Five Key Stories: 10/4/21 – 10/10/21
With the regular season fast approaching, there was some significant news around the NHL which are included among the top stories of the past seven days.
Price Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program: While it was unknown if the Canadiens would have Carey Price available to them on opening night as he works his way back from offseason knee surgery, they now know he won’t be available for at least the next 30 days after he voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. GM Marc Bergevin expressed confidence that Price would return at some point this season although there is obviously no timetable for when that might happen. Jake Allen and recent waiver claim Sam Montembeault will handle the goaltending duties for Montreal in the meantime.
Eichel Talks Pick Up: With both the Sabres and Jack Eichel’s camp firmly entrenched on their plans for what the preferred neck surgery is, things have largely been at a standstill lately. However, there could finally be some progress on the trade front with talks picking up following Eichel’s medical information being shared and Buffalo being open to a conditional part of the return. At the moment, Calgary and Anaheim are among the teams believed to still be in the mix for the 24-year-old who will miss a sizable chunk of this season when he eventually goes under the knife.
Big Money For Barkov: The Panthers didn’t want to let their franchise player get to the open market where he’d have been highly sought after next summer. Mission accomplished as they agreed to an eight-year, $80MM extension with Aleksander Barkov. The deal is heavily loaded in signing bonuses as the base salary for each year is only $1MM while the 26-year-old receives significant trade protection as well. Barkov has been on one of the best bargain deals in the league over the past five seasons, emerging as one of the premier two-way centers in the league while basically being paid second-line money. Florida will benefit from that bargain for one more year before this deal kicks in for the 2021-22 campaign.
White Out Long-Term: It was supposed to be a bounce-back campaign for Senators center Colin White. After struggling at times to even get in the lineup last season, 2021-22 was going to be an opportunity for him to try to re-establish himself as part of Ottawa’s young core. So much for that goal as the 24-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder that requires surgery which will keep him out for four-to-six months. While it’s possible that White is able to return late in the year, it will likely be in a limited role with how much time he will have missed. The good news for him is that he still has three years left on his deal after this season so he’ll have another shot at reclaiming a full-time spot in the lineup in 2022-23.
Zibanejad’s Staying: Rangers center Mika Zibanejad had made it clear that he wanted to stay in New York and he got his wish as the two sides worked out an eight-year, $68MM extension that begins next season. The 28-year-old has blossomed into a number one center since coming over from Ottawa in 2016 and has seen his production increase significantly over the past three seasons, averaging just over a point per game over that stretch. The deal ensures that their top center will be sticking around and will likely take them out of any further discussions for Eichel as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford both of them on their books with so many youngsters in need of second contracts over the next two years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Alexandar Georgiev Denies That He Requested A Trade
With Igor Shesterkin quickly establishing himself as the number one goalie for the Rangers, there had been speculation that Alexandar Georgiev had requested a trade. Speaking with reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the netminder put that idea to rest:
The rumors were false, I don’t know where that came from. You can be dealt pretty much as a player without a no-move clause, so I just worked as usual and tried not to think about it.
While he may not have asked for a move, the fact he was in trade speculation was certainly understandable. The four-year, $22.667MM contract given to Shesterkin this offseason cements him in that starting role moving forward, pushing Georgiev’s future with the team in question. Georgiev himself indicated that last season was “tough” and “no fun” where he was in the number two role, making just 18 starts while posting a 2.71 GAA along with a .905 SV%.
The 25-year-old is in the final season of his two-year bridge deal, one that carries a cap hit of $2.425MM while he will be owed a qualifying offer of $2.65MM next summer. Both of those numbers are certainly reasonable for a second-string backup but if Georgiev has eyes on a bigger role, that opportunity will have to come elsewhere barring a long-term injury to Shesterkin.
Young goalies with some upside – Georgiev has a career .912 SV% in 96 games – don’t typically come available too often and there are certainly some rebuilding teams that have openings to give him a bigger role. As a result, while Georgiev may not have asked out, he’s still quite likely to be in trade speculation for the foreseeable future.
Frans Nielsen Signs In Germany
After not catching on with an NHL team for training camp, Frans Nielsen has opted to head back overseas as Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL announced that they’ve inked the 37-year-old to a one-year deal.
