Philadelphia Flyers Sign Jackson Cates
The Philadelphia Flyers have dipped their toes into the college free agent market, signing Jackson Cates to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin right away, meaning Cates will become a restricted free agent after the 2021-22 season. It carries an average annual value of $925K, the highest number the entry-level system allows. Flyers AGM Brent Flahr released a statement on his new player:
Jackson is a player that our staff has followed closely throughout his college career. He’s a tenacious two-way center that has steadily improved his overall game each season. He’s been an integral part of a very successful college program at UMD and we’re excited to see him take his game to the next level.
Cates, 23, was undrafted out of the USHL and has spent the last three seasons playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 2020-21, he recorded 27 points in 28 games, trailing only Minnesota Wild prospect Nick Swaney in team scoring.
If you’re a Flyers fan wondering where you’ve heard the name Cates before, he is the older of the team’s 2017 fifth-round pick Noah Cates, who captained UMD this season alongside his brother and is still unsigned. Noah, 22, has also been at the school for three years, but it is not clear if he will also be starting his professional career by signing an ELC.
For Jackson, it’s been a long affiliation with the Flyers after participating in the team’s 2019 development camp. He’ll now enter the organization and technically could play for the NHL squad this season after completing any required quarantine procedures.
Ottawa Senators Sign Mads Sogaard
The Ottawa Senators have signed another one of their 2019 draft picks, this time inking Mads Sogaard to a three-year entry-level contract. Sogaard spent this season back in Denmark competing professionally after being part of the Medicine Hat Tigers the last two years. GM Pierre Dorion released a short statement on his newest goaltender:
Mads’ development continued to strongly progress while playing overseas in 2020-21. He’s a big, athletic presence in the net and showcases a very competitive style. We’re anticipating a nice transition to North America next season.
“Big” is underselling it a bit, as the 6’7″ Sogaard often towers above even his own defensemen and fills a huge amount of the net even when down in his butterfly. Selected 37th overall in 2019—the third goaltender off the board—he posted a league-high .922 in 16 appearances for Esbjerg Energy this season in the top Danish league.
Though he has shown strong development this season, Sogaard is entering a crowded goaltending pipeline in Ottawa. Not only is the 26-year-old Matt Murray signed for the next three seasons as the team’s presumptive starter, but 24-year-old Joey Daccord has shown real NHL promise and 22-year-old Filip Gustavsson has a .946 save percentage through his first four appearances for Ottawa. Add in prospect Kevin Mandolese and 2020 third-round pick Leevi Merilainen and the Senators have a whole bushel of young goaltenders that can battle for the crease.
Sogaard isn’t one to overlook though, as he has found success everywhere he straps on the pads (except perhaps when he’s backstopping the overmatched Denmark WJC team). In two seasons with Medicine Hat, he had a .915 save percentage through 74 games, registering a 40-21-6 record with seven shutouts. He’ll now be able to come to North America and test his game in the AHL or ECHL for 2021-22.
Ducks Did Not Ask Ryan Getzlaf To Waive No-Move Clause
Partway through trade deadline day, reports of interest from the Vegas Golden Knights in Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf surfaced. It wasn’t clear at all how the Golden Knights would fit the veteran forward into their cap situation, given as he carries an $8.25MM hit this season, but as a pending unrestricted free agent on a team unlikely to make the playoffs, it did make sense for Getzlaf to potentially join a contender for a stretch run. When it didn’t happen, reports, including one from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, emerged that Getzlaf would have been willing to go to Vegas had a deal been worked out.
Yesterday, Ducks GM Bob Murray confirmed the reports, essentially saying that Getzlaf was willing to waive his no-move clause in order to help the organization should Murray be offered a substantial return. Today, Helene Elliotte of the LA Times spoke to Getzlaf who said the same but noted that he never actually had to make a decision on whether to waive the clause, suggesting that a trade was never all that close.
Now the question for the 35-year-old Getzlaf is what happens after this season is over. He has been a member of the Ducks for his entire career, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2007. His play has dropped off a cliff this year, with just three goals and 15 points in 37 games, but so has his enjoyment, as he told Elliotte it “hasn’t been that fun” to play without fans. The veteran center plans to make a decision later on about his playing future.
