Madison Bowey Signs With Chicago Blackhawks
Jan 29: Bowey has cleared waivers and was quickly assigned to the minor leagues.
Jan 28: The Chicago Blackhawks have signed free agent Madison Bowey to a two-year contract that will run through the 2021-22 season. This season will be a two-way deal with an NHL salary of $700K, while next is a one-way contract worth $750K. That means he’ll carry a cap hit of $725K for the Blackhawks, who immediately placed him on waivers. Should Bowey clear, he can report directly to the AHL or taxi squad (pending COVID protocol).
Bowey, 25, was not issued a qualifying offer from the Detroit Red Wings in the offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent. He had recently signed a minor league PTO with the San Diego Gulls, but will now have a full NHL contract for this season and next. At the expiry of this deal, Bowey will be a UFA once again.
If you’re wondering why the team signed Bowey for two years, CapFriendly offers up a potential explanation. By playing in one more NHL game, Bowey will meet the minimum exposure requirements for the upcoming expansion draft, something that previously only Connor Murphy did for Chicago. Every team must leave at least one defenseman unprotected who has played a certain number of games over the past two seasons and is under contract for 2021-22. Once he gets into the lineup, Bowey will now fill that requirement, even though it seems very unlikely that Seattle would actually pick him.
In the meantime, the 6’2″ defenseman also gives Chicago some added depth at the position and means that some of their younger options could get playing time in the minor leagues. The team is currently carrying only four players on their taxi squad and could use Bowey in that role all season, moving in and out whenever injuries occur.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/29/21
It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have moved both Connor Bunnaman and Nate Prosser back to the taxi squad after last night’s game. Prosser, playing in his first game for the Flyers, scored a goal and played a little more than 13 minutes. The Flyers can bank cap space on off days by moving players back to the taxi squad, while also pausing Prosser’s waiver clock in between games.
- Michal Teply and Anton Lindholm have been recalled from the AHL to the taxi squad for the Chicago Blackhawks, filling the two empty spots they had open. Madison Bowey, who is on waivers today, will likely be sent directly to the AHL if he clears after inking a two-year deal.
- Riley Barber is no longer on the Detroit Red Wings taxi squad, sent instead to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. The 26-year-old forward is a star at the minor league level, scoring 37 points in 46 games last season and 31 goals the year before. He hadn’t played in the NHL yet this season.
- After making his season debut last night, Filip Chlapik has been moved back to the Ottawa Senators taxi squad. The young forward played just over seven minutes and recorded one shot and one hit. The team saves money by moving him to the taxi squad on off days, while also pausing his waiver clock. He could be back up on Sunday for the team’s next game.
- The Dallas Stars have moved Rhett Gardner and Joel L’Esperance back to the taxi squad, while sending top prospect Thomas Harley to the minor leagues. Harley, 19, was the 18th overall pick in 2019 and actually made his NHL debut in the postseason bubble. He hasn’t played this season but is expected to be a big part of the Stars blue line down the road.
- The Minnesota Wild have moved Gerald Mayhew back onto the taxi squad, sending Dereck Baribeau and Louis Belpedio down to the AHL in the process. Mayhew, 28, hasn’t played yet this season but is a prolific minor league goal scorer that could potentially get into the lineup should Kevin Fiala end up suspended later today.
- The New York Rangers have made several roster moves, per CapFriendly. In cap-saving moves, Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and Colin Blackwell were all sent to the taxi squad while Tim Gettinger was moved from the taxi squad to the minors to make room for those assignments. Those moves will all likely be reversed on Saturday. Meanwhile, defenseman Matthew Robertson was sent back to Edmonton of the WHL with that division getting cleared to start their junior season.
- The Anaheim Ducks have assigned Andy Welinski and Vinni Lettieri to the taxi squad with Josh Mahura and Isac Lundestrom heading from the taxi squad to AHL San Diego, according to CapFriendly. Welinski has suited up in three games with Anaheim this season and Lettieri once; both could be recalled as soon as tomorrow with a game against St. Louis on the schedule.
