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Arizona Coyotes Claim Scott Wedgewood

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The Arizona Coyotes have claimed goaltender Scott Wedgewood off waivers from the New Jersey Devils, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Wedgewood returns to the only other team he has played for in the NHL.

It’s been a few years since Wedgewood played for Arizona, but it actually was the place he received the most opportunity. In 2017-18 he appeared in a career-high 20 games, going 5-9-4 with an .893 save percentage. With the Coyotes dealing with an injury to Carter Hutton, Wedgewood will serve as a veteran backup for Karel Vejmelka, allowing Ivan Prosvetov to return to the minor leagues.

Given the fact that New Jersey has Nico Daws in the minor leagues and two steady options in the NHL, it isn’t the end of the world that they’ve lost Wedgewood. It should give them a bit of stress though, given that there are now only four netminders in the entire organization under NHL contracts. Should they deal with any injuries, they would quickly run out of bodies to fill all of the necessary spots.

Of course, when Hutton returns the Coyotes will likely put Wedgewood back on waivers, where the Devils could reclaim him. The original timeline for Hutton was two to four weeks and he hasn’t played since October 25. At that point, if New Jersey is the only team to put in a claim, they would be able to send Wedgewood directly to the minor leagues.

Prospect Notes: Sillinger, Norlinder, WJC

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Not only has Cole Sillinger shown he can be an NHL player right away, but by the third period of last night’s game he was centering a line with Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek. It shouldn’t surprise anyone then when the young forward confirmed to reporters including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch after the game that he will not be sent back to junior this season. One more game and Sillinger will ensure his entry-level contract kicks in this season, burning the first year and avoiding any slide.

After a three-point night that resulted in a Blue Jackets win, Sillinger has burst onto the NHL scene just a few months after being the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center has five points through nine games and was rewarded with more than 16 minutes of ice time last night. He was also out there with Voracek when Jake Bean recorded the game-winner in overtime, another sign of the trust that Sillinger has received from the coaching staff in the early going. With his contract starting this season, he’ll be scheduled for restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.

  • Mattias Norlinder has been assigned to the Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint, as he continues to recover from an injury suffered in training camp. The young defenseman was actually loaned to the SHL earlier in the summer and played one game for Frolunda, but then came to play in the preseason for Montreal. As Arpon Basu of The Athletic points out, this is a long-term injury loan and Norlinder has a European Assignment Clause in his contract, meaning he can only play three games for the Rocket before needing to be added to the Canadiens roster or sent back to Sweden. Another year of development overseas still seems the most likely, unless the Montreal front office believes he can handle NHL minutes right away.
  • The schedule for the IIHF World Junior Championship has been released, with December 26th back as the kickoff date this year. Canada will battle the Czech Republic, while the U.S. will take on Slovakia on day one. The two North American nations find themselves in different groups this time around, meaning a rematch of the 2021 Canada-U.S. gold medal game won’t happen in the preliminary round.

Brett Ritchie Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Calgary Flames recalled Walker Duehr from the minor leagues this morning and to make room on the roster have moved Brett Ritchie to injured reserve. Ritchie suffered a lower-body injury on Tuesday during his fight with Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki.

Injured reserve means at least a week out of the lineup for Ritchie and a chance for Duehr to make his NHL debut. The 23-year-old forward was an undrafted free agent signing earlier this year after four seasons at Minnesota State-Mankato and has just ten AHL contests under his belt. Five of those have come this season, where Duehr has scored two goals and three points while continuing to be a physical presence. If he ends up in the lineup, he will likely fill the same role as Ritchie, a right-shot forward for the fourth line.

With the Jack Eichel saga in the rearview, the Flames can focus on their opponent tonight and try to continue their early-season success. Calgary is sitting at 6-1-2 on the year, two points behind the Edmonton Oilers for the lead in the Pacific Division. While Ritchie hasn’t exactly been a huge part of that, averaging around ten minutes a night through his first month, he did give the team the kind of big, veteran, bang-and-crash forward that Darryl Sutter has loved in his bottom-six for years.

Marian Gaborik Announces Retirement

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Though he hasn’t played since 2018, Marian Gaborik has finally announced his retirement. His final NHL contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season, officially as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, though he never came close to playing for them.