It makes sense that the Ducks couldn’t find a deal of any real significance, given Getzlaf’s enormous cap hit and trade protection. The Buffalo Sabres for instance were unable to get more than a second-round pick for Taylor Hall because of a similar financial and contractual situation, meaning the Ducks would likely be ending Getzlaf’s tenure with the team for a mid-round selection. For a legacy player like him, who has played 1,090 regular season games in an Anaheim uniform, that certainly doesn’t seem worthwhile.
If Getzlaf does return to the Ducks next season, it will undoubtedly be at a much smaller cap hit, but his role on the team will also likely be diminished. It already appears as though the club’s hopes will soon be tied to Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, with other young players there to support the retool. The team did acquire 24-year-old defenseman Haydn Fleury at the deadline, but will have some tough decisions to make on players like Josh Manson, Rickard Rakell, and Hampus Lindholm in the near future. All three are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after next season and hold considerable trade value.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 04/13/21
The trade deadline has passed and movement in the NHL will slow considerably for the next several weeks. Still, deals for college free agents and international players should keep trickling in as players start to make decisions about their hockey-playing future. We’ll keep track of the notable minor moves right here.
- The Rochester Americans have signed Brent Gates, Brendan Warren, and Stefanos Lekkas to professional tryouts. Gates, originally selected in the third round by the Anaheim Ducks, has split the last few seasons between the San Diego Gulls and Tulsa Oilers (with a short stop with the Indy Fuel). Once captain of the University of Minnesota, the 23-year-old Gates never signed an NHL deal. Warren comes with much the same story, a third-round pick that spent four years playing college hockey and never signed an NHL deal. Lekkas, a goaltender, also played four years of NCAA hockey, but was never drafted in the first place and has spent the majority of his career so far in the ECHL.
- According to AHL reporter Mark Divver, the Chicago Wolves have signed Zach Solow to an amateur tryout, an interesting result for a player that some believed would land an NHL contract after his senior season at Northeastern. The undersized forward had 24 points in 21 games this season while serving as captain, but will now have to prove his worth in the minor leagues before earning an entry-level deal.
This page will be updated throughout the day
CHL Cancels 2021 Memorial Cup
The WHL and QMJHL have been back in action for a while now, they won’t be chasing a Memorial Cup this season. The CHL has announced that the 2021 Memorial Cup has been canceled. The full statement reads:
There is no question that the 2020-21 season has been difficult for all involved in CHL hockey. We have focused on making decisions that put the health and safety of our players, staff and the entire CHL family first, while balancing the need to provide our players with the best hockey development in the world.
With the WHL and QMHL in the midst of shortened seasons and the OHL continuing return-to-play discussions with the Ontario government, unfortunately, we have once again had to make the difficult decision to cancel the Memorial Cup. As a league, we waited as long as we could in hopes that this was not the decision that we were going to have to make. Regrettably, we do not see a path in which we will be able to produce champions in our three member leagues due to border restrictions and quarantining requirements.
The Memorial Cup is steeped in tradition and is one of the most difficult trophies to win in all of sport. We look forward to awarding it next season to the CHL championship team that has earned the right to hoist it.
Further decisions regarding the timing and location of the 2022 Memorial Cup will be announced at a later date.
This is another development event that the 2021 draft class will now miss, further obscuring their full scouting profiles ahead of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. The Memorial Cup is where many CHL players truly forge their name in junior hockey, performing on the biggest stage to determine a national champion.
The Cup itself has been handed out since 1919, but was not awarded last year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The hope was that things would have improved enough to host the tournament this year, but as explained in the statement, the leagues are unlikely to even crown champions in their shortened seasons. The Halifax Mooseheads, who took home the Cup in 2019, remain champions for another year.
Of note, this could mean that CHL prospects can return in time for the AHL playoffs, depending what the minor league decides in regards to hosting a postseason. Players like Connor Zary and Seth Jarvis had been playing incredibly well in the professional ranks before being forced back to the WHL when it opened up due to their age.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/13/21
There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:
West Division
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Conor Timmins and Dan Renouf to the taxi squad, filling the last two spots. The Avalanche bolstered their depth at every position over the last week and were already one of the most impressive teams in the NHL.