- As expected, Montreal has sent Corey Perry back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The veteran recorded an assist against Calgary on Thursday night but was sent down today for cap purposes. He’ll be recalled on Saturday for the second game of the set against the Flames.
- The New York Islanders have recalled Ilya Sorokin from the taxi squad, reports Arthur Staple of The Athletic. He had been sent down to free up money for Oliver Wahlstrom‘s recall for Thursday’s game but the winger has been moved back to the taxi squad as has Kieffer Bellows.
- Karson Kuhlman and Anton Blidh have been recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. With Jack Studnicka not participating in practice, there could be an opening for one of those two to suit up tomorrow. Meanwhile, Daniel Vladar was re-assigned to the taxi squad with Callum Booth dropping down to the minors in a corresponding move.
- The Calgary Flames have papered Derek Ryan back to the taxi squad according to Ryan Pike of the Sporting News. He has been shuffled back and forth all season to free up cap room and he’ll almost certainly be recalled in advance of Saturday’s game against Montreal.
- The Colorado Avalanche made several moves today according to CapFriendly. Logan O’Connor was recalled on an emergency basis while Matt Calvert was transferred to injured reserve. Meanwhile, Sheldon Dries, Shane Bowers, and Jacob MacDonald were all recalled to the taxi squad.
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan has been moved from the Kings to the taxi squad per a team announcement. Meanwhile, Lias Andersson was also shuffled back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. It is the fourth time already this season that Andersson has been sent down though on two of the other three occasions, he was recalled the next day.
- The San Jose Sharks were quite busy today, according to CapFriendly. Kurtis Gabriel and Josef Korenar were recalled to the taxi squad from the AHL while Noah Gregor went from the Sharks to the taxi squad. Meanwhile, Jacob Middleton, John Leonard, Fredrik Handemark, Joel Kellman, Alexei Melnichuk, Nicolas Meloche, Brinson Pasichnuk, and Jeffrey Truchon-Viel were all sent to the minors. The first three were from San Jose and the rest were from the taxi squad.
- After being recalled under an emergency exception yesterday, Christopher Gibson was returned to the Lightning’s taxi squad, per CapFriendly. He has been serving as Tampa Bay’s backup goalie while Curtis McElhinney was on the CPRA list.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their daily cap movement as CapFriendly reports that Jason Spezza and Michael Hutchinson were sent to the taxi squad while Joey Anderson was added to the active roster. Spezza is on a three-game point streak and is expected to be recalled for Saturday’s game against Edmonton.
Jake Neighbours Assigned To WHL
In the first of what will soon be a cascade of moves, Jake Neighbours has been assigned to the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. With the junior league being granted approval to play in the province of Alberta yesterday, things are moving forward on a season that starts in just under a month. Neighbours, like many top prospects, was caught in limbo somewhere between junior and the minor leagues. The 18-year-old first-round pick likely needs more time before joining the AHL and playing against professionals on a regular basis, but didn’t have a junior league to go back to until the WHL started up again.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all prospects will be going back. Only the five WHL clubs in Alberta have announced their restart plans as the league continues to work on approval in the other provinces and states that house teams. It also doesn’t have anything to do with the OHL, which is still in a holding pattern waiting for the Ontario government to loosen restrictions. The Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators don’t even have official approval yet, let alone a junior hockey league spread out across the entire province (and some of the bordering states).
For Neighbours in particular though, this is good news. The young winger scored 23 goals and 70 points in 64 games last season and likely would have been in over his head in the AHL. Now, the Calgary native can remain in Alberta and continue his development against players his own age, at least for the 24-game schedule they have planned. After the WHL season is over, Neighbours and any other prospects will be able to assigned to the minor leagues again (should there still be games to play).
His entry-level contract, which was signed in October, will slide forward for this season and could again next year should he not be in the NHL.
