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Dennis Cholowski Placed On Waivers

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The Seattle Kraken have placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Kraken got good news on several players that were in the COVID protocol just ahead of their game last night, meaning Cholowski–who started the year on the injured/non-roster list–isn’t needed right away, and will likely be assigned to the minor leagues should he clear.

Cholowski was expected to play last night for the Kraken until Jamie Oleksiak cleared at the last minute, making it curious how he was even moved to the non-roster list at all. The team could have submitted him to waivers with the purpose of assigning him to the AHL, which would force them to send him down at least temporarily should he clear. While that may have not been the ideal situation for the team, they were going to have to waive defensemen eventually after collecting so many in the offseason.

Without him on the roster, the team is still carrying eight options at the position. William Borgen and Carson Soucy were both scratched last night, but either is more than capable of stepping into the lineup if needed. They also likely pose more of a waiver claim risk, even with Soucy’s $2.75MM contract. After Cholowski’s disappointing 2020-21, he very well could clear unscathed.

A first-round pick in 2016, the 23-year-old defenseman has not developed the way the Detroit Red Wings hoped and finds himself battling to even stay in the NHL. The Kraken are currently sharing the Charlotte Checkers as they wait for their own AHL affiliate to start play in 2022-23, meaning that’s where Cholowski would likely end up should he go unclaimed.

Philadelphia Flyers Claim Zack MacEwen

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The Philadelphia Flyers have claimed another player off waivers, this time grabbing Zack MacEwen from the Vancouver Canucks. The Flyers added Patrick Brown earlier this week.

MacEwen was basically pushed out of the Canucks’ lineup by Alex Chiasson, who finally signed an NHL contract after attending training camp. The 25-year-old forward has never shown much offensive upside at the NHL level with just nine points in 55 games, but does bring a high level of physicality and size. The 6’3″ power forward recorded 65 hits in 34 games for the Canucks last season despite averaging fewer than nine minutes a game, racking up 44 penalty minutes in the process.

Undrafted, he actually has shown a strong offensive touch in the minor leagues, scoring 22 goals and 52 points in the 2018-19 season. But MacEwen isn’t being brought into Philadelphia to play in the top six or the powerplay. Instead, if he gets into the lineup at all he’ll likely be a fourth-line player. The question now is how he fits in, given Brown’s recent addition. Both have experience at center and could be in direct competition for ice time while the team continues to deal with the absence of Kevin Hayes. Hayes was included on the team’s opening night roster but has been moved to long-term injured reserve as he recovers from core muscle surgery.

Both claims, Brown and MacEwen, would need to pass through waivers in order to be assigned to the minor leagues. Should the Flyers place them on waivers, their previous teams would have a chance to nab them and send them directly to the AHL, should they be the only team to submit a claim.

Mikko Lehtonen Suspended; One Of Four Players On Waivers

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Oct 13: MacEwen was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers, but the other three have cleared.

Oct 12: The Columbus Blue Jackets have suspended Mikko Lehtonen for failing to report to the AHL after he was assigned to the Cleveland Monsters this week. The team has also placed him on unconditional waivers and will terminate his contract. Lehtonen isn’t alone though, as the Chicago Blackhawks have also placed Matej Chalupa on unconditional waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Zack MacEwen of the Vancouver Canucks and C.J. Suess of the Winnipeg Jets are also on regular waivers.

Lehtonen, 27, was expected to make a big impact at the NHL level after putting up strong numbers in the KHL, even winning that league’s Defenseman of the Year award in 2020. Instead, he struggled to crack the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on a regular basis and then was sent to Columbus, where he signed a new one-year, $900K deal this offseason but still failed to make the team out of camp. Instead of going to the AHL, he’ll likely head back overseas where he can once again star as a top-four puck-mover. His NHL career could very well end with just 26 games and six points.

Chalupa meanwhile is just 23, but apparently isn’t going to spend another year in the minors trying to establish himself as a call-up option for Chicago. He played 27 games for the Rockford IceHogs last season and scored seven points, but he too is likely headed back overseas. Both contracts will come entirely off the books for the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks.

