Minor Transactions: 01/15/20
You never know what’s going to happen in the NHL as the Vegas Golden Knights proved this morning. The team fired head coach Gerard Gallant just before they take on the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night. The whole league will be watching that game to see how Peter DeBoer changes things, but tonight they have some interesting games to view as well. The Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are both markets that some have suggested coaching changes in, but they’ll try to grab a win tonight to continue their individual streaks. Later, the St. Louis Blues welcome in the Philadelphia Flyers for a chance to extend their Western Conference lead even further. As those teams and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Sam Montembeault under emergency conditions, a quick trip back after only being sent back on Monday. Montembault’s presence suggests that Sergei Bobrovsky still isn’t ready to return for the Panthers, after being called “questionable” earlier this week.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to get healthy, meaning the roster needs some cleaning up. After activating both Cam Atkinson and Andrew Peeke today from injured reserve, the team has assigned Peeke, Gabriel Carlsson, Matiss Kivlenieks and Ryan MacInnis to the AHL. Veini Vehvilainen has been recalled.
- The Arizona Coyotes have called up Michael Chaput from the minor leagues, not for the first time this season. Chaput hasn’t played a game yet in the NHL, but has been recalled on three different occasions as injury insurance.
- Brian Lashoff is on his way back to the minor leagues, assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins by the Detroit Red Wings. The 29-year old has split time between the two teams, but isn’t much more than an injury replacement at this point in his career.
Carter Hart Out With Abdominal Strain
The Philadelphia Flyers will be without their young goaltender for the next several weeks, as Carter Hart has been ruled out with an abdominal strain. Hart suffered the injury yesterday at practice and will be out for two to three weeks. The team has recalled Alex Lyon from the minor leagues, while also sending Joel Farabee down to the AHL (though Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer still expects him to play for the Flyers on Thursday). Chris Stewart has also been placed on waivers.
Hart, 21, holds the future of the Flyers in his hands as the goaltender expected to hold the net in Philadelphia for the next decade. One of the most decorated goaltenders in CHL history, the young netminder quickly made his ascension to NHL starter in his first professional season and returned this year with high expectations. Those may have been a bit premature given his age, as Hart has been inconsistent throughout the year and currently carries a .905 save percentage.
Still, without him things look even bleaker in Philadelphia. Brian Elliott, brought in to take some of the pressure off of Hart, has been close to dreadful with an .896 save percentage and 9-5-3 record. Lyon, himself once a promising goaltending prospect has been average in the minor leagues and doesn’t appear to have the skill to start on a regular basis in the NHL. That leaves a question mark in goal for the next few weeks, though it may be coming at the perfect time.
After tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues, the Flyers have just three games remaining before their bye week and All-Star break festivities. That means Hart will have some time to recover in time for a stretch run that could come right down to the wire. Philadelphia sits six points behind the New York Islanders for a divisional playoff spot, but still slightly ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the wild card race.
Snapshots: Sabres, Blues, Hart
The Buffalo Sabres have already made two trades in 2020, sending Marco Scandella to the Montreal Canadiens and flipping the return in order to bring in Michael Frolik. They’re not done according to GM Jason Botterill, who shared his thoughts on the trade deadline with WGR 550:
We want to make trades. We want to add to our group. People ask if we’re waiting for the trade deadline. We’re not waiting for the deadline. We’re trying to proceed with some things that haven’t materialized.
The Sabres have had trade rumors swirling them all season, from the glut of defenseman that were around in camp to players like Zach Bogosian and Evan Rodrigues asking out. If should come as no surprise now that they’re still looking to make moves—Botterill has completed 24 trades in under three years as GM of the team.
- Colton Parayko has been placed on injured reserve by the St. Louis Blues, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll miss any additional time. The defenseman’s IR stint is retroactive to January 2nd, meaning he can come off whenever he’s healthy enough to do so. Parayko needed the designation in order to keep the roster in tact as Carl Gunnarsson was activated today, meaning Niko Mikkola can stay up for the time being.
- The Philadelphia Flyers will be calling up Alex Lyon from the AHL, after Carter Hart left practice with a lower-body injury today. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Hart’s status will not be updated publicly until tomorrow, but that the team is bringing up Lyon to potentially serve as backup for Brian Elliott tomorrow night.
Nolan Patrick Could Play Before End Of Season
If you were the GM of the Philadelphia Flyers, sitting in fifth place in the Metropolitan but within striking distance of a divisional playoff spot, you might look at your team and wonder what it would take to push them into contender status.
The goaltending could use an upgrade, but at this point you’ve pretty much committed to your young blue chip prospect Carter Hart. The defense is led by an up-and-coming Norris contender and grizzled Stanley Cup champion. The forward group is talented, especially with Travis Konecny taking another step this season, but may still be missing a piece in the middle-six. Perhaps a player versatile enough to play both center and wing, with upside to deliver a game-winning performance at any time.
