Curtis Hall Signs With Boston Bruins
After signing an AHL contract earlier this year, Curtis Hall has graduated to the big leagues. The young forward has signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins, which will carry a cap hit of $925K. Hall’s deal starts in the 2021-22 season, which is why it had to wait until today to be announced (March 1 is the first day that entry-level contracts for next season can be filed).
Hall, 20, has actually only played in one game for the Providence Bruins so far, failing to record a point. The 119th overall pick from 2018, he spent the last two seasons at Yale University, scoring 17 goals and 27 points in just 28 games during the 2019-20 campaign. Hall was also part of Team USA at the 2020 World Junior Championship but failed to medal.
While he’s dealing with a lower-body injury right now for Providence, there’s a lot to like about Hall’s game and future in the Bruins organization. The 6’4″ forward can do a little bit of everything on the ice, but could quickly rise up the depth chart thanks to his mix of size, speed, and strength.
Even when he returns, he won’t be eligible to play for Boston this season but should get some valuable experience with Providence.
Snapshots: Trade Board, Joshua, Three Stars
It’s March now and the NHL trade deadline is just over a month away. Names like Mattias Ekholm have already been thrown around as potential difference-making acquisitions, but making deals won’t be easy. Still, that won’t stop people from speculating on who will switch teams later this season.
Today, The Athletic released its “Big Board” curated by Craig Custance and Eric Duhatschek, including 26 players that could be dealt by the deadline. The list includes Ekholm, but also Jack Eichel, despite the piece still suggesting that a deal for the Buffalo Sabres captain would be much more likely in the offseason if it happens at all. The rest of the list is good reading and includes some names that may surprise.
- The St. Louis Blues are expected to have Dakota Joshua in the lineup tonight centering the fourth line between Kyle Clifford and Mackenzie MacEachern. Joshua was acquired for future considerations from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019 following four years at Ohio State University, and quickly signed his entry-level deal. Now, less than two years later and after a stint in the ECHL, the 24-year-old is about to make it to the NHL. Jacob de La Rose, who previously skated in that fourth line spot, is out with a lower-body injury that head coach Craig Berube says will keep him out for a “significant time.”
- Andrei Vasilevskiy is the NHL’s First Star for last week after stopping 79 of 81 shots he faced. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner is looking like he might take home another one as he currently leads the league in wins with 12 and is second in save percentage at .938 (Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury leads the way at .941). Patrick Kane and Mats Zuccarello are last week’s second and third stars. Kane scored the 400th goal of his career yesterday, becoming the 100th player in league history to hit that milestone.
Dallas Stars Sign Mavrik Bourque
The Dallas Stars have inked one of their top prospects, signing Mavrik Bourque to a three-year entry-level contract. Unlike some of the other deals signed earlier today, Bourque’s can be filed for this season because it will slide forward this year and perhaps even next.
The 19-year-old is currently playing in the QMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes after being the 30th selection in the 2020 draft. Bourque has been outstanding so far this season, scoring 12 goals and 27 points in just 18 games. That’s good enough for tenth overall in QMJHL scoring and keeps him well over a point-per-game for his junior career.
A creative playmaking machine, Bourque routinely wows with his ability to deliver chances out of nowhere for himself and his teammates. With no hesitation, he can deliver sharp passes through small seams or protect the puck long enough for a teammate to get into position. There’s still plenty of polishing his overall game needs, but he will be a very exciting player to watch when he eventually gets to the professional level.
Bourque will still be 19 at the start of next season, meaning he could potentially be going back to junior once again. If he does, he’ll be a great candidate to play for Canada at the World Juniors, given his early-January birthday.
St. Louis Blues Sign Colten Ellis
The St. Louis Blues have signed another draft pick, inking Colten Ellis to a three-year entry-level contract that will start in the 2021-22 season. Today was the first day teams could sign draft picks for next season.
Ellis, 20, plays for the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL, where he has a .922 save percentage this season. He was the Blues third-round pick, 93rd overall, in 2019 and his draft rights would have expired in June had they not reached a deal.
The 6’1″ goaltender has had a strong junior career and will have to make the transition to the professional ranks next season. That’s not always easy, but the Blues obviously believe his development has been strong enough to warrant an NHL deal.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Gianni Fairbrother
The Montreal Canadiens have signed prospect Gianni Fairbrother to a three-year, entry-level contract which will begin in the 2021-22 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $848K. The window to sign drafted players for next season opened today, meaning this is likely the first of many deals announced in the next few weeks.
Fairbrother, 20, was the team’s third-round pick in 2019, 77th overall. He has played three games for the Laval Rocket this season, registering his first point at the professional level. Just yesterday, Fairbrother was sent back to the WHL where he will play the shortened season with his Everett Silvertips.
If he had not signed a deal by June, his draft rights would have expired. The two-way defenseman had strong numbers last season, recording 25 points in just 37 games for the Silvertips, but missed the second half of the year due to injury.
Alex Stalock Claimed By Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have nabbed a goaltender off waivers, claiming Alex Stalock from the Minnesota Wild according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Elliotte Friedman confirms that Stalock is expected to report to the Oilers, meaning he’ll have to go through a mandatory quarantine after arriving in Canada.
