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Minnesota Wild Sign Michael Milne

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The Minnesota Wild have inked another prospect, signing Michael Milne to a three-year entry-level contract. The third-round draft pick had been with the Iowa Wild on an amateur tryout but now will be assigned there on his new NHL deal.

Milne is eligible for the AHL despite being drafted this summer as he was an overage pick who turned 20 in September. He was incredibly effective in the WHL last season, scoring 38 goals and 81 points in 68 games. Sometimes he even seemed like the most dangerous player on the ice, an impressive feat on a team that also boasted top picks Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie.

His off-the-rush scoring ability was nearly unmatched, and Milne will now have to find a way to translate that offense to the professional level. He’s already done enough to earn an entry-level deal, now he’ll need to focus on developing and improving his all-around game before being considered for the Wild roster.

With two first-round picks, two seconds, and what looks like a tidy third-round selection in Milne, the 2022 draft class is shaping up to be a nice one for the Wild. Add that to a 2021 class that also had two firsts (including Milne’s younger Winnipeg teammate Carson Lambos, in an interesting wrinkle), and a pair of previous first-rounders in Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi that look like hits, and the Minnesota pipeline is starting to look pretty impressive.

Dryden Hunt, Phil Di Giuseppe Placed On Waivers

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Two more players have graced the waiver wire today, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Dryden Hunt of the New York Rangers and Phillip Di Giuseppe of the Vancouver Canucks are available for claim.

Di Giuseppe is coming off season-opening injured reserve, suggesting he is ready to return to action now that he’s found himself on waivers. If he clears, he’ll likely join the Abbotsford Canucks where he spent all of last season. The 29-year-old does have 201 NHL games under his belt, but with the recent injury it seems unlikely that he’ll be claimed.

Hunt on the other hand is more of an interesting story. The 26-year-old undrafted forward plays a physical game and never seems to be out of energy, attacking defenders and tracking down the puck every time he hits the ice. In 76 games with the Rangers last season he scored six goals and 17 points while delivering 153 hits and racking up 52 penalty minutes.

While there might not be a lot of offensive upside there, it’s easy to see why another team might want to add Hunt to the bottom-six mix, especially given the fact that he comes with a cap hit of just $762.5K. That number could fit into basically any team’s cap structure and even with some poor results in limited minutes this year, there are signs that he could be a benefit to clubs struggling to find a good mix on the fourth line.

With Sammy Blais returning, the Rangers needed to clear some space, and might end up losing Hunt in the process.

Philadelphia Flyers Claim Lukas Sedlak

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The Philadelphia Flyers have nabbed another forward, claiming Lukas Sedlak off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. To make room, they’ve loaned Olle Lycksell to the AHL.

Sedlak, it should be noted, has quite a bit of familiarity with head coach John Tortorella from their time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was under Tortorella that the versatile Czech forward ascended to the NHL, and under whom he played more than 160 games.

The 29-year-old signed with the Avalanche after playing the last three years in the KHL (where he was a star) but hadn’t found any consistency playing a handful of minutes on the fourth line. He’ll now join a Flyers team that has gotten off to a 3-0 start, defeating the Devils, Canucks, and Lightning to begin the year. Given his ability to play all three forward positions and familiarity with the coaching staff, Sedlak should be able to slide directly into the lineup whenever he joins the Flyers on the road.

Philadelphia is set to take on the Florida Panthers this evening, before heading to Nashville for a Saturday night matchup.

Sedlak will avoid the minor leagues again with the claim; he hasn’t played in the AHL since the 2015-16 season with the Lake Erie Monsters, going out on top by winning the Calder Cup that year. He’ll now be kept on the Flyers roster, at least for the time being, and try to find some more consistent playing time in Philadelphia.

Gabriel Landeskog Undergoes Knee Surgery

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While the Colorado Avalanche are trying to find the right mix for their fourth line, the top unit will also be in flux for a while. Gabriel Landeskog underwent knee surgery yesterday and will be out for “12 weeks give or take.” The team will also recall Jayson Megna from the AHL to give them another center.

Landeskog, 29, hasn’t played this season and will now miss at least three months following this new surgery. The Colorado captain is coming off another outstanding year with 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games, and a playoff performance that could have easily earned him the Conn Smythe. In 20 games en route to his first Stanley Cup championship, Landeskog scored 11 goals, and 22 points, and was the league leader in goal differential with a +15 rating.