Gaborik holds the record as the highest-drafted Slovak in history, selected third overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2000. The team’s first draft choice was a good one, as he not only would score the first goal in Wild history but go on to rack up 218 more for the organization. A star almost from the moment he hit an NHL ice surface, Gaborik was a five-time 30-goal scorer for Minnesota, reaching a career-high of 42 in 2007-08. After is 500+ games with an expansion team, he would end up with the New York Rangers, where he cracked the 40-goal mark twice more before entering the back half of his career.

In 2014 with the Los Angeles Kings, Gaborik led all players in playoff goals with 14 en route to securing the Stanley Cup. While he would play for a few more years, he’d never reach that kind of goal-scoring prowess again.

Overall, Gaborik suited up for 1,035 regular season games and ends his career with 407 goals and 815 points. He is the all-time goals leader in Minnesota history, ranks fourth in points among all Slovakian NHL players (Peter Stastny, Marian Hossa, and Peter Bondra are ahead of him), and ranks 95th all-time in goals scored for the entire NHL. In his prime, there were few players more feared than Gaborik, able to score in countless different ways and from all angles of the offensive zone. His two-step acceleration was as strong as anyone in the league, and there’s a good chance he would have found success today even as the league continues to get faster and more mobile.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AHL Shuffle: 11/04/21

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With the Jack Eichel news finally over, the Buffalo Sabres can move on with their surprisingly good start to the season. They’re one of the 18 teams in action tonight, in Seattle to battle the Kraken. With so many teams in play, there are sure to be quite a few recalls and reassignments. As always, we’ll keep track of them right here.

Atlantic Division

  • Peyton Krebs, one of the key pieces of the Eichel trade, will be assigned to the AHL when he joins the Sabres organization. Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams explained that there is “no rush” to get Krebs to the NHL level and are focused on his long-term development. The young forward had played nine games with the Golden Knights this season.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Kristians Rubins from the Toronto Marlies, giving them some added depth as Travis Dermott deals with an injury. Dermott will be a game-time decision tonight after blocking a shot earlier this week. Rubins, 23, has yet to play in the NHL but was one of the three players announced by Latvia for the upcoming Olympics.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Washington Capitals have sent Aliaksei Protas back to the minor leagues, with Nic Dowd activated off injured reserve. Protas, the 6’6″ power forward that the team drafted in 2019, made his NHL debut in Dowd’s absence.

Central Division

  • After some impressive performances, Connor Ingram has been loaned back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The 24-year-old netminder actually allowed four goals to the Edmonton Oilers in last night’s loss, but it could have been much worse had it not been for some acrobatic saves. His assignment likely means that the Nashville Predators will activate David Rittich in the coming days.
  • With Alex Goligoski set to return, the Minnesota Wild have sent Calen Addison back to the minor leagues. The young defenseman has played two games for the Wild this season, scoring his first NHL goal in the process.

Pacific Division

  • The Calgary Flames have recalled Walker Duehr from the AHL, giving the young forward his first NHL opportunity. Duehr, a college free agent signing, has three points in five games for the Stockton Heat this season.
  • Per AZCentral’s Jose M. Romero, the Coyotes recalled forward Ben McCartney from the Tucson Roadrunners today and sent goalie Ivan Prosvetov back down. The Coyotes claimed Scott Wedgewood on waivers today, making Prosvetov expendable for the time being. McCartney could make his NHL debut after scoring four goals in four games so far with Tucson this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Jack Eichel

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After months of speculation, negotiations, and public frustration, the Jack Eichel saga in Buffalo has come to an end. The Vegas Golden Knights and Buffalo Sabres have both officially announced a trade that will take Eichel to the desert. He will go to Vegas along with a 2023 third-round pick, in exchange for forwards Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2023 second-round pick.

The first-round selection is top-10 protected and the Sabres did not retain any salary. Should the pick end up in the top 10 after this year’s lottery, the Golden Knights will send their 2023 first-round and 2024 second-round picks instead of the ones listed. In that case, the Sabres’ 2023 third-round selection that is included would also become a 2024 third-rounder. Basically, if it ends up in the top 10, all three picks bump forward a year.

For Buffalo fans, seeing a frustrated first-line center shipped out of town for a collection of assets is certainly familiar but this deal is not the same as the one that took Ryan O’Reilly from them a few years ago.