Kevin Fiala To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety has announced it will hold a hearing today with Minnesota Wild forward Kevin Fiala to determine supplemental discipline for his hit on Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy. Fiala drove Roy hard into the boards from behind, receiving a five-minute major and game misconduct for the play.
The Kings had to help Roy off the ice and he did not return. An injury will be taken into account when the hearing occurs, which is very likely to result in a suspension of some sort. Fiala does not have any history of suspension.
Minnesota will have to find a short-term replacement for their star winger, who had already scored in the game. Fiala is coming off an outstanding 2019-20 season where he scored 54 points in 64 games, but has been snakebitten to start the year. Despite generating 30 shots on net, he has just three goals and no assists.
Snapshots: Penguins, Lapointe, WHL
The vacant general manager position in Pittsburgh is a tricky but appealing role for many executives around the hockey world, and Pierre LeBrun rattled off an early list of candidates on the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading. Jason Botterill, Chris Drury, Mark Hunter, Tom Fitzgerald, Ron Hextall, Peter Chiarelli, Scott Mellanby, Mike Gillis, Laurence Gilman, John Ferguson, and Mike Futa are all on Pittsburgh’s radar and LeBrun believes the team wants to have the next GM in place over the next few weeks.
In the same segment, Darren Dreger speculates on the future of Pittsburgh’s star players and believes whoever comes in would owe it to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to have a conversation about the direction of the franchise. Don’t jump to conclusions and think that Crosby is all of a sudden on the trading block, given CEO David Morehouse’s claim that the team is still in “win-now” mode, but if Pittsburgh misses the playoffs this season they will be a fascinating situation to keep an eye on.
- One front office member likely not on that list of candidates? Martin Lapointe, who has signed a three-year extension with the Montreal Canadiens to continue as director of player personnel through the 2023-24 season. Lapointe will also take on the role of director of amateur scouting, making him even more integral to the operation in Montreal. The former NHL forward was first hired as director of player development in 2012 and has worked his way up the front office ladder. He is on track to be a GM of his own down the road if he wants to be.
- The WHL has been granted approval to return to play in the province of Alberta, starting their season on February 26. The five WHL clubs based in Alberta—the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton Oil Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers, and Calgary Hitmen—will form the Central Division and play a 24-game regular season entirely within the province. The league continues to work with the health officials in the other provinces and states to try and establish a start date for East, B.C., and U.S. divisions this season. There are WHL teams based in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Washington, and Oregon.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 01/28/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with Gavin Lee.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/28/21
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. The Montreal Canadiens are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:
Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Teuvo Teravainen, Jesper Fast
Chicago – Adam Boqvist, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Wallmark
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Jon Merrill, Filip Zadina
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou*
New Jersey – Mackenzie Blackwood, Aaron Dell*
Tampa Bay – Curtis McElhinney
Vegas – Alex Pietrangelo*
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Tucker Poolman, Pierre-Luc Dubois
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
The huge news is obviously Pietrangelo, who is the mystery player that has caused the Golden Knights and Blues to postpone their game this evening. The former St. Louis captain played on Tuesday night against his old team, but now finds himself out along with the rest of the Golden Knights coaching staff. It is not clear if Pietrangelo has tested positive or how long he will be held out. The Blues do not have anyone listed and took their morning skate as usual today.
Athanasiou’s appearance is also news, after playing on Tuesday night in Minnesota. The speedy forward has been one of the Kings’ best players so far with five points in seven games, but now will at least miss tonight’s rematch against the Wild.
Dell’s appearance is actually good news for the Devils, as he arrives in New Jersey and can start his quarantine after being claimed off waivers earlier this month.
*denotes new addition
Pittsburgh Penguins Make Several Transactions
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who seem to be dominating the headlines lately, have grabbed another one by making several transactions ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins. Kevin Czuczman has been recalled under emergency conditions, while Sam Lafferty is up under a regular recall. Drew O’Connor, who had previously been up under emergency conditions, is now on a regular recall. Zach Aston-Reese, Juuso Riikola, and Evan Rodrigues have all been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to their last game played, while Marcus Pettersson has been moved to injured reserve.
