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Snapshots: Gronborg, Heiskanen, Talbot

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One of the names that used to come up every summer in connection to vacant NHL coaching jobs is Rikard Gronborg, former long-time coach of the Swedish national team programs. Gronborg has plenty of experience on this side of the ocean, after playing college hockey at St. Cloud State, coaching in the AWHL, and serving as an assistant in the WHL. For the last few years, his candidacy hasn’t been brought up for a while because of his commitment as head coach of the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, one of the most successful and popular teams in Europe.

Today, news has broken that Gronborg won’t be back with the Lions and instead is likely taking a multi-year contract with Tappara Tampere in Finland. However, the report out of Switzerland also states that if the NHL were to come calling, Gronborg’s new contract with Tappara has an out clause to let him pursue a North American opportunity. With seven World Championship medals, six World Juniors medals, and an Olympic silver, Gronborg has one of the most impressive international coaching resumes of all time. Whether that ever translates into an opportunity in the NHL remains to be seen.

  • Miro Heiskanen is still listed as day-to-day for the Dallas Stars and isn’t expected to play tonight, he could be back on Saturday according to head coach Pete DeBoer, who spoke with reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. Without Heiskanen in the lineup against the Boston Bruins, Nils Lundkvist played a career-high 22:04. Lundkvist had never gone above 16:39 with the New York Rangers but has now matched or exceeded that in six of seven games with Dallas.
  • Cam Talbot might be back ahead of schedule, according to Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith. As Claire Hanna of TSN reports, Talbot was on the ice facing shots today and is “certainly ahead of the timeline” that had been set for him. There’s still no clear date set for his return but they could still use him, with Anton Forsberg dealing with a minor injury of his own. On that front, Forsberg was back at practice as well and is expected to be the starter when the team takes on the Minnesota Wild tonight.

Philadelphia Flyers Claim Kieffer Bellows

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The Philadelphia Flyers have claimed Kieffer Bellows off waivers from the New York Islanders, giving the team a new young forward to add to the lineup. Bellows has played in just a single game so far this season.

After making sure they added quite a bit of toughness in the offseason, the Flyers continue to target physical players with the acquisition of Bellows. The difference here is that the 2016 first-round pick also has quite a bit of scoring upside. The 24-year-old was once an incredible sniper at the junior level and has shown the ability to score at the AHL level as well.

Even in the NHL, he has 11 goals and 25 points in 68 games, despite averaging just over 11 minutes a night. He has added 154 hits during that time and had a fight against Max Pacioretty after the Vegas Golden Knights forward took a run at Andy Greene. That sort of protect-your-teammates style is certainly going to fit in well with John Tortorella’s group, though Bellows will have to bring some consistency to his game if he wants to remain a regular in Philadelphia.

Given that the Flyers issued grim updates on both Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson this morning, it comes as no surprise that they would be interested in an addition. Whether Bellows can live up to expectations remains to be seen, but there are certainly worse bets to make. The young forward is on a one-year, $1.2MM contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

Seattle Kraken Sign Christopher Gibson; Place On Waivers

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10/28/22: As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Gibson has cleared waivers. He will now be able to remain with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL.

10/27/22: With so many injuries to their goaltenders, the Seattle Kraken have converted one of their minor league contracts into an NHL deal. Christopher Gibson, who had been playing with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K. Gibson is now on waivers so that he can stay in the AHL.

Seattle is without Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger, leaving them with only Joey Daccord and Martin Jones for goaltenders signed to NHL contracts. Losing Magnus Hellberg on waivers before the year started hurt their depth at the position, and now Gibson would be the only option if they suffer another injury.

That’s not a great place to be in, but at least the veteran netminder has a lot of experience at the professional level. Gibson, 29, was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2011 and has spent the last decade bouncing around the minor leagues. In 16 NHL appearances, the last two coming with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020-21, he has a .901 save percentage.

His numbers in the minors have always been solid, but it is still scary to think that the Kraken could quickly run out of goaltenders. Callum Booth, the Firebirds’ other current goalie, spent most of last season in the ECHL.

New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Ben Harpur; Place On Waivers

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10/28/22: As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Harpur has cleared waivers. He will now be able to remain with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL.

10/27/22: The New York Rangers are adding a little defensive depth, agreeing to terms with Ben Harpur after his solid showing in the minor leagues. Harpur had been playing with the Hartford Wolf Pack on a PTO but will convert that into a one-year NHL contract. PuckPedia reports that it is a two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level and $300K in the AHL. The team has placed him on waivers, a necessary step for him to stay in the AHL.

