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Carolina Hurricanes Recall Pyotr Kochetkov On Emergency Basis

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The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been recalled on an emergency basis. The move comes as Antti Raanta left last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an undisclosed injury.

The Hurricanes play games tomorrow night, Saturday, and Sunday, so one would think that if Raanta isn’t ready to play in those games, Kochetkov could get to make his 19th NHL start of the season thanks to this recall.

The 23-year-old Kochetkov last played in the NHL in the middle of January, when he stopped 29 of 32 shots in a shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks. In the final stretch of 2022, Kochetkov managed to put together some stellar performances, including back-to-back shutouts against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders in December. His stellar play in December 2022 earned him NHL Rookie of the Month honors.

More recently, Kochetkov has made headlines in the AHL by scoring a rare goalie goal only to be ejected from the game moments later.

Overall, Kochetkov has had a strong season. He’s posted a 10-4-5 record in the NHL with a .913 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average, and a 13-5-2 record, 2.39 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage in the AHL.

Kochetkov’s stellar performance this year comes with added benefit to the Hurricanes, as they already have him locked into a contract extension that runs through the 2026-27 season. That deal comes at a $2MM AAV, meaning if Kochetkov can become at the very least a tandem goalie in Carolina (if not the quality starter he has looked like for short bursts in his brief NHL career) that contract could represent a major bargain for the Hurricanes.

But putting aside that long-term thinking, it’s likely that with this recall, Kochetkov will have another NHL start to prepare for. With the Hurricanes battling the New Jersey Devils for supremacy in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina has to be thankful that they have a goalie like Kochetkov as their organization’s number-three netminder.

Minor Transactions: 03/05/23

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It’s a relatively slow day on the NHL calendar, at least compared to yesterday, with just five games on the schedule. But in leagues across the hockey world, teams are gearing up for the playoffs, such as in Europe where the ICEHL and DEL both are set to begin their playoffs this week. As teams in foreign leagues or minor leagues either get set to begin their playoffs or secure their spot in them, they’re also making tweaks to their rosters and other forms of transactions. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Former Ottawa Senator and three-time Spengler Cup champion Chris DiDomenico is returning to Fribourg. Swiss club HC Fribourg-Gotteron has announced that the 34-year-old forward has signed a two-year deal set to begin next season. After a 2017-18 season that saw DiDomenico play 24 NHL games and score 18 points in just 13 AHL playoff games, he made the choice to cross the Atlantic and return to Switzerland, where he was before making it to the NHL. DiDomenico has been a star there, scoring a total of 314 points in 328 total games, and has scored 23 goals and 53 points in 46 games this season.
  • 2016 Carolina Hurricanes third-round pick Jack LaFontaine, 25, has been reassigned to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, according to a team announcement. LaFontaine returned in time to play in the Solar Bears’ game against the South Carolina Stingrays today, where he stopped 32 of 34 shots en route to a 7-2 victory. LaFontaine has spent most of this season in the ECHL, and he has a .905 save percentage in 22 games in Orlando this season.
  • Morten Poulsen, who represented Denmark at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and is a star in Denmark’s top professional league, has signed a two-year extension with his current club, Herning Blue Fox. The 34-year-old is Herning’s captain and has scored 290 points in 394 career games at Denmark’s highest level. He’s a three-time Danish champion and has experience playing in Austria, in the Finnish Liiga, and in Sweden.
  • A longtime veteran of the second and third divisions of German hockey won’t be hanging up his skates anytime soon. 41-year-old blueliner Lukas Slavetinsky, who has nearly 1,300 games of experience at four levels of German hockey has signed a one-year extension with his current team, EV Fussen, who play in the third tier of German hockey. He’s still quite productive, having scored 39 points in 39 games this season, and got into eleven games of action this year in second-tier DEL2. He last saw the ice in the DEL, the highest level of German pro hockey, in 2006-07 with ERC Ingolstadt.
  • Michel Ackers, a 31-year-old defenseman who has served as captain of Herner EV 2007, a club in Germany’s third division, has signed a two-year extension to remain with the team. Ackers is one of the club’s most committed players, having skated in over 300 games for them and scored around a point-per-game rate multiple times. He’ll remain with the team for the next two years with the hope of finally leading them to promotion to the DEL2.

