Capitals Notes: Johansson, Stevenson, Van Riemsdyk, Defense Target
The Capitals are among the teams that have shown interest in Kraken winger Marcus Johansson, reports TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has had a bit of a quiet year in Seattle with six goals and 17 assists in 51 games but is someone that Washington is certainly familiar with as Johansson spent his first seven NHL seasons with the Caps. Cap space is next to non-existent for them, however (just $63K per CapFriendly) so finding a way to fit in Johansson’s $1.5MM cap hit will be a bit tricky and Seattle has already used two of their three retention slots in the Calle Jarnkrok and Mark Giordano trades.
More from Washington:
- The Capitals are among the teams interested in college free agent goaltender Clay Stevenson, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 23-year-old technically just wrapped up his freshman year at Dartmouth and did well, posting a 2.70 GAA along with a .922 SV% in 23 games. El-Bashir adds that several NHL teams are interested in the netminder. Dartmouth isn’t among the teams in the NCAA tournament so Stevenson is someone that can sign at any time.
- Washington has placed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk on injured reserve, notes Roman Stubbs of the Washington Post. He suffered an upper-body injury on Friday against Carolina and will be eligible to return on Saturday against New Jersey. The 30-year-old has played in 58 games this season, collecting 14 points while averaging nearly 18 minutes per game.
- Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press suggests (Twitter link) that a low-cost left-shot defenseman is something Washington would like to add. Michal Kempny is up with the big club but carries a $2.5MM AAV; bringing in a lower-cost depth option could allow them to send Kempny back to the minors (pending waivers) which would help free up a little bit of cap space.
Coyotes Agree To Three-Year Extension With Karel Vejmelka
On Sunday, the Coyotes parted ways with one of their goalies in Scott Wedgewood. Today, they’re ensuring that Karel Vejmelka will be sticking around as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that Arizona has agreed to a three-year extension with the netminder. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (via Twitter) that the deal will carry a $2.725MM AAV.
The 25-year-old has certainly been a pleasant surprise for Arizona this season. He signed a one-year entry-level deal back in May after playing in the Czech Extraliga and at the time, he was viewed as organizational goaltending depth and not a serious candidate to make the NHL roster. However, a strong training camp earned him a spot with the Coyotes and he has taken off from there.
Vejmelka quickly took over from the since-traded Carter Hutton as Arizona’s starter and has done well, considering the circumstances. His save percentage of .905 is particularly impressive considering that the Coyotes’ roster is geared more towards draft lottery success than on-ice success this season. His performance has picked up in recent games as over his last ten starts, his save percentage is up to .912 while the Coyotes have won four of those contests.
With this agreement, Arizona will have at least part of their goalie tandem intact for the next three seasons. They’ve yet to recall someone to take Wedgewood’s spot following his trade with Ivan Prosvetov and Josef Korenar being the likely candidates to fill that spot down the stretch. Neither of them project to be full-time NHL goalies, however, so the Coyotes will likely be shopping for a new partner for Vejmelka in the offseason.
Penguins Acquire Nathan Beaulieu
The Penguins have added some low-cost defensive depth as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they’ve acquired Nathan Beaulieu from the Jets. In return, Winnipeg receives a conditional seventh-round draft pick. CapFriendly provides the specifics of the condition – for the Jets to get the pick, Pittsburgh has to make it to the Stanley Cup Final with Beaulieu playing in at least half of their games.
It has been a tough year for the 29-year-old as Beaulieu has played in just 24 games this season while being scratched 21 times. His role has been diminished when he has been in there as he’s averaging just under 11 minutes per game in those contests, nearly five minutes below his career average while picking up just four assists in that stretch.
On top of that, Beaulieu is currently on LTIR with an undisclosed injury with his placement coming back on March 9th. That means that he’s out for the rest of the month at a minimum and potentially longer. His $1.25MM AAV will slide into Pittsburgh’s current LTIR space with Jason Zucker still on there for the time being although he is expected to be activated in the coming weeks. If Beaulieu does return between now and the end of the season, the Penguins would have to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant but if he’s only able to return for the playoffs, they won’t have to worry about the cap then and they’ll have themselves a veteran of over 400 career NHL games for next to no cost.
Myers, Desrosiers Clear Waivers
March 20: Myers and Desrosiers have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues. Mayhew was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks and will stay in the NHL for now.
March 19: With there being just two days before the trade deadline, there should be an uptick of waiver activity before then. That started today as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Philippe Myers (Predators), Gerry Mayhew (Flyers), and Phillipe Desrosiers (Jets) are all on waivers.
