Minor Transactions: 04/06/23
Today is another busy day across the hockey world, with 14 NHL games set to be played. Highlights from tonight’s slate include a rivalry showdown between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, a dramatic Pacific Division matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Quick‘s Vegas Golden Knights, and a major contest in Pittsburgh where franchise legend Marc-Andre Fleury has a chance to deal a devastating blow to his former team’s playoff hopes.
In Europe, some similarly major games have already been completed. The Pelicans took a 2-1 lead against Ilves Tampere in the Liiga semifinals thanks to a game-winning goal from former Ottawa Senators prospect Ben Blood, while EHC Red Bull Munchen tied their DEL semifinals against Grizzlys Wolfsburg thanks to a third-period rally. In Sweden, IF Bjorkloven overcame an early goal from Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Djurgarden to take a series lead in their chase for promotion to the SHL. As fans everywhere continue to enjoy the great games on offer today, teams in leagues around the world are making roster moves. We’ll keep track of those transactions here.
- Former Carolina Hurricanes 20-goal scorer and 506-game NHL veteran Victor Rask signed a two-year contract with Switzerland’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, confirming his transfer from a rival Swiss side, Fribourg-Gotteron HC. Playing alongside multiple former NHLers such as David Desharnais, Janne Kuokkanen, and Reto Berra, Rask had a decent first season in the top tier of Swiss hockey. He scored 26 points in 35 games and last season split time between three clubs, scoring 21 points in the NHL and 10 in the AHL.
- Former Buffalo Sabre Arttu Ruotsalainen signed a two-year deal with Switzerland’s HC Lugano, according to a team announcement. The move confirms his transfer from National League rival EHC Kloten, where he scored 42 points in 52 games. Ruotsalainen, 25, played both 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the Buffalo Sabres organization, compiling 64 points in 70 AHL games and 10 points in 35 NHL games. He joins a Lugano club that lost in the NL quarterfinals and will replace another former NHLer, Brett Connolly, as a go-to offensive producer.
- A few notable players will not be returning to Sweden’s Brynas IF next season, which will take place in HockeyAllsvenskan as the club was relegated for the first time in its history. Some of those notable names include former NHLer Dmytro Timashov (their leading scorer with 33 points in 52 games), former Laval Rocket blueliner David Sklenicka, and Jussi Olkinoura, who played 15 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.
- Colgate University forward and ECAC Champion Colton Young took his first step to professional hockey today, inking an amateur tryout agreement with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The 24-year-old is the brother of San Jose Sharks prospect Alex Young, who has emerged as one of the best scorers in his conference. Colton scored 28 points in 40 games this season and had an impressive 32 points in 38 games last year. Also of note is that Young attended the Edmonton Oilers’ 2022 Development Camp.
- Kenneth Johnson, the brother of Stanley Cup Champion and longtime NHL veteran Jack Johnson, was claimed on waivers today by the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. Johnson signed his first professional contract on March 28th with the Wheeling Nailers and was let go by the team after playing just two games. Now, he’ll get another chance to show what he can do in North America’s third-tier pro league.
- The AHL’s Ontario Reign, the affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, have signed Pennsylvania State University forward Ture Linden to a PTO. Linden made the ECAC’s Second All-Star Team last season as a forward for RPI, scoring 39 points in 44 games. He transferred to the Nittany Lions and had a solid season there, tallying 29 points in 39 games. Now, he’ll get a chance to earn a pro contract for the first time in his career with the Reign.
- After helping his team defeat Brynas and narrowly avoid relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan, Johan Olofsson is headed back to the Malmo Redhawks on a one-year contract extension. The 28-year-old is a veteran of nearly 500 SHL games and has played the last six seasons with the Redhawks. He scored 15 points in 48 games this season and will look to help secure Malmo’s SHL place next season.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Jason Demers, Place Ryan McLeod On LTIR
The Edmonton Oilers have made two roster moves, recalling veteran defenseman Jason Demers from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, and placing forward Ryan McLeod on long-term injured reserve.
The recall puts Demers in a position to play his 700th career NHL game, and his first since the 2020-21 season. The 34-year-old defenseman last played in the NHL for the Arizona Coyotes, a team he landed on in a 2017 swap of pricey contracts, with Arizona sending Jamie McGinn to the Florida Panthers in return. Demers played four years with the Coyotes before signing in the KHL with Ak-Bars Kazan in the summer of 2022.
Demers played just nine games in the KHL, and his 2021-22 season was most notable for his work representing Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He scored two points as one of Canada’s most experienced defensemen, and his performance on that major stage helped him earn a PTO with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors in October.