Big Hype Prospects: Sykora, Michkov, Huuhtanen, Poirier, Merilainen

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Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Adam Sykora, LW, New York Rangers (HK Nitra, Tipos Extraliga)
37 GP 8G 12A 20pts

Despite not having a first-round pick at the 2022 NHL draft thanks to their in-season acquisition of Andrew Copp from the Winnipeg Jets, it seems as though the Rangers still managed to nab a quality prospect with their highest pick in the draft, all the way down at 63rd overall.

While fast-rising Montreal Canadiens prospect Lane Hutson has attracted most of the attention for the way he’s laid waste to college hockey in his first season since being drafted, Sykora, the player selected immediately after Huston has had among the most impressive and attention-worthy seasons of the 2022 second-round as well.

With 20 points in 37 games played, Sykora has upped his point-per-game scoring rate from .37 to .54.

That scoring rate puts him third in U21 scoring in Slovakia’s top professional league, and the two players in front of him are aged 21 and 20, respectively. Sykora, on the other hand, is just 18 years old and will have to wait until September to turn 19.

In other words, Sykora is just over a month older than top 2023 draft prospect Adam Fantilli, and is already reaching triple-digit career games played in a solid professional league.

And beyond just his scoring rate, Sykora is one of Nitra’s most relied-upon players, often skating in more than 20 minutes a night and regularly contributing on both special teams units.

Sykora’s best asset is his motor, which is always running to the max on every shift. He’s extremely hard-working and has more skill than one might expect. While he may not end up an overwhelming points producer, it’s easy to see his game being quickly transferrable to North American ice. He was even drafted number-one overall at the 2022 CHL Import Draft, suggesting Canadian junior teams were similarly optimistic about his game’s translatability to the other side of the Atlantic, and he’s already signed to an entry-level deal with the Rangers.

While Nitra hasn’t been a great team as a whole this year, they play HK Poprad in a playoff series later this week and Sykora’s performance there will definitely be something for the Rangers and their fans to pay attention to.

Matvei Michkov, LW, 2023 Draft Prospect (HK Sochi, KHL)
27 GP 9G 11A 2opts (for Sochi)

With Connor Bedard routinely torching competition in the WHL and Fantilli piling up impressive scoring numbers in college hockey, it’s easy to see why they’re regularly viewed as the two main can’t-miss prospects eligible to be selected at the draft in Nashville. But tucked away in the KHL (and under contract there through 2025-26) is Matvei Michkov, who has all the talent to be in the conversation with those other two prospects but is highly unlikely to be a consideration for the top-two picks in the draft.

Michkov’s season began somewhat unevenly. He was playing well, especially at the second-tier VHL level where he scored 14 points in 12 games, but opportunities in the KHL were scarce. His club, SKA St. Petersburg, is regularly among the KHL’s juggernaut teams and could not afford him any sort of regular role. In fact, when he managed to get into the ice for two KHL games, he finished with less than eight total minutes played across both games.

A December loan to HK Sochi, a team that would be able to give him ample ice time, ignited Michkov’s game and gave him a chance to show what he could do in one of the most talent-rich leagues outside the NHL. Michkov ended up playing 27 games for Sochi, and he finished with 20 points in 27 games. While one might note that eight of those points game in two games against the Kunlun Red Star, the KHL’s Chinese club and one of the worst teams in their league, it’s also worth noting that Kunlun won 10 more games this season than Sochi did.

Michkov is a fantastically skilled offensive player and his scoring numbers in the KHL are extremely rare for someone his age to accomplish. Kirill Kaprizov managed just eight points in 31 games in his own draft year, while Alex Ovechkin scored 23 points (more than Michkov) but in 53 games, not the 27 Michkov played for Sochi.