Harpur, 27, has 156 games of NHL experience, plus a handful of matches in the postseason over his career so far. The 6’6″ defenseman suited up 19 times last season for the Nashville Predators, registering one assist and 27 penalty minutes. He won’t offer much offense – in fact, he has just a single NHL goal to his name – but is a big body who can defend well enough to hold his own on a third pair.

The Rangers don’t necessarily need that right now, but there wasn’t much experience in the system to call up if they deal with injuries. Harpur will represent a body that can bounce between the NHL and AHL without any concern for his development.

A deal like this could have potentially happened in Columbus, where he spent training camp on a PTO, but Harpur suffered an injury and missed a good chunk of the action. He’s found a spot now, though, and will just add some extra depth to the Rangers organization for the long season ahead.

Buffalo Sabres Considering Depth Addition

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The Buffalo Sabres lost Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju within a few days of each other, suddenly robbing their defensive group of much of its depth. The good news, as general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, is that while Samuelsson will miss several weeks, he will not need surgery. Jokiharju meanwhile is week-to-week with a fracture from taking a puck to the face.

With that in mind, Adams explained that the team is considering adding an NHL-level defenseman of some kind, but downplayed the significance of any such move. It won’t be a big change (if one comes at all) but the Sabres are in an interesting situation when it comes to additions like this.

With so much cap space available – the team is still ~$20MM under the ceiling – they could afford to add a bad contract from another team looking for space, with a sweetener to go with it. While it might look odd to add a big ticket for just a few weeks of depth play until Samuelsson and Jokiharju come back, weaponizing the cap space the team has right now can be an effective way to make sure their window is open even longer down the road.

Remember, that cap space isn’t going to be there forever in Buffalo. The team has big extensions kicking in for Tage Thompson and Samuelsson next season and has Dylan Cozens to sign next summer. The following year, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Peyton Krebs are all up for new deals, meaning that extra breathing room is going to disappear quickly.

It’s an enviable position to be in, not needing to make a big move but having the capacity to help out another team. While they obviously want their young studs back in the lineup, Adams has all the leverage here in any negotiations as he calls around the league.

Tyler Johnson Placed On Injured Reserve

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After suffering an ankle injury on Tuesday, Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson has been moved to injured reserve. While it might seem like placement on regular IR is encouraging for his timeline, that’s not necessarily the case. With the Blackhawks nowhere near the salary cap ceiling, there is no need to use long-term injured reserve. It is not clear how long Johson will be out.

It’s a tough blow for Johnson, who was experiencing something of a renaissance with Chicago this season after some down years. The versatile forward had six points through six games, including an assist against the Florida Panthers before exiting. Playing top-six minutes with powerplay time, the 32-year-old was setting himself up to have a nice bounce-back year.

With Johnson unavailable, Jujhar Khaira will move onto the second line with Jonathan Toews and Taylor Raddysh and play the net front on the second powerplay unit according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago. The Blackhawks have been steadfast in keeping top prospects in the minor leagues to play with the Rockford IceHogs, and this injury likely won’t change that. For now, it appears as though they’ll go with 12 forwards on the roster, though that may change once they head out on the road.

Sean Couturier “Not Ready” To Continue Skating

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While the word setback wasn’t used, it sure seems like that’s what John Tortorella suggested when speaking about Sean Couturier today. He told reporters including Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Couturier is “just not ready” to continue his rehab and has stopped skating for the time being. As Jordan Hall of NBCS Philly points out, the veteran forward recently said he was feeling good in his recovery while getting on the ice.

Couturier is not close to returning. Meanwhile, Cam Atkinson is “one frustrated young man,” who isn’t expected to be back anytime soon.

This will sound like the same old song and dance for Flyers fans who have lived in a world of injury setbacks and additional surgeries over the past few years. Ryan Ellis, last year’s offseason prize, played just three games for Philadelphia before ending up on the shelf, and then just one more before being shut down for the year. He hasn’t played at all this season.

Kevin Hayes underwent several surgeries to correct multiple issues and ended up playing in just 48 games. Even Nolan Patrick, the high draft pick that was supposed to help usher in a new era of Flyers hockey, could never get over his migraine and concussion issues to stay in the lineup on a consistent basis.

