Landon Ferraro Signs In Germany
The European adventure will continue for Landon Ferraro, who has signed a short-term deal with Frankfurt of the German second league. The contract only covers the next two months as the team deals with an injury to Stephen MacAuley, one of their most important offensive players. Ferraro spent last season in the DEL with Berlin as he tried to get his career back on track.
Now 29, the Detroit Red Wings second-round pick has had a long and winding professional career. He has played in 84 career NHL games, including two in the 2017-18 season for the Minnesota Wild. He was with Minnesota’s AHL affiliate in 2018 when he needed multiple surgeries and ended up playing just 12 games during the 2018-19 season. A professional tryout with the Vancouver Canucks didn’t result in a contract last year, meaning it was off to Europe for a new chapter.
Despite his NHL career not quite living up to expectations, there are few in the game who would speak an ill word about the forward. Ferraro was named the Iowa Wild’s Man of the Year for the 2018-19 season even despite his few games played and he ended up taking home the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award that year for community involvement.
After scoring just 21 points in 40 games last season for Berlin, it seems unlikely that Ferraro will ever return as an impact player in the NHL. That doesn’t, however, mean you won’t see his name pop up at some point on an AHL roster. This two-month contract would leave him enough time to jump into AHL training camp if the league does move forward with their plans for a February start.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Jack Quinn
Welcome to Buffalo, Jack. The Sabres have signed their top draft pick, inking Jack Quinn to a three-year entry-level contract. Quinn was selected eighth overall in last month’s draft and plays for the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL. Today, he’s headed to the World Junior selection camp for Team Canada where he’ll compete over the next month against the country’s top players. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams released a statement on the pick:
…You see the ability for him to keep getting better. His athleticism is high. Just a lot of the metrics that we look at when we’re scouting, he met and some. This was just a player that, the more work we did, the more excited we got.
Quinn, 19, was one of the best goal-scorers in the draft this year after lighting the lamp 52 times in 2018-19. That put him second in the entire OHL behind only Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson, who had 55. There were some questions about how much was because of Quinn’s development jump and how much was due to playing beside the league’s top-scorer, Marco Rossi, but those concerns obviously didn’t slow down Buffalo. Quinn was actually taken just ahead of the 5’9″ Rossi, who Minnesota snapped up at ninth overall.
Of course when you think of the way the Sabres are built, it makes a lot of sense to bring in an elite right winger that is expected to play in the top-six relatively quickly. The team doesn’t have a ton of talent on that side behind Sam Reinhart, even if Dylan Cozens starts his career on the wall before eventually moving to the middle of the ice. Quinn shouldn’t have a ton of resistance if he continues to score at the rate he showed last season.
Even though he dominated OHL competition, it will be a fight for Quinn at the upcoming selection camp. The Canadian roster is absolutely loaded with forward talent this year, meaning there will be some surprising cuts before the tournament gets underway.
Eetu Tuulola Loaned To Vasterviks IK
November 16: After playing in 11 games with Vasterviks, the player Tuulola had replaced returned from injury, pushing him off the roster. The Flames have found him a new team, loaning the young forward to SaiPa in Finland’s top league until training camps begin in North America. Tuulola had four points in 11 games during his time in Sweden and will try to keep that production going with his new club.
September 22: The Calgary Flames have loaned another prospect overseas, this time sending Eetu Tuulola to Vasterviks IK in the Swedish second league. Tuulola just finished his first season in North American pro hockey, scoring 23 points in 50 games for the Stockton Heat. He’ll be eligible to return to the Flames when NHL training camp opens.
Tuulola, 22, is an interesting prospect after rising from a sixth-round draft selection in 2016. His offensive game has drastically improved since then while maintaining the same work ethic and drive that put him on Calgary’s radar in the first place. Interestingly he already has plenty of experience playing at a high level in Europe, though he won’t be returning to Finland’s Liiga where he spent parts of three seasons before coming to the Heat. Instead he’s headed to the Swedish Allsvenskan where he will try to continue to hone those offensive instincts and polish his overall game.
His older brother, Joni Tuulola a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick, also returned to Europe earlier this month when he signed a new deal in Finland. Luckily for the Flames, their Tuulola has two years remaining on his entry-level deal and will have to come back if they want him to compete for an NHL spot.
Jakub Skarek Loaned To Peliitat
The New York Islanders have sent another prospect overseas, this time loaning Jakub Skarek to Peliitat in the Finnish second league. Skarek should be back in time for NHL training camp, if only because the Islanders don’t have any other goaltenders signed.