That PTO became a full contract with the Oilers in December, and now the forward momentum Demers has been building in his career has materialized into an NHL call-up. Demers has been playing in a top-four role with the Condors, but will likely play a limited role with the Oilers should head coach Jay Woodcroft dress him for a game.
As for McLeod, his placement on LTIR was needed to facilitate this move since the Oilers do not have the cap space to make a recall otherwise. The 23-year-old 2018 second-round pick has scored 22 points in 55 games this season as a regular bottom-sixer for Edmonton, although he hasn’t played since a March 14th contest against the Ottawa Senators. As we covered last month, reports indicate that McLeod is dealing with a shoulder injury.
East Notes: Killorn, Mantha, Siegenthaler
Despite stars such as Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Ryan O’Reilly set to hit free agency, the leading scorer among pending unrestricted free agent forwards is actually a less heralded name: Alex Killorn. The 33-year-old longtime Tampa Bay Lightning forward has had a career-best year, scoring 61 points through 78 games. An exceptional net-front presence, Killorn could be a fit for quite a few teams looking to add some scoring punch in the offseason.
According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN on the latest Insider Trading segment, while the Lightning are going to try to find a way to keep Killorn, he’s “likely headed to market.” LeBrun points to the significant pay raises for Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Anthony Cirelli that are set to kick in next season as a major contributor to what is a likely Killorn departure, and references Ondrej Palat‘s free agency last summer as a comparable for Killorn’s current situation. While his age may keep him from the type of long-term deal Palat signed, Killorn’s strong performance this season makes him among the most attractive forwards set to hit the market in a few months.
Some other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha will not play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens due to a lower-body injury, the team announced. Mantha played in the Capitals’ last game, which was Sunday against the New York Rangers. While he could still come back before the end of the season, this injury could mark the conclusion of what has been a supremely disappointing campaign for Mantha, who has scored just 11 goals and 27 points in 67 games. Of note with this injury is that the Capitals will only dress 17 skaters for their game tonight, allowing them to access emergency call-ups per the NHL’s rules.
- Jonas Siegenthaler will not play in tonight’s New Jersey Devils game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to team reporter Amanda Stein. In his place, veteran defenseman Brendan Smith will draw into the lineup. It’s unknown whether this absence is injury related, as Siegenthaler played in the Devils’ last game on Tuesday, but it’s worth noting that Siegenthaler’s play has dipped a bit from the stellar form he displayed earlier in the season, so perhaps this is head coach Lindy Ruff’s way of giving his talented defenseman a means of achieving a “reset” before the playoffs.
Ryan O’Reilly Activated From Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Toronto Maple Leafs have activated forward Ryan O’Reilly off of long-term injured reserve, as first tweeted by CapFriendly and then confirmed by Toronto’s official lineup announcement. In order to create the necessary cap space for the move, they have assigned forwards Nick Abruzzese and Wayne Simmonds to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
O’Reilly, 32, hasn’t played in a little over a month due to a finger injury. He last played in the Maple Leafs’ 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on March 4th, a contest that marked his fifth-straight without a point. It’s been an up-and-down season for the former Blues captain, as he has scored just 24 points in 48 games.
O’Reilly’s inconsistent offensive production shouldn’t be referenced to understate the potential impact he can have on the Maple Leafs, though, as the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner has the potential to be a game-changer for Toronto.
Now on a roster starved for playoff success, O’Reilly brings the type of Stanley Cup experience the squad has in the past been perceived as lacking.
Moreover, O’Reilly’s hat-trick performance on February 21st against the Buffalo Sabres shows that there’s still some gas left in O’Reilly’s offensive tank, and the versatility he brings to the Maple Leafs’ lineup gives head coach Sheldon Keefe a wide variety of options for how to deploy his forwards.
O’Reilly could be used as a third-line center, giving the Maple Leafs possibly the best set of four centers in the entire NHL. He could also be played on a top-six line, allowing someone like John Tavares to shift to the wing and focus more wholly on creating offense, leaving the defensive responsibilities assigned to the center to O’Reilly.
O’Reilly is playing tonight on the Maple Leafs’ third line between Alexander Kerfoot and Noel Acciari. That trio, combined with a fourth line of Zach Aston-Reese, David Kampf, and Sam Lafferty gives Toronto a bottom-six forward group that is arguably far better equipped to handle the rigors of playoff hockey than the bottom-six groups they have brought into past first-rounds.
It’s definitely true that for the Maple Leafs to finally earn the playoff success they’ve craved over the past half-decade, their stars will need to lead the way. If they want to be the first Eastern Conference team to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning in this decade, they’ll need to do it on the back of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Tavares, and William Nylander.
