CHL Cancels Canada-Russia Series
The CHL has canceled the 2022 Canada-Russia series, releasing the following statement:
The Canadian Hockey League strongly condemns the recent actions by Russia involving military force in Ukraine and encourages a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with both sides winning three games the last time it was held in 2019. It is normally a premier scouting event held in November with representatives from each of the three leagues that make up the CHL, plus a select team from Russia. That will no longer be possible, but the more immediate concern is the rest of the statement and some reporting that emerged earlier in the day.
Dan Milstein, an agent of many of the Russian players in North America, tweeted that the CHL is expected to announce a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from the upcoming draft. Further down in their original statement, the CHL instead says that the date and format of the 2022 Import Draft has yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date. They are “supportive of their [current players] continued development regardless of their country of origin.”
In 2021, 16 Russian players and 11 Belarusian players were selected in the Import Draft.
Calgary Flames Acquire Michael McNiven
The Calgary Flames have acquired Michael McNiven from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for future considerations. The Laval Rocket, where McNiven was playing, thanked him in a tweet, suggesting he will be moving to one of the minor league affiliates of Calgary.
McNiven, 24, has known only the Canadiens organization since turning pro, signing as an undrafted goaltender out of the OHL. He’s spent time with the Rocket, Brampton Beast, Adirondack Thunder, Jacksonville Icemen, and Norfolk Admirals over the years loaned around to get as much playing time as possible as he continued his development. It paid off this season when he made his NHL debut for Montreal, though things didn’t go very well in his 20 minutes of action. McNiven allowed three goals on seven shots, meaning his career save percentage sits at .571 until he makes another NHL appearance.
A former Owen Sound Attack star who once went 41-9-2 in an incredible junior season, McNiven hasn’t been able to find much consistency at the AHL level and holds just an .869 save percentage this season in 11 appearances. Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic tweets that the goaltender has been unhappy in the Canadiens organization for some time, and will now get a fresh start with the Stockton Heat.
With Jake Allen nearing a return, the Canadiens should have enough goaltending depth to cover all of their organizational holes, though there is also a chance they dip their toes into the college or junior free agent markets at some point. By moving McNiven out, they open up an extra contract slot and now have just 47 of the maximum 50 on the books.
Snapshots: Kraken, Trade Bait, Senators
The Seattle Kraken are “open for business” in regards to being a third-party broker for trade deadline deals or even a parachute for bad contracts, according to general manager Ron Francis. Francis spoke with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic and was quite clear that he has already told every other GM in the league that they are willing to spend cap space and money to acquire other assets.
Interestingly enough, he also explained, among other things, that the team is planning on being aggressive again in free agency this summer. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet happened to include a note in today’s 32 Thoughts column that he sees John Klingberg as a good fit for Seattle in the offseason when the veteran defenseman hits unrestricted free agency.
- If there is a theme to the changes on Frank Seravalli’s trade targets list for Daily Faceoff, it’s young forwards. Filip Zadina, Alexandre Texier, and Kasperi Kapanen all find themselves among the additions, with various reasons for their inclusion. Zadina especially is an interesting one, as he jumps directly to No. 12 on the list of the most likely pieces dealt, despite being on a team that would traditionally be holding onto young assets. The 22-year-old simply hasn’t been successful enough at the NHL level to this point, scoring just 22 goals and 54 points in 138 career games.
- The Ottawa Senators have opened extension talks with Nick Paul, but David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweets that those discussions haven’t progressed very far. The Paul situation is an odd one, given the fact that an extension with Ottawa shouldn’t be that complicated for a player with a career-high of 20 points, and will certainly conjure memories for Senators fans of the situations Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, and Erik Karlsson faced before ultimately being traded out of town.
St. Louis Blues Sign Will Cranley
Another young prospect has landed an NHL deal, as the St. Louis Blues have signed Will Cranley to a three-year entry-level contract. That contract will start in 2022-23, while Cranley will continue to play with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL for the rest of this season. Per CapFriendly, the terms of the $842K AAV contract are as follows:
2022-23: $750,000 base, $75,000 signing bonus
2023-24: $775,000 base, $75,000 signing bonus
2024-25: $775,000 base, $75,000 signing bonus
Selected 163rd overall in 2020, Cranley actually made his professional debut with the Utica Comets last season when the OHL was shut down due to COVID restrictions. He stopped 21 of 23 shots in a losing effort, but that performance is obviously encouraging enough to help his case when it came to earning an NHL contract.