The 21-year-old join Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin as the only three under NHL deals in the Islanders organization, meaning he would be the default third-string option should anything happen to one of the roster goalies. That’s a lot to ask of a player that has only one professional season under his belt in North America and split time between the AHL and ECHL.
Of course, the Islanders are still expected to sign Cory Schneider at some point, though it is curious why the deal hasn’t happened yet. If they do, Skarek could go back to being a developmental project for the team this season. For now, he’ll get his legs under him back in Finland for the same team he played for in 2018-19. The Czech-born goaltender has a long way to go if he wants to push for an NHL spot, meaning every minute of game action is important.
Submit Your Question For The #PHRMailbag
Free agency has come to a screeching halt, arbitration hearings are finished and the drag of the true off-season is upon us. We’ve seen huge names swap teams, but we won’t get to see them in action for another few months. The NHL holds out hope for a January start, while other leagues are targeting February as a realistic beginning. Still, there is something to look forward to; in just over a month’s time the World Juniors is set to begin in an Edmonton bubble, with some of the top young players from around the world. A delayed NHL season will likely make the talent at this year’s tournament even better, raising it to must-watch territory for the hockey-starved sports fan.
With the biggest parts of the offseason behind us, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR mailbag.
If you missed our most recent edition, it was broken into two parts. The first included a look at the situation on defense for the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney‘s checkered draft history, and the Nashville Predators’ search for a top-six winger. The second included some predictions on professional tryout candidates, the next steps in a New York Rangers rebuild, and thoughts on the biggest steals of draft day.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. We’ll try to get to everything when the mailbag runs this weekend.
AHL Considering All-Canadian Division For Upcoming Season
While the focus recently has been on how the NHL will realign for the upcoming season, mention should be made of the AHL as well. The minor league will also need regional reconstruction of their divisions if they want a 2020-21 season to be possible, with the all-Canadian idea coming up once again. While the NHL is leaning towards pitting all seven Canadian teams against each other, the AHL will likely do something similar according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, though it does come with some important differences.
The only AHL teams that are based in Canada are the Toronto Marlies, Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket, and Manitoba Moose. The Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers all have their AHL affiliates in the U.S., based in Utica, Stockton, and Bakersfield respectively. Garrioch reports that those parent teams don’t want to temporarily relocate those teams north of the border “because of the expense involved.”
Of course, if those minor league clubs are not relocated, it will bring up a whole different host of issues for the three western Canadian teams. Travel between the two countries still requires a quarantine, meaning prospects playing in the U.S. wouldn’t be available for a quick recall if needed. The whole point of an all-Canadian division in the NHL was to avoid travel back and forth, but what of the minor league players that Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary will need to use throughout the season?
For the Marlies, Senators, and Rocket, playing each other regularly wouldn’t come as much of a change. The three teams were already in the same AHL division and were scheduled against each other all the time. The Moose however are in the AHL’s Central Division, meaning it would be a very different schedule if they were to just play the three other Canadian teams over and over.
At this point, nothing has been set in stone by the AHL. Last month they changed their target start date to February 5, which would potentially give the NHL time to get underway before any minor league games begin. But with so many changing health restrictions in both countries—the province of Manitoba for instance changed to the “critical” level on the pandemic response system a few days ago, forcing sports facilities to close immediately—it is still extremely difficult to predict what an AHL season might look like, regional realignment or not.
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Glenn Gawdin
November 13: Gawdin was loaned to EHC Visp Lions in Switzerland after signing with the Flames, but after playing just a single game with the team he is apparently on his way back. According to the team’s press release, Gawdin will be returned because of a potential training camp, an interesting development given how much uncertainty still surrounds the next NHL season.
October 14: The Calgary Flames have taken care of a little business, signing Glenn Gawdin to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $700K, and brings back one of the Flames restricted free agents. Because of his service time limitations, Gawdin was actually not eligible for arbitration (or an offer sheet, though that would have been very unexpected anyway).
Now 23, Gawdin was a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues back in 2015 but actually never signed with the organization. Instead, after going back to junior for several years, he ended up signing with the Flames and has spent the last two years with the Stockton Heat.
Though he hasn’t yet made his NHL debut, it might be coming sooner than you think. The young forward scored 47 points in 53 games for Stockton this year and was included in the return to play group (though failed to make the final 31 players who traveled to the bubble). If his strong play in the minor league continues, Gawdin could be an injury call-up this season for the Flames if they need a little offense inserted into the lineup.
