Berlin announced that the 25-year-old has retired, citing personal reasons.
The 25-year-old was a second-round pick of the Sabres back in 2015 (51st overall) and got into 23 NHL games with them over parts of three seasons before being moved to the Ducks as part of the Brandon Montour trade. Guhle had a bit of a longer look with them, getting into 42 contests over parts of three years, including six last season.
However, instead of testing free agency last summer, Guhle decided to try his hand overseas, joining Berlin in the German league. Things didn’t go well there as an injury suffered in his first game with them in the Champions League kept him out of the lineup until the end of November. After seven contests with them, he has decided to hang up his skates.
Guhle’s playing days come to an end with 14 points in 65 career NHL contests. He was considerably more productive in the minors with 92 points in 199 appearances but while he could have conceivably hung around on two-way deals for a few more seasons, he’s calling it a career earlier than expected.
Five Key Stories: 12/12/22 – 12/18/22
With the roster freeze almost upon us, there wasn’t a flurry of trade activity. However, there was still some notable news around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Not So Fast: A little while ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman floated the possibility that the players’ escrow debt could be paid off this season, permitting a more sizable jump in the Upper Limit next season. He walked that back a bit at the Board of Governors meetings, suggesting that their current projections have the projected escrow debt around $70MM at the end of the season. If that’s the case, the salary cap would only go up by $1MM once again for 2023-24. While there has been speculation that the NHLPA might be interested in trying to negotiate something that would allow for a smoother increase and also raise the ceiling next season by a higher amount but Bettman didn’t want to comment on that scenario.
Formenton To Switzerland: Now that he’s unable to play in the NHL this season after failing to come to terms on a contract with Ottawa before the December 1st deadline, Alex Formenton has found a place to play as he has signed with Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss NLA. The deal runs through the end of the current season and gives the team the right to “reevaluate their contractual relationship” if new elements come to life in the ongoing investigation into an alleged sexual assault back in 2018 involving members of Canada’s World Junior team, of which he was a part of. Formenton will remain a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Five For Moore: Trevor Moore has come a long way in his four seasons with the Kings, going from being a depth player when he was acquired from Toronto to an important part of their top six. The California native was rewarded for his efforts with a five-year, $21MM contract extension that will begin next season. The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause for the 2023-24 campaign but no trade restrictions after that. The 27-year-old had a career year last season with 17 goals and 31 assists in 81 games and Moore is producing at a similar pace so far this season with 18 points in 34 contests so far. Los Angeles now has a little over $68MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly.
Tolvanen To Seattle: There was some surprise when Nashville placed winger Eeli Tolvanen on waivers as just a few years ago, he was viewed as a key part of their future plans. There was further surprise when he slid all the way to Seattle who claimed him off the wire. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by the Predators back in 2017 and impressed in his first consistent stint of NHL action in 2020-21, collecting 22 points in 40 games. That helped him earn a three-year, $4.35MM contract, one that is currently in its second year. The $1.45MM cap hit for the rest of this season and next likely scared a lot of teams away but now Seattle will get an opportunity to see if he can live up to his potential with them.
Vrana Rejoins Red Wings: Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana has now entered the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, allowing him to rejoin the team. He first went into the program back in mid-October after playing in just two games. There’s a good chance that Vrana won’t play this coming week as he’ll need some time to get back into playing condition but after the holiday break, Detroit should have one of their top wingers back in their lineup.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Islanders Recall Cory Schneider On Emergency Basis
Semyon Varlamov left Saturday’s game with an injury and it appears it will keep him out for at least one game as the Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Cory Schneider from Bridgeport of the AHL.
The 36-year-old has had a good first couple of months in the minors this season, posting a 2.50 GAA along with a .921 SV% in 15 games with his save percentage ranking tied for seventh in the league. Schneider, a veteran of 410 NHL appearances over 13 seasons, has seen just one game at the top level in the last three years since joining the Islanders with that appearance coming last season. It’s unlikely he’ll see any action on this recall barring injury as the net will be Ilya Sorokin‘s for the time being.
It’s notable that this recall actually puts the Isles over the 23-player roster limit. However, there is a Goaltender Exemption provision in the CBA that does allow teams to bring up a goalie that doesn’t count against the limit. It can only be used twice in a season and for a maximum of 48 hours. That’s enough to get through Monday’s game against Colorado but they’ll have to determine after that point if Varlamov is good to return. If so, Schneider will be sent down and if not, Varlamov will need to be moved to injured reserve to keep Schneider on the roster.
Barry Trotz Unlikely To Coach In The NHL This Season
Earlier this season, Barry Trotz left the door open to returning behind an NHL bench this season but it appears that he has closed his mind to that idea. Speaking with Daren Millard on The Chirp podcast (audio link), the veteran bench boss acknowledged that he has had calls from teams but that he just isn’t ready to get back to coaching just yet:
I don’t know yet. I’m deciding. There’s a couple of teams that reached out, and I said I’m not there yet. I’m probably going to take the rest of the year off and see where I am. It’s still a part of me, but I’m going to continue to stay true to myself and my family right now.