That’s not to say that Michkov is going to have the type of NHL success either of those two players have had — one is an all-time great and the other is looking increasingly like a franchise-defining star — but it does indicate the type of rare talent we’re dealing with here.

While the uncertain timeline of when Michkov would be available to NHL teams will likely hurt him on draft day, as NHL GMs weigh the risks and rewards of investing such high picks in different players, Michkov’s form in Sochi has underscored just how much he belongs in the conversation for the most talented player available at the 2023 draft not named Bedard.

Niko Huuhtanen, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning (Jukurit, Liiga)
45 GP 16G 13A 29pts

While Huuhtanen, 19, was the 2021 NHL draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last player selected, to borrow from an NFL tradition, he’s quickly reached a point of relevance in the two seasons since earning the moniker. The Lightning saw something in Huuhtanen, a six-foot-two 210-pound winger, and used their last pick on him after he scored 20 goals and 34 points at the Finnish junior level.

He was selected second overall at the 2021 CHL Import Draft, and headed to the WHL to play for the Everett Silvertips the following year. As a later birthdate for the 2021 draft, suspicions that Huuhtanen might be a late-bloomer seemed to be confirmed after his WHL performance, as he became an instant-impact contributor for the Silvertips, and finished with 37 goals and 77 points in 65 games.

This season, Huuhtanen has taken his game even further and is now one of the top scorers for Jukurit, a team in one of the best professional leagues in the world. At just 19 years old, Huuhtanen manged to score 16 goals and 29 points for Jukurit, a total that led all teenage players in Liiga. Huuhtanen plays the type of game that is highly coveted among NHL teams, combining the prototypical power forward’s physical game with goal-scoring ability and some sneaky skill.

According to CapFriendly, the Lightning have all the way until June 1st, 2025 to give Huuhtanen his entry-level deal before losing his exclusive rights. But given the way he’s played the past two years and how pro-ready his game looks, it’s likely that he’ll enter their organization well before that runway ends.

Jeremie Poirier, LHD, Calgary Flames (Calgary, AHL)
53 GP 7G 29A 36pts

Oftentimes it can be a bit of a challenge for skaters (and especially defensemen) who score at the junior level to translate their impressive numbers to the professional level. There’s often the pressure for defensemen to become deferential in their game, to play with a lot more safety and lose the type of risk-taking offensive flair that made them successful at those lower levels. Those challenges can be even more greatly magnified by higher competition level, as the time and space with the puck players are often more easily able to generate at the junior level can quickly evaporate against pros.

For Poirier, a Flames 2020 third-round pick, those challenges have been more than capably met. Fresh off of a Memorial Cup victory with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, Poirier has stepped into the lineup with the Calgary Wranglers and become their most productive defenseman in his rookie professional season. With 36 points in 53 games, Poirier is not only Calgary’s most productive defenseman, he’s also the most productive defenseman aged 20 or under in the American League.

While the Flames have seemingly deemed him best served playing a full first pro season in the AHL without the potential interruption an NHL call-up would bring, Poirier has quickly played his way into the Flames’ medium-to-long-term blueline plans.

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter is notoriously demanding of his players, and it’s likely that Poirier will need to further refine his defensive game to have success under Sutter. But as far as adjustments from the CHL to NHL go, Poirier’s has been as smooth as one could reasonably have hoped it would be.

Leevi Merilainen, G, Ottawa Senators (Karpat, Liiga)

39 GP 1.94 GAA .920 SV%

While the Ottawa Senators got strong goaltending from Anton Forsberg last season and gave him a $2.75MM AAV contract extension through 2025, the team’s “goalie of the future” remains relatively unclear. Big 2019 second-round pick Mads Sogaard has done quite well in six NHL games, with a 4-0-1 record, 2.33 GAA, and .922 save percentage, but he has just an .898 save percentage in 21 AHL games this season. 22-year-old Kevin Mandolese is a big netminder, but his AHL numbers have been similarly shaky.