In that deal, the best young player the team received was Tage Thompson, as both Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka were established talents already on their way out of the league. This time in Tuch and Krebs, the Sabres have secured two players that are still improving and should be able to help the club for much longer.

Tuch, 25, is in the third season of a seven-year, $33.25MM contract that already appears to be one of the most reasonable deals in the league. The 6’4″ forward is a blend of size and skill that’s incredibly difficult to find, and has shown an ability to score at a high level even with limited opportunity. In 55 games last season he scored 18 goals and 33 points despite his most common linemates at even strength being Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar.

In Buffalo, he very well could see much better offensive deployment and end up lining up in the top-six. That’ll have to wait a few months though, as Tuch is recovering from offseason surgery and isn’t expected back in the lineup until January.

Krebs meanwhile will likely step directly into the Sabres forward group, where he’ll take the next steps of his professional career. Still just 20, Krebs was the 17th overall pick in 2019 and has already reached the NHL. While he has yet to score a goal in his 13 career games, there are obvious signs that he can be a valuable contributor and adds another option at center ice for Buffalo.

Adding another first-round pick means the Sabres now have three selections this year after they had already acquired one from the Florida Panthers. Given how many top prospects they already have in the organization, there’s a real chance that Buffalo could have a very quick turnaround and start competing in the next few years.

The question now becomes whether that turnaround will be navigated properly. Buffalo has now seemingly run another star player out of town with poor management and coaching choices, resulting in a situation that could only be resolved by trade. The old adage “whoever gets the best player in the deal, wins” could apply here, as Eichel is certainly a level above Tuch or Krebs when healthy.

Healthy is the concern now for Vegas, but the Golden Knights must obviously believe in the disk replacement surgery that Eichel is after. Whenever he does go under the knife, he still faces a months-long recovery, meaning he won’t be on the ice at T-Mobile for quite some time.

When he does return though, Eichel is exactly the kind of first-line center that the Golden Knights have been looking for since they came into existence. The team has gotten by with the exceptional two-way play of William Karlsson and have worked to turn Chandler Stephenson into a legitimate top-six force, but have never had a player like Eichel that can drive offense at an elite level.

In 375 career games, Eichel has 355 points including breaking the point-per-game threshold in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. He can score at even-strength and on the powerplay–the latter of which is currently 0-18 for the Golden Knights–while logging huge minutes in the middle of the ice. In 2020, Eichel finished eighth in Hart Trophy voting, after scoring 36 goals and 78 points in 68 games.

Of course, to land Eichel the Golden Knights not only had to part with several assets, but will also have to carry his $10MM cap hit for this season and four more. A full no-movement clause also comes into effect next season, as does another $7.5MM signing bonus. The Golden Knights have continuously flirted with the salary cap upper limit, but will now be carrying three players who have a cap hit of at least $8.8MM for the next several years.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that there were actually three teams in the Eichel sweepstakes until the end. The Golden Knights, Calgary Flames and, perhaps surprisingly, Carolina Hurricanes all stayed in the talks. The NHL insider does admit that the Hurricanes weren’t close but doesn’t specify whether the Flames ever got near a deal. The report about Matthew Tkachuk yesterday was likely a way to make Vegas put their final offer on the table.

While the winner and loser of today’s deal will be discussed for years to come, one clear beneficiary of the deal is Eichel himself. While the Sabres were holding out for the biggest package possible, the 25-year-old center was dealing with a serious neck injury that needed surgery. Now, finally, he will be able to get his preferred treatment and hopefully resume his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Jack Eichel

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The Jack Eichel trade was “on the one-yard line” yesterday according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Calgary Flames listed as finalists. Both clubs have agreed to allow Eichel to have the artificial disk replacement that he wants, but obviously, the Buffalo Sabres are trying to get the best package possible in return before accepting a trade.

If you were wondering what kind of package could get it done, Kevin Weekes of ESPN tweets that it is his understanding that the Flames have Matthew Tkachuk, an upcoming first-round selection, a player who was a first-round pick, and two prospects on the table. In any Eichel deal, a big-ticket salary (or several smaller ones) would have to be included, not only to open up cap space for the acquiring team but also to get the Sabres over the cap floor. Remember, Eichel is not yet on long-term injured reserve, meaning any acquiring team would need to have the space under the cap to land him before moving him off the roster.

