Nick Ritchie To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
Something from Friday’s game involving Arizona and Anaheim has caught the eye of the Department of Player Safety although it doesn’t involve the late-game incident that saw Jay Beagle ejected for his actions. Instead, the department announced that Coyotes winger Nick Ritchie will have a hearing today for a slash on Ducks defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
The incident occurred at the end of the first period and no penalty was assessed on that particular play although Ritchie received a roughing minor for an incident with Dominik Simon at the end of the period.
Ritchie has one previous suspension from 2017 for roughing while he has been fined on three other occasions by the league. Arizona is next in action on Sunday in Chicago so a ruling will need to be made by then.
Sean Monahan To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery
Calgary’s center depth has taken a hit as the team announced (Twitter link) that Sean Monahan is set to undergo hip surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson clarifies (via Twitter) that the injury is the opposite hip to the one that was surgically repaired last summer.
This is certainly a tough way to end what has definitely been a tough season for the 27-year-old. While several Flames forwards have had strong years offensively, Monahan went in the opposite direction, notching just eight goals and 15 assists in 65 games with his goal and point totals being the lowest of his nine-year NHL career. Calgary made Monahan a healthy scratch last month after bringing in Calle Jarnkrok to serve as their center on the third line and playing time had been hard to come by since then.
Calgary will place Monahan on LTIR and with a $6.375MM AAV, they will have ample cap space to bring up recalls if they want although they will use up the little bit of banked cap space they have in doing so. In the meantime, Ryan Carpenter, who was acquired from Chicago back at the trade deadline, seems likely to be used in a more regular capacity in Monahan’s absence.
Meanwhile, the Flames also announced that defenseman Oliver Kylington is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Connor Mackey has been recalled from AHL Stockton to take his place. Mackey played in six games with Calgary last season, recording three points while he has 36 points in 53 games in the minors this season.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
It has certainly been an eventful past few weeks around the NHL with a very busy trade deadline plus a rare trade that was approved and later invalidated by the league. On top of that, the push for the playoffs is heating up with battles for seeding in the Eastern Conference and several spots up for grabs in the very tight Western Conference.
With that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR Mailbag. If you missed the last one, it was broken into two parts. The first one focused on several trade deadline scenarios while the second looked at how St. Louis can afford to keep pending UFA Ville Husso, the future of Winnipeg’s core forward group, and much more.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
West Notes: Blackhawks, Lehkonen, Labanc, Highmore
The Blackhawks welcomed one center back tonight but found themselves without another. The team announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Johnson has been cleared from concussion protocol and activated off IR while Kirby Dach was a late scratch with a non-COVID illness. It has been a tough first season in Chicago for Johnson after coming over from Tampa Bay as injuries have limited him to just 14 games where he has just a goal and two assists while averaging a career low in ice time at just 12:41 per night. As for Dach, he has also had a quiet year offensively, notching 23 points in 63 games despite being a fixture in their top six.
Elsewhere around the Western Conference:
- The wait is over when it comes to Artturi Lehkonen making his Colorado debut as the team announced (Twitter link) that the winger’s immigration has been approved, paving the way for him to suit up against Calgary on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was brought in at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect defenseman Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick and he’s expected to play a key role on the third line for the Avalanche down the stretch. Lehkonen has 16 goals and 13 assists in 58 games this season.
- The Sharks could get winger Kevin Labanc back at some point next week, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 26-year-old has been out since undergoing shoulder surgery back in mid-November. It had been a disappointing season for Labanc prior to the injury as he had just three goals and three assists in 21 games and with San Jose ten points out of a playoff spot heading into Monday’s games, his return will be more about trying to rediscover his offensive form over helping a late playoff push.
- Matthew Highmore’s upper-body injury will keep him out of Vancouver’s lineup on a week-to-week basis, relays Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has 10 points in 39 games this season. The Canucks recalled William Lockwood on an emergency basis last week to take Highmore’s spot but if they wanted to bring another player up for extra depth, they’d have to use one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.
Several NHL Teams Keeping Tabs On Noah Philp
When we think about college free agency, we tend to think about the NCAA for obvious reasons; they do supply the overwhelming majority of college free agent signings at this time of year. But at least one player appears to be heading for an NHL contract from a different route as Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins reports that at least four teams have kept tabs on Canadian college free agent center Noah Philp.