While 2020 third-round pick Leevi Merilainen’s uneven play last season in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs was far from the resounding step towards “goalie of the future” status many were hoping he’d take, his form this season in the Finnish Liiga has been exactly that.

Merilainen has played in 39 games for Karpat this season and currently ranks third among all league netminders with a .920 save percentage. He’s helped Karpat rise to the upper end of Liiga’s standings and has handily outperformed 2020 Pittsburgh Penguins second-rounder Joel Blomqvist. At six-foot-two, 180 pounds Merilainen doesn’t have the imposing size many NHL teams covet in their goalies, but he’s also big enough where size isn’t the sort of underlying concern it is for other prospect goalies.

The Senators signed Merilainen to an entry-level deal in 2021, and could be looking to have him cross the Atlantic and continue his development in their organization next season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 03/04/23

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With the NHL trade deadline now passed, playoff races in both conferences are ramping up and today is a jam-packed Saturday full of NHL action. A potential Eastern Conference Final preview happened earlier today when the Boston Bruins took on the New York Rangers, and multiple teams jockeying for playoff position are engaged in important games. As these games play out, teams in minor and foreign leagues are making tweaks to their rosters and signing contract extensions. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs fourth-round pick and 2021-22 EIHL Player of the Year J.J. Piccinich has signed a two-year contract extension with his current club, Norway’s Stjernen Hockey. Piccinich, a former captain of the OHL’s London Knights, torched the United Kingdom’s top league last season to the tune of 80 points in 52 games for the Belfast Giants. He left Northern Ireland for Norway this season and has fit exceptionally well, scoring 65 points in 45 games. Piccinich has won quite a bit in his career and is a Hockey East, OHL, Memorial Cup, ECHL, and EIHL Champion, and he’ll now have two more seasons after this one to win a title in Norway.
  • 27-year-old Zac Masson will get his first chance to show what he can do at the ECHL level. The former University of Alaska-Anchorage forward was signed out of the SPHL’s Birmingham Bulls by the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators today, giving him his first opportunity at North American hockey’s third tier of the pro game. Masson has had to work his way up to this level, as he spent his first season as a professional playing for Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne in the second tier of pro hockey in France. This year, he’s scored 11 goals and 21 points in 40 games for the Bulls, and will now get a chance to impress at a more difficult level of hockey with the Gladiators.
  • Roberts Mamcics, a 27-year-old Latvian winger who represented his home country at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has signed a one-year contract extension with his current team, Slovakia’s HC Nove Zamsky. With just seven points in 33 games this year, Mamcics hasn’t scored a ton, but he’s helped Nove Zamsky reach the playoffs this season. This has been Mamcics’ first season in Slovakia, with much of his prior professional experience coming in the KHL with Dinamo Riga before he split last season between four teams: Riga, Latvia’s HK Zemgale, the SHL’s HC Linkoping, and Czechia’s Berani Zlin.

Snapshots: Hughes, Gustafsson, Gudas

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Even though the trade deadline has now passed, the New Jersey Devils still have a reinforcement on the horizon to add to their roster. Devils team reporter Amanda Stein relays word from Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald that 2021 fourth-overall pick Luke Hughes will sign with New Jersey whenever his current season with the University of Michigan concludes. Hughes’ timeline depends on the level of postseason success Michigan has, so at this point it’s currently unclear when exactly he’ll be able to turn pro.