Not only does it hurt the Avalanche to lose his offensive performance, but Landeskog is also one of the most well-rounded players in the league, adding physicality, defense, and faceoff ability to his scoring prowess. That last point is one to note, as Landeskog was often asked to take important draws despite being a winger by trade.

Most of the team’s other centers – Nathan MacKinnon, J.T. Compher, Megna, and Evan Rodrigues – are all right-handed. Landeskog’s absence (and Nazem Kadri’s offseason departure) leaves them without a reliable left-handed faceoff option. Alex Newhook is at 35% through his young career and even Darren Helm, a reliable defensive pivot, struggled in the dot last year.

It’s little things like this where Landeskog’s absence will add up, even if they can find a way to replace his offensive numbers on the top line. The team did retain Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin in the offseason but their forward depth is quickly evaporating, leaving a lot of responsibility for MacKinnon and the defense corps.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Anton Blidh

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The Colorado Avalanche, not happy with their fourth line through the early part of the season, are making another change. After placing Lukas Sedlak on waivers and sending Ben Meyers to the minor leagues, the team has now recalled Anton Blidh from the AHL.

Blidh, 27, has played 70 NHL games in his career, including 32 last season with the Boston Bruins. The Swedish winger scored two goals and nine points in those games, while also racking up 82 hits. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract in August, his recall should be a wake-up call for players like Meyers and Sedlak who haven’t been effective enough through the first few games.

Unlike Martin Kaut, who was also recalled yesterday, Blidh isn’t a high draft pick or a top college free agent like Meyers. Instead, he’s a player who has several seasons of minor league experience under his belt, and is used to playing a limited role in the NHL. With a roster that hasn’t really found its identity yet – Evan Rodrigues and Alex Newhook have combined for zero points through the first three games – slotting in a player like this could shake things up.

After being one of the deepest forward groups in the NHL last season, the Avalanche have their work cut out for them this time around. Finding a successful mix for the bottom six will be crucial to maintaining the level of excellence they have set.

Connor Brown Out Long-Term; Washington Capitals Recall Beck Malenstyn

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With Evgeny Kuznetsov serving a suspension and Connor Brown unavailable due to injury, the Washington Capitals were forced to recall a forward. They have chosen Beck Malenstyn, who played 12 games for the team last season.

It is not clear yet how long Brown will be out, but the team told reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that it will be long-term. That isn’t an ideal situation for the team to be in, especially after losing Axel Jonsson Fjallby and Brett Leason to a roster crunch just a few days ago. That was a lot of the team’s depth, though they did add Sonny Milano on a one-year deal to help fill the cupboard back up.

Malenstyn, 24, has just 15 NHL appearances to his name and isn’t exactly an offensive force. The fifth-round pick scored just ten goals and 16 points in 65 games with the Hershey Bears last season but does offer a big body for the bottom-six. As everyone slides up, the Capitals have inserted Connor McMichael into the third-line center role for tomorrow’s game, while Conor Sheary jumps up to the top unit across from Alex Ovechkin and beside Lars Eller.

The team knows Kuznetsov will be back after his one-game suspension, but Brown’s absence will be noticeable. The versatile winger had averaged over 18 minutes through his first three games, most importantly as the team’s top penalty-killing forward. In fact, Kuznetsov was second on that list, meaning others will have to pick up the slack tomorrow night.

Florida Panthers Move Ekblad To LTIR; Recall Two Defensemen

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The Florida Panthers are hurting, with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour both leaving the game a few days ago. While Montour is back at morning skate today, he won’t play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. In their place, Lucas Carlsson and Matt Kiersted have both been brought up from the AHL, with the latter only activated from season-opening injured reserve yesterday.

Interestingly enough, Eric Staal is also out with the main group, according to team reporter Jameson Olive, as he continues to skate on a PTO.

Ekblad has been moved to long-term injured reserve, a necessity given how little cap space the team had been dealing with. His timeline is still undetermined.

It is an unfortunate result for the Panthers’ top defenseman, who is coming off the best season of his career. Ekblad was sixth in Norris Trophy voting in 2021-22 after scoring 15 goals and 57 points in 61 games. That games played number is the important one here though, as it’s now been a few years since he was able to put together a full healthy season.