The 23-year-old went undrafted after wrapping up his major junior career with Seattle and got into a pair of games with AHL Stockton in 2019. In doing so, he eliminated any potential eligibility of going the NCAA route so he turned to the USports pathway instead, spending the last three seasons with the University of Alberta. This season, Philp was limited to just eight games with the Golden Bears where he had eight goals and three assists. He has been even more productive in the playoffs, collecting three goals and seven helpers in just four games.
Leavins lists the Bruins, Flames (his brother Luke Philp is in their system), Flyers, and Oilers as those who have followed Philp this season. As he turns 24 in August, his signing age for entry-level purposes will be 24 which will limit him to a one-year contract. As a 6’3 center with some offensive upside, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him land an NHL deal in the weeks to come.
Kings Sign David Hrenak And Andre Lee
The Kings have signed one of their college prospects as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed goaltender David Hrenak to a one-year, entry-level deal. The contract will be for the 2022-23 season and will carry an AAV of $925K. Later in the evening, the team confirmed Hrenak’s deal while also announcing a two-year, entry-level pact for Andre Lee.
Hrenak, 23, was a fifth-round pick of Los Angeles back in 2018 (144th overall) and recently wrapped up his college career at St. Cloud State. This season, Hrenak played in 31 games for the Huskies, posting a 2.26 GAA with a .914 SV% (both career bests) along with a shutout. Unfortunately, his season came to a disappointing end as he had been hospitalized with pneumonia and was only cleared to dress in case of emergency for their first-round appearance in the Frozen Four tournament, one that they eventually lost to Quinnipiac.
Hrenak will join AHL Ontario on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of this season, allowing him to get his feet wet in the pros. Los Angeles has a pair of AHL netminders on expiring contracts in Garret Sparks (pending UFA) and Matt Villalta (pending RFA) so while the crease may be crowded for the Reign down the stretch, that won’t likely be the case for 2022-23 as at first glance, Hrenak could be taking Sparks’ place on that roster.
As for Lee, he was a seventh-round selection of the Kings in 2019 (188th overall). He just finished up his junior year at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell where he put up career highs in goals (16) and points (28) while tying his career best in assists with 12 in 28 games. A 6’5 center, Lee will also be joining Ontario on an ATO agreement for the rest of the season before his contract begins in 2022-23.
Los Angeles also announced that they have re-assigned forward Samuel Helenius to Ontario from JYP of the SM-liiga while they’ve inked defenseman Kim Nousiainen to an ATO agreement. Helenius, a second-round pick in 2021, had three goals and six assists in 49 games in Finland’s top league while Nousianen, an unsigned 2019 fourth-rounder, had 14 points in 35 games with KalPa in Finland.
Oilers Sign Ryan Fanti
The Oilers have dipped into the college free agent market, announcing the signing of goaltender Ryan Fanti to a two-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal which begins next season were not disclosed but PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the contract will carry an AAV of $925K.
The 23-year-old recently wrapped up his second season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Fanti took over the starting job this year and certainly made the most of it, posting a 1.83 GAA along with a .929 SV% in 37 games along with seven shutouts. That resulted in him being named to the All-NCHC First Team earlier this month. The Bulldogs made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament after Fanti posted a shutout against Western Michigan but they fell 2-1 to Denver over the weekend, ending Minnesota-Duluth’s season in the process.
While this signing won’t directly affect Edmonton’s playoff hopes this season, it’s worth noting that Fanti has signed an ATO agreement with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield for the rest of the season. That could permit Stuart Skinner to be recalled to the Oilers, giving them another option with both Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen coming off tough outings recently. In the meantime, Edmonton has added a promising goalie prospect to the fold in Fanti but he’ll be a few years away from realistically being ready to push for NHL playing time.
Snapshots: Heiskanen, Petry, McDonagh, Penguins
The Stars could have defenseman Miro Heiskanen back as soon as Tuesday, relays Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. The 22-year-old is once again averaging nearly 25 minutes a night on the back end for Dallas while being a capable secondary contributor as well with 29 points in 52 games. He has been out for more than three weeks due to a bout with mononucleosis and will be a welcome return to the Stars as they look to hold onto the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Canadiens announced that defenseman Jeff Petry is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old has had a tough season both in terms of his production (16 points in 57 games) and defensive play while the team wasn’t able to find a suitable trade for him at the deadline to honor his request to be moved. William Lagesson will make his Montreal debut against Toronto tonight in Petry’s absence.