Anthony Angello, Frederick Gaudreau, Will Reilly, and Yannick Weber have all been assigned to the taxi squad. All of these moves were announced by interim GM Patrik Allvin.
Czuczman is expected to be in the Penguins lineup for the first time tonight, returning to the NHL after nearly seven years. The last time he suited up at that level was April 13, 2014 with the New York Islanders, but the 30-year-old defenseman at least knows the Penguins’ system from spending the last three seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Perhaps the most interesting addition of all is Reilly, who joins the taxi squad before ever playing a professional game. The 23-year-old defenseman was a seventh-round pick of the Penguins in 2017 and signed his entry-level contract last spring after finishing his senior season at R.P.I. While Weber is going to meet the team in New York this weekend, Reilly is really just an injury or two from being forced into the NHL lineup for the Penguins. He was a strong performer in college, recording 22 points in 34 games last season, but there’s little reason to believe he should be jumping onto the roster at this point.
Carolina Hurricanes Recall Several Players
The Carolina Hurricanes are back in action tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but as of yesterday several players still remained on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. With that in mind, the team has made a large number of transactions, starting with the recall of Morgan Geekie, Steven Lorentz, Max McCormick, and Jake Bean from the taxi squad. The team has also recalled Sheldon Rempal directly from the AHL to the active NHL roster, while adding Drew Shore and Joey Keane to the taxi squad.
The Hurricanes were forced to postpone several games after Jordan Staal, Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Teuvo Teravainen, and Jesper Fast all found themselves on the CPRA list. Of that group, only Staal had been removed as of yesterday.
Among the recalls, all but Lorentz have already played in the NHL, with Geekie even playing two games this season. The 24-year-old Lorentz broke out last season with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, scoring 23 goals and 46 points in 61 games. Selected 186th overall in 2015, the 6’4″ forward has worked his way up through the minor league system, first spending time in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. If he makes his NHL debut this evening, it will be quite the climb for the former Peterborough Petes player.
The team is expected to have Lorentz skate beside Staal and Ryan Dzingel on the third line, while McCormick, Geekie and Rempal make up the fourth unit. Bean, who was one of the best offensive defensemen in the entire AHL last season, will finally get another chance at the NHL level. The 13th overall pick in 2016, Bean has been stuck behind a deep NHL defensive group and has just two games to his name with the Hurricanes.
Snapshots: Dumoulin, NWHL, Engelland
The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for a general manager after Jim Rutherford‘s abrupt resignation yesterday, but perhaps more urgent is their search for an answer on defense. Head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Brian Dumoulin will be out “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury after exiting Tuesday’s game early. Newly signed defenseman Yannick Weber got caught in a snowstorm, meaning he won’t be available to the club until they travel to New York on the weekend, meaning things are awfully thin on the back end.
Kris Letang, John Marino, Cody Ceci, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Chad Ruhwedel, and Kevin Czuczman seem to be the only healthy options the team has with them at the moment, leaving quite a bit to be desired over their season-opening group. The organization doesn’t even have a lot of NHL-ready options in the minor leagues meaning if any other players go down tonight the Penguins might be forced to make a move.
- The Metropolitan Riveters have withdrawn from the 2021 NWHL season after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID-19. The Riveters were taking part in the Lake Placid bubble, where the league’s six teams were playing out the regular season and playoffs. After being removed from a game yesterday, the Riveters will now be removed from the tournament completely and forfeit their bid for the Isobel Cup. All league games scheduled for today have been postponed and the NWHL will resume play on Saturday.
- With the Henderson Silver Knights coaching staff filling in for the Vegas Golden Knights, recently retired defenseman Deryk Engelland stepped in to run the AHL practice today, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Engelland announced his retirement last month but remained with the Golden Knights organization as a special assistant to the owner. In times like this, that apparently also means substitute practice coach.