MacEwen, 25, will lose his spot to Alex Chiasson, who the Canucks signed today to a one-year deal. The depth forward has actually played in 55 games for the Canucks over the last three seasons, but isn’t much of an offensive contributor at the NHL level and is unlikely to be claimed.

The same can be said about Suess, who has just one NHL game under his belt and is likely headed to the Manitoba Moose. Suess has been dealing with an undisclosed injury throughout training camp and won’t even be the first call-up option for the Jets this season.

AHL Shuffle: 10/13/21

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The NHL is not currently using a taxi squad system like last season, but that won’t stop teams from executing daily transactions to save cap and bring fresh bodies to the NHL. While some of the more notable moves may be mentioned elsewhere, we’ll keep track of every recall and reassignment right here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have assigned Ryan Poehling to the minor leagues, and won’t have him in the press box when they face Toronto tonight in their season opener. The team claimed Adam Brooks off waivers this week, essentially taking Poehling’s spot as the latter is still waiver-exempt. The 22-year-old center has really struggled to make an impact for the organization since his incredible three-goal debut in 2019.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Pierre-Olivier Joseph from the AHL, after Mike Matheson was a late scratch yesterday. The team has sent Anthony Angelo back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to make room. Joseph, 22, is one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects and played in 16 games last season. Many of those were at the beginning of the year when the team was devastated by injuries, and the young defender showed well in heavy minutes.

Central Division

  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Jayson Megna from the AHL, as they prepare to open their season without Nathan MacKinnon. The superstar center tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss at least tonight’s game, meaning Megna can come up and slide into a fourth-line role while everyone else moves up. Megna played seven games for the team last season, registering two points.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have assigned C.J. Suess to the Manitoba Moose after he cleared waivers today. The 27-year-old forward has just one NHL game to his name and will likely spend most of the year in the minor leagues.

Pacific Division

This page will be updated throughout the day

Ilya Mikheyev Out Eight Weeks With Broken Thumb

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Oct 13: Mikheyev underwent successful surgery this morning, according to Keefe.

Oct 11: The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a key roster member at the very end of training camp, as Ilya Mikheyev went down with a hand injury in the final preseason game. Today, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that Mikheyev will require surgery for a broken thumb and is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks. Keefe also explained that Auston Matthews, who is working his way back from wrist surgery, will not be available to the team this week.

It was a brutal blow for Mikheyev, who looked like he was going to get a chance to run on the team’s second line with John Tavares and William Nylander to open the season. After a trade request in the offseason because of a perceived lack of opportunity, it was a perfect spot for the pending UFA to rack up some point totals as a top-six forward. Instead, he’ll now be on the shelf once again, opening the door for someone else to take his spot full-time.

The Maple Leafs have plenty of forwards, but the left side was actually already their weakest position. Mikheyev’s injury means that Michael Bunting could slide into the top-six, or Alexander Kerfoot could move out of a center spot and play with the second unit. That’s all assuming a healthy lineup though, one that the Maple Leafs won’t see until Matthews returns at some point in the near future.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Colton Sceviour

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As expected, the Edmonton Oilers will sign Colton Sceviour now that the season has begun. The depth forward has inked a one-year, two-way deal worth $750K at the NHL level. Sceviour has earned himself a contract after attending Oilers camp on a PTO. PuckPedia reports that the deal includes a $200K AHL salary, with a solid $450K minor league guarantee.

In Edmonton, the Oilers are dealing with a difficult start to the season as both third goaltender Alex Stalock and depth forward Josh Archibald are out indefinitely with heart conditions. Their absence complicates–but actually adds some flexibility to–the team’s cap situation, allowing them to add a player like Sceviour after placing multiple contracts on long-term injured reserve yesterday.

With the Sceviour news, Archibald will join Stalock and Oscar Klefbom on LTIR, while Zack Kassian has been moved to regular injured reserve. Kyle Turris has also been recalled from the Bakersfield Condors now that there is room for his full cap hit, while Philip Broberg is on his way down to the AHL.

