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Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Luke Haymes

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have again tapped into the collegiate free-agent market. Yesterday evening, the Maple Leafs announced they’ve signed center Luke Haymes to a two-year contract while also announcing he’ll finish the 2024-25 campaign on an amateur tryout agreement with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Haymes recently wrapped up a three-year career with Dartmouth College of the NCAA’s ECAC Hockey Conference. He finished his collegiate career with 41 goals and 70 points in 83 games and a -17 rating. Haymes had begun drawing NHL interest last season after his breakout sophomore campaign.

In all fairness to Haymes, his career -17 rating can be inferred as a team statistic rather than an individual one. Dartmouth finished with a record of 5-24-1 in Haymes’s rookie year during the 2022-23 NCAA campaign, finishing last in the conference by a healthy margin. The team finished remarkably better in his sophomore season, finishing fourth in the conference with a 13-10-9 record. The better team finish was evidenced in Haymes’s stat line, scoring 18 goals and 18 assists in 31 games with a +2 rating.

Dartmouth continued to improve this season, finishing with an 18-13-2 record. Unfortunately, Haymes lost a few games due to injury, finishing the year with 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games. The Big Green made another ECAC Hockey tournament push but failed to reach beyond the semifinals for another consecutive season.

Haymes can play in meaningful hockey once he plays his first contest with the Marlies. The team is poised for playoff positioning in the AHL’s North Division with a 32-20-3-6 record through 61 contests. They’ll have a competitive battle with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters for third place in the division over the last handful of games in the regular season.

St. Louis Blues Recall Dalibor Dvorský For NHL Debut

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March 23: Dvorský will indeed be making his NHL debut tonight against the Predators, head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed (via Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic). He replaces Oskar Sundqvist in the lineup after he played through an undisclosed injury yesterday against the Blackhawks.

March 22: As expected, the St. Louis Blues are bringing their top prospect to the NHL ranks. The Blues announced they recalled Dalibor Dvorský from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, for his NHL debut.

St. Louis selected Dvorský with the 10th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. The physical forward from Zvolen, Slovakia, had a season where he scored six goals and accumulated 14 points in 38 games for AIK in HockeyAllsvenskan. Additionally, he earned three points in five games while representing Slovakia’s U20 team at the 2022-23 World Junior Championship.

Dvorský began the 2023-24 season on loan with the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn. Unfortunately, after going scoreless in 10 contests and seeing his ice time cut dramatically, Dvorský moved to North America to join the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.

Dvorský had a productive year, finishing with 45 goals and 88 points in 52 games. He ranked 13th in scoring in the OHL alongside teammates David Goyette and Quentin Musty. He registered three goals and 10 points in nine playoff contests but couldn’t help Sudbury move beyond the second round of the OHL playoffs. 

Given his impressive performance in the OHL and subsequent play during preseason play, there was an outside chance of Dvorský cracking the Blues’ roster out of training camp. However, the team delayed his NHL start, playing Dvorský in the AHL for the year. 

It’s another move that’s worked out well for the young forward. Dvorský has scored 20 goals and 43 points in 57 games in AHL Springfield, good for third on the team in scoring and tied for fifth among rookies. 

Dvorský’s debut won’t be in meaningless hockey either. The Blues are holding on to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference thanks to a five-game winning streak. St. Louis has a relatively easy schedule coming up with two out of their next three games against the Nashville Predators. Still, they will be important games for the team to win should they hold onto their playoff spot down the stretch. 

Vancouver Canucks Recall Aatu Räty

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As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have had to make a recall for the injured Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander. Vancouver announced they’ve recalled center Aatu Räty from their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

Räty’s pathway to the NHL is a well-known story. The Oulu, Finland native was projected to be one of the top players available in the 2021 NHL Draft until a disappointing pre-draft campaign dropped him down to the 52nd overall pick. Although drafted by the New York Islanders, New York traded Räty to the Canucks after only a year and a half of play in the organization.