Getting a player like O’Reilly back to full health and integrated into their lineup with a few games to spare before that all-important playoff series is a significant, positive development for Toronto. How quickly he can get back to full speed will be one of the chief storylines to monitor during tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nikita Okhotiuk Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk underwent successful core muscle surgery yesterday. While no further details related to the injury were included in the team’s official announcement, including a more detailed recovery timeline, the announcement did state that the team expects Okhotiuk to make a full recovery in time for the Sharks’ training camp in September.
This surgery announcement ends any possibility of Okhotiuk returning to the ice and making his debut within the Sharks organization this season. The 22-year-old Russian blueliner hasn’t played since a February 11th AHL contest against the Laval Rocket, one where he fought against minor leaguer Riley McKay. It’s unknown whether the injury that knocked out Okhotiuk is in any way related to the fight, but it’s worth noting that he did return to the game after serving his penalty.
As mentioned, this injury ends the possibility of Okhotiuk skating for the Sharks’ organization for the first time this season. He was acquired by the franchise in the Timo Meier trade, alongside a package of other young Devils players and draft picks.
The 2019 second-rounder finishes his season having played a total of 30 games, 20 in the AHL and 10 in the NHL. He scored seven points across that span of games (six in the AHL) and also registered 35 penalty minutes.
Both the Sharks and Devils have been intrigued by the physicality Okhotiuk brings to the game, and it’s likely that the Sharks will give the 22-year-old the opportunity to make coach David Quinn’s opening-night lineup at training camp in the fall. With that opportunity in mind, Okhotiuk’s offseason recovery process will be of paramount importance for the short-term future of his career.
Latest On NHL Trade Market
Since the trade deadline has passed and the focus across the NHL has shifted to teams preparing to make a playoff push, the rumor mill surrounding the NHL trade market began to die down.
A few trades have still occurred since the deadline, but they have been of the min0r-league variety since trades of NHL consequence are not allowed until after the playoffs. As many teams outside the playoff picture begin preparations for their offseasons, though, the trade market rumor mill has similarly seen some new activity.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun offered some new developments on today’s Insider Trading program, developments specifically regarding the priorities of three teams in possession of multiple 2023 first-round picks: the Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, and Montreal Canadiens.
LeBrun references an interview he conducted with The Athletic for a piece running later this week wherein Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said he was “100 percent” open to trading away the first-round pick he acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo to California.
Since the Kings are headed to the playoffs and appear to be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, there is a relatively strong likelihood that their spare first-round pick is relatively late. But since the quality and depth of talent available in this year’s draft class has drawn praise from many evaluators in the media, it’s possible that a late first-rounder in this year’s class holds more value on the trade market than a similar pick might hold in another year.
LeBrun adds that the Blue Jackets are looking for a plug-and-play top-four defenseman in exchange for the pick, someone who can step in and fill the void left by Gavrikov’s departure. This report reveals something larger about the Blue Jackets’ approach to their offseason: their priorities are not rebuild-focused, the way the priorities of a team two points away from last place might typically be.
It seems that after signing top free agent Johnny Gaudreau last summer and with the emergence of key rookies such as Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko, Kekalainen is aiming to pull off a quick turnaround for his franchise. And based on LeBrun’s report, finding the right trade partner to cash in his extra first-round pick might be Kekalainen’s preferred way of jump-starting that quick revival.
Another team reported to be listening to trade offers for spare first-round picks is the St. Louis Blues, who own the New York Rangers* and Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2023 first-rounders from the Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly trades, respectively. Since the Blues have over $16MM in contract extensions kicking in this summer for core players and key veterans such as Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn, and Torey Krug (among others) still under contract for a few more years, a full rebuild may not be on the table for GM Doug Armstrong.
So since a prospect drafted late in the first round may not make an impact for the Blues until the second half of the 2020s, it’s definitely reasonable for the Blues’ front office to prioritize dealing those late first-rounders for up-and-coming players who are closer to NHL-ready.
The final team LeBrun referenced in his report is the Montreal Canadiens, who own the Florida Panthers’ unprotected first-round pick thanks to last year’s Ben Chiarot trade. LeBrun believes that the Canadiens “would listen” to offers to move the Panthers’ pick if offered the type of “hockey trade” like the one they completed at the 2022 draft, when they acquired Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks for the 13th and 66th overall picks. (Which they had acquired from the New York Islanders in exchange for young defenseman Alexander Romanov, serving as another example of a club dealing a mid-to-late first-rounder for young established NHL-ready talent)
The Dach acquisition worked out quite well for the Canadiens, with the 2019 third-overall pick revamping his game under coach Martin St. Louis and scoring a career-high 38 points in 58 games.