The team’s newest forward offers plenty of versatility in a depth role, including a bit of scoring upside and penalty-killing ability. Sceviour scored five goals and ten points in 46 games last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but has reached double-digit goal totals twice in his career. In Edmonton, he’ll serve as nothing more than a fourth-line player in all likelihood, but for a team that has struggled desperately to find quality NHL depth in recent years, his presence will be a welcome one.

Evgeny Svechnikov Signs With Winnipeg Jets

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The Winnipeg Jets have signed depth forward Evgeny Svechnikov to a one-year, two-way contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K and an AHL salary of $215K. Svechnikov had attended Jets camp on a professional tryout after signing an AHL deal, but has earned his way onto the opening night roster. Winnipeg has assigned Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose to make room.

Svechnikov, 24, is not to be confused with his brother in Carolina. This forward was also selected in the first round, but his career to this point has been marred by injury and inconsistency. In 2020-21 he played the most NHL games of his career, suiting up 21 times with the Detroit Red Wings, but failed to receive a qualifying offer from the team in the summer. The two sides split and Svechnikov will now try to reinvent himself in Winnipeg.

Over 41 career games, the 6’3″ forward has scored five goals and 12 points, though those have come in very limited minutes. He still provides a bit of upside, but it’s hard to expect any player his age to really make the leap and make a real impact. More likely is that Svechnikov becomes useful depth for a team already loaded with talented forwards and plays spot duty throughout the year.

One thing to note is that if the Jets decide to send him to the minor leagues, he’ll have to clear waivers. Signing him after the season started helped with their LTIR calculation–Bryan Little has been moved there and will not play this season–but it also means they missed a chance to sneak him through with the other hundred players cut at the end of training camp. He’ll stick out, and there is at least some chance Svechnikov would be claimed by another team hoping to unlock his unfulfilled potential.

Nashville Predators Extend Mattias Ekholm

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The Nashville Predators have been working for some time on an extension for Mattias Ekholm, and have finally reached an agreement. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the two sides have signed a four-year extension worth a total of $25MM. The $6.25MM average annual value will be a substantial increase over Ekholm’s current deal, which carries a cap hit of $3.75MM and is set to expire at the end of this season. In a statement, Predators GM David Poile explains exactly why:

When you think about foundational pieces on our hockey team, Mattias Ekholm is certainly at the top of the list, and we couldn’t be happier to get this deal done with the start of the regular season upon us. An alternate captain who leads both vocally and by example, Mattias brings stability and size to our defense corps and has embraced serving as a mentor to the younger players on our team. We have a group of young, right-shot defensemen that includes Alexandre Carrier, Philippe Myers, Dante Fabbro and Matt Benning who all have the opportunity to learn from and play with Mattias on the side opposite him, and we’re excited about the stability that will provide us on the blue line.

Ekholm, 31, has been a key part of the Predators defense for years now, making his debut back in the 2011-12 season and becoming a regular in 2013. One of the most consistent two-way presences in the league, he has recorded at least 23 points in each of the last six seasons, with a career-high of 44 in 2018-19. With Ryan Ellis now in Philadelphia, he will likely be asked to carry even more responsibility on special teams and is easily the team’s most reliable option behind captain Roman Josi.

Still, signing Ekholm at this point is a curious move for the Predators, who don’t appear to be in a true win-now mode at this point. Big contracts to Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen haven’t worked out, leaving their offensive group a work in progress to this point. Viktor Arvidsson, a big piece of that attack was shipped out this summer, while Filip Forsberg is on the final year of his current deal. If anything, it seemed more likely that Poile would enter this season ready to pull the trigger on some deadline deals that could restock the cupboard and set up the Predators for future success.

An extension for Ekholm certainly removes him from the deadline equation, and locks him into things with the Predators through 2025-26. There’s real risk that this contract won’t look very team-friendly a few years from now, though Ekholm has certainly provided plenty of surplus value to this point. The contract he will finish this year is one of the best bargains in the league, perhaps giving the team one last shot to compete with this group before more substantial changes are made.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Evander Kane

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Yesterday, the San Jose Sharks left Evander Kane off their opening night roster, noting that he “is considered a non-roster player pending completion of the NHL’s investigation.” There was no clarity on how that affected the team’s cap situation, but CapFriendly reports today that Kane’s $7MM cap hit will not currently count against the Sharks. That leaves them with a little more than $8MM in total cap space going into the season.