Nielsen spent the last five seasons with the Red Wings after spending a decade as a member of the Islanders. When he first joined Detroit, he was a capable two-way center that gave them some extra depth in the top six. He wasn’t bad in the offensive end in his first two seasons there, notching 17 and 16 goals respectively but his production fell off sharply after that. Last season, Nielsen suited up in just 29 contests, scoring only once while chipping in with five assists in a little over 12 minutes a game on average.
That type of production is hardly worth the $5.25MM AAV he was carrying which resulted in Detroit buying him out this summer. The cumulative cap hit ($4.25MM this season, $500K next) is almost the same and the move only saved them $500K in actual money plus a contract slot but it was a move that still made sense for them with how far his stock had fallen.
Considering he didn’t have any takers for a PTO and will turn 38 in April, there’s a very high chance that this is the end of the line for Nielsen in the NHL. Assuming that is the case, he’ll finish up with 473 points in 925 games between New York and Detroit. Not a bad career for a late third-round pick (87th overall) back in 2002; Nielsen has the sixth-most points and the eighth-most games played of anyone from that draft class.
14 Players Clear Waivers
Sunday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that all 14 names from yesterday have cleared waivers.
Saturday: As expected, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire with opening rosters being submitted to the NHL on Monday. Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following 14 players are on waivers today:
D John Moore (BOS)
F Chris Wagner (BOS)
F Byron Froese (CGY)
F Justin Kirkland (CGY)
G Calvin Pickard (DET)
D Thomas Hickey (NYI)
F Richard Panik (NYI)
F Anthony Angello (PIT)
F Dylan Gambrell (SJ)
F Logan Brown (STL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (STL)
D Alex Biega (TOR)
F Kurtis Gabriel (TOR)
D Michal Kempny (WSH)
As expected, today’s list is a little more interesting as teams get closer to making their final cuts with more notable players. Several veterans are on the wire today, headlined by Kempny and Moore on the back end. Both players are coming off injury-plagued seasons (Achilles for Kempny, hip for Moore) and could benefit from some regular action in the minors to get back into playing shape. If they clear, Washington and Boston would only receive $1.125MM in cap relief; Kempny carries a $2.5MM AAV for this season while Moore is at $2.75MM for the next two seasons.
Up front, Panik and Wagner are a pair of veterans that have considerable NHL experience. Panik split last season between the Capitals and Red Wings, picking up 13 points in 48 games. Detroit is retaining half of his $2.75MM AAV, meaning that if he was claimed, the team that picks him up would only be carrying him at $1.375MM. Wagner is in the second season of a three-year deal with a $1.35MM AAV and while his production tumbled last season to just five points in 41 games with the Bruins, he has been one of the more physical players in the league in recent years. Again, if they clear, those teams would only get $1.125MM in cap space.
Brown’s stint with his hometown team didn’t go particularly well evidently with him being on waivers so quickly. As part of the trade from Ottawa, the Senators will send a fourth-round pick to the Blues if the 2016 first-round pick doesn’t play in 30 games with St. Louis. All of a sudden, that pick looks a lot likelier to transfer.
Among the other forwards, Angello and Gambrell are somewhat interesting as well. Angello played in 19 games on the fourth line with the Penguins last season, picking up four points along with 51 hits and actually carries a cap hit that’s $25K below the league minimum which could be appealing to cap-strapped teams. As for Gambrell, he has played in 99 games with the Sharks over the last two seasons and logged over 16 minutes a game for them last season. He was a highly-speculated candidate to be selected by Seattle in expansion although they went with Alexander True instead. Gambrell makes $1.1MM this season and is controllable through arbitration through 2024.
Minor Transactions: 10/9/21
It has been a busy day on the transactions front as some teams have pulled up previously cut players to round out their roster for their final preseason games while other players will be looking to catch on either in the minors or overseas. Here’s a rundown of those moves.
- The Senators announced (Twitter links) that they’ve recalled defensemen Dillon Heatherington, Mark Kastelic, and Lassi Thomson plus winger Egor Sokolov from AHL Belleville. All four were previously cut in training camp but will be on the roster for their preseason finale against Toronto tonight.
- With Cam Talbot unavailable due to a personal matter, the Wild announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from AHL Iowa. He’ll serve as Kaapo Kahkonen’s backup for their preseason finale in Chicago.