He spent all of last season with the AHL Canucks, scoring 18 goals and 52 points in 72 games, with another two goals and two assists in six postseason contests. Räty isn’t considered the best forward prospect in Vancouver’s system, but his play last year vaulted him up to a heavily relied-upon depth candidate.

Räty made the Canucks’ roster of training camp this season but was reassigned a few days later on October 16th. Räty has had the highest number of games played this season, with 21 NHL contests under his belt after several recalls. Still, the young forward hasn’t had much responsibility at the NHL level, registering two goals and two assists in those games, averaging 9:30 of ice time.

He’s enjoyed a far more production season in Abbotsford. Räty is the AHL Canucks leading scorer with 17 goals and 39 points in 41 games. Furthermore, it appears Räty will have another opportunity to increase his career-scoring totals in the Calder Cup playoffs with Abbotsford hanging on to third place in the AHL’s hotly-contested Pacific Division.

Rangers Sign Jackson Dorrington To Entry-Level Contract

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Defenseman Jackson Dorrington is officially turning pro after his junior season at Northeastern University ended a few days ago. The New York Rangers announced they’ve signed Dorrington to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning next season, and he’ll report to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the season.

Dorrington was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks with the 176th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Before ever registering a game in the Canucks organization, Vancouver traded Dorrington alongside Erik Brännström and J.T. Miller to the Rangers on the last day of January for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick.

Unfortunately, Dorrington’s junior year at Northeastern University concluded similarly to the others, being knocked out of the difficult Hockey East conference tournament. Since joining the Boston-based academic institution for the 2022-23 NCAA season, Dorrington and the Huskies did not advance past the conference tournament semifinals. They qualified for the National Tournament during his freshman year but were eliminated in the regional semifinal by Western Michigan University.

He wasn’t much of a point-producer at Northeastern, finishing his collegiate career with eight goals and 33 points in 105 games. Still, Dorrington displayed an abundance of poise on the defensive side of the puck, evidenced by his +17 rating.

Outside of the statistics, Dorrington proved effective at defensive positioning. Although he’s not a replica by any means, Dorrington’s playstyle is similar to former Ranger Ryan McDonagh, who has excelled at defensive positioning for much of his NHL career. He’s unlikely to become a powerplay candidate at any point in his professional career, but Dorrington could become a useful arrow in the quiver in the Rangers’ penalty kill for years to come.

West Notes: McDavid, Dickinson, Martinez, Johnson

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In an interview with Sportsnet’s Scott Oake and Louie DeBrusk, Edmonton Oilers’ General Manager Stan Bowman spoke briefly on the upcoming extension negotiations between the Oilers and franchise superstar, Connor McDavid. As expected, Bowman appeared confident and optimistic about getting a deal done with McDavid and fell just short of guaranteeing it’ll happen during the summer.

Bowman admitted that it’s still early to start discussing negotiations, but he stated, “We all know Connor is going to be here, and we’re going to make it happen.” Besides some speculation, there isn’t much information about McDavid’s second contract extension negotiations, given he’s a few months away from being eligible for one. However, it could become a significant media story over the summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal with Edmonton relatively soon, especially considering the intensity of the Canadian media market.

There’s a solid chance that McDavid will break a few salary records in his next deal. Next year’s salary cap would allow McDavid to earn a maximum of $19.1MM on an extension, and could get closer to $21MM should he wait until late June of 2026. The healthy increase in next year’s salary cap should allow McDavid to beat out teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM salary as the highest AAV in NHL history, and he could tie or break Alex Ovechkin’s largest total contract record should he earn $15.5MM or more on an eight-year term.

Other notes from the NHL’s Western Conference:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks lost a pair of players during yesterday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues, announcing forward Jason Dickinson and defenseman Alec Martinez had each left the game due to injuries. Chicago hasn’t provided any meaningful updates to either player’s status at the time of writing, and both are questionable for today’s afternoon contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. Neither Dickinson nor Martinez played in more than five minutes of yesterday’s contest, and the pair went scoreless.
  • Despite not having trade protection in his contract, the Philadelphia Flyers’ General Manager, Daniel Brière, treated veteran defenseman Erik Johnson as if he had a full no-movement clause. According to Luke Fox from Sportsnet, Brière received more interest in Johnson; however, he only wanted to return to the Colorado Avalanche or remain in Philadelphia. Fox quoted Johnson saying, “There’s nowhere else I would be willing to go. I really enjoyed my time in Philly, and love the guys, love the city, love my role there. And I said, if something would work with Colorado, that would be the only way I would be willing to leave.”