But whenever Hughes does decide to pull the trigger and sign his entry-level deal, he’ll be a high-upside addition to an already talent-rich Devils blueline. Hughes is among the top prospects currently playing outside of the NHL, and at six-foot-two is an extremely good skater for someone his size. He currently has 36 points in 32 games and has the potential to become a star number-one defenseman in New Jersey. While he has no professional experience and isn’t quite there yet, he could provide some pop to the Devils’ bottom pairing in the role Kevin Bahl currently occupies.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have activated forward David Gustafsson off of injured reserve. Gustafsson hasn’t played since a January 10th loss to the Detroit Red Wings, a contest where he skated in just under nine minutes of ice time and registered an assist. The 22-year-old 2018 second-round pick has five points in 38 games this season and should be able to help patch up a Jets forward corps that has been ravaged by injuries in recent weeks.
  • After some rumors today of Florida Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas garnering trade interest, it seems the team is actually more interested in keeping the veteran defenseman in South Florida. Via WPLG Local 10 News’ David Dwork, Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito said the team would “like to keep Gudas” if possible, and that early discussions on a possible contract extension for Gudas have been held. The physical 32-year-old blueliner has an expiring $2.5MM cap hit and has blossomed into a crucial defensive force for the Panthers, averaging over two and a half minutes per game on their penalty kill.

San Jose Sharks Recall William Eklund

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The San Jose Sharks top prospect, William Eklund, is set to return to the NHL. After getting a nine-game trial run last season before heading to play for Djurgardens in his native Sweden, the Sharks have put Eklund in a position to get more NHL games under his belt, recalling him from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

While Eklund’s performance last season for Djurgarden was somewhat uneven (he scored 14 points in 29 games as his side was relegated to Sweden’s second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan) he has taken real strides in his development now that he’s on North American ice. Eklund has been a centerpiece offensive generator for the Barracuda, and has scored 17 goals and 41 points in 52 games.

Eklund is a smooth-skating attacker whose play in Sweden last year raised some concerns about his goal-scoring ability, as he often looked deferential with the puck on his stick and finished with just one goal to his name. This season, though, Eklund has taken a meaningful step to add more of a shooting threat to his game and become a real one-timer possibility on the power play.

He’s an exciting attacker in transition and should add some offensive spark to the Sharks lineup. While the Sharks’ season is all but over where the playoffs are concerned, getting a look at Eklund’s progress via this call-up provides some real meaning to the remaining games left on the Sharks’ schedule.

If the Sharks organization wants its fortunes to turn around sooner, rather than later, Eklund’s ability to translate his scoring success in the AHL to the more difficult NHL level will be one of the most important storylines to track.

Eklund has all the tools to be a star scoring winger in the NHL, and his AHL performance this year absolutely supports that line of thinking. With this call-up, now Eklund will get his first extended chance to show what the can do in the most talented hockey league in the world.

Minnesota Wild To Acquire John Klingberg

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The Minnesota Wild have made a last-minute trade, acquiring defenseman John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are receiving defenseman Andrej Sustr, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and the rights to 2019 sixth-round pick Nikita Nesterenko.

The Ducks are also retaining 50% of Klingberg’s $7MM cap hit. Sustr will report to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, according to a team announcement. The Wild have sent Dakota Mermis to the AHL in a corresponding move.

Notable regarding Nesterenko is the fact that, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, there “has been talk in recent weeks” that Nesterenko wasn’t planning on signing with the Wild upon the completion of his NCAA career.

While the Wild should undoubtedly be excited to add a player with such an extensive resume at such a minor cost, this trade serves as a stark reminder of just how far Klingberg’s stock has fallen from where it was just a year ago. A year ago, Klingberg was putting the finishing touches on a platform season he would finish with 47 points in 74 games. He was set to hit the free agent market as one of its top defenders and was widely expected to receive a pricey long-term pact from a defense-needy team.

That deal never materialized, though, leading to Klingberg’s one-year, $7MM deal with the Ducks. Implied with that signing was that the Ducks would explore trade possibilities for Klingberg, potentially receiving a significant compensation package were he to find success next to stars like Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras on the team’s power play. That success did not come, and Klingberg instead has had a nightmarish season in Anaheim.