It’s understandable, then, that Montreal’s front office might be attracted to the idea of using their extra first-rounder to acquire another player they feel can break out as Dach has.
The one complication to that possibility could be the fact that the Panthers still need to clinch a playoff spot, and with the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of them in the standings, it’s still possible that the Panthers’ pick ends up in the lottery.
While the new NHL rules prevent the Panthers’ draft pick from jumping more than ten slots in the draft order, (meaning if the Panthers pick begins, say, 14th place in the lottery drawing the pick cannot jump to first overall and be used to select Connor Bedard) it’s likely that a lottery win vaulting the pick into the top-10 would significantly complicate another team’s ability to pry away the pick in a “hockey trade.”
With three teams currently reported to be considering trading their spare 2023 first-rounders, NHL fans could see more movement at the back half of this year’s first-round than most drafts typically feature. Although that’s no guarantee that any of these rumors lead to an actual finalized trade, it is an indication of some of the excitement in store for when the season comes to an end.
*Note: the 2023 first-rounder the Blues acquired from New York in the Tarasenko deal is actually conditional, meaning the Blues could technically receive the Dallas Stars’ first-rounder (owned by the Rangers due to the Nils Lundkvist trade) if the Stars’ first-rounder ends up later in the draft order than the Rangers’ pick.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Injury Notes: Capitals, Blues, Tanev, Teravainen
While the Washington Capitals are near the conclusion of a rare season that finds them outside the Eastern Conference’s playoff picture, the circumstances surrounding their franchise’s greatest player add more meaning to the remaining games on their schedule than those contests might have for other teams. Alex Ovechkin remains locked into his chase of Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time scoring record, and until the day he passes The Great One, each Capitals game holds importance.
As a result, any injuries Capitals players suffer at this stage of the season are more meaningful than they might be for another franchise closing out a lost season. So, today’s reporting via the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs that Capitals veterans T.J. Oshie and Trevor van Riemsdyk will not travel with the team and are each nursing upper-body injuries is notable. While the 36-year-old Oshie may not be the caliber of player he once was, he’s still a reliable contributor to the Capitals’ forward corps and his absence could make life for Ovechkin more difficult. Same for the loss of van Riemsdyk, who as a former undrafted player has carved himself a nice career as a penalty kill specialist at the age of 31.
Some other injury notes from across the NHL:
- NHL.com’s Lou Korac relays updates from St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube on two of the team’s most important players. Per Berube, top center Robert Thomas is a game-time decision tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, while the Blues’ leading scorer on a point-per-game basis, Pavel Buchnevich, remains out. Both Thomas and Buchnevich have not played since the Blues’ March 28th overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks, and in their absence St. Louis has lost two of three games, with their sole victory coming over the last-place Chicago Blackhawks.
- Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter told the media today, including TSN Sports’ Salim Nadim Valji, that veteran defensive defenseman Chris Tanev is a game-time decision tonight against the Blackhawks. Tanev hasn’t played since March 20th, when the Flames suffered a miserable 8-2 loss in Los Angeles. With the Flames on a four-game winning streak and mounting a serious challenge to the Winnipeg Jets, getting Tanev back into the lineup would give his team a major boost. Tanev is the Flames’ leading penalty-killer by a wide margin and the experience, defensive prowess, and 20 rock-solid minutes a night he brings to the table could be just what the Calgary needs to push themselves past the Jets for the final Wild Card spot.
- Carolina Hurricanes star forward Teuvo Teravainen remains out of the lineup for tonight’s matchup against the Ottawa Senators, marking the fourth straight game he has missed. The 28-year-old Finn has undoubtedly had a down season by his standards (just 12 goals and 36 points in 63 games played) but with both Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov out for the season, he’ll need to get back to full health and shoulder a greater offensive workload in order for the Hurricanes to stand the best chance of making a deep playoff run.
Chicago Blackhawks Waive Joey Anderson
April 3: Anderson has cleared waivers, although he isn’t expected to be assigned to Rockford until the Blackhawks finish their season.
April 2: The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Joey Anderson on waivers, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle and CapFriendly. The 24-year-old was acquired by Chicago just over a month ago in the team’s trade of Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Anderson is a 2016 New Jersey Devils third-round pick who has split time this season between the AHL level with the Toronto Marlies and NHL with both Toronto and Chicago. At the NHL level, Anderson scored three points in 14 games for Toronto, and has five points in 18 games with the Blackhawks.