- Vegas’ AHL affiliate in Henderson revealed (Twitter link) that the Golden Knights have brought up forwards Jonas Rondbjerg and Jake Leschyshyn from the Silver Knights for their final preseason game tonight versus San Jose.
- Greg McKegg gets another look with the Rangers as Rick Carpinello of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the veteran forward has been recalled for tonight’s game against the Islanders. McKegg returned to New York this season after spending 2020-21 with Boston.
- After having his contract terminated by Winnipeg last month, Joona Luoto is heading back home as Tappara in the SM-liiga announced that they’ve inked the 24-year-old to a one-year deal. Luoto played in Tappara’s program – his hometown team – before making the jump to North America in 2019 where he played in 16 games with the Jets.
- Marko Dano’s two-month tryout in Trinec was a successful one as the Czech squad announced they’ve extended his contract for the rest of the season. The 26-year-old was non-tendered by Winnipeg this summer after not seeing any NHL action for the first time in his professional career.
- Kunlun Red Star of the KHL announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger Cliff Pu to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old wrapped up his entry-level contract last season, recording 10 points in 16 games with AHL Cleveland but was non-tendered by Columbus this summer.
- Veteran winger Brandon Mashinter has decided to call it a career and has joined Jacksonville of the ECHL as an assistant coach. The 33-year-old played in parts of four NHL seasons with the Sharks, Rangers, and Blackhawks, notching five points and 50 PIMS in 64 games. Mashinter spent last season in Slovakia after a two-year stint in Germany.
- After clearing waivers, Sonny Milano has been reassigned to the AHL by the Anaheim Ducks. Milano played in just eight games total last season, two of which were with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. It seems like that total could increase considerably this season unless the Ducks decide he is worthy of a recall at some point.
- The Dallas Stars have demoted defenseman Andreas Borgman to AHL Texas. However, with 36 players still on their training camp roster, the team has a ways to go. Borgman, 26, suited up for seven games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season but appears to be no better than tenth on the Stars’ depth chart.
West Notes: Coyotes, Nylander, Svechnikov
While it was a successful tryout for Coyotes forward Alex Galchenyuk who inked a one-year deal for the league minimum salary earlier this week, the news got worse fairly quickly. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports (Twitter link) that the 27-year-old is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Galchenyuk split last season between Ottawa and Toronto, notching 13 points in 34 games and was pushing for a regular spot in Arizona’s lineup to start the season.
Meanwhile, in that same report, Morgan adds that blueliner Kyle Capobianco is also listed as week-to-week due to a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old had a chance at landing a spot on the opening roster for the Coyotes after spending most of last season in the minors where he had 13 points in 20 games with AHL Tucson. Instead, Capobianco will also be starting the year on injured reserve.
More from the Western Conference:
- Alexander Nylander’s stock has certainly fallen since the 23-year-old was selected eighth overall by Buffalo back in 2016 but it could be dipping even more as Scott Powers of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that Nylander is a likely candidate to be waived by the Blackhawks after a disappointing training camp. Powers suggests that Arizona is a team that could have interest in Nylander, who missed all of last season due to knee surgery after recording 10 goals and 16 assists in 65 games in 2019-20.
- While he has an AHL contract in hand, Jets winger Evgeny Svechnikov is expected to be converted to an NHL two-way deal in the coming days, reports Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe. The 24-year-old impressed in the preseason with four points in five games – good for third on Winnipeg – which still has him in the mix to earn a spot at the end of the roster to start the regular season. Svechnikov had eight points in 21 games with Detroit last season before clearing waivers in early April.
Metropolitan Notes: Domi, Trocheck, Ovechkin, Flyers
While he was expected to be out until at least November, Blue Jackets forward Max Domi has progressed quicker than anticipated in his recovery from shoulder surgery back in June to the point where he could be ready for next week’s season-opener. To that end, the team announced today that he’ll be in their preseason finale tonight against Pittsburgh to assess his readiness to start the season. The injury plus his $5.3MM cap hit resulted in Columbus leaving him unprotected in expansion with Seattle shying away. While Domi’s long-term future with the team remains somewhat uncertain after a tough first year with them, it looks like he’ll have a full season or very close to it which should help his value on the open market next summer and in the trade market in the months to come.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While the Hurricanes haven’t yet started extension discussions with Vincent Trocheck, GM Don Waddell told John Matisz of The Score that they do intend to sit down at some point to try to work out a long-term deal. Trocheck’s first ‘full’ season in Carolina was a strong one as he notched 43 points in 47 games last season so it’s understandable that they’d want to keep him around. However, youngsters Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi – both natural centers – are in need of new deals as well next summer and it’s possible that they could view one of them as a replacement for Trocheck if his asking price gets too high. He has a $4.75MM AAV this season and should be getting more than that on his next deal.
- Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin will be re-evaluated today after leaving Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, relays Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. He was injured in the first period on a hit on Philadelphia winger Travis Konecny.
- Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher acknowledged to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that they may start the season with a minimum-sized roster in order to bank some extra salary cap space early on. Philadelphia’s campaign begins with four games at home and with their farm team in Allentown fairly close by, they can carry the minimum knowing they can recall someone without much difficulty over that first week of the season.
Blues Sign James Neal
It was a successful tryout for winger James Neal in St. Louis as the Blues announced that they’ve inked the veteran to a one-year contract. The deal is worth the league minimum of $750K.
In his prime, the 34-year-old was one of the more consistent scorers in the NHL, scoring more than 20 goals in ten straight seasons. However, as he has gotten older, his production has started to slow down. He had a bounce-back year in 2019-20 in Edmonton with 19 goals in 55 games but he wasn’t able to maintain that same level of production last season. Instead, he had just five goals and five assists in 29 games while clearing waivers and spending time on the taxi squad. Rather than keep him on their roster for the remaining two years of his contract, the Oilers decided to buy him out, paying him $1.916MM over each of the next four years for him to go elsewhere.
After being unable to secure a guaranteed contract in free agency, Neal accepted a PTO offer from the Blues who have a need for some cheap role players given their salary cap situation as they’re going to be quite close to the cap ceiling when fully healthy. He made the most of his exhibition action, scoring four goals in five games to lead the team in that department while sitting one off the league-wide lead in the preseason.
While his best days are behind him now, Neal represents a low-risk pickup for St. Louis. If he’s able to contribute some offense in the bottom six, they’ll be content with that and if he winds up struggling, they can send him to the minors (he’d have to clear waivers first) and clear the entire cap hit off their books. Neal sits six goals away from 300 for his NHL career and he should have a chance to get to that milestone at some point this season.
Matt Boldy Out Four To Six Weeks With Ankle Fracture
Matt Boldy’s quest to earn a spot with the Wild to start the season has come to an early end as the team announced (Twitter link) that he will miss four-to-six weeks due to a left ankle fracture. The injury was sustained in Thursday’s game against Chicago. Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the news, while still disappointing, is better than the team was initially expecting.
The 20-year-old is one of Minnesota’s top prospects after being the 12th-overall pick back in 2019. Boldy wrapped up his college career last season at Boston College with 31 points in 22 games to lead the Eagles in scoring before turning pro and finishing up the year in the minors with AHL Iowa. He averaged over a point per game there as well with 18 points in 14 contests, putting him in a spot to make a legitimate push for a regular role in Minnesota’s lineup coming into training camp.
Instead, Boldy will be placed on season-opening injured reserve and since he is on a two-way contract and didn’t spend any time on the NHL roster, the SOIR designation will keep him off the salary cap while he’s injured. Once recovered, he’ll likely need to return to Iowa and wait for an injury to arise before making his NHL debut.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/9/21
With the submission of season-opening rosters due on Monday, many teams should be making more cuts today. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Josh Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tristan Mullin (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Justin Scott (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Cleveland, AHL)
Florida Panthers (via WPLG’s David Dwork)
F Zac Dalpe (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Noah Juulsen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Matt Kiersted (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Chase Priskie (to Charlotte, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (via team release)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
F Adam Beckman (to Iowa, AHL)
F Marco Rossi (to Iowa, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie)
F Jesse Ylonen (to Laval, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)
F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mads Sogaard (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Michael Chaput (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Juuso Riikola (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
G Colten Ellis (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Springfield, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Springfield, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via team release)
F Carson Focht (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F William Lockwood (to Abbotsford, AHL)