Enter Nolan Patrick, the second-overall pick from 2017 and current long-term injured reserve resident. The young forward hasn’t played all season due to a migraine issue, but GM Chuck Fletcher hasn’t ruled him out for the year. In fact, Fletcher seems to be leaning toward Patrick playing before the end of the season:
I do expect him to play again this year but that’s just my guess. He’s been skating harder. Skated again today. Getting his heart rate up higher. I think he’s feeling a bit better.
I can tell you from the on- and off-ice workouts he’s doing, he is progressing but there certainly isn’t any clear path as to which way this will go. He’s skating at a higher level. I watched him today. His skill level is still there, shooting the puck great. I guess the important thing is when we get to the point where he is feeling well enough to take that next step. He’s been working hard at his conditioning.
Patrick, 21, has struggled with injuries since before he was even drafted. A sports hernia stole several months of his draft year with he Brandon Wheat Kings, likely costing him the first-overall spot and a chance to play for Canada at the World Juniors. Just before going second to the Flyers, it was discovered that he needed another abdominal surgery to repair a second hernia. They took him anyway, and though he would end up being ready for the start of the 2017-18 season, the young forward still missed important time in the summer before his NHL career started while recovering.
In his first two seasons with the Flyers, Patrick played just 73 and 72 games while dealing with more minor injuries. This year’s total will be much lower, if he does get back into game action at all. Philadelphia would obviously welcome him back, even if he did score just 61 points through his first 145 regular season games.
That disappointing total along with his health issues make Patrick a very interesting case to watch as his contract comes to an end this season. A restricted free agent in July, he certainly won’t be getting the same kind of extension that Nico Hischier signed in October. The first-overall pick was locked up by the New Jersey Devils for seven years and $50.75MM. No one else from his draft class has signed an extension yet, as even top talents like Miro Heiskanen and Elias Pettersson didn’t enter the NHL right away.
When Fletcher spoke on the trade market today, he did suggest that the team might not want to push one of their young players out of a roster spot. Patrick though would be an internal addition if he can make it back this season.
Tage Thompson Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
An extremely disappointing season for Tage Thompson has come to an abrupt conclusion, as the Buffalo Sabres announced that the young forward has undergone shoulder surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season. Thompson’s recovery timeline is set at five to six months, meaning he should be ready to return for training camp next season.
Thompson, 22, was one of the big pieces the Sabres received from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, but still hasn’t been able to even establish himself as an NHL regular. He played 65 games for the Sabres last season but received limited minutes and recorded just 12 points. This year he failed to make the team out of camp and ended up playing 16 games with the Rochester Americans.
While he was good enough to earn a call-up in November—Thompson scored 12 points in those 16 games with Rochester—he was quickly injured and moved off the roster. That initial injury obviously didn’t heal as the team had hoped, as a three to five week timetable has now led to surgery and a season lost.
Importantly, Thompson is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent in the summer. With not even a full NHL game under his belt this season he won’t have much leverage in contract talks, and he isn’t yet eligible for salary arbitration.
Snapshots: Crosby, Hischier, Sandin
The Pittsburgh Penguins were 10-6-1 after winning the last game Sidney Crosby played this season, back in the early part of November. When the captain went down to core muscle surgery he had been putting off since training camp, many wondered how the team—with several other key players already on the sideline—would stay in the playoff race.
Not only did the Penguins stay in the race, but they ended up going 18-6-4 without Crosby and now are about to get their captain back while sitting firmly in a playoff position. Crosby will make his return to the lineup against the Minnesota Wild and try to continue his point-per-game pace. If he does, it would be the 15th consecutive season that Crosby reaches that milestone.
- Nico Hischier may not get the kind of press that other first-overall draft picks do, but he is still having a strong start to his career. After scoring 52 and 47 points in each of his first two seasons, Hischier is on pace for a new career-high this year. That play has been rewarded, as the 21-year old center will replace Kyle Palmieri at the upcoming All-Star game as the representative from the New Jersey Devils. Palmieri will miss the game with a foot injury.
- With Rasmus Sandin taking over for Morgan Rielly in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup tonight, the young defenseman will get another game closer to burning the first year of his entry-level deal. Sandin will play in his seventh NHL contest tonight; when he plays in ten his deal will kick in and have him on track to become a restricted free agent in 2022.
Andreas Englund Clears Waivers
Tuesday: Englund has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the Belleville Senators of the AHL.
Monday: The Ottawa Senators have placed defenseman Andreas Englund on waivers according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. This comes as the Senators are set to welcome Nikita Zaitsev and Mark Borowiecki back from injury.
Englund, 23, hasn’t quite established himself as the lockdown defender the Senators hoped for when they made him the 40th overall pick in 2014. Through four professional seasons in North America he has spent far more time in the minor leagues than the NHL, suiting up just 21 times with Ottawa and recording just two points. The 6’4″ Englund has 12 of those games this season, but will have to wait for his next opportunity.