Myers is easily the headline player on this list. His stock has fallen sharply since establishing himself as a regular on Philadelphia’s back end in 2019-20. He was part of the Ryan Ellis traded over the summer with the hope that a change of scenery would get him going again. That hasn’t happened. Instead, the 25-year-old has played in just 27 games this season while spending even more time as a healthy scratch. With 142 games of NHL experience over four seasons and being a big right-shot defender, Myers could, in theory, be appealing to some teams. However, he has a $2.55MM AAV through next season and his salary jumps to $3.8MM in 2022-23. That will certainly limit his suitors which explains why he’s on the waiver wire today and not being traded. Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press suggests (Twitter link) that the Flyers could be a team to claim Myers knowing that they’re likely to move pending UFA Justin Braun by Monday’s trade deadline.
Mayhew has played in 29 games with Philadelphia this season, his longest stretch of NHL action and he has been somewhat productive with six goals although he has yet to record an assist while logging over 12 minutes a game. The 29-year-old has been a top scorer at the AHL level for the last several years and has 16 points in 24 games with Lehigh Valley of the AHL this season. Mayhew is making $800K at the NHL level this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
As for Desrosiers, his placement means that he has agreed to an NHL deal with Winnipeg with the team announcing it will carry a $750K cap hit. The 26-year-old has played in three games with their AHL affiliate in Manitoba this season but has spent the majority of the year with Trois-Rivieres of the ECHL. He’ll continue to serve as extra depth for them but will now be eligible to be recalled if they need him. The Jets had 10 open contract slots out of the maximum of 50 so there’s no risk in them handing out this contract.
West Notes: Doughty, Sturm, Fleury, Broberg
The news for Kings defenseman Drew Doughty doesn’t appear to be good as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner’s undisclosed injury is more significant than the team believed and that he’ll be out longer than expected as a result. The veteran suffered the injury back on March 7th against Boston and was placed on injured reserve back on Sunday. If Doughty winds up having to miss the next six weeks, his $11MM AAV could be shifted to LTIR, giving Los Angeles extra cap room to work with at the trade deadline. Of course, it must also be said that without their top rearguard, the Kings will face a tougher battle to make it to the postseason.
More from the Western Conference:
- Prior to trading him to Colorado, the Wild offered center Nico Sturm a long-term contract extension, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link). Obviously, that offer was rejected and he was instead traded for Tyson Jost. Speculatively, that offer would have been around the $2MM that Jost is making.
- With the trade deadline just over 48 hours away now, it appears to be all quiet on the Marc-Andre Fleury front, suggests Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Fleury has been assured by the Blackhawks that he’ll have the final decision as to whether or not he’ll accept a trade even though he doesn’t have a full no-trade clause. LeBrun notes that at this point, there have been some general inquiries but none that could be described as serious.
- Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg suffered an injury in Friday’s AHL game and is set to undergo an MRI, notes Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 20-year-old has played in 22 games with Edmonton this season and if he’s going to miss any extended period of time, it could push them to look to add some extra defensive depth by the deadline.
Nino Niederreiter Receives One-Game Suspension
The Department of Player Safety has made a quick decision regarding Carolina’s Nino Niederreiter. They announced (video link) that the Hurricanes winger has been suspended for one game for his hit on Washington winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.
The incident occurred at 13:50 of the first period during Carolina’s 4-3 shootout loss on Friday. He was assessed a minor penalty for slashing at the time. Niederreiter was checked into Washington’s bench, losing his helmet along the way. Once he had freed himself, he slashed the Capitals winger in the helmet.
In their video, it was noted that the minimal force that Niederreiter used to hit Jonsson-Fjallby is the sole reason why the suspension isn’t for longer than the one game. Niederreiter will miss Sunday’s game against the Rangers and will be eligible to return to Carolina’s lineup on Tuesday against the Lightning. He will forfeit $26.25K as a result of the suspension with the money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
AHL Shuffle: 03/19/22
The final Saturday before the trade deadline typically yields some activity on the trade front. On top of that, with 22 teams in action, there should be plenty of AHL-NHL roster movement as well. We’ll keep track of those here.
Atlantic Division
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington from AHL Belleville. The blueliner isn’t expected to play tonight against Montreal barring a late scratch due to an injury or a trade. Heatherington has played in nine games for Ottawa so far this season.
- The Bruins have returned defenseman Jack Ahcan to AHL Providence, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old has been up with Boston for most of the last month but has almost exclusively been in a reserve role. He’ll get a chance to get some game action in with Providence having a pair of games against Charlotte this weekend.
Metropolitan Division
- After clearing waivers, the Flyers have loaned winger Ryan Fitzgerald to Lehigh Valley of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 27-year-old had been on season-opening IR until yesterday and is coming off an impressive 2020-21 campaign that saw him pick up 21 points in 28 games with the Phantoms.
