Neal Pionk Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine For Cross-Checking
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk has been fined $5,000 for cross-checking Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson during a heated game between the two teams last night, the NHL Department of Player Safety said Wednesday morning. This is the maximum allowable fine under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The incident occurred late in the third period of the game, which the Jets won 3-1. Pionk received a major penalty for cross-checking Johansson, but the league felt that the infraction deserved further punishment.
Johansson was in obvious discomfort after the play, which caused him to fall to the ice. His injury status is currently unknown.
The game between the Jets and the Wild was a physical affair, with other incidents drawing the attention of the league. Wild forward Ryan Hartman is facing a potential suspension for a hit on Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers, which occurred earlier in the game. The league is expected to make a ruling on Hartman’s status later today.
The decision to hold a hearing for one incident but not the other is sure to draw ire from some. Both incidents had some perceived level of intent, depending on who you ask, and both resulted in potential injuries to the opposing players.
Calgary Flames Recall Dustin Wolf
The Calgary Flames are giving their fans something to look forward to after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. Top goalie prospect Dustin Wolf has been recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per the team, and will likely make his first NHL start tonight against the San Jose Sharks.
After being eliminated from playoff contention earlier this week, the Flames will let Wolf show what he can do in the best league in the world. He has very little left to prove in the minors, stonewalling the AHL with a 41-9-2 record, seven shutouts, and a .932 save percentage this season in 53 games.
A Calder Cup win is the next empty checkbox for Wolf, who has very quickly cemented himself among the top young netminders in the world after falling to the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
With both Jacob Markstrom and Daniel Vladar signed through 2025, however, Wolf may have to wait a while to become a full-time NHLer despite being near-ready. The 21-year-old from Gilroy, California, could force the Flames to trade Vladar this offseason, who had a .892 save percentage in 27 games in 2022-23.
Minor Moves: Bussi, Ginning, Samuelsson
The Boston Bruins recalled goaltender Brandon Bussi from the minors on an emergency basis, according to a team release Wednesday morning. Bussi’s recall comes in response to Linus Ullmark leaving yesterday’s game with an undisclosed injury, which head coach Jim Montgomery later told reporters was a precautionary move.
With Ullmark banged up earlier in the week as well, Bussi saw his first NHL recall on April 9 after signing an entry-level contract with Boston last year. It’s Bussi’s third transaction between Boston and AHL Providence in the past four days, as he was returned to the minors after serving as backup for Sunday’s game against the Flyers. The 24-year-old has played 31 games with Providence this season, posting a 21-5-4 record, a 2.38 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage. As Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty noted, Bussi could be in line for his first NHL start down the stretch with Boston’s record-setting regular season drawing to a close.
Also from around the NHL beat this morning:
- Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Adam Ginning has been sent back to the AHL, according to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut yesterday in the team’s overtime win against Columbus, recording two hits, two blocked shots, and a minor penalty in 16:40 of ice time. Drafted 50th overall in 2018, Ginning has been among the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ best defensive players this season and will play a pivotal role on the team during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Philip Samuelsson is on the move overseas, joining the DEL’s Straubing Tigers for the 2023-24 season, per the league. Samuelsson, a 2009 second-round pick, recorded 31 points in 47 games last year for the DEL’s Fischtown Penguins and last played in North America in 2018-19. He recorded only 13 games of NHL action during his time with the Penguins and Arizona Coyotes, failing to record a point.
Detroit Red Wings Reassign Amadeus Lombardi To AHL
In a release Wednesday morning, the Detroit Red Wings announced they have reassigned center Amadeus Lombardi to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins from the OHL’s Flint Firebirds.
Lombardi had an impressive season with the Firebirds after the Red Wings selected him in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 19-year-old skated in 67 games and led the team in all major offensive categories with 45 goals, 57 assists, and 102 points.
His more supplementary stats also ranked among the team’s leaders, recording a +23 rating, 10 power-play goals, 24 power-play points, two shorthanded goals, five game-winning goals, and 207 shots. Lombardi finished third in the OHL’s scoring race and became the first player in Flint franchise history to reach the 100-point plateau. He also recorded seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven postseason contests.