Edmonton has been struggling to find any sort of goaltending depth since losing Anton Forsberg on waivers earlier this season and had a stretch where Mikko Koskinen was forced to play nine games in a two-week stretch. Mike Smith has returned of late to carry some of the burden, but the Oilers still desperately needed to add a third option in case another injury struck.
Currently, the team is carrying Dylan Wells as their taxi squad goaltender and it isn’t clear exactly how they’ll handle things once Stalock is able to practice. He won’t be eligible to move to the taxi squad, but the Oilers also don’t have much cap flexibility to carry three goaltenders on the active roster.
Still, there’s reason to believe that Stalock could be a real help for this Oilers team. His .910 save percentage last season was better than the .902 Smith recorded and his .909 career mark is better than Koskinen’s .908. The 33-year-old Stalock isn’t a true starter, but it’s not unthinkable to believe he could unseat one of the two at some point.
Of note is Stalock’s contract, which extends through 2021-22 at a very reasonable $785K. The Oilers will be able to leave him exposed to Seattle in the expansion draft and potentially use him as a backup next year.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/01/21
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 Vegas Golden Knights have swapped goaltenders, recalling Oscar Dansk from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights and sending young Dylan Ferguson back in his place. Dansk has spent much of the season as Vegas’ No. 2 or 3 but hasn’t seen any game action, so the team has made an effort to move him to Henderson now that the AHL season has begun.
North Division
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Braydon Coburn from the taxi squad, while flipping several other players between it and the AHL. Logan Brown and Filip Gustavsson are on their way back to the Belleville Senators, while Clark Bishop and Kevin Mandolese have been recalled to the taxi squad.
- The Montreal Canadiens have done their own taxi squad goaltending flip, sending Michael McNiven back to the AHL and recalling Charlie Lindgren. Lindgren has made two starts for the Laval Rocket this season, recording an .875 save percentage.
Central Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have completed their daily roster move, assigning Mathias Brome, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Alex Biega to the taxi squad. The Red Wings move players from the roster every off day in order to save salary and bank cap space.
- The Florida Panthers have made several transactions, most notably recalling Owen Tippett and Riley Stillman from the taxi squad. After clearing waivers, Brett Connolly has been moved to the taxi squad, while Noel Acciari has been activated from injured reserve. Anthony Duclair and Noah Juulsen have both been moved to injured reserve as well.
- The Nashville Predators have reassigned Eeli Tolvanen to the taxi squad as they always do on an off day, but this time he’ll be joined by Mathieu Olivier who has been activated from injured reserve and sent to the squad as well.
East Division
- Brandon Davidson has been reassigned to the Buffalo Sabres taxi squad as the team tries to regroup for tomorrow’s game. The Sabres are reeling after failing to score a single goal in a weekend back-to-back, losing both to the Flyers 3-0.
- Those Flyers have sent Samuel Morin to the AHL, where he can continue to get in some games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Morin has transitioned from defense to wing this season but hasn’t managed a point in four games with Philadelphia.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Stefan Noesen Clears Waivers
Saturday: While Tinordi was claimed by Boston, Noesen cleared waivers, Friedman reports. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic adds that Noesen has been sent to the taxi squad for the time being although he is likely to see some time in the AHL at some point to get some game action.
Friday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Stefan Noesen of the San Jose Sharks and Jarred Tinordi of the Nashville Predators have been placed on waivers today.
Noesen, 28, was actually claimed off waivers by the Sharks last season, but re-signed to a one-year, $925K contract after impressing down the stretch. That hasn’t been the case this time around, as Noesen has zero points in five games on the season and is basically out of the rotation. By waiving him, the veteran forward can be placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.
Tinordi meanwhile has cleared waivers many times in the past, but keeps receiving more opportunities with the Predators. The 29-year-old, 6’6″ defenseman has five points in 35 games over the past two seasons. He has been replaced of late by another hulking defenseman, 26-year-old Ben Harpur who has played in each of the last three games. Tinordi could end up on the taxi squad, or perhaps return to the AHL where he played 32 games last season.
Luke Green Loaned To Vaasan Sport
Winnipeg Jets prospect Luke Green hadn’t gotten into any of the first six games with the Manitoba Moose this season, so the team is sending him elsewhere to get on the ice. The 23-year-old defenseman has been loaned to Vaasan Sport in Finland where he can start getting some game action.
It’s been a long few years for Green, who was the 79th overall pick in 2016. His 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons were both cut short due to injuries (shoulder surgery and concussions), and after finally working his way back to full health in the fall of 2019, he was injured in December and never returned to action. That’s three lost seasons in a row at perhaps the most crucial period of a prospect’s development. In all, he has played just 28 AHL games to this point.
That doesn’t necessarily mean his professional career is over, but it seems extremely unlikely that Green will get another NHL contract when his entry-level deal expires this summer. He’ll be a restricted free agent, but unless the Jets believe they can still turn him into a useful asset, he’ll go non-tendered. Of course, he has a little time to change their minds and show that the high-flying offensive defenseman he was in junior is still in there, somewhere.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/26/21
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 are today’s results:
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Travis Konecny
San Jose – Tomas Hertl
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: K’Andre Miller, New York Rangers; Scott Laughton, Philadelphia Flyers; Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers
Not only is it great news that the Flyers are down to just one player after their large outbreak, the fact that Hertl remains alone on the Sharks list means the team should be able to continue their season on schedule. San Jose is scheduled to play against the Blues tomorrow.