Minor Transactions: 05/14/21
It’s not exactly a taxi squad shuffle these days, as teams prepare for the playoffs without any roster restrictions. Still, there are a few transactions between leagues to note and we’ll list them here.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-assigned Alex D’Orio to the AHL, where he can help out with the final two games of the season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The split back-to-back against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Hershey Bears will be over by Sunday, at which point a few minor league players will probably be called up as additional Black Aces.
- The Colorado Avalanche have returned T.J. Tynan, Sampo Ranta, Hunter Miska, and Kyle Burroughs to the AHL for the time being, gutting their taxi squad. The Avalanche don’t start the playoffs until Monday, meaning they have a couple of days to prepare the roster.
- Now that the Los Angeles Kings’ season is over, all the players eligible to help with the Ontario Reign playoff run have been sent back down. Lias Andersson, Troy Grosenick, Cole Hults, Jacob Ingham, Rasmus Kupari, Tyler Madden and Drake Rymsha were all returned to the AHL.
This page will be updated with any further transactions
Carolina Hurricanes Agree To Terms With Tuukka Tieksola
Just call them Team Finland. The Carolina Hurricanes have added another forward to their Finnish contingent, agreeing to terms with Tuukka Tieksola on a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $823,333 at the NHL level. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement on his newest forward:
Tuukka took major strides playing in the top Finnish league this season. He is a dynamic player and we’re excited for him to take the next steps in his development.
Selected 121st in the 2019 draft, Tieksola spent this season with Karpat, his first full year in Liiga, the highest level of hockey in Finland. The tiny forward—listed at just 146-lbs—did well at the professional level, scoring nine goals and 18 points in 37 games.
His size has never held him back to this point, but it will be a challenge for him when he eventually transitions to the North American game. Tieksola’s best skill is his incredible vision when carrying the puck, but managing to avoid physical confrontations will be a challenge as he moves up the ladder.
It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes want to bring the 19-year-old over right away, or let him continue to develop for the next few seasons in Finland. His contract, which kicks in for the 2021-22 season, will not be slide eligible, meaning he is scheduled for restricted free agency in 2024 regardless of where he plays.
Ben Groulx Agrees To New Contract With Tampa Bay Lightning
When considering the coaches currently outside of the NHL that could have a future in it, one name is often brought up. Ben Groulx, head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, has been successful at every level so far, but has yet to receive an opportunity at the highest level. Though there are several openings in the NHL this season, it doesn’t appear as though Groulx will be persuing them, as the minor league coach has signed a new contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning to remain Crunch head coach for 2021-22.
Lightning AGM and Crunch GM Stacy Roest released a statement:
We are excited to agree to a new contract and have Ben Groulx return as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch. Over the past five seasons, Ben has proven to be a key part of our organization. His leadership and structure have played an important role in developing our prospects, consistently producing a competitive Syracuse Crunch team and contributing to the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning. We look forward to continued growth with Ben behind the bench.
It’s no exaggeration to call Groulx one of the most successful coaches in the AHL. Over his five seasons, he has compiled a record of 179-100-42 and made the Calder Cup playoffs in each of the three years they were held. In 2016-17, he took the Crunch to the finals, losing in six games to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Deep playoff runs are nothing new for Groulx, who won three QMJHL championships during his time in junior hockey.
He also added a World Junior gold medal as head coach of Team Canada in 2015, a group that included Tampa Bay star Brayden Point. It’s the development of young talent that has made Groulx so valuable for the Lightning, who continue to churn NHL players out of their minor league system regardless of draft pedigree. Players like Yanni Gourde, Mitchell Stephens, Anthony Cirelli, and Mathieu Joseph have all developed rapidly under the tutelage of Groulx in the AHL. Even many that are in other organizations like Carter Verhaeghe and Adam Erne have a lot to thank the Crunch coach for after spending time honing their craft in the AHL.
At least for now, that development system will remain intact, with Groulx staying behind the bench for Syracuse.
Hockey Canada Announces 2021 World Championship Roster
The IIHF World Championship roster is always a little different. Because the tournament takes place during the NHL playoffs, many players are unable to attend. Many others choose not to participate because of injuries they sustained during the season, meaning there are often some interesting choices that compete for their country.
Like the U.S. roster that was officially released just a few days ago, the Canadian contingent looks even more odd than normal. Not only does the management team have injuries and the postseason to deal with, but many players haven’t seen their families for months and just want to spend some quality time at home.
Though the initial paperwork had been reported on recently, the full official roster is as follows:
G Adin Hill
G Darcy Kuemper
G Michael Dipietro
D Braden Schneider
D Colin Miller
D Owen Power
D Sean Walker
D Mario Ferraro
D Troy Stecher
D Nicolas Beaudin
D Jacob Bernard-Docker*
F Liam Foudy
F Dillon Dube
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
F Gabriel Vilardi
F Adam Henrique
F Justin Danforth
F Nick Paul
F Brandon Hagel
F Michael Bunting
F Connor Brown
F Max Comtois
F Brandon Pirri
F Andrew Mangiapane
F Cole Perfetti
Like the U.S. squad, which includes draft-eligible Matthew Beniers, the Canadians have decided to take along his University of Michigan teammate Power. The 18-year-old Power is expected to challenge for the first overall selection this season and will get a chance to showcase his talents on the international stage, after being denied his opportunity to compete at the World Juniors.