He’s been in the NHL since a late January recall, one that came after Anderson played in a nine-game stretch for the Marlies, a run where Anderson and the Marlies won all nine games. In total, Anderson has been more of a difference-maker at the AHL level, where he has scored 27 points in 30 games this season and 120 points across 163 career AHL games.
It’s his abilities as an impactful AHLer that likely inspired the Blackhawks’ decision to waive him, as their affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, is currently looking to fend off the Chicago Wolves and secure the fifth and final playoff spot in the AHL’s Central Division. Should Anderson clear waivers and land in Rockford, he’ll be expected to shoulder a significant offensive load and be one of the team’s go-to forwards.
Given that Anderson is a proven AHL commodity and on a league-minimum deal with some team control remaining beyond this season as a restricted free agent, it’s possible a team in need of some help up front decides to put in a claim.
Hockeybuzz’s Michael Augello notes that while Anderson’s former team, the Maple Leafs, might be tempted to claim Anderson to get him back in their organization, they are currently at 49 contracts and their last slot is believed to be reserved for University of Minnesota forward and team top prospect Matthew Knies.
But from the Blackhawks’ perspective, it’s a risk worth taking in order to give their AHL squad a spark. Rockford is on a three-game losing streak, and have been shutout in back-to-back games.
With the reigning Calder Cup champion Wolves just a few points behind them with seven games remaining, getting Anderson to Rockford could be what the IceHogs need to avoid letting a playoff berth slip through their fingers in the final stretch of the regular season.
Injury Notes: Penguins, Hart, Schenn
The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently locked in a battle against the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, and they sit just one point behind Florida with a game in hand at the time of writing. They’ve kept themselves in the race despite facing some major injury losses, although it now seems that reinforcements could be on the horizon.
Today, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh, that four significant injured Penguins all skated today and could return before the conclusion of the regular season. Those four Penguins are Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson, Jan Rutta, and Nick Bonino. The additions of Kulikov, Pettersson, and Rutta back into the lineup in particular could help Pittsburgh as goaltender Tristan Jarry struggled in the month of March, and adding three significant contributors back to the defense in front of him could help Jarry return to form in time for some crucial late-season games or even the first round of the playoffs, should they make it.
Some other injury notes:
- Philadelphia Flyers netminder Carter Hart has been out since his March 25th shutout over the Detroit Red Wings, but don’t expect Hart’s absence to extend for the rest of the season. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was asked if Hart’s injury would be season-ending, and he responded with a definitive “no,” per The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. While Hart’s absence has given the team the opportunity to take an extra look at Felix Sandstrom, getting Hart back into the crease before the end of the season would allow him to put some finishing touches on what has been an impressive season.
- St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn had a bit of an injury scare during today’s game against the Boston Bruins, but seems to have moved past it. As covered by The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Schenn took a skate to the hand, and then left to the locker room with a team athletic trainer to repair some damage caused by what may have been a high stick. Schenn did return to the ice, though, and managed to notch an assist on teammate Jordan Kyrou‘s goal despite a cut finger and having stitches on his face, per Rutherford. It seems what has hurt Schenn this game won’t keep him out of any future contests, but given his importance to the Blues as a whole (he has 21 goals and 59 points this season) his status may be worth monitoring.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Judd Caulfield
The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signing of college prospect Judd Caulfield to a two-year entry-level contract set to begin next season. The team has also signed him to an ATO agreement so that he can play with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, for the rest of the season.
The Ducks acquired Caulfield two days ago in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, sending prospect Thimo Nickl back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return. Caulfield was originally selected by the Penguins at the 2019 draft, in the fifth round 145th overall.
A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Caulfield has spent the last four seasons playing college hockey for the University of North Dakota. He finishes his collegiate career with 62 points in 133 career games, including this past season where he scored 10 goals and 19 points in 39 games, ranking fourth on his team in both goals and points.
Caulfield turned 22 on March 19th and brings size and a powerful game to the Ducks’ system. Caulfield was not ranked inside the top 15 prospects of the Penguins’ 29th-ranked system earlier this year according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, (subscription link) but he does bring some intriguing qualities for their development staff to get to work on.
The Ducks selected six-foot-three QMJHL pivot Nathan Gaucher in the first round of last year’s draft, and all four forwards the Ducks selected at the 2023 draft stand at least six-foot-two.
With just one player above six feet tall in the team’s top-five scoring forwards this season, it could be that this acquisition of Caulfield adds to some growing indications that GM Pat Verbeek has made acquiring bigger forwards a heightened organizational priority.