Tkachuk of course would be that big-ticket, especially given his upcoming qualifying offer. When his current three-year, $21MM deal expires at the end of this season, whichever team has his rights will have to issue him a $9MM qualifying offer to retain them. At that point, given Tkachuk has already played in six seasons, he could simply accept the one-year, $9MM deal or go to arbitration to secure a contract that walks him right into unrestricted free agency in 2023.

Eichel isn’t expected to be ready to play for several months after the surgery is performed, meaning whoever does end up with him isn’t getting any help right away. The Golden Knights are dealing with quite a few injuries already, while the Flames are currently 6-1-2 and tied for first place in the Pacific Division. It’s hard to fathom either one making a huge splash right now, but reports have continued to indicate that a deal is on the horizon.

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter meanwhile isn’t giving up any information. When asked about the Eichel speculation today, he told reporters that he’s not aware of any talks and believes it is “just a media thing.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Rinne, Stanley Cup

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The 2022 NHL Draft is inching closer and some teams already have their focus set on Shane Wright and the rest of the class. More rankings have come out today, including an update to Sam Cosentino’s list for Sportsnet. Brad Lambert, who was second in October, is now down to 11th on Cosentino’s ranking after a poor start in Finland.

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic doesn’t have him quite so far down, but Lambert certainly isn’t second for him either, as Matthew Savoie takes that spot on Wheeler’s list. That’s not surprising, as Savoie was in the same spot in his September preseason ranking. There are still many months to go before a true consensus starts to take shape, but early returns are interesting to follow.

  • The Nashville Predators will raise another banner to the rafters this season, this time honoring franchise icon Pekka Rinne. The goaltender will have his No. 35 retired on February 24, 2022. Rinne played his entire career in Nashville, appearing in 683 games and posting a 369-213-75 record over parts of 15 seasons. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner, it’s hard to even imagine anyone else breaking some of the franchise records he holds. Juuse Saros, Rinne’s protege and current starter for the Predators, would need 520 more appearances to match his total–only 71 goaltenders in the history of the league have played 520 games.
  • Brad Aldrich’s name has been crossed out on the Stanley Cup, Ryan Rishaug of TSN confirms. Last week, Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote a letter to Lanny McDonald, head of the Hockey Hall of Fame, asking for Aldrich’s name to be crossed out. In it, he explained that Aldrich’s conduct “disqualified him” from having his name engraved and apologized for submitting it in the first place.

P.K. Subban Fined $15,000 For Tripping

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1:55pm: It appears as though Subban has avoided suspension once again. The DoPS has issued a $15,000 fine for tripping, the maximum allowable under the CBA for this additional incident.

12:15pm: At least twice already this season, P.K. Subban has been involved in tripping incidents that had fans clamoring for a suspension. The first was in the preseason, when Subban appeared to slew foot New York Rangers forward Ryan Reaves, causing an injury. The second came in the regular season against the Calgary Flames’ Milan Lucic, which earned Subban a maximum fine.

Now, Subban appears to be receiving a more serious penalty. The Department of Player Safety has announced that the New Jersey Devils defenseman will have a hearing today for tripping Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. It is not clear exactly when the trip happened in last night’s game, but Subban was not given any penalties in his nearly 22 minutes of action. Corey Masisak of The Athletic believes it was a collision early in the first period, in which Subban again appears to slew foot a player in the corner.

At the time of his fine, Subban’s coach Lindy Ruff explained that it was “not acceptable” and that the team wouldn’t put up with it. Given that a hearing is taking place, it appears as though the league won’t put up with it any longer either.

Scott Wedgewood Placed On Waivers

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The New Jersey Devils have placed Scott Wedgewood on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The team activated Mackenzie Blackwood off injured reserve yesterday and no longer require three goaltenders on the roster.

Wedgewood, 29, has played in three games for the Devils this season but allowed nine goals on 75 shots for an .880 save percentage. The minor league veteran has been a strong performer in the past at the minor league level, but shouldn’t be relied on for more than a handful of appearances at the NHL level each season.

There’s perhaps a chance he’s claimed by a team dealing with injury, but Wedgewood doesn’t represent much of an upgrade for most teams around the league. Should he clear, the Devils will likely send him to the minor leagues where he will serve as a part-time option as they continue to develop their younger netminders.

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