Pacific Notes: Pettersson, Höglander, Weegar, Farabee

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The Vancouver Canucks lost a pair of forwards as the team shared Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander were pulled from today’s game against the New York Rangers due to injuries.

Pettersson finished the game going scoreless through 7:50 of action in 14 shifts. The only notable mark he left on the game was delivering one hit. Meanwhile, Höglander exited the game with even less ice time (7:03) through 12 shifts, putting two shots on net and similarly delivering one hit.

Nobody in the organization could provide meaningful updates to Pettersson or Höglander’s status. Still, Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor relayed an idea from head coach Rick Tocchet indicating Vancouver may need to recall a center before their game against the New Jersey Devils on Monday. The hypothetical recall will likely come in the form of Aatu Räty or Max Sasson should the Canucks need some help.

Other happenings in the Pacific Division:

  • The Calgary Flames were without their top defenseman today as they announced MacKenzie Weegar was out due to a lower-body injury. Weegar initially intended to play, and even skated through most of the warmup before deciding the injury would preclude him from the lineup. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like a major injury, as multiple reports indicate Weegar will return to action on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.
  • Sticking in southern Alberta, forward Joel Farabee was also absent from the Flames’ lineup due to an illness (Twitter Link). Farabee, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in late January, hasn’t responded well since moving north of the Canada/United States border. Since donning the flaming ’C’, Farabee has only mustered three goals and two assists over 18 games in his new home.

Atlantic Notes: Sacco, Marchand, Kastelic, Jensen

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The Boston Bruins may be in the market for another head coach this summer. In a wide-ranging article about the team’s season, Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe claims the Bruins will likely move on from Joe Sacco this offseason although they’ll want to keep him in a different role on the staff.

In his first head coaching role since his time with the Colorado Avalanche in the early 2010s, Saccos’ Bruins have managed a 22-22-6 record in 50 games. Boston shipped away significant pieces at the trade deadline and appeared poised for their first top 10 draft selection since picking Dougie Hamilton with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.

Dupont believes Sacco’s future with the organization in a different role hinges on whether General Manager Don Sweeney and President Cam Neely retain their positions beyond this season. They want to reward Sacco’s loyalty to the organization for the last 11 years but there’s no guarantee they’ll be around to make that decision after a difficult season.

Other notes from the NHL’s Atlantic Division:

  • Despite being acquired by the team two weeks ago, Brad Marchand has yet to debut with the Florida Panthers. It shouldn’t be too long as Tom Gulitti of NHL.com passed along a note from Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice saying Marchand should only be a week away from returning. Florida has a light schedule throughout the next week so Marchand may only miss two or three more games. That would allow him to play in the Panthers’ final nine or 10 games of the regular season should his recovery process continue in the right direction.
  • Moving back to eastern Massachusetts, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe reported that Bruins’ forward Mark Kastelic has returned to Boston due to an upper-body injury and will miss the rest of the team’s road trip. Given that their current road trip extends past next week, the news likely ends Kastelic’s availability for the rest of March. The bottom-six forward is enjoying the highest-scoring season of his career with five goals and 14 points in 61 games, leading to a three-year, $4.7MM extension with Boston in January.
  • The Ottawa Senators could have an important right-handed defenseman back in the lineup tonight when they take on the New Jersey Devils. After missing the last three games with a lower-body injury, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Nick Jensen has been elevated to a game-time decision. Jensen would be an important player to get back into the lineup as the Senators look to correct their two-game losing streak and keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Rangers Reassign Anton Blidh

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March 21: The Rangers’ PR department announced they’ve assigned Blidh back to Hartford today. Since his services weren’t required in last night’s game, he has to be returned to the minors on off days to qualify as an emergency recall.