That is of course unless he’s picked up off waivers tomorrow. Signed to a one-year, two-way $700K contract there may be some teams willing to take a chance on the big defenseman. He will be a restricted free agent again this summer.
Minor Transactions: 01/14/20
11 games are on tap for tonight in a busy evening for the NHL, including the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche clashing in an important Central Division match. The two teams are battling for home ice advantage in what would be a first round playoff series, with the Stars currently one point ahead of the Avalanche in the standings. The two teams have arrived there in very different ways, with Dallas allowing the fewest goals against in the league while Colorado ranks among the highest-scoring. As they and the rest of the NHL prepares for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Timothy Liljegren after losing Morgan Rielly to a broken foot. The young defenseman will likely not play tonight, but now sits as the team’s seventh option as they insert Rasmus Sandin back into the lineup.
- The Maple Leafs have also sent Mason Marchment back to the minors, an expected move after recently activating Andreas Johnsson from injured reserve. The team is still waiting on the return of Trevor Moore, while Ilya Mikheyev is not expected to play again this season.
- Joseph Blandisi has been assigned to the AHL a few days after clearing waivers for the third time. The 25-year old forward has split his season between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring five points at the NHL level.
- The New York Rangers have sent Libor Hajek to the minor leagues, likely to get in some more game action before returning to the lineup. The 21-year old defenseman returned for the Rangers on Saturday night in St. Louis, but played just 15 minutes and was relatively ineffective. In 28 games this season Hajek has five points.
Nicklas Backstrom Signs Five-Year Extension
The Washington Capitals weren’t going to let one of their franchise icons go anywhere. Nicklas Backstrom has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will delay his unrestricted free agency until the summer of 2025. Backstrom negotiated the deal himself, and will get a hefty raise. The contract is worth a total of $46MM, meaning the veteran center will carry a $9.2MM cap hit starting next season. The full breakdown is as follows:
- 2020-21: $6.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $5.0MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
- 2022-23: $3.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $5.0MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $2.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the deal also includes a full no-movement clause in the first three years and a 15-team no-trade clause in the final two. Backstrom currently carries a $6.7MM cap hit, though that deal was signed back in 2010 and was actually worth the same cap percentage at the time as his new one.
There was little doubt that the two sides would eventually get something done, as Backstrom is not only a franchise icon but still one of their most productive players. The 32-year old center has had six consecutive seasons of at least 70 points and is well on his way to that mark again with 35 points in his first 39 games. The dynamic playmaker may never match his career-highs of 33 goals and 101 points set back in 2009-10, but he is still a force on the powerplay and can carry a top-six line.
Still, signing any 32-year old to a five year extension carries a fair amount of risk. The fact that it makes him the 17th highest-paid forward in the league next season only exacerbates that risk, meaning the Capitals have to make sure they are still surrounding their aging duo of Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin with enough young talent to compete. Luckily, the team has been hesitant to trade their first round picks in recent years meaning they have prospects like Connor McMichael and Alex Alexeyev on the way.
The focus in Washington now turns to Braden Holtby, another piece of their core that is scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Holtby’s situation is quite different than Backstrom’s however, given the play of Ilya Samsonov this season. The young goaltender has quite clearly outplayed Holtby and looks ready to take on a starting role in the NHL. Even in a bad year, the veteran Capitals goaltender will command a huge contract on the open market thanks to his long history of success and playoff triumphs.
For now though it is a day to celebrate Backstrom’s new deal, which will almost certainly allow him to become the second player in Capitals history to score 1,000 points with the franchise. He is already the all-time franchise leader in assists with 668, and is likely on his way to the Hall of Fame one day.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
All-Star Notes: Vasilevskiy, Letang, PWHPA
The NHL has announced that Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will replace Tuukka Rask at the upcoming All-Star Game, though no reason was given for why the Boston Bruins netminder will miss the game. If Rask isn’t injured and doesn’t have a league-accepted excuse for missing the game, he would be subject to a one-game suspension.
Vasilevskiy joins Frederik Andersen as the goaltenders for the Atlantic Division after recently going on an incredible run. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has won his last eight appearances, posting a .946 save percentage in those games. Even more recent were back-to-back shutouts last week that earned him first star honors from the league.
- In the absence of Alex Ovechkin, who informed the league that he will not be attending the All-Star festivities, Kris Letang has been named captain of the Metropolitan team. Letang was not even originally named to the team, but added when the Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh’s original selection, suffered a season-ending injury.
- The All-Star competitions will not only feature NHL players this season, as members of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association will also take part in a 3-on-3 game during the first day of the event. Hailey Salvian of The Athletic (subscription required) reports the latest details on the game, which is expected to only include players from the PWHPA, a group currently boycotting the NWHL and showcasing their talent in the “Dream Gap Tour.” Members including Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne-Schofield and Brianna Decker have been included at the All-Star festivities in the past—with Coyne-Schofield even being an official competitor in the fastest skater event last year.