The bigger question is how long will the Sharks be without Kane, and there could be an answer coming soon on that front. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet tweets that the league is leaning toward suspending Kane under the CBA’s “Commissioner Discipline for Off-Ice Conduct” (article 18-A). A suspension like this is entirely determined by the league’s commissioner, in this case Gary Bettman, but does have an appeal process. Technically the article also states that a player’s contract can be canceled by the commissioner, though nothing has indicated that will be the case here. It reads:

18-A.2 Commissioner Authority to Impose Discipline for Off-Ice Conduct.

Whenever the Commissioner determines that a Player has violated a League Rule applicable to Players (other than Playing Rules subjecting the Player to potential Supplementary Discipline for On-Ice Conduct), or has been or is guilty of conduct (whether during or outside the playing season) that is detrimental to or against the welfare of the League or the game of hockey, he may discipline such Player in any or all of the following respects:

  • (a) by expelling or suspending such Player for a definite or indefinite period;
  • (b) by cancelling any SPC that such Player has with any Member Club; or
  • (c) by imposing a fine on the Player not exceeding the maximum permissible fine under Section 18.7(b).

For the purpose of calculating compensation forfeited due to a suspension under this Article, the Player will forfeit all Paragraph 1 NHL Salary and Bonuses, but not Performance Bonuses, commencing on the effective date of the suspension through the completion of the last game or date of the suspension, inclusive of all intervening days.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweets that the investigation is ongoing and Kane is currently designated as a non-roster player. How long that designation stands for is unclear, just as the potential length of suspension is still unclear.

When the league announced that Kane had been cleared of the allegations of gambling on NHL games, it also included a note that he was being investigated for other potential wrongdoing. The official release has been changed several times, but now does not include any mention of the “allegation of inappropriate behavior potentially jeopardizing the health and safety of Club members” that it once listed.

New York Islanders Confirm Contracts For Schneider, Dal Colle, Bellows

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Oct 12: According to CapFriendly, Bellows’ deal will be a one-year, one-way contract worth $750K. Schnieder meanwhile will be on a one-year, two-way deal that pays $750K in the NHL and a whopping $500K in the AHL.

Sep 21: The New York Islanders have confirmed three more signings, with GM Lou Lamoriello telling reporters including Brian Compton of NHL.com that they reached agreements with Cory Schneider, Michael Dal Colle, and Kieffer Bellows. Schnieder’s deal will be a two-way contract, but no other details have been released.

Now 35, Schneider spent last season as the Islanders’ taxi squad goaltender, playing just a single game for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and none in the NHL. That very well could be his role again this season, if the league decides to create a goaltender taxi squad this season as deputy commissioner Bill Daly suggested to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff recently. There is no chance of him supplanting Semyon Varlamov or Ilya Sorokin as the team’s main options, but Schneider does represent more than 400 games of NHL experience to have just in case injury strikes.

Dal Colle is perhaps the most interesting name announced today, if only because of the fact that he failed to receive a qualifying offer from the team and technically became an unrestricted free agent. The 25-year-old will be in training camp as always, once again fighting for playing time in the NHL. Originally selected fifth overall by the Islanders in 2014, that high draft pedigree wore off years ago. He should now be considered just another depth player that will battle for a bottom-six spot, contributing whenever he gets the chance. In 26 games with the Islanders last season, Dal Colle had just four points, and he has totaled 21 through his 111-game career.

Bellows, 23, still has just 22 games to his name despite being a first-round pick in his own right, selected 19th overall in 2016. The power forward scored three goals in 14 games last season and is not guaranteed a full-time role on this roster. Though he has shown an ability to score at the minor league level, recording 22 goals in 52 games during the 2019-20 season, he’ll have to show more consistent play in the NHL to secure a spot with the Islanders. Eligible for waivers this time around, he may have a leg up on some of his competition simply because the Islanders won’t want to risk him to the rest of the league.

The team also confirmed that Zach Parise’s deal is for just one year, and that all but one player in the organization is vaccinated at this point. Lamoriello expects to loan that player–who was not identified–to Europe this season.

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