Klingberg’s numbers have taken a major hit, as he has scored just 24 points in 50 games. His fit on their power play never quite clicked, and his overall perception leaguewide began to shift from “dynamic two-way contributor with an offensive bent” to “one-dimensional offensive defenseman with some defensive issues.” Fair or unfair, that shifting perception severely hurt Klingberg’s value, and can help explain why he net his team just a fourth-rounder and the rights to an NCAA prospect when just a year ago he earned a $7MM annual guarantee.

For the Ducks, this is a trade that is likely to be disappointing given what Klingberg likely would have returned were he healthy, although it’s still better than nothing as Klingberg was unlikely to be in their long-term plans anyway. They get to add another draft pick for their building process, a depth defender who played 23 games for them last season, and the rights to a prospect they’ll hope to be able to sign. For what it’s worth, the 21-year-old Nesterenko has produced quite well this season, scoring 11 goals and 30 points in 32 games for Boston College.

For the Wild, they add a talented puck-moving defenseman who just a year ago was considered a quality offensive defenseman. While his stock has undoubtedly declined, it’s easy to see him as an upgrade over the veteran offensive defenseman the team currently employs: Alex Goligoski. While this move may cut into the opportunities puck-moving rookie Calen Addison receives, it would not be a shock whatsoever for Klingberg to improve his form in Minnesota and help them secure a playoff spot.

While this trade won’t solve the Wild’s most glaring issue — a lack of quality top-six centers — it does give them a solid bounce-back candidate to work with and is overall a trade with a chance to pop.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was first on the deal, while The Athletic’s Joe Smith was first on the trade details. 

Nashville Predators Extend Dante Fabbro

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While some speculated that he may have been a name traded at today’s deadline, the deadline is now passed and Nashville Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro has actually signed an extension with the team, not been traded. According to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, he has signed a one-year, $2.5MM extension.

Last month, we covered Fabbro’s situation with the Predators, citing reports that the team had explored the possibility of trading the defenseman, potentially to an in-conference rival such as the San Jose Sharks. The 24-year-old defender has had a difficult season, seeing his production and ice time decline from last year. Last season, the smooth-skating former Boston University Terrier scored 24 points in 66 games and averaged over 19 minutes of ice time per game.

This season, Fabbro has managed just eight points in 56 games and has seen his average ice time drop to just 16 minutes per game, with nearly a minute and a half of that coming on the penalty kill. While some believed that a change of scenery was necessary for the 2016 first-round pick, such a change did not come before today’s trade deadline and he has instead secured a contract for next season containing a $100k raise.

This does not, of course, rule out the possibility that Fabbro will be traded in the offseason and eventually receive that change of scenery that some believe he needs. What this does mean, though, is now on a more talent-depleted Predators team Fabbro will have the opportunity to finish his season on a strong note and potentially even impress the team’s new general manager, Barry Trotz, who will take after the season.

Securing this extension might have been made especially pressing given the Predators’ acquisition of Tyson Barrie from the Edmonton Oilers, as his addition to their lineup means that now Fabbro has two players (Barrie and Alexandre Carrier) above him on the Predators’ right-shot defenseman depth chart. Especially if the Predators decide to keep Barrie beyond this season (which admittedly seems unlikely at this stage given the amount of veterans they have shipped out) Fabbro’s future in Nashville, even with this extension, could be made all the more unclear.

No matter what, though, Fabbro’s contract for next season is secured and that means he’ll be afforded the opportunity to continue his growth as an NHLer and potentially realize some of the promise that got him drafted 17th overall in 2016.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nashville Predators Acquire Rasmus Asplund

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The Nashville Predators are acquiring Rasmus Asplund from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, per a team announcement. Asplund is playing on an $825k cap hit for the rest of the season, from which point he will be eligible for restricted free agency.

Asplund was the 33rd overall pick at the 2016 draft, impressing scouts due to the fact that he was trusted to play regularly in the SHL for Farjestad at such a young age. Asplund played two more seasons in Sweden before coming over to play for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, in 2019-20. He played quite well, scoring 41 points in 75 games, and earned his first NHL call-up the following year.