It’s the junior level that has actually proven more difficult for the 6’5″ netminder, who has a career .878 save percentage in 66 games for Ottawa so far. That number has actually gone down this season with his .872 save percentage 2021-22, and Cranley has lost 21 of his 34 appearances.
Still, goaltenders with a frame like his don’t come around every day, and the Blues must obviously believe that their development staff can coax the best out of him at the next level. There’s a lot of work to do, but it can start in earnest next season when he jumps full-time to the professional level.
AHL Shuffle: 03/02/22
The Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs square off this evening in one of the four games on the NHL schedule, less than two weeks before they will meet again outdoors. The Sabres are going in a very different direction than the Maple Leafs right now, losing six in a row, but have always posed a tough test for the team from Toronto. On March 13, the two will meet for the Heritage Classic at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton, Ontario, meaning this is a tune-up of sorts for that exterior affair. As they and other teams around the league prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
Central Division
Pacific Division
- The Vegas Golden Knights have returned Jake Leschyshyn to the minor leagues, just a day after he came up. The 22-year-old forward has played 20 games for the Golden Knights this season, recording four points.
- With the San Jose Sharks now off until Saturday, they’ve returned Santeri Hatakka to the minor leagues for the time being. The 21-year-old defenseman hasn’t played in the NHL since November, but could end up seeing some time as the Sharks deal with several injuries in the coming weeks.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Jordan Frasca, Taylor Gauthier
3:15pm: Not only have the Penguins officially announced the contract for Frasca, but they have also signed Taylor Gauthier to a three-year entry-level deal. Both will start in 2022-23 and give Pittsburgh some extra prospect depth. Gauthier, 21, has been arguably the best goaltender in the WHL this season, posting a .932 save percentage through 28 games, winning 20 of those appearances. Since joining the Portland Winterhawks partway through the year, those numbers have actually only continued to rise, with a 13-1 record and .943 save percentage following the midseason trade. ‘
While Frasca will likely end up starting with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, there’s a chance that Gauthier heads to the ECHL next season where NHL teams often send their raw goaltending prospects. Either way, Pittsburgh has nabbed another interesting name to keep an eye on.
11:15am: Teams are now allowed to ink prospects to entry-level contracts that start in 2022-23, meaning a rush of signings is likely to happen in the next few days. One of those is expected to be Jordan Frasca, who will sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
Frasca, 20, went undrafted but is having an outstanding season for the Kingston Frontenacs, scoring 32 goals and 65 points in 44 games. His performance in fact has been part of the reason why some people have considered Shane Wright‘s season disappointing. The potential first-overall pick in this year’s draft sits behind Frasca in the Frontenacs scoring race (while both sit well behind 21-year-old Lucas Edmonds, another undrafted forward that returned to Canada after several years in Sweden).
Set to turn 21 in July, Frasca will still be signing a three-year entry-level contract. It’s an impressive run for a player who wasn’t even drafted into the OHL until the seventh round of the 2017 Priority Selection, and had just 23 points in his first full season–then with the Windsor Spitfires. He’s now set to join an NHL organization, though it won’t be the first time he’s around professionals. Last summer, Frasca attended development camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs, something that likely helped fuel his dominance this season.
Dallas Stars Sign Antonio Stranges
The Dallas Stars have gotten in on the entry-level signing parade, this time with an interesting prospect from the London Knights. Antonio Stranges has inked his three-year, entry-level contract that will begin in the 2022-23 season.
Stranges, 20, was picked 123rd overall in 2020, but quickly showed he was more than just a regular fourth-round pick. In 2020-21 when the OHL season was canceled due to COVID restrictions, he ended up signing an amateur tryout with the Texas Stars, where he played in nine games. Already it looked like Stranges might be able to handle himself at the minor league level, so when he went back to London this season it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him immediately dominate the competition.