- The Lightning will be without blueliner Ryan McDonagh indefinitely due to an upper-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The injury was sustained in the third period on Thursday against Boston when he blocked a shot. Joe Smith of The Athletic adds that the injury shouldn’t cost McDonagh the rest of the season but that he’ll be out for a couple of weeks. Tampa Bay has six other defensemen on the roster so they’re okay for now but if another blueliner goes down, it could be an issue as the team does not have any cap space to bring someone up from AHL Syracuse.
- Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is set to be a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Detroit, notes Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The veteran was a late scratch last night due to an illness, one that kept him away from practice today as well. Meanwhile, after leaving last night’s game after just 4:19, goaltender Casey DeSmith was cleared to skate today and is expected to be available for tomorrow’s contest.
West Notes: Getzlaf, Dubois, Coronato, Wild
Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf plans to discuss his future with the team soon, notes Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. At this point, no decision has been made as to whether or not the 36-year-old intends to return for an 18th NHL season with GM Pat Verbeek recently indicating that Getzlaf will “remain a Duck for whenever he decides not to play anymore”. After scoring just five goals last season, Getzlaf only has three this year but he sits second to only Trevor Zegras on the team in assists. He has a base salary of $3MM this season with another $1.5MM in incentives and his next contract – should he choose to sign one – should check in a bit lower in terms of total cost.
More from out West:
- Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois will wait until the offseason to begin negotiations on his next contract, notes NHL.com’s Tim Campbell. The 23-year-old has had a nice bounce-back year in his first full season in Winnipeg, notching 50 points in 65 games, giving him a shot at surpassing his career high of 61 set in his sophomore year. Dubois is owed a $6MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights and is two years away from UFA eligibility which makes it likely that Winnipeg will seek a long-term deal this summer.
- Although Flames prospect Matthew Coronato had a strong freshman year with Harvard, Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson mentions that the 19-year-old is expected to return for his sophomore campaign. The winger is eligible to play in the AHL if Calgary wanted while he would also still have eligibility for major junior but after leading the Crimson in scoring this season with 36 points in 34 games, staying at the college level certainly isn’t a bad idea for the 13th pick in 2021.
- Wild prospect center Nikita Nesterenko and defenseman Marshall Warren are likely to remain in college next season, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Nesterenko had 24 points in 37 games in his sophomore year at Boston College while Warren had 21 points in 37 contests in his junior year with the Eagles. Meanwhile, Russo adds that Minnesota will likely try to sign forward Sam Hentges to an entry-level deal beginning next season and an ATO pact for this year for him to play with AHL Iowa. Hentges had 22 points in 20 games in his final season at St. Cloud State while scoring once in two games at the Olympics last month.
Maple Leafs Sign Nick Abruzzese
The Maple Leafs have signed one of their more promising prospects, announcing the signing of forward Nick Abruzzese to a two-year, entry-level contract. The contract begins this season and carries a cap hit of $850K.
The 22-year-old had a strong sophomore season with Harvard, finishing second in team scoring to Flames prospect Matthew Coronato with nine goals and 24 assists in 28 games, earning himself an NCAA ECAC First All-Star Team nod. He likely would have led the Crimson in scoring had he been available for the full season but he missed time during the season to play in the Olympics where he was productive, notching a goal and three assists in four games for Team USA. While those numbers in college were impressive this season, it was actually a small step back for Abruzzese as he had 14 goals and 30 assists in just 31 games in his freshman year.
It will be interesting to see how much of a look Abruzzese gets with Toronto down the stretch. As he was on their Reserve List after the trade deadline, he is eligible to play for them down the stretch and in the playoffs if they so desire. The Maple Leafs added Colin Blackwell from Seattle last weekend to add to their bottom six but it stands to reason that the 2019 fourth-round pick (124th overall) will get a chance to stake his claim to a spot in the lineup over the next month.
Dobber Prospects’ Nick Richard was the first to report the signing.