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Taxi Squad Shuffle: 05/09/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

North Division

  • The Vancouver Canucks announced they have recalled forward Will Lockwood from the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 22-year-old forward spent his first professional season in the AHL after four years at the University of Michigan. He scored four goals and 11 points in 24 contests and now will likely get into a couple of games with the Canucks to finish out the regular season once he clears quarantine.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned forward Vitaly Abramov to their taxi squad. The 23-year-old made two appearances for Ottawa this past week but failed to register a point or a shot on goal in either contest.
  • The Calgary Flames have recalled center Glenn Gawdin from the taxi squad, according to Flames reporter Ryan Pike. Gawdin is expected to center the team’s fourth line tonight.

East Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have assigned defenseman Wyatte Wylie from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, according to the AHL transaction page. Wylie has yet to make an NHL appearance but has appeared in 20 games in the AHL with a goal and six points.
  • The New Jersey Devils have assigned goaltender Gilles Senn from the taxi squad to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, according to the AHL transaction page. The 25-year-old Senn has struggled in Binghamton with a .893 save percentage and a 3.66 GAA in 16 appearances.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have recalled several players from the taxi squad to the NHL roster now that rosters have been expanded and taxi squads have been eliminated for playoff teams. The team recalled goaltender Emil Larmi as well as defensemen Juuso Riikola and Yannick Weber. The team has also converted the emergency recalls of goaltenders Alex D’Orio and Maxime Lagace into regular recalls. Defenseman Josh Maniscalco has also been assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

West Division

Central Division

  • The Chicago Blackhawks recalled forward Evan Barratt from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL and have put him on the Hawks’ taxi squad, according to NHL.com’s Brandon Cain. The 22-year-old Barratt has five goals and 14 points in 27 games with Rockford this year and likely will get a chance to make his NHL debut before the regular season ends.
  • The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Joel L’Esperance from the taxi squad. He has two goals in 12 games with Dallas this season.

Montreal’s Molson, Bergevin Have Been Talking About Future

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There is still one more year remaining on the contract of Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, but that hasn’t stopped owner Geoff Molson from beginning discussions on what the future will look like and whether Bergevin will be a part of it.

During Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the owner and GM have sat down already and begun looking at the team’s future.

“Marc Bergevin and the owner Geoff Molson have been kind of talking about the future; how the owner feels, how the general manager feels, if there is an extension what it could potentially look like. So we’ll see where those decisions go and where those conversations go, but I think they are underway about the GM’s future with the Canadiens.”

Bergevin’s nine-year tenure in Montreal has had its ups and downs, including a rebuild in the last couple of years, which has had some success as their young players have, for the most part, developed well. Bergevin added a number of veteran players during the offseason in order to post a playoff caliber team, including adding Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Jake Allen and Joel Edmundson, but Bergevin did fire head coach Claude Julien midseason with pressure mounting for the team to make a playoff run, which they have done this year under interim coach Dominique Ducharme.

Bergevin, who signed his present contract in November of 2015, may have to wait until after the postseason to see whether he will get an extension. The Canadiens are currently the fourth seed in the North Division and are likely going to play the top-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

Arizona Coyotes, Rick Tocchet Agree To Part Ways

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With their season complete, the Arizona Coyotes announced they have parted ways with head coach Rick Tocchet. The two sides opted to mutually part ways as the team failed to reach the playoffs this year after Tocchet, whose contract was set to expire on June 1, led them to a 24-26-6 record. The Coyotes will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.

“After meeting with Rick, we have agreed that a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” said general manager Bill Armstrong. “This was a very difficult decision, but we believe that it is time for a new direction and new leadership. Rick is a very good coach and an incredible person, and we sincerely appreciate all his hard work and dedication to the Coyotes the past four years. We are grateful for everything that he has done for our organization and wish him the best of luck in the future.”

The 57-year-old Tocchet is the second head coach to hit the free agent market. The Columbus Blue Jackets mutually agreed to part ways with John Tortorella late Saturday as well. The coach was hired by Arizona back in 2017 and spent four years as the team’s head coach, reaching the playoffs last year, but losing in the first round. He was a highly sought-after coaching candidate back in 2017 after serving as assistant coach with Pittsburgh during their 2016 & 2017 Stanley Cup Champion runs. Tocchet finished his tenure as Arizona’s head coach with a record of 125-131-34 in 290 games.

“It’s been an honor to coach the Coyotes the past four seasons,” said Tocchet. “I have great respect and admiration for all the players I coached in Arizona, along with my coaching staff, the medical staff, the equipment managers, the PR staff and the team services staff. They are the best in the NHL, and I appreciate all their help and hard work. I also want to thank the fans of the Valley for all their support. I have loved living, playing, and coaching in Arizona and this place will always be special to me.”