In 39 games, the winger has 18 goals and 51 points, routinely setting up OHL goal leader (and Nashville Predators prospect) Luke Evangelista. Stranges is second in points on a team loaded with talent that has gone 30-13-2 on the year, and now joins an organization where there should be some opportunity in the next few years. While he’ll stay in London for the rest of this season and chase down an OHL championship, Stranges will likely join Texas for the 2022-23 season and begin his professional climb.
Calgary Flames Sign Rory Kerins
The Calgary Flames are finalizing an entry-level contract with late-round prospect Rory Kerins, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The news comes on the first day teams are eligible to sign prospects to contracts that begin in 2022-23, likely the plan for the young forward. Unlike some of the others that have inked deals today, Kerins is not undrafted and was still on the Flames reserve list after they picked him 174th overall in 2020. The team officially announced the deal not long after the report surfaced, and PuckPedia relayed that it will carry an average annual value of $847K at the NHL level.
It also won’t be the first time he signs a contract with the organization. Kerins inked an amateur tryout last year in order to play four AHL games with the Stockton Heat while the OHL season was canceled due to COVID restrictions. That taste of professional hockey certainly seems to have ignited something in the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward, as Kerins has 33 goals and 84 points in just 50 games.
That’s good enough for second in the entire OHL, only behind Windsor Spitfires star and Dallas Stars first-round pick Wyatt Johnston who has 85 in 46 games. Kerins’ 33 goals are good for third in the OHL behind two other high picks, Brennan Othmann and Luke Evangelista. All of that turns into a pretty good season for the young forward, who will now be secured a professional future starting next season. Given that he’ll turn 20 at the start of April, Kerins will likely play with Stockton in 2022-23 as he continues his climb toward the NHL. For now, he’ll stay with the Greyhounds and chase an OHL championship, or even a Memorial Cup.
Washington Capitals Sign Henry Rybinski
2:05pm: The team has made it official, announcing the three-year entry-level contract that will start in 2022-23.
12:30pm: The Washington Capitals are getting into the CHL free agent forward market, as Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that the team has signed Henry Rybinski from the WHL. Rybinski currently plays for the Seattle Thunderbirds and was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2019. Because he failed to sign a contract with them by last summer, he became a free agent and quickly started to draw interest from around the league.
Today is the first day teams can sign free agent prospects to entry-level contracts that kick in for the 2022-23 season and given his age, Rybinski will be signing a three-year deal. The 20-year-old forward has been outstanding this season for the Seattle Thunderbirds, recording 18 goals and 54 points in 39 games. That’s good enough for 27th in league scoring even though he’s played up to 15 games fewer than some of his competitors.
Rybinski was in Edmonton Oilers development camp last August, and before that had been in camps run by the Panthers. That’s actually where he transitioned back to center, the position he now plays full-time. Adding another center prospect to the pipeline is never a bad thing, and Washington–like Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, who added players today–always needs to refresh the system in ways outside of the draft because of their perennial contender status and trade deadline escapades. There’s still a long road ahead of someone like Rybinski, but when his contract is made official, he’ll be taking a big step.
Seattle Kraken Sign Tye Kartye
The entry-level contracts continue, with an expansion team this time getting into the mix. The Seattle Kraken have signed Tye Kartye to an entry-level contract according to general manager Ron Francis, who spoke with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic. Kartye, 20, is an undrafted forward currently playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Today was the first day teams are eligible to sign players to entry-level contracts for the 2022-23 season; Kartye’s age means he’ll be signing a three-year deal.
Kartye should already be very familiar with the Kraken, as he took part in their first development camp last summer. Like many Greyhounds in the past, he was also part of a Toronto Maple Leafs development camp, this time in 2019. The Kingston-born winger went undrafted, but has taken his game to an entirely new level this season, scoring 33 goals and 58 points in 45 games.
The fact that Francis is a legendary Greyhounds alumni likely didn’t hurt negotiations, but there is also an immediate attraction for free agent prospects when it comes to expansion teams. The Kraken will need all the young players they can get in the coming years as they try to build the program from the ground up, and Kartye will likely be one of the first members of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL team set to begin play next season. Originally selected 158th overall in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection, all of Kartye’s hard work has paid off. He scored just four goals in his first OHL season, missed all of 2020-21 because of COVID restrictions, and now has an NHL contract with his name on it.