Lombardi was initially eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft. However, he wasn’t selected after the COVID-related shutdown cost him what would’ve been his first OHL season. After recording 59 points in 67 games with Flint in 2021-22, Detroit selected him as an over-age player.
He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team in December 2022. The deal will slide to next season after Lombardi didn’t play in any NHL games in 2022-23.
A small but skilled center, Lombardi will likely return to Flint for his third season of junior hockey in 2023-24. While Grand Rapids sits last in their division and is eliminated from playoff contention in the AHL, Lombardi will get his first taste of professional hockey over the team’s two remaining games.
NHL Officially Announces Australia Global Series
After many months of rumors, the NHL confirmed a set of Global Series games for Australia for the 2023-24 season late Tuesday night. The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings are set to play the first-ever NHL games in the Southern Hemisphere in Melbourne, Australia, on September 23 and 24 during the preseason.
Set to take place at Rod Laver Arena, known as the main venue for the Australian Open, the games mark a significant step in the NHL’s mission to increase the sport’s global reach and expand its international strategy. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman offered a statement on the games:
The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings are two of our League’s rising young teams and among our most innovative and adventurous franchises. We look forward to their two games at Rod Laver Arena and know this history-making visit will thrill our many avid fans in Australia and cause so many more throughout the sports-loving nation to be captivated by our great game.
This will not be the first international trip for either team. The Kings played two preseason games in China in 2017 and have played games in Austria, Germany, England, and Sweden. Meanwhile, Arizona has played one preseason game in Latvia and two regular-season games in Czechia, all in 2010.
The announcement reaffirms the NHL’s fervent approach to international exposure since intercontinental travel became viable after the spikes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Six teams made trips abroad last season, with a total of six Global Series games spanning the preseason and regular season.
Brian Lashoff To Retire At End Of Season
The Detroit Red Wings will lose a longtime organizational fixture this offseason, at least on the ice. Longtime Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman and captain Brian Lashoff has announced his retirement from professional hockey pending the conclusion of the AHL’s regular season.
Lashoff, 32, has played a remarkable career, even if his NHL experience was limited. He spent all or part of 14 seasons on the Griffins’ blue line, including the last three as the team’s captain, and saw NHL action with Detroit in seven of those 14 seasons. He will be honored at a ceremony before the Griffins’ regular-season home finale against the Rockford IceHogs on Friday, April 14.
Lashoff’s 628 games played are the most among active players who have spent their entire AHL career with the same club and rank third in league history among one-team players. He was a crucial part of Grand Rapids’ Calder Cup championship teams in both 2013 and 2017, and he served as a captain at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, marking his first career all-star nod in his final season. His 2013 performance was especially notable, helping mentor a team that included future NHL fixtures Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek, Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening, and Danny DeKeyser.
Lashoff has compiled 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) and 329 penalty minutes in his 628 regular-season games in a Griffins uniform, with the chance to add a few more over his final two games. He is one of only four defensemen and 12 skaters to record 100 career assists for Grand Rapids, and only two Griffins blueliners have tallied more than his 132 points. Lashoff has also contributed 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 75 playoff games for Grand Rapids, marking the second-most postseason appearances in Griffins history.
The East Greenbush, New York product made his NHL debut with Detroit on January 21, 2013, scoring a goal in the process in a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Later that season, Lashoff took to the ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time on May 4 versus the Anaheim Ducks. Between 2012 to 2020, Lashoff accumulated 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) and 65 penalty minutes in 136 regular-season games and logged another eight games during the postseason.
In a statement, Griffins head coach Ben Simon praised Lashoff:
As an undrafted player, he endeared himself to numerous coaches, teammates, and the fans through his hard-nosed style of play, his infectious work ethic, and impeccable character both on and off the ice. Brian epitomizes what an organization wants from its players. He does things the right way, every day. He gave his best effort every practice, every shift, and every game, leaving it all out there on the ice. Off the ice, he set an example in the locker room every day as to what it meant to be a pro. The character and professionalism he brought to the rink every day were unmatched. The appreciation, pride, respect, and passion he has for the game and this organization is evident through his work ethic, the same – if not more today – since he first walked through the Griffins’ doors.
