Calvin Pickard Loaned To Vienna Capitals
The Detroit Red Wings have found some ice for another one of their players, this time loaning Calvin Pickard to the Vienna Capitals. The veteran goaltender will head to Austria for the month of December, giving Vienna some depth at the position while Sebastian Wraneschitz leaves to take part in the World Junior Championship.
Pickard, 28, is in the second season of a two-year deal signed with the Red Wings in 2019 and is scheduled to earn $800K on his one-way contract. Even with his extensive experience at the NHL level he likely won’t spend much time there this season after Detroit added Thomas Greiss as a free agent. Greiss will partner with Jonathan Bernier in net for the Red Wings, while Pickard is one of five other goaltenders under contract in the organization.
That’s a crowded position given how uncertain the minor league seasons are, but for now, Pickard can focus on the playing time provided with Vienna, something he has never really experienced before. Though Pickard has never locked down an NHL job for very long, he also hasn’t ever tested the waters overseas, instead playing more than 230 games at the AHL level. Most recently, he played 33 matches for the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting a 17-12-6 record and .903 save percentage.
Garret Sparks Signs In ECHL
Garret Sparks has decided to take the playing time that comes with an ECHL contract instead of holding out looking for a more lucrative opportunity. The veteran goaltender has signed a contract with the Orlando Solar Bears for the 2020-21 season.
It’s actually something of a homecoming for Sparks, who spent a good chunk of his early professional career with the Solar Bears when they were the affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. That’s the team who drafted the goaltender in 2011, selected 190th overall after just 19 games at the OHL level. That late-round flier was worth it, as Sparks progressed through the minor league development system in Toronto and eventually made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season.
Now 27, Sparks has 38 NHL games under his belt including one just last year with the Vegas Golden Knights. His results in those games aren’t excellent, but given how well he has played at the AHL level, this ECHL deal is still somewhat surprising. More than anything, Sparks likely knows that playing time is more important than anything right now and the ECHL is the only league of the three that has a firm start date—and training camps opening all over. He’ll surely be in the mix for an AHL or NHL deal down the road, once things get back to (somewhat) normal.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Calgary Flames
We’ve now gotten past Thanksgiving and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.
What are the Flames most thankful for?
NHL free agency.
If you can’t beat ’em, pay ’em? The Flames haven’t made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five years, so decided to point at the Vancouver Canucks—who came within one game of the Western Conference Finals—and say “I want that.” When free agency came along, Calgary spent big on Jacob Markstrom and Chris Tanev, both key members of the Canucks playoff run and veterans of the fierce Pacific Division. Markstrom, who signed a six-year $36MM contract with the Flames has a chance to be the team’s first long-term starter since Miikka Kiprusoff retired in 2013. Since he left, the Flames have seen goaltenders like Joey MacDonald, Reto Berra, Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, Jonas Hiller, Niklas Backstrom, Chad Johnson, Brian Elliott, Jon Gillies, Eddie Lack, Mike Smith, and most recently, Cam Talbot, come and go without a ton of success. David Rittich remains as the backup but is only signed through this season.
Tanev meanwhile, who inked a four-year $18MM deal, will be asked to bring the same sort of hard-nosed defensive presence that he had in Vancouver for so many years. The 30-year-old defenseman replaces T.J. Brodie in the top-four, while Travis Hamonic also became an unrestricted free agent (but has yet to sign). Vancouver fans will tell you that there’s nothing wrong with Tanev’s play when he’s on the ice, but it’s not all that common for him to be there. The shot-blocking, penalty-killing veteran has never played more than 70 games in a season, though this year that wasn’t his fault—he played all 69 games before the season was canceled.
Who are the Flames most thankful for?
Rasmus Andersson & Matthew Tkachuk.
Many of those minutes left behind by Hamonic’s departure should be eaten up by Andersson, who looks like a star about to break out in Calgary. The 24-year-old had a strong regular season but was outstanding for the Flames in the postseason (when Hamonic was absent after opting out of the return to play), leading all Calgary defensemen with five points in ten games and logging more than 21 minutes a night. That playoff breakout came several months after the Flames signed Andersson to a six-year extension, keeping his cap hit at a manageable $4.55MM through the 2025-26 season. When captain Mark Giordano eventually retires, Andersson looks primed to become the leader of the Calgary defense corps.