Couturier, arguably the team’s most important forward, only played 29 games last year. Despite his obvious injury concerns, the team signed him to an eight-year, $62MM contract extension in August 2021 – one that he is only just starting this season. The deal carries a cap hit of $7.75MM through 2029-30. Already 29, Couturier will turn 30 in December and now hasn’t played a full season in several years.

Hopefully, this setback only means that it will take him a little longer to return from his back injury. But with whispers in September of him missing the entire season because of the potential need for surgery, and now keeping him off the ice, there are bad vibes coming out of Philadelphia.

Ottawa Senators Extend Mark Kastelic

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Hard work pays off. That’s the lesson to be taken from today’s announcement by the Ottawa Senators that Mark Kastelic has signed a two-year extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $835K, paying the young forward $800K in 2023-24 and $870K in 2024-25. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion released a statement:

Mark has worked tirelessly to earn all that has come his way since being a late round draft pick three years ago. He’s reliable, competitive, takes exceptional pride in his conditioning and routinely showcases a willingness to take on any challenge. He’s set a very good example for the young players and prospects throughout the organization.

Not only was he a late-round pick, selected 125th overall by the Senators in 2019, but it was in his third year of eligibility after going undrafted twice. The WHL tough guy just kept getting better as he worked harder and harder on the ice, to the point where NHL teams couldn’t overlook him anymore. His 47-goal, 122-point campaign with the Calgary Hitmen in 2018-19 landed him with Ottawa, and he would make quick work of the AHL.

Partway through last season Kastelic would come up to the Senators and make an impact right away, racking up hits and providing energy in the bottom six. He was winning draws, landing checks, and dropping the gloves, even chipping in a little bit of offense despite limited minutes. This year he’s a regular on the fourth line, and has already scored two goals in six games. It’s those faceoff numbers that are so impressive though, and why Kastelic could have a long career as a depth forward in the NHL.

He’s now won 37 of 52 draws this season for an incredible 71.2% win rate. That’s a weapon head coach D.J. Smith has relied on, despite not actually playing Kastelic very much. Even though he’s averaged just 8:23 of ice time so far, he actually leads the team in won faceoffs – and that’s on a team that doesn’t have a single centerman under 50%.

The offense that he brought in his junior days probably won’t ever come to the NHL, but at 23, Kastelic is a great story of how dedicated work can secure a spot. He’s found a niche and is excelling at it, leading to some financial security for the next two seasons.

Detroit Red Wings Recall Matt Luff

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The Detroit Red Wings have brought an extra forward to join them on the road today in Boston, recalling Matt Luff from the AHL. The team is without Oskar Sundqvist for the moment as he deals with an upper-body injury.

Luff, 25, is off to a great start with the Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring seven points in his first five games this season. The undrafted forward has always been an excellent player at the minor league level and even had six points in 23 games with the Nashville Predators last year. In total, he has played 87 NHL games in his career, scoring 13 goals and 23 points.

It’s not clear if he will go into the lineup or not, but the Red Wings were using Jordan Oesterle as a forward in yesterday’s practice beside Pius Suter and Filip Zadina, according to Ansar Khan of MLive. That could be the spot for Luff to go into, adding some size and skill to the third line as Detroit tries to get back on track.

Now 3-1-2 on the year, that sole regulation loss came at the hands of the New Jersey Devils a couple of days ago. The team was thoroughly outplayed in that one, and will be trying to show why they should be considered a playoff contender in tonight’s matchup with an Atlantic Division rival.

Snapshots: Marchand, Wiesblatt, Marlies

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There was plenty of excitement around the Boston Bruins when Brad Marchand took reps on the first line and powerplay this morning, even leading the team stretch. But the star winger isn’t going to be coming back just yet.

The Bruins will still play it a little slow with Marchand, and while he is ahead of schedule, isn’t getting into the lineup just yet. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic that the Bruins expect Marchand to play before Thanksgiving, his original timeline.

  • NHL fans may remember a touching moment at the 2020 draft when the San Jose Sharks revealed their selection of Ozzy Wiesblatt with a bit of sign language so that his mother – who is deaf – could be in on the announcement. Now, after two additional seasons in the WHL Wiesblatt will be starting his professional hockey journey with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. He was assigned there today.
  • While the focus for the Toronto Maple Leafs the last couple of days has been on the health of Jake Muzzin, who was placed on long-term injured reserve, two other defensemen are getting closer to a return. Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn were both loaned to the Toronto Marlies on conditioning stints. Mikhail Abramov who started the year on season-opening injured reserve was also assigned to the AHL club.

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