Like Tortorella, Tocchet could be a highly sought-after commodity on the coaching free agent market, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, as several teams could consider him, including the expansion Seattle Kraken. Other teams had been in the mix in hiring him back in 2017, including the Buffalo Sabres, who also will be looking for a head coach this offseason.

Department Of Player Safety Hands Out Three Fines

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The Department of Player Safety has been busy since Saturday’s slate of games. The DoPS has already announced a hearing for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Pat Maroon, but it was also busy handing out fines as well. Two of the three fines came from the Tampa Bay-Florida showdown, including fines to Florida Panthers defensemen MacKenzie Weegar and Brandon Montour as well as a fine to Montreal Canadiens’ Joel Edmundson.

Montour received a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for spearing Maroon. The incident with Maroon occurred with six minutes remaining in the game, stirring up quite a fight between the two. Weegar also received a $5,000 fine for high-sticking Tampa Bay’s Mathieu Joseph. The infraction happened at the same time as the Maroon/Weegar incident. Weegar did not receive a penalty.

The third fine went to Edmundson, who received a $1,000 fine for a dangerous trip on Toronto’s John Tavares. The incident occurred late in the second period of the game between Montreal and Toronto. Tavares was not injured on the play. There was no penalty on the play.

Seattle Kraken Interested In Goaltender Chris Driedger

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The Seattle Kraken have an enormous amount of decisions to make in the next few months as the expansion draft rolls in. The team must select players from 30 teams and decide on the core of their team for the immediate future. The Vegas Golden Knights hit the jackpot when the opportunity to bring in Marc-Andre Fleury from Pittsburgh became a reality, giving them a face of the franchise, which he continues to be. Now the Seattle Kraken must look to see who can man the net for the next few years.

There are a number of possibilities, including a number of free-agent options for the team, including Philipp Grubauer, Tuukka Rask, Linus Ullmark, Antti Raanta, Mike Smith, Jonathan Bernier and Chris Driedger to name just a few.

However, in his new mailbag piece while talking about goaltending options for Toronto next season, The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) mentions that Driedger isn’t a likely option for the Maple Leafs as sources are telling him that Seattle likes Driedger as one of their goalies for next season.

The idea makes some sense as Driedger, while a latecomer to the NHL, has seized his opportunity with the Florida Panthers despite the fact that they signed Sergei Bobrovsky to a seven-year, $70MM contract back in 2019. The 26-year-old dominated in 12 appearances in 2019-20 with a 2.05 GAA and a .938 save percentage and has proven he can keep producing, posting a 2.17 and .923 save percentage in 22 appearances this year.

The team chose not to trade Driedger at the trade deadline even though the goaltender would have brought in a significant return. However, with the Panthers success during the regular season, holding onto Driedger for the postseason was too important to allow the netminder to leave.

However, with free agency approaching as well as a significant payday, the Panthers likely can’t afford to pay big money for Driedger to serve in either a tandem or backup role to the high-priced Bobrovsky. On top of that, Florida just signed top goalie prospect Spencer Knight, who has already made his NHL debut and is next in line to step into the backup role at some point. That leaves Driedger out in the cold and looking for a new job. While there are plenty of teams who will be looking for a netminder next offseason, Seattle could be quite an intriguing option for Driedger.

Unfortunately for Seattle, the team has only a 48-hour exclusive window before the expansion draft to negotiate with Driedger and any other UFA and have them agree to terms, which means they could select him with their expansion pick. Driedger would have to be willing to go to Seattle as opposed to signing with a number of interested teams.

North Notes: Andersen, Holl, Koskinen, Lerby

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The Toronto Maple Leafs might be getting back a familiar face in net as goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has been on the ice for more than a week now saw his practice routine ramped up Sunday. Head coach Sheldon Keefe, who said today was a “good step” in his recovery from a knee injury he suffered in mid-March, according to TSN’s Mark Masters.

He is not expected to join the team on their road trip to Montreal, but is expected to participate in Wednesday’s practice as they build up his workload.

TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Justin Holl, who left Saturday’s game in the third period after being hit in the face with a puck, was not at practice Sunday. He was replaced in the lineup by Timothy Liljegren. Keefe said that Holl “is doing well,” but will not be travelling to Montreal with the team, according to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. However, Holl is not expected to be out for a significant amount of time.

  • Sportnet’s Mark Spector reports that the Edmonton Oilers are expected to give some starts to goaltender Mikko Koskinen over the team’s final seven games. Koskinen, who lost his job as the team’s starting netminder, got his first start Wednesday since April 7 and fared quite well, stopping 29 of 30 shots against Winnipeg. Despite the impressive play of veteran Mike Smith, the team might want to kick the tires on Koskinen and see what he has to offer after struggling earlier this year. He has posted an 11-11 record this season with a 2.99 GAA and a .906 save percentage this season, allowing Smith to overtake him as the team’s No. 1 option.
  • The Calgary Flames may be losing a prospect as defenseman Carl-Johan Lerby is close to signing a new contract with Malmo of the SHL after his two-year deal with Calgary expires this offseason, according to Johan Svensson of KvallsPosten (translation required). Of course, nothing has been confirmed, but the 23-year-old Lerby, who signed with the Flames as an undrafted free agent in 2019, has yet to make his NHL debut and doesn’t look on track to do it this season. He spent the first season of the contract on loan to Malmo and has spent this season with the Stockton Heat of the AHL where he has seven assists in 22 games.