The same can be said about Tkachuk, if it hasn’t already. The 22-year-old forward is still thought of second after Johnny Gaudreau when speaking about the Flames forward group, but he likely should be number one with a bullet. Tkachuk led the team in scoring with 61 points in 69 games and could have potentially been the difference in their first-round series against the Dallas Stars, had he not suffered a concussion in game two. There aren’t many players around the league that can impact the game in as many ways as the young forward, scoring at a high rate while also contributing physically and getting under his opponents’ skin. He only has two years left on his current contract but is under control as a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign.
What would the Flames be even more thankful for?
A few more Johnny Gaudreau goals.
There’s no way around it, Gaudreau was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2019-20 season. After scoring 36 goals and 99 points in the previous campaign he finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting and looked like he was going to be a league-leading presence for years to come. Instead, he potted just 18 goals this season (only 12 of them at even-strength) and was completely invisible for the Flames at the most important times. Gaudreau did have seven points in ten postseason games, but only one of them—an empty-net goal in game three of the qualification round—was on anything but the powerplay. Man-advantage points are essential, but the Flames desperately needed some help at even-strength and simply couldn’t rely on their 27-year-old star to provide it.
While Tkachuk may be the new leader up front, Calgary’s fate can still be determined by Gaudreau, who has two years left on his deal to prove he can be that superstar on a consistent basis. The fact that his name came up in trade speculation once again shouldn’t be a shock.
What should be on the Flames’ holiday wish list?
Some added secondary scoring.
Only six forwards provided any consistent offense this season for the Flames, with Milan Lucic sitting as the best-of-the-rest with exactly eight goals and 20 points. That’s just not enough secondary production for a team that wants to contend for the Stanley Cup, especially when those top names like Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are struggling themselves. Without many real changes upfront—Josh Leivo, another Canucks free agent signed a one-year, $875K deal, while Dominik Simon came in on the league minimum—the team will need a young player or two to step up their game.
Most of the focus will be on Sam Bennett, the 24-year-old center who does lots of things except score in the regular season. He had just 12 points in 52 games during the 2019-20 campaign, a completely unacceptable total for the 2014 fourth-overall pick. Bennett showed up in a big way in the playoffs, leading the team with five goals and eight points, but can’t just disappear for the entire season again. Dillon Dube, another young forward that provides more than just offense, will need to add to that part of his game as well if he’s to become a true impact player for the Flames. If neither does, Calgary GM Brad Treliving could be shopping again at the deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
QMJHL To Pause Season Until January
With the COVID-19 situation worsening in the eastern part of Canada, the QMJHL has decided to pause all activities between December 1, 2020 and January 3, 2021. The league released a short statement from commissioner Gilles Courteau explaining the decision:
The current situation with the pandemic in the regions in which we operate makes it extremely difficult to play games. With the holidays just around the corner, the provinces in the Maritimes have restricted access and travel, while red zone restrictions in Quebec do not permit us to play.
The junior league started their season at the beginning of October despite the WHL and OHL, the two other members of the Canadian Hockey League, pushing things back indefinitely, with continued concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Working through difficult travel restrictions and a few breakouts among the member teams, the league managed to complete 111 games so far. The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Rimouski Oceanic, and Halifax Mooseheads led the way with 16 games played each, while the Sherbrooke Phoenix were only able to complete five contests.
It may be a frustrating decision for fans of the league and the players trying to continue to develop and compete, but at this point moving forward was almost impossible given the provincial and regional restrictions. Hopefully, by the new year, the situation will have improved, though of course that is no guarantee at this point. The league will provide further updates on the new schedule down the road when the situation is more clear.
USA Hockey Announces Preliminary 2021 World Junior Roster
The upcoming World Junior Championship is an event that always brings plenty of excitement, but this year while hockey fans are waiting for news of the NHL season it should be even more spectacular. Sure, there will not be anyone in the stands to watch the games, but the tournament—held in Edmonton, Alberta from December 25 – January 5—is going to be packed with more talent than ever.