Back in October, Trotz had suggested that an opportunity with an Original Six franchise might give him the spark he was looking for. However, at this point, it’s unlikely that an opportunity with one of those teams is going to materialize in the coming months which takes that option off the table.
This is the first time that Trotz has had any sort of family time during the season as he had previously spent the last 23 seasons behind the bench between the Predators, Capitals, and Islanders. The 60-year-old was offered the job in Winnipeg during the offseason but declined with the Jets then turning to Rick Bowness, a choice that has worked out quite well for them so far. Trotz has the third-most wins in NHL history with 912 and when he wants to come back, he’ll almost certainly have a chance to add to that number. But by choice, that chance isn’t likely to come this season.
Blue Jackets To Loan David Jiricek For World Juniors
The Blue Jackets have made a decision on Czechia’s request to loan defenseman David Jiricek for the upcoming World Juniors. As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link), Columbus will let the 19-year-old participate in the event where he’ll play alongside two more team prospects in forward Martin Rysavy and defenseman Stanislav Svozil.
Jiricek was the sixth-overall pick by the Blue Jackets in the summer despite missing significant time due to an injury sustained in the original version of the World Juniors last December. This will be his third time participating in the event (not including the canceled edition).
His first season in North America has been a successful one to the point where it was possible that Columbus could have declined the Czechs’ request in order to allow him to continue his momentum with AHL Cleveland. Jiricek is on a nice run with the Monsters with an impressive 11 points in his last 10 games and is likely to have another NHL stint at some point in the second half of the season after getting into two games back in late October. It seems likely that Columbus will want to keep him below the 10-game threshold to not activate the first year of his contract.
The roster for the Czechs hasn’t been finalized yet – they have three cuts still to make – but as things stand, they’re likely to send 12 NHL-drafted prospects to the event with Jiricek being the headliner. On top of that, the team will likely also have draft-eligible winger Eduard Sale, who is expected to be a lottery selection in June. Accordingly, they could be an under-the-radar team to keep an eye on.
Coyotes Assign Jan Jenik To AHL
December 18: A day after recalling him, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned Jenik to the AHL once again. During his brief recall, the forward made his season debut for the Coyotes, playing just under four minutes, while recording four penalty minutes in the process.
December 17: The Coyotes have brought up some extra forward depth as they have recalled forward Jan Jenik from Tucson of the AHL, per a team announcement. They had two open roster spots available so no corresponding move needed to be made.
The 22-year-old has seen NHL action in each of his first two professional seasons, suiting up in 15 games with the team where he had four goals and an assist while averaging just under 11 minutes per night. He will get a chance to make that three in three with this recall.
This season, Jenik has gotten off to a quiet start with the Roadrunners, collecting just three goals and nine assists in 22 games. Last season, he came up just shy of the point per game mark with 17 goals and 30 helpers in 51 contests.
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports relays (Twitter link) that there are some game-time decisions for their contest tonight against Buffalo including Liam O’Brien so it appears that Jenik’s recall is a backup plan in case any of their 12 forwards are unable to suit up.
Golden Knights Notes: Pietrangelo, Pachal, Cotter
The Golden Knights will welcome Alex Pietrangelo back to the lineup tonight after missing the last three weeks due to an illness in the family. Jesse Granger of The Athletic provides (Twitter link) some details on the situation, noting that his three-year-old daughter caught the flu which eventually became a brain lesion, leading to a loss in motor function. Fortunately, her condition has improved considerably over the last couple of days, making the veteran comfortable enough to return to the lineup for Vegas. Pietrangelo has 21 points in 23 games this season while logging over 23 minutes a night on the back end as their top defender so his return will certainly be a welcome one, especially with Zach Whitecloud being placed on LTIR earlier this week.
More from Vegas:
- In a corresponding roster move, the team announced (Twitter link) that they re-assigned defenseman Brayden Pachal to Henderson of the AHL. The 23-year-old played in two games after being recalled on Monday when Jack Eichel was placed on injured reserve, picking up an assist while averaging a little under 16 minutes a night. Pachal has spent the bulk of the year with the Silver Knights, collecting two goals and five assists in 25 contests. He is in the final year of his entry-level contract.
- Forward Paul Cotter is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury that was sustained on Thursday against Chicago, Granger notes in a separate tweet. The 22-year-old has acquitted himself well in his first season of full-time NHL duty, picking up six points in 22 games thus far while playing inside their bottom six. Head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated that the good news for Cotter is that while he might miss a few days, the injury isn’t as bad as they initially feared.