Undrafted, Lashoff made his pro debut with the Griffins in 2008-09 at 18 after signing with Detroit as a free agent at the beginning of the season. Seven hundred sixty-seven professional games later, Lashoff retires with an immeasurable impact made on Detroit’s minor-league affiliate.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Yaniv Perets
The Carolina Hurricanes have added some goaltending depth, announcing that they have signed goaltender Yaniv Perets to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal, which begins next season, carries a base salary of $775K along with a signing bonus of $60K per year. GM Don Waddell released the following statement about his newest prospect:
Yaniv was a crucial part of Quinnipiac’s run to the national championship this season, and he has been an elite goaltender for his entire collegiate career. He is a proven winner, and we look forward to seeing him develop in the crease.
Perets, 23, led the Quinnipiac University Bobcats to their first NCAA men’s ice hockey championship last weekend. He was named to the NCAA East Second All-American Team and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award the past two seasons.
Born in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Québec, Perets posted a .931 save percentage and 1.49 goals-against average in a career-high 41 games with the Bobcats this season, including a .948 save percentage in the four tournament games, only allowing five goals.
The Hurricanes’ interest in Perets should have come as no surprise, given the connection between the netminder and the Brind’Amour family. For three seasons at Quinnipiac, Perets was teammates with Skyler Brind’Amour, a soon-to-be free agent and the son of Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Given Perets’ strong performance the past two seasons as the Bobcats’ starter, he undoubtedly received multiple offers. He gives the organization a second legitimate goalie prospect behind the 23-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov.
While an intriguing prospect, Perets’ ceiling is disputable, given his age and development path. His development path before NCAA play mirrors Buffalo Sabres star prospect Devon Levi, but Perets is over a year older and played behind a better defensive unit in Quinnipiac. Regardless, it’s a no-risk acquisition for the Hurricanes if they can make it work.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that the Hurricanes were the frontrunners to sign Perets.
Snapshots: Ullmark, Cooley, Landeskog
Goalie Linus Ullmark did not travel with the Boston Bruins to Philadelphia for their game against the Flyers on Sunday due to a lower-body issue, according to Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. The Bruins recalled Brandon Bussi from the AHL (along with four others) this morning to serve as the backup to Jeremy Swayman in Ullmark’s absence. Bussi has played in 31 games for the Providence Bruins this season, posting a spectacular 21-5-4 record with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
This is the first time that Ullmark has been held out of the lineup due to injury this season, a good sign for the normally injury-prone netminder. He’s played himself right to the top of Vezina Trophy consideration this season, posting spectacular numbers even given Boston’s solid defense. His 1.89 goals-against average, .938 save percentage, and 39 wins all rank first in the league. While his absence so close to the playoffs beginning is a concern, the team will take every precaution possible with injuries during their few remaining games, given the President’s Trophy is already theirs.
- Logan Cooley, undoubtedly the Arizona Coyotes’ top prospect, is reportedly taking a few days to think over his decision regarding whether to sign his entry-level contract this season, according to Joe Smith of The Athletic. The University of Minnesota freshman standout, unlike now-former teammates Brock Faber and Matthew Knies, has not decided on his immediate future after last night’s loss in the NCAA Men’s Tournament national championship.
- According to Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, it appears unlikely that team captain Gabriel Landeskog will play in any of the team’s four remaining regular season games. Bednar confirmed Sunday that Landeskog has not yet resumed practicing with the team and is unlikely to do so before the end of the regular season. A playoff return hasn’t been ruled out for Landeskog, who will miss all 82 regular season games with a knee injury.
St. Louis Blues Assign Dmitri Samorukov, Vadim Zherenko To AHL
The St. Louis Blues have assigned defenseman Dmitri Samorukov and goaltender Vadim Zherenko to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, the team announced Sunday.