Today, USA Hockey released their preliminary roster for the event. This group includes 29 players that will head to a training camp on December 6 in Plymouth, Michigan. It will be cut down to 25 and the final roster will be announced on December 13.
G Drew Commesso (CHI)
G Spencer Knight (FLA)
G Dustin Wolf (CGY)
D Brock Faber (LAK)
D Drew Helleson (COL)
D Ryan Johnson (BUF)
D Jackson LaCombe (ANA)
D Cam McDonald (2021 draft eligible)
D Jake Sanderson (OTT)
D Henry Thrun (ANA)
D Alex Vlasic (CHI)
D Cam York (PHI)
F John Beecher (BOS)
F Matthew Beniers (2021 draft eligible)
F Brett Berard (NYR)
F Matthew Boldy (MIN)
F Thomas Bordeleau (SJS)
F Bobby Brink (PHI)
F Brendan Brisson (VGK)
F Cole Caufield (MTL)
F Sam Colangelo (ANA)
F John Farinacci (ARI)
F Arthur Kaliyev (LAK)
F Robert Mastrosimone (DET)
F Patrick Moynihan (NJD)
F Nick Robertson (TOR)
F Landon Slaggert (CHI)
F Alex Turcotte (LAK)
F Trevor Zegras (ANA)
The roster does not include New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, who is still technically eligible for the event despite having played in a full NHL season. Among the other notable omissions is former Arizona Coyotes draft pick Mitchell Miller, who had been one of the 39 players invited to their September evaluation camp.
Snapshots: CBA Talks, COVID Restrictions, KHL
There have been no serious negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA for more than a week, according to Kevin McGran. The two sides have been near-silent, a tactic that reminds McGran of the previous lockouts, including one in 2012 that he details in today’s piece for the Toronto Star. Other reporters and insiders have expressed the same thing over the past few days, but McGran’s piece includes one potentially jaw-dropping nugget—some league governors may have agreed to the memorandum of understanding on Gary Bettman’s recommendation, which guaranteed player salaries for the upcoming season, without actually reading it first.
It’s not clear at all when the two sides will finally agree on something, but McGran predicts an early-January deal that would have the season starting in February. That would potentially line up with the suggestion that Darren Dreger of TSN made on Twitter this morning, noting that even if a deal is reached soon, postponing training camps until after the holidays “has to be considered.”
- Part of that consideration will be the varied county, state, provincial, and federal health guidelines. In Santa Clara County, where the San Jose Sharks reside, new restrictions have limited the preparation even further. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic relates a statement from the Sharks, which explains that the team is reviewing local options for rehab and training while revising their current voluntary programs. The San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, who are also based in Santa Clara, will hold their “home” games the next two weeks in Arizona. Remember, the Sharks are one of seven teams expected to receive an extra week of training camp before the season begins, after failing to qualify for the bubble postseason this summer.
- While the NHL tries to get a season underway, the KHL continues to play as if little has changed. Today saw quite the transaction, with Magnus Paajarvi and Teemu Pulkkinen swapping teams. Paajarvi, 29, played nearly 500 games in the NHL before heading to the KHL in 2019 and will be going from Yaroslavl Lokomotiv to Dynamo Moscow. Pulkkinen, 28, has played the last three seasons in the KHL after a short NHL career and had 14 points for Moscow this season.
Jeremias Lindewall Signs In Sweden
The Edmonton Oilers will have to wait several years before getting a close look at seventh-round pick Jeremias Lindewall. The 18-year-old forward has signed with MODO through the 2022-23 season.
The 200th overall pick this year, Lindewall was always going to have an uphill climb to reach the NHL. The 6’2″ winger is a puck-protection specialist that scored 28 points in 39 games with MODO’s U20 team last season and has spent a good chunk of this year with the professional club. He has just three points in 12 games at the Allsvenskan level (Sweden’s AHL equivalent) but even the fact that he’s playing there already is a good sign.