Metropolitan Notes: Backstrom, Andersen, Robidas
Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom took another important step back towards returning as NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports (Twitter link) that the veteran was in a regular sweater at their morning skate today which means that he has been cleared for contact. Backstrom has yet to play this season after undergoing hip surgery back in June, one that had his availability to play in 2022-23 in question. However, the fact he’s participating in full in team skates suggests that the 35-year-old should be able to return in the somewhat near future. With the holiday break coming next week, it’s likely that Washington will wait to activate him until after that time but it appears that the Caps will have a key player back in the second half of the season.
The Capitals will need to create salary cap space to activate Backstrom once he’s ready but it’s worth noting that Tom Wilson, who has yet to play this year after undergoing knee surgery, is not currently on LTIR. Once Backstrom is ready to return, Washington will move Wilson to LTIR, freeing up a good chunk of the room needed to bring the center back while other roster tweaks will get them into cap compliance.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen participated in practice yesterday, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters including Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal that the netminder won’t dress for either game this weekend. The veteran has been out for the last six weeks but with Pyotr Kochetkov thriving right now as their interim starter, the team can afford to be patient with Andersen. However, it’s a contract year for the 33-year-old though so he’s going to want to get back in the lineup sooner than later. He has a 2.72 GAA with a .891 SV% in eight starts so far this season.
- Still with the Hurricanes, prospect Justin Robidas is expected to be traded in the QMJHL from Val-d’Or to Quebec when the trade window opens up tomorrow, notes Carl Tardif of Le Soleil. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2021 (147th overall) in 2021 and is tied for 13th in league scoring with 14 goals and 26 assists in 26 games so far. Carolina has until June 1st of next year to sign him so these next few months with the Remparts will be crucial for Robidas.
Jets Issue Injury Updates On Blake Wheeler And Nate Schmidt
The Jets are off to a strong start to their season, entering tonight’s game in Vancouver with a 19-9-1 record despite missing several regulars due to injuries. That list has now grown as head coach Rick Bowness told reporters, including Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link) that winger Blake Wheeler will miss at least a month after undergoing groin surgery. Meanwhile, defenseman Nate Schmidt, who went on injured reserve yesterday, will be out for four to six weeks.
Wheeler had an interesting start to his season as the captaincy was taken away from him while getting off to a bit of a quiet start. However, the 36-year-old has been quite productive over the last four weeks, notching 16 points in his last 13 games, bringing him up to a tie for fourth in team scoring.
All of a sudden, the Jets find themselves without their top three right wingers. Nikolaj Ehlers has missed all of two games this season, Mason Appleton has been out since mid-November, and now Wheeler will be out for a little while. None of these injuries are season-ending so they can’t create any LTIR space for themselves and their cap space is starting to dwindle as a result of their injury-associated recalls so GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will be in tough to try to shore things up in the short-term.
As for Schmidt, he has cleared concussion protocol and is believed to be dealing with a shoulder issue. The 31-year-old has six points in 29 games so far this season while he’s averaging just shy of 20 minutes a night. He joins Logan Stanley as blueliners that are banged up while Ville Heinola has missed four straight games due to illness.
Snapshots: Korpisalo, Maatta, Hunt, Kazbekov
Heading into the season, it seemed likely that Joonas Korpisalo was entering his final season with the Blue Jackets. His re-signing allowed Daniil Tarasov to spend one more year in the minors before moving up to the NHL full-time in 2023-24. However, as Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch suggests, Korpisalo’s performance this season coupled with his contract could make him one of their top trade chips heading into the trade deadline. While his numbers aren’t great on their own (3.53 GAA, .903 SV%), they’re considerably better than Elvis Merzlikins’ by comparison (4.68, .864). That, coupled with a low-cost $1.3MM expiring deal, could give them a chance to get a better draft pick they were offered the last time that Korpisalo was on the block.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Prior to their game this afternoon against Ottawa, the Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that they activated defenseman Olli Maatta off injured reserve. The 28-year-old is off to a nice start in his first year with Detroit, notching 10 points in 25 games heading into today’s action while logging nearly 20 minutes per game. That’s a pretty good early return on the one-year, $2.25MM that Detroit gave him early in free agency.
- A day after being papered down to the minors, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Brad Hunt from AHL Colorado. The 34-year-old inked a two-year deal with the Avs in the summer and has played in four games with the big club so far, collecting an assist while logging a little over 10 minutes per game. He has been quite productive with the Eagles though, notching six goals and 14 helpers in 22 games at the minor league level.
- There was some sad news in the OHL with the league jointly announcing with London that forward Abakar Kazbekov passed away today at the age of 18. Kazbekov was the first-overall pick from the 2021 OHL U18 Priority Selection and had played in 21 games in parts of two seasons with the team including in Friday’s game against Owen Sound.