- The Dallas Stars have returned Rhett Gardner to the taxi squad. The 25-year-old has a goal and assist in 20 games so far this season.
- The San Jose Sharks have flipped taxi squad goalies, assigning Alexei Melnichuk to AHL San Jose while recalling the recently-signed Zach Sawchenko, per the AHL’s transactions log. Melnichuk is likely to see some time with the Sharks down the stretch but only has made one appearance since March 20th in the minors so he needs some game action.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Cody Glass to AHL Henderson. While he has spent most of the season in the NHL, yesterday’s acquisition of Mattias Janmark doesn’t leave them with enough cap room to keep Glass on the active roster. Rather than keep him on the taxi squad, he’ll get some playing time with the Silver Knights.
- The Los Angeles Kings have made several taxi squad moves per the AHL’s transactions log. Lias Andersson and Austin Strand were sent to AHL Ontario with Aidan Dudas and Cole Hults being recalled to the tax squad. The Reign are in action tonight giving Andersson and Strand a chance to play.
North Division
- The Montreal Canadiens have sent Jake Evans and Cayden Primeau back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Both players were in uniform on Monday and will likely be recalled for Wednesday’s game against Calgary.
- The Winnipeg Jets have returned Kristian Vesalainen to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The 21-year-old has been recalled three times over the past week but hasn’t played in an NHL game since February.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought up Scott Sabourin and Martin Marincin from the taxi squad while assigning Michael Hutchinson back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Sabourin is making his Maple Leafs debut tonight while Hutchinson is able to be sent back with David Rittich now on Toronto’s active roster.
Central Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have assigned Taro Hirose, Frans Nielsen, and Givani Smith to the taxi squad after yesterday’s win. The Red Wings continue to move players off the active roster between games in order to save some cash. Several, if not all three, will be up again in time for Thursday’s match. Later in the day, the team also moved Kaden Fulcher to the AHL from the taxi squad.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Noah Juulsen from the AHL according to George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The Panthers added Brandon Montour a few days ago but he has yet to make his Florida debut.
- With the Carolina Hurricanes off today, they’ve returned Jake Bean and Morgan Geekie to the taxi squad. Neither player is a stranger to this process as they’ve been on this list regularly this season.
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Michael McCarron, Rem Pitlick, and Tanner Jeannot from the taxi squad. Of that group, McCarron isn’t eligible to play as he serves the final game of his suspension.
East Division
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Paul LaDue from the AHL to the taxi squad, giving them an extra defenseman after trading Jonas Siegenthaler. LaDue, 28, has six points in 16 games for the Hershey Bears this season.
- The Boston Bruins returned Jack Ahcan to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Mike Reilly‘s acquisition allowed Boston to send Ahcan, who has played in just two NHL games this season, back down.
- The Buffalo Sabres recalled Arttu Ruotsalainen and Dustin Tokarski from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. Ruotsalainen has a goal in two games this season while Tokarski has played in five games.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
New York Rangers Sign Zac Jones
April 13: The team has officially announced the Jones contract. The young defenseman has already arrived at the Rangers facility and did not need to go through any quarantine period to join the team at practice. He will not play right away, but could get into games before the end of the season.
April 12: The New York Rangers haven’t made a trade yet, but they’re going to add a player nonetheless. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the Rangers are close to signing Zac Jones after his college career came to an end with a national title. Jones will burn the first season of the three-year entry-level contract in 2020-21 and will be eligible to play for the Rangers after going through the required quarantine protocols.
Jones put up 24 points in 29 games for UMass-Amherst this season, his sophomore year in college after being the 68th overall pick in 2019. The somewhat undersized defenseman is a dynamic playmaker and could very well be in the Rangers lineup before the end of the season.
It is somewhat surprising that Jones is signing after just two years at UMass, but it’s another addition to what has become an impressive young group in New York. With Brendan Smith scheduled for unrestricted free agency and Libor Hajek not quite establishing himself as a building block, there will be room for the left-handed Jones before long.