With the Blues out of action until next Wednesday and only two games left on their regular-season schedule, the transaction is purely a paper one to save the Blues some actual dollars. Springfield has three games left this season, but all come after the Blues wrap up their regular season on April 13.
Samorukov, 23, was acquired by the Blues from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Klim Kostin in October 2022. In his two-game stint with the Blues this month, his first games with the team since the trade, he registered a minor penalty and a -1 rating. This season, the Volgograd, Russia, product has posted 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) and 26 penalty minutes in 66 games for the Thunderbirds.
Zherenko, 22, saw the first recall of his NHL career this month when St. Louis added him on an emergency basis due to Thomas Greiss‘ season-ending injury. The 208th overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, Zherenko has played in 24 games for the Thunderbirds during his first season in North America, posting a 10-8-3 record along with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. He didn’t appear in a game on his recall, though, as Jordan Binnington has made four straight starts since Greiss played his last game of the year on April 1.
Sending down Zherenko leaves the Blues without a second goalie on their NHL roster. With no organizational action through St. Louis’ next game, expect the Blues to recall Zherenko (and possibly Samorukov, pending the health of Robert Bortuzzo) again next Wednesday for their final two games of the season.
Luke Hughes Signs With New Jersey Devils
Saturday: As expected, the contract is now official with the Devils announcing that Hughes has signed his entry-level deal. The contract will begin this season. CapFriendly reports the deal will carry an AAV of $1.85MM with bonuses and breaks down as follows:
2022-23: $925K base salary (including signing bonus)
2023-24: $925K base salary (including signing bonus), $925K Class ‘A’ bonuses
2024-25: $925K base salary (including signing bonus), $1MM Class ‘A’ bonuses, $850K Class ‘B’ bonuses
PuckPedia clarifies that since Hughes didn’t sign until after the 2022 draft, he’s eligible for the elevated ‘A’ bonuses in the final year instead of being capped at $925K throughout.
Friday: New Jersey Devils fans have been eagerly waiting for top defense prospect Luke Hughes to make his NHL debut. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the wait could soon be over, as the 19-year-old defenseman is set to join the team this weekend in Boston. While it’s unclear when exactly he’ll sign his entry-level contract and play for the team, Friedman notes he’ll be given time to acclimate to the NHL environment.
Hughes was the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and is considered one of the top prospects in the league. He’s spent the last two seasons with the University of Michigan, where he’s broken college scoring records and demonstrated excellent skating ability and offensive IQ. With Michigan’s season coming to a close in the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament last night at the hands of the Quinnipiac Bobcats, though, Hughes will turn pro in the coming days. At 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Hughes has the size to compete at the NHL level, even before his 20th birthday.
The Devils have finally broken out this season, sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference and headed straight for a first-round matchup against the New York Rangers. Part of that, however, is due to an already solid group of defensemen, including Dougie Hamilton, Damon Severson, and Ryan Graves. While it doesn’t seem like there may be a massive opportunity for Hughes to step into the lineup right away, the team’s weak link may be on their third defense pairing, with either Brendan Smith or Kevin Bahl typically occupying a spot alongside Severson. When Hughes eventually makes his Devils debut, that’s likely where the left-shot defender will slot in.
It’s important to temper expectations, however. Hughes has yet to get a taste of professional hockey and will be thrown straight into the competitive environment of a top NHL team pushing to make a deep playoff run. The Devils won’t throw a potential franchise cornerstone into the fire before he’s ready. Still, even with limited minutes, this time could benefit Hughes’ development and improve his chances of playing a more impactful full-time role in 2023-24.
The Devils have a solid recent history of helping young talent hit their potential, with four main scoring threats (Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Dawson Mercer) being drafted and developed talents under the age of 25. If the same can be achieved with Hughes, who registered 10 goals and 48 points in 39 games during his sophomore campaign at Michigan, the team is bound to have one of the most well-constructed rosters in the league for years to come.