March 20: As expected, the New York Rangers have recalled depth forward Anton Blidh from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Multiple reports this morning indicated the Rangers could have multiple players out tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but forward Matt Rempe is the only one as he’s out with an illness.

Blidh wasn’t included in tonight’s lineup and likely won’t be during the call-up. The Molnlycke, Sweden native is in his third season with the Rangers organization but has only suited up in one contest since being acquired from the Colorado Avalance in 2023.

Still, he’s been productive in the AHL with Hartford. The career bottom-six talent has scored 31 goals and 56 points in 131 games with the Wolf Pack, making for the best stretch of his career since playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins in the late 2010s. He’s already earned a career-high 28 points this season with 11 games remaining in Hartford’s schedule.

Meanwhile, Rempe is absent from New York’s lineup for the first time in 29 games. The young enforcer has scored two goals and five points, delivering 87 hits, and earning 30 penalty minutes. Rempe’s 29 consecutive games are relatively impressive given he’s had considerable issues with suspensions and injuries through the first two years of his NHL career.

Anaheim Ducks Reassign Ville Husso, John Gibson Returns

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Earlier today, Anaheim Ducks’ head coach Greg Cronin shared (and publicized by Derek Lee of The Hockey News) that netminder John Gibson has returned from his lower-body injury and would start tonight against the Nashville Predators. The Ducks announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Ville Husso to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, now that Gibson has fully returned.

Gibson has been out of the lineup for the better part of two months with a pair of lower-body injuries. Since the calendar turned to February, Gibson has only managed four games played, posting a 1-1-0 record with a .891 SV% in that time. His start tonight against Nashville will be the first action he’s seen since March 5th.

Still, this season can’t be seen as anything other than a productive rebound for Gibson. He owns a 9-10-2 record in 25 starts this year with a .909 SV% and 2.82 GAA. The latter two statistics and his 5.9 goals saved above average represent his highest totals since the 2018-19 season. Although Lukáš Dostál has become the de facto starter in Orange County, Gibson has turned his career around after multiple disappointing campaigns.

Meanwhile, Husso returns to San Diego after debuting with the Ducks in the past week. Anaheim acquired Husso just before the trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations, and he’s filled in nicely for the team when Gibson has been out.

The native of Helsinki, Finland appeared in two games for Anaheim since being acquired, managing a 0-1-0 record and stopping 46 of 51 shots. His numbers aren’t as promising in the AHL, as Husso has posted a 3-1-0 record in four games with the Gulls with a .894 SV%.

NHL Met With Group Interested In Houston Expansion

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According to a report from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the NHL has a ’strong ownership candidate emerging’ for a potential expansion to Houston. Dan Friedkin, owner and chief executive officer of The Friedkin Group, has reportedly met with league executives on multiple occasions to discuss expansion in southeast Texas.

Friedkin isn’t a stranger to sports ownership. He’s the owner and president of two European football clubs, Roma of the Serie A League and Everton of the English Premier League. According to Forbes World’s Billionaire List, Friedkin ranks 432nd with a projected net worth of $6.4BB. He made most of his worth presiding over Gulf States Toyota Distributors, which was founded by his father, Thomas Friedkin, in 1969.

Although Friedkin or The Friedkin Group didn’t confirm the news, Kaplan reports that NHL commissioner deputy Bill Daly has confirmed the ongoing discussions in an email. Still, there have not been reports suggesting that the NHL is actively seeking to add another team, as most of their discussions appear to be merely preliminary.

It’s not because of a lack of interest. The most recent expansion report indicated that a group from New Orleans, LA was interested in hosting another team. Furthermore, groups from Atlanta, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Omaha have expressed interest in NHL expansion, with Atlanta likely being the most viable candidate despite losing two NHL teams already.

Given his sports ownership overseas, Friedkin likely leads the pack in any future expansion at this point. A team in Houston would have a built-in rival already in the Dallas Stars, and have access to the fourth-highest population according to the 2020 census.

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