Last season, Asplund finally emerged as a full-time NHLer, playing in 80 games and scoring 27 points. His energetic play and defensive abilities quickly earned him the trust of head coach Don Granato, who gave the forward over 14 minutes of ice time per night including time on both special teams units.

This season has been a different story, though, as Asplund has frequently been a healthy scratch for the team. While he has remained a contributor on their penalty kill when in the lineup, Asplund has gotten into only 27 games and scored just eight points. He’s played just six games in 2023 and none since February 13th. By moving Asplund to Nashville, the Sabres clear room for their new forward acquisition, Jordan Greenway, and also give Asplund a chance to get a greater opportunity playing for a new club.

While it might be slightly disappointing to receive such a low future draft pick in exchange for a player who once held quite a bit of promise, this season as a whole has been highly encouraging for the Sabres and it’s highly unlikely that this move has any major impact on the team’s chase of a Wild Card spot this season.

For the Predators, this is a savvy move to acquire a player who could thrive in a more regular opportunity in their lineup. Injuries have left the Predators absolutely starved for forward help in recent weeks, and the combination of Asplund’s versatility and defensive ability should make him a regular in the team’s lineup for at least the rest of this season, with the possibility to extend the relationship beyond this season.

While there are some who might prefer that the Predators hold on to every possible draft pick as they head into a rebuild-like direction, taking a flyer on a solid young player like Asplund is definitely a reasonable move to make, especially given the current state of the team’s forward corps.

Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek was first to report the deal. 

Calgary Flames Expected To Acquire Troy Stecher, Nick Ritchie

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The Calgary Flames are acquiring defenseman Troy Stecher and forward Nick Ritchie from the Arizona Coyotes, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, in exchange for Brett Ritchie and Connor Mackey.

This deal adds a player from the Coyotes’ second defensive pairing and third forward line to play likely lesser roles in head coach Darryl Sutter’s Flames lineup.

Ritchie, 27, is on an expiring $2.5MM contract and will provide useful depth to the Flames’ forward corps while also potentially taking Walker Duehr’s role on the team’s fourth line. He’s averaged over 13 minutes of ice time per game this season including over two minutes on the power play, and has scored nine goals and 21 points in 58 games this season. He’s another big, heavy forward for Sutter to work with, and should add some possible goal-scoring touch to their lineup as well as some more skill than what his brother has been able to provide the Flames.

As for Stecher, the team is acquiring a 28-year-old on an expiring $1.25MM cap hit. In terms of average ice time per game, he’s been Arizona’s number-four defenseman this season and most recently has skated on their second pairing next to former Calgary blueliner Juuso Valimaki. Stecher hasn’t scored yet this season, but has seven assists and has soaked up nearly three minutes per night on the team’s penalty kill.

With over 400 games of NHL experience, Stecher is an upgrade for the Flames’ bottom pairing over Dennis Gilbert and has the versatility to be able to fit into roles on the Flames lineup as they might pop up as the season goes on.

As for the Coyotes, the most significant element of this deal they are receiving seems to be Mackey, a 26-year-old blueliner who the team can retain beyond this season as a restricted free agent. Mackey has just 19 games of NHL experience but played exceptionally well in the AHL last season, to the tune of 36 points in 53 games.

Perhaps the Coyotes feel that with an increased role on their squad, the smooth-skating defenseman can establish himself as a legitimate NHL defenseman.

As for Ritchie, his inclusion gives the Coyotes an experienced body to fill the role his brother has left behind.

The 29-year-old is operating on an expiring league-minimum salary and has nearly 400 games of NHL experience. He’s averaging under 10 minutes per night this season with no special-teams minutes, although his role could increase in Arizona.

While it might be preferrable given the Coyotes’ current direction for the team to receive draft picks rather than these two players in return for Stecher and Ritchie, the team could legitimately believe that Mackey holds some promise in the short-to-medium term.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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