Snapshots: Next Season, Overseas Prospects, Hajek
Yesterday’s call with the NHL board of governors didn’t result in any sweeping announcements about next season, but insiders around the game have gleaned a bit of information about what was discussed and what is still on the table. Frank Seravalli puts many of those information nuggets into his latest piece for TSN, including the fact that preference now seems to be moving away from hybrid bubbles or “hubs” as commissioner Gary Bettman recently called them, and towards teams playing in their home arenas. Seravalli suggests that regional realignment would be required, but that teams would play a baseball-like series of two or three games to reduce travel.
He also reports that there is “no concept on the table that includes a full-length regular season.” That seemed clear when Bettman publicly spoke about a reduced schedule, something the league was obviously hoping to avoid but is now inevitable. There are no formal proposals on the table yet, but with the January 1 target date getting closer every day, there will need to be a decision at some point in the near future—even if it is just another delay.
- With the hockey offseason moving at a snail’s pace in November, fans have started to scour overseas boxscores to see how their favorite prospects are doing. Mike Shulman of Sportsnet published a piece today going over many of the most interesting names, including several 2021 draft prospects that are still trying to raise their stock. Among the group of already drafted players is Yaroslav Askarov once again, who continues to turn heads every time he hits the ice. Even Shulman sold him a bit short, without updated statistics from the KHL. Askarov returned to the SKA St. Petersburg crease yesterday after dominating at the Kajala Cup and put on another show, stopping 24 of 25 shots in a huge victory over HC Vityaz. Askarov is now toting a .960 save percentage in five KHL games, allowing only five goals on 125 shots.
- Speaking of overseas prospects, the New York Rangers will have another one to keep an eye on as Libor Hajek joins HC Kometa Brno on loan for the time being. Hajek was loaned to Brno originally, then switched to Olomouc, but is now apparently heading back to where he started. The 22-year-old has struggled during his time in the NHL over the last two seasons and will need to take another step in his development before the Rangers can really rely on him as a full-time option.
Ottawa Senators Sign Micheal Haley
The Ottawa Senators have announced another signing to bring some toughness to the organization inking Micheal Haley to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will be worth $700K at the NHL level and $200K in the AHL. Haley played last season for the New York Rangers but was an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a short statement on the signing:
Michael [sic] will bring experience, leadership and additional physicality to our organization. He’s looking forward to serving as a mentor for our young players.
There’s no doubt that the Senators will be a more physical team next season, after bringing in players like Haley, Erik Gudbranson, and Josh Brown through trade and free agency. The former, who signed today, has racked up 687 penalty minutes in his 270 NHL games, including a league-leading 212 in the 2017-18 season. Haley doesn’t contribute anything offensively, scoring just 11 goals in his career, but isn’t asked to in his limited ice time.
The Senators have shown a willingness to dress a player like that before, dressing Scott Sabourin for 35 games this past season despite no real offensive upside. Sabourin had scored just 15 combined points in the two previous minor league seasons, though he did actually have six for the Senators in his short NHL stint. It would be surprising to see Haley reach that amount or even get into 35 games this season for the team, especially if the schedule is reduced.
No, he’s more likely going to see action only sparingly, entering the lineup against select teams to provide some toughness or spending most of the year in the minor leagues. The Senators already have a long list of forwards competing for the 12 starting spots, meaning the 34-year-old Haley almost certainly won’t be a full-time option.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Andrew MacWilliam Signs Tryout With EHC Munchen
After many successful seasons in the AHL, Andrew MacWilliam will test himself overseas—at least for a little while. The veteran minor league defenseman has signed a tryout contract with Red Bull Munchen of the DEL that will allow him to compete with them through December 13. The deal does have an option to extend further, but depending on when NHL/AHL training camps get underway MacWilliam might want to come back to compete for a job in North America.
The 30-year-old defenseman does have some experience at the NHL level, playing 12 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014-15. He hasn’t gotten back to that level since, instead playing for the Manitoba Moose, Albany Devils, and Rochester Americans in the five seasons since. Last year, he posted eight points in 41 games for the Americans while wearing an “A” as an alternate captain, but is not yet signed for the 2020-21 season.
There’s no doubt that an AHL team could benefit from bringing in the experience and leadership of MacWilliam, but with so much uncertainty still surrounding the upcoming minor league season, taking your chances overseas may be a prudent business decision. Not to mention MacWilliam will be joining teammate and defense partner Zach Redmond, who signed with the team earlier this year. Redmond was also an alternate with Rochester the past few seasons and should make MacWilliam feel right at home.