*added after the initial roster was announced
Snapshots: Hartman, Hamaliuk, Senators
The NHL has issued a $5,000 fine to Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman for a “dangerous trip” on St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais. This is the maximum allowable fine amount under the CBA, once the incident was deemed to not deserve a suspension.
The incident occurred partway through the second period in last night’s game. As the puck was dumped into the corner, Hartman pushed his stick into the back of Blais’ leg and caused the Blues player to tumble backward. Hartman was given a two-minute penalty on the play and will have to fork over a few dollars as well.
- Now that his WHL season is over, Dillon Hamaliuk has been added to the San Jose Barracuda roster for the Pacific Division playoffs. Hamaliuk, 20, scored 13 points in 16 games with the Kelowna Rockets this season and will get his first taste of professional hockey down the stretch. The 6’4″ forward signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks way back in October 2019, a few months after being selected 55th overall in the draft.
- The Ottawa Senators haven’t had a captain since trading away Erik Karlsson, but that could be changing soon. At his year-end media availability today, GM Pierre Dorion told reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that he will sit down with owner Eugene Melnyk and head coach D.J. Smith to discuss the captaincy, suggesting either early next year or through the season the team will name one.
Roope Hintz To Undergo Surgery
The Dallas Stars held more media availability today, where GM Jim Nill gave reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic several injury updates. Alexander Radulov, Ben Bishop, and Tyler Seguin are all on track to make full recoveries in time for next season’s training camp, but the real news was that Roope Hintz has surgery scheduled for next week. Hintz is dealing with a left abductor tendon injury according to Yousuf and will be out three to four months after surgery on Wednesday.
Hintz and Seguin ended up back on the shelf after the Stars were eliminated, ending what was a frustrating season for both players. While Seguin knew he was going to miss most of the year following hip and knee surgeries, Hintz spent the entire season struggling through injury. That makes his performance even more incredible, as the 24-year-old forward finished with 43 points in 41 games.
One can only imagine what Hintz will be able to do at full health, especially if he can continue the natural chemistry he found with Joe Pavelski this season. With the emergence of Jason Robertson as a line-driving player for the Stars, the team now has several top-level left-wing options to deploy, making it even more difficult to match lines.
It was a brutal season for the Stars, who dealt with a COVID situation at the beginning of the year, some major injuries from last year’s Cinderella Stanley Cup run, and inclement weather that delayed and disrupted their schedule. They ended up missing the playoffs by just four points despite all that and should still be in a position to compete in 2021-22. A lot of that hope will rely on injury recoveries, however, including this long-term rehab for Hintz.
Marcus Hogberg Will Not Be Qualified
The Ottawa Senators will be moving on from backup goaltender Marcus Hogberg, as GM Pierre Dorion explained today. The team has already informed Hogberg of their decision to not qualify him this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent.
It certainly makes some sense that the Senators would be moving on, almost regardless of Hogberg’s play. The team has seemingly found its goaltender of the future in Filip Gustavsson, who posted a .933 save percentage in nine games down the stretch and still have Matt Murray locked up for the next three seasons at a $6.25MM cap hit. Add in the re-signed Anton Forsberg and a recovering Joey Daccord and the goalie room in Ottawa is already quite full.
Still, perhaps there is more to unlock in the 26-year-old Hogberg. Selected 78th overall in the 2013 draft, the 6’5″ behemoth was a star in Sweden, posting a .931 save percentage in his final season for Linkoping HC. That 2016-17 season was followed by a trip to North America, where things haven’t quite clicked to this point.
In 42 NHL appearances, Hogberg has just an .894 save percentage and seemed to often lose his net when moving out to cut down an angle. Professional shooters were beating him too often at the NHL level, but there have been more bouts of confidence and success at the minor leagues. Perhaps another team will believe they can tweak some things and get an NHL goaltender out of Hogberg, but it won’t be in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators Extend Artem Zub
The Ottawa Senators have locked up one of their pending free agents, signing Artem Zub to a two-year contract extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.5MM. Senators GM Pierre Dorion was doing a media availability when Zub’s agent Dan Milstein broke the news, and explained that the Russian defenseman “brought stability” to the team’s blueline this season.
Zub, 25, scored 14 points in his first NHL season, but it was his calm defensive play that stood out. An Olympic gold medalist that had played five full seasons in the KHL before signing with the Senators, Zub quickly became one of the team’s most important players. Though his season-long average ice time sits at just 18:23, that number doesn’t represent how much responsibility he had by the end of the season. In his last five games, Zub averaged more than 23 minutes a night.
Coming off his entry-level contract, Zub was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This two-year deal will help Ottawa avoid that, but does leave the 25-year-old as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023. At that point, if his play continues, the team will likely have to pay a lot more than $2.5MM per season for his services.
For now, he can continue to be a stabilizing presence in the middle of their defensive group for a reasonable price.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 05/13/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/13/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
St. Louis – Jake Walman
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
Kuznetsov and his teammate Ilya Samsonov remain in the protocol, meaning they will have at most one day of practice before their first-round series against the Bruins opens on Saturday. The 28-year-old center is a big part of the team but hasn’t played since May 1, first for disciplinary reasons and then after showing up on the COVID protocol. It’s unclear when Kuznetsov will be inserted into the Capitals lineup, or even when he will be allowed to practice with the team.
*denotes new addition