Going on LTIR means missing at least ten games or 24 days – not ideal as the team tries to find its new identity without Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. In his first two games, Ekblad had averaged nearly 25 minutes a night and was likely set to see that much action for the entire season. Without him in the lineup, the team will have to find another way to fill up that ice time.

Toronto Marlies Sign Danny DeKeyser To PTO

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With the Toronto Maple Leafs struggling to start the year and Jake Muzzin already out due to injury, the team’s defensive depth is being tested. Today, the organization has brought in a veteran name to see if he has any game left. Danny DeKeyser has signed a professional tryout agreement with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, giving him another chance to show what he can do.

DeKeyser was on a PTO with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this summer but failed to earn a contract at the end of camp. This deal with a minor league club likely isn’t what he was hoping for, though if there is an AHL club to go to, the Marlies would be near the top of the list. The Maple Leafs organization is more than willing to pay their minor leaguers handsomely, as you can see by the one-way deals that Kyle Clifford, Joey Anderson, Adam Gaudette, and the recently recalled Victor Mete and Wayne Simmonds are on this year.

If DeKeyser can show he still has some juice, an NHL deal would allow him to serve as extra depth in Toronto, something the team could quickly need. Muzzin is out indefinitely with a neck injury, Timothy Liljegren is still working his way back, Jordie Benn has only recently gotten back on the ice, and Carl Dahlstrom is probably going to miss the whole season. Not to mention Toronto has already lost to the teams that finished 32nd and 31st (Montreal and Arizona) last season.

It’s time to throw spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks, meaning the 32-year-old should get a look. DeKeyser has played 547 regular season games in the league, though it has been years since he was the effective two-way force he entered as. Last season with the Detroit Red Wings (the only team he has ever played for), he registered 11 points in 59 games.

Arizona Coyotes Activate, Assign Ben McCartney

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Arizona Coyotes prospect Ben McCartney appears to be ready to return to action, after starting the year on season-opening injured reserve. The young forward has been activated and assigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners today.

It’s already been a rather impressive few years for McCartney, who went from seventh-round afterthought in the 2020 draft to debuting in the NHL last season. He played just two games and failed to register a point, but averaged 14 minutes of ice time and registered seven hits. The former Brandon Wheat Kings standout was great in the minor leagues as well, scoring 18 goals and 35 points as a rookie for Tucson.

While he missed a good portion of training camp with a lower-body injury, McCartney is a player to keep an eye on in Arizona this year. If he can continue to develop his offensive chops in the minor league, he could potentially see some more time in the NHL with the Coyotes. At the team’s rookie camp earlier this summer, general manager Bill Armstrong told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports that McCartney (and Jack McBain) were “driving the culture” for the group.

That kind of praise from the lead executive can only be a good thing, and if McCartney shows well in another season for the Roadrunners you can bet he’ll quickly be in the mix for a regular role with the Coyotes.

Alex Iafallo Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Los Angeles Kings have lost a key player for the next little while, as Alex Iafallo has been placed on injured reserve. The speedy forward suffered a lower-body injury last night against the Detroit Red Wings after delivering a hit in the third period. He limped off the ice and now will be sidelined for at least the next several games. Jon Rosen of NHL Network tweets that Iafallo is out “week-to-week” and is headed back to Los Angeles for further evaluation.

In his roster spot, the team has recalled defenseman Jacob Moverare from the AHL. The 24-year-old played 19 games for the team last season but failed to make the NHL roster out of camp. He gives the team an additional defender as they deal with a less serious injury for Alex Edler, who got hit in the face with a puck in warmup last night.

It is unfortunate news for Iafallo, who was off to a brilliant start this season with five points while registering at least one in all four games. The 28-year-old is in the second season of a four-year, $16MM contract he signed in 2021 and is one of the many talented wingers that make the Kings lineup so deep. He plays a strong two-way game without taking any penalties (he has just 14 minutes since the start of 2020-21) and offers a solid amount of secondary scoring.

Without him, the teams will have to shuffle things around a bit and perhaps give a bit more opportunity to a young player. Arthur Kaliyev (who didn’t play yesterday) is the most likely fit, though there has been a lack of trust for the 21-year-old early this year. He is averaging just over nine minutes of ice time in the three games he has played, though that has still resulted in a goal and assist for the talented young forward. An opportunity like this could be just what he needs to build on a strong rookie season, where he scored 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games.

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