Edmonton Oilers Assign Philip Broberg To Taxi Squad

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With his SHL season complete, the Edmonton Oilers have immediately recalled one of their top prospects, Philip Broberg, and have assigned him to the team’s taxi squad, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

Broberg was the Oilers top pick in 2018 — the eighth overall pick. While the defenseman was quite raw when he was drafted, he did offer the team a combination of size (6-foot-3) and speed and has progressed well over the last two years. Broberg was given limited playing time in the SHL in 2019-20, but saw an increased role with the team last year, which also included being named captain of the World Junior team. While he struggled there due while playing through an injury, Broberg looks ready to take the next step and cross over to North America.

This won’t be his first venture in North America. The 19-year-old came over last year to participate in Oilers’ training camp before the bubble and impressed the organization with his skating abilities. He was invited to join the team in the bubble, but never got into a game with the team. With the pandemic underway, the Oilers loaned him back to Skelleftea where he received more playing time and even saw some time on the power play. He finished the season with three goals and 13 points in 44 games.

While there is no word on whether he will get an opportunity to play for the Oilers this year, he will be given a chance to earn a promotion to the team over the next few games. It’s more likely the young blueliner will spend next year in the AHL.

Nikita Tryamkin Signs Two-Year Extension To Stay In KHL

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Ever since 6-foot-7, 253-pound defenseman Nikita Tryamkin left the Vancouver Canucks back in 2017, they have been working to bring him back. There was plenty of optimism recently that the Canucks were close to convincing the blueliner to return to the team. Instead, it looks like Tryamkin’s chances of returning to Vancouver could be over after the KHL announced he signed a two-year extension with Yekaterinburg Automobilist. To make matters worse, Tryamkin’s rights with Vancouver will expire in two years, meaning he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023-24.

The two sides did attempt to work out a deal recently, but were not able to work out a deal, according to Canucks reporter Rick Dhaliwal.

“I told the Canucks what it would take on both a 1 or 2 year term and they told me what they could guarantee today and the gap was just too wide for Nikita,” said Tryamkin’s agent, Todd Diamond. “Nikita didn’t want to wait and be in a situation like last summer where the team didn’t act and the KHL Club had nearly exhausted its budget.”

Diamond, revealed earlier this year that he believes Tryamkin was ready to take another chance in the NHL after struggling in his two years with the team years ago. The 26-year-old has developed into a solid two-way defenseman and could have had a major impact on the Canucks defense next year had they been able to come to terms. The blueliner was already known as a good skater considering his size, but only averaged 16:52 of ice time with Vancouver between 2015-17. He has excelled with Automobilist, scoring 17 goals and 63 points over four seasons there.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 05/02/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

Central Division

North Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced they have assigned forward Ryan Poehling and Alex Belzile from the taxi squad to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Poehling, who played 21 games for the Canadiens last season, has yet to make his season-debut with Montreal this year. He has 11 goals and 25 points in 28 games with Laval.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled forward Jonah Gadjovic from the Utica Comets of the AHL, according to the AHL transactions page. The 22-year-old has had a breakout season in the AHL with a career-high 15 goals in just 19 games.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have assigned forward Denis Malgin from the taxi squad to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. Malgin has spent the entire season on loan in the NL where he has posted 19 goals and 42 points in 45 games there. With the season over in Switzerland, he will now join the Marlies until needed.

East Division

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have reassigned goaltender Felix Sandstrom from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 24-year-old has yet to make his NHL debut.

West Division

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Amir Miftakhov To Entry-Level Deal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed goaltending prospect Hugo Alnefelt Saturday and now have added another netminder to their stable of prospects as the team announced they have inked Amir Miftakhov to an entry-level contract.

Despite being a Lightning’s sixth-round pick from the 2020 draft, it looks as if Tampa Bay intends to fast-track Miftakhov as it is believed that he will come to North America and likely compete with Alnefelt next year in the AHL.

While being drafted a year later than the 19-year-old Alnefelt, Miftakhov is actually a year older than him. The 21-year-old was passed over in the draft twice before finally being selected by Tampa Bay last year. One likely reason for not being drafted immediately was his size as Miftakhov is just 6-foot, 172 pounds, quite small for a netminder.

Regardless of his size, he has fared quite well in three seasons with Bars Kazan of the VHL and this year got an opportunity with seven games in the KHL where he posted a 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He also was the starting goaltender at the 2020 World Junior Championships in which he led Team Russia to a silver medal.

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