It may be asking a lot for him to grab that spot right away, but getting into the system and joining the team for practice is the only way anyone will know for sure whether he is ready for the next level.
NHL Postpones St. Louis-Minnesota
The NHL has postponed tonight’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. In a statement:
The decision was made out of respect for the community following the tragic shooting that occurred in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Sunday afternoon.
The game has been rescheduled for May 12 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The National Hockey League extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Daunte Wright.
This is now the third different cause for postponement for the Blues this season, who have previously lost games due to COVID and weather. Nevertheless, both St. Louis and Minnesota were still on pace to finish the season as originally scheduled. Their rescheduled date will be the regular season finale for each, assuming the schedule holds, which could end up having major playoff implications. The Wild sit in third in the West Division with the Blues trailing in fourth and other not far behind. Those final points up for grabs could determine playoff positioning and perhaps even qualification.
Capitals, Red Wings Make Mantha-Vrana Trade
The Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings have made the biggest trade of deadline day. The Capitals have acquired Anthony Mantha in exchange for Richard Panik, Jakub Vrana, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick.
The Red Wings had been rumored for the last few weeks to be listening on players like Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, but no one was expected such a huge package to be coming back. In Vrana, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman has landed a player that has produced more offense (on a per-game basis) than Mantha so far in his career, with 76 goals and 157 points in 284 games.
Lately, Vrana found himself in the coach’s doghouse, even being made a healthy scratch at times. His game is inconsistent, but he still has 11 goals and 25 points in the 39 games he has played this season. That’s still more than Mantha’s 21 points in 42 games, though obviously, the Capitals believe the big winger will fit their lineup better.
If you’re thinking “but the Capitals also gave up a lot more,” you’re not wrong. Part of the draft capital the team gave up is because of Panik though, who Washington wanted to get off the books. Panik is signed through the 2022-23 season at a $2.75MM cap hit but had played himself right out of the lineup and cleared waivers recently. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic points out, that likely accounts for one of the picks in the deal.
Of course, Panik isn’t likely to be just a taxi squad player for the Red Wings, who are still deep in a rebuild. It wasn’t so long ago that Panik was a 14-goal scorer for the Arizona Coyotes, and if he can find some production with an increased role in Detroit perhaps they can flip him too down the line. Even if they don’t, Vrana and two high picks is a huge haul.
Mantha, 26, is a tantalizing package of size and skill, but there’s no guarantee he ever puts it all together. The Capitals obviously believe in the 6’5″ forward, and perhaps for good reason. Even in Detroit where he has been surrounded by poor talent, Mantha has still averaged 25 goals over every 82 games and puts up very strong possession numbers relative to his teammates. Perhaps when he gets into a system with All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions those offensive numbers will explode.
It’s important to also remember that the Capitals believe their picks will be near the end of each round, but right now they aren’t running away with the East Division. In fact, Washington is tied with the New York Islanders for first place and just two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. While they are pretty much locked into a playoff spot, there’s certainly no guarantee they make a deep run.
Kevin Weekes of NHL Network was first to break the deal.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Madison Bowey Traded To Vancouver
After moving Jordie Benn out, the Vancouver Canucks will bring in a potential replacement. The Chicago Blackhawks have traded Madison Bowey and a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Canucks for a 2021 fourth-round selection.
Bowey, 25, has played 156 NHL games in his NHL career so far, but only two of those came for the Blackhawks. Originally selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, the 6’2″ defenseman eventually became a regular with the Washington Capitals during the 2017-18 season. He was pushed out of the lineup when the team acquired Michael Kempny and then when the Capitals extended the newcomer, Bowey’s future in Washington was completely erased.
By the next deadline he was traded to Detroit in a package that landed Washington Nick Jensen, another defenseman that they believed could have a bigger impact than Bowey. After being left unqualified he became an unrestricted free agent, signing a two-year deal with the Blackhawks after this season began.
Vancouver is likely Bowey’s last chance to become a regular in the NHL, as he’ll be 26 in just a few days. More likely he’ll find himself on waivers at the beginning of next season in order to go to the Canucks’ AHL affiliate as injury depth.