For a player like Lindewall, who was drafted out of Sweden, the Oilers are given four years to sign him before his exclusive draft rights expire. Even with this extension, they’ll have plenty of time to get him under contract and into the system if they believe he is worth an entry-level deal. For now, Edmonton fans can just watch from afar and hope for success.
Overseas Notes: Loans, Kurashev, Kniazev
If the NHL season is going to begin in January, players from around the world will soon have to make their way back to North America to begin a quarantine. Official training camps for the seven teams that didn’t take part in this summer’s bubble postseason are expected to be three weeks long, while some players are already getting together for informal skates all around the league. With that in mind, the loan agreements for Mikhail Maltsev and Emil Bemstrom have both expired.
Maltsev, 22, is a New Jersey Devils prospect who had been playing for SKA St. Petersburg, the same team he’d been a part of before coming to North America in the first place last season. The big forward scored 21 points in 49 games for the Binghamton Devils last year and will try to take another step forward in the upcoming season. Bemstrom, 21, is one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top young players, who scored 20 points in 56 NHL games last season. He was on loan in Finland with HIFK and dominated the league, scoring 17 points in 16 games.
- Philipp Kurashev, who is on loan with HC Lugano in Switzerland, will not be back on the ice until December 8 thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak in the league. It’s not clear if Kurashev himself tested positive, with the release just indicating that several members of Lugano and HC Bienne were infected. Kurashev, 21, was a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and has scored eight points in 12 games so far this season.
- San Jose Sharks prospect Artemi Kniazev has been added to Russia’s U20 roster, according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic. The 19-year-old defenseman was selected 48th overall in 2019 is currently on loan in Russia, spending time in the MHL and VHL so far this year. Kniazev recorded 43 points in 51 games last year for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL, often carrying the puck up the ice himself with his excellent skating ability.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Philip Kemp
November 30: Since Kemp would have a hard time making the NHL roster, the Oilers have found him playing time overseas. The team announced today that Kemp will play the 2020-21 season with Vasby IK of the Swedish second league.
November 25: The Edmonton Oilers have inked one of their draft picks, signing Philip Kemp to a three-year entry-level contract. Kemp has played the last three seasons at Yale University but with the Ivy League schools suspending their hockey programs for the year, he has decided to turn pro and forego his senior season.
Now 21, Kemp was a seventh-round pick in 2017, taken almost at the very end of the draft as a lottery ticket for the Oilers. He had captained the U.S. National U18 team but had very little offensive upside and needed to work on his skating stride. Even then, Kemp was committed to Yale where he was expected to play all four years, and he had earned himself the captain’s “C” for 2020-21.
Unfortunately for the young defenseman, he won’t get to play his senior season. Instead, Kemp starts his professional career with the Oilers and is likely headed for the AHL should it ever get underway. If he’s ever to make it to the NHL, it won’t be on the back of his raw talent. Though he does have size, standing 6’3″, Kemp’s future will be based on his work ethic, leadership, and determination, as it always has.
That’s not to say he can’t be a contributor for the Oilers. When he was drafted, Brian Lawton of NHL Network compared him to Ben Lovejoy, who carved out a 544-game NHL career despite going undrafted entirely. If Kemp can reach that level of success, everyone involved will be pleased.
Liam O’Brien Signs In AHL
The squeeze is on for the unrestricted free agents still without contracts. Today, Liam O’Brien accepted an AHL contract from the Colorado Eagles for the upcoming season, after reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency this fall.
The 26-year-old was not re-signed by the Washington Capitals and will now be playing under a minor league contract for the first time. O’Brien first signed with the Capitals in 2014 after going undrafted and has been under an NHL deal in each of the last six years. Though mostly limited to minor league play, he did get into 17 NHL contests with the Capitals over the years, recording two points.
While O’Brien hasn’t played for the Capitals in several years and was unlikely to this season even if he did re-sign with the team, the fact that he had to accept an AHL deal shows how reluctant teams are this offseason. There are dozens of players just like him that could be staring at AHL-only deals as NHL teams try to trim the financial burden any way they can.