Central Division
- The Predators have recalled defensemen Matt Tennyson and Jeremy Davies from AHL Milwaukee, per a team release. Tennyson has three points in four games with the Preds this season while Davies has only made one NHL appearance this season back in late January. The recalls were needed with the team placing Mark Borowiecki (lower body) and Matt Benning (upper body) on injured reserve.
- The Jets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve sent winger Kristian Vesalainen to Manitoba of the AHL. The 22-year-old has played in 53 games this season with Winnipeg but has just two goals and three assists. Once viewed as a top prospect after he was picked 24th overall in 2017, the assignment should allow Vesalainen to play a much bigger role compared to the 8:30 ATOI he has this season.
Pacific Division
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Christian Wolanin from AHL Ontario. This is the fifth time that the 27-year-old has been shuffled between the NHL and the minors since last Saturday.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Kings Sign Taylor Ward
The Kings have added to their prospect pool as the team announced that they’ve signed forward Taylor Ward to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal is for next season and Ward will join Ontario of the AHL on an ATO agreement for the remainder of this season.
The 22-year-old recently wrapped up his fourth and final season with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Through his first three years, he had been fairly consistent offensively, notching between 22 and 27 points but this season, Ward was able to take a big step forward in his production. In 38 games, he led the Mavericks in scoring with 19 goals and 20 assists and was the only player on the team to score more than 10 goals which likely got the power forward on the NHL radar.
Ward’s cap hit will be $842.5K next season. That suggests a base salary of $750K plus a maximum $92.5K signing bonus which means there will be at least $82.5K in performance bonuses in the deal as well.
East Notes: Ekblad, Domi, Hagg
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left Friday’s game early due to a lower-body injury but interim head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters, including David Wilson of the Miami Herald, that the injury isn’t as bad as it first appeared, indicating that there was no structural damage. While there’s no timetable yet for his return, Brunette is “very hopeful” that his star blueliner won’t be out for long. Ekblad suffered a serious ankle injury late last season that took him out for the playoffs which dealt a serious blow to their postseason hopes. Although it appears he’ll miss some time, Ekblad has avoided a similar fate this time around.
Other news and notes from the East:
- There haven’t been any recent discussions between the Blue Jackets and Max Domi regarding a contract extension, notes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has 32 points in 52 games this season and the fact he can play on the wing and down the middle should be of interest to playoff-bound teams. What won’t be something many of those contenders have interest in, however, is his contract, as his $5.3MM cap hit is one that will be difficult for them to afford. Regardless, Columbus should be able to find a trade taker for him by Monday.
- The Penguins have shown interest in Sabres defenseman Robert Hagg, reports Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link). Cap space will be an issue for Pittsburgh with all of their current space coming from Jason Zucker who’s on LTIR but will return next month but if Buffalo is able to retain half of Hagg’s $1.6MM AAV, his cap hit would be just above the league minimum which is something they should be able to afford.
Strong Interest In Artturi Lehkonen
The Canadiens have already moved out two key players in winger Tyler Toffoli (traded to Calgary last month) and defenseman Ben Chiarot (moved to Florida on Wednesday). Now, it appears they’ll have another big decision to make when it comes to winger Artturi Lehkonen as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that there is strong interest in the 26-year-old. However, Montreal is apparently weighing that against the prospect of signing the pending RFA to a long-term extension.
Lehkonen has spent his entire six-year career with the Canadiens who drafted him in the second round (55th overall) back in 2013. He scored 18 goals in his rookie season but has failed to reach that mark since then although he has 13 in 57 games this season. However, he has become a very valuable defensive winger that plays on both wings and can play up and down the lineup while logging heavy minutes on the penalty kill. He played that role in Montreal’s playoff run last season while also scoring the series winner against Vegas to send them to the Stanley Cup Final.
At $2.3MM, his price tag is low enough that most teams could afford him this season, particularly if Montreal uses one of their two remaining retention slots to pay down up to 50% of that. Considering the returns that teams have paid for middle-six wingers with some team control in recent years (Tampa Bay’s acquisitions of Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, and Brandon Hagel among them), it’s expected that the Canadiens will place a similar price tag to part with Lehkonen; Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Montreal’s ask involves a first-round pick or equivalent prospect and potentially a second asset.
Of course, this is a different situation. While Lehkonen is still controllable for one more year, he’s not signed for next season and will be eyeing a raise this summer, one that will likely push him past the $3MM mark. Goodrow, Coleman, and Hagel all had at least one year left on their existing contracts at a below-market rate which helped drive their value up significantly.
In his press conference earlier this week, GM Kent Hughes indicated he wasn’t interested in having a fire sale for his team. However, with there being strong interest in Lehkonen, it appears he’ll need to seriously consider parting with another important player with an opportunity to add another future asset or two to their stockpile.