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Bowen Byram To Remain In NHL This Season

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It should not come as much of a surprise that Bowen Byram isn’t going anywhere. The Colorado Avalanche defenseman will be in the lineup on Saturday for his sixth NHL game. In this shortened season, that means any further action will result in the first year of his entry-level contract tolling. His play tonight will not change the team’s mind, though. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that the decision has already been made that Byram will remain with the Avalanche for the rest of the season (and likely for much longer than that.)

If it wasn’t clear enough when the Avalanche traded away Ian Cole or when they subsequently risked the return, Greg Pateryn, on waivers, Byram’s role was never really in doubt. The 2019 No. 4 overall pick is an exceptional young defenseman and, as a player that Colorado hopes will be a core piece for years to come, they wanted to get him to the NHL as soon as possible. Through five games, he has given them no reason to doubt their decision. Byram recorded his first NHL point in his second game and topped 20 minutes of ice time in his fourth. He’s logged ten shots on goal, a few blocked shots, and a very impressive 59.1 Corsi For percentage. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the rookie defenseman early on is that he actually hasn’t been that noticeable. The 19-year-old has stepped directly into a starting NHL job and has played relatively sound, mistake-free hockey thus far.

Now that his NHL job is secure, especially since he is still too young to play in the AHL, the next step for Byram is to take on even more responsibility. That may be coming sooner than later, too. The news on injured defenseman Devon Toews is not optimistic, with head coach Jared Bednar telling The Athletic’s Peter Baugh that it could be a long-term absence. Byram is among those who will be asked to step up in Toews’ place. So far, he has been somewhat sheltered in terms of minutes, match-ups, and defensive zone starts, but the two-way wunderkind will need to be ready to play a larger role moving forward. Fortunately for the Avalanche, there is no reason to believe he won’t continue to meet expectations.

Minor Transactions: 01/30/21

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The NHL season is well on its way and the start of the AHL season is right around the corner, not to mention an ongoing ECHL and NCAA season, several leagues in Europe already entering the stretch run, and North American junior leagues starting to work toward a return. Yet, there are still players out there looking for a place to play this season, many of whom are familiar to NHL fans. Keep up with those moves right here over the course of the day:

  • Veteran forward Matt Lorito has found a new AHL home for the coming campaign. Lorito, who has spent the past four years under NHL contracts, has instead inked a one-year minor league deal with the San Diego Gulls, the team announced. Lorito recorded 23 points in 50 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season, but finished the year with the Toronto Marlies after the Islanders traded him to the Maple Leafs for defenseman Jordan Schmaltz. A veteran of two NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, Lorito has been a highly productive scorer in the AHL with 215 points in 283 games over six seasons.
  • Victor Hadfield, the grandson of New York Rangers legend Vic Hadfield, will get his first taste of the pro game on a tryout with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, per the team’s training camp roster. The Barrie Colt, who was selected No. 1 overall in the inaugural OHL U-18 Priority Selection Draft, got off to a slow start to his major junior career, but started to show signs of potential last season with 26 points in 46 games. The Moose want to see for themselves in camp if Hadfield might be a later bloomer who is ready to keep growing in the pros. Hadfield’s grandfather, whose number is retired by the Rangers, played in over 1,000 NHL games for New York and Pittsburgh in the 60’s and 70’s, including a 106-point 1971-72 campaign.
  • After spending last season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, defenseman Anton Karlsson has been back home in Sweden playing for the SHL’s HV71. However, on the eve of a new AHL season, Karlsson and HV71 have agreed to mutually terminate his current contract, the team announced. Coincidence? Keep an eye out for more on Karlsson, who carved out a nice role for himself with Cleveland last year despite battling for ice time with a number of NHL talents on the blue line. At 27, Karlsson may still have NHL ambitions.
  • The AHL’s San Diego Gulls have received some reinforcements from their ECHL affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers. The ECHL transactions register indicates that the Anaheim Ducks, parent club to both, have reassigned forwards Bryce Kindopp and Maxim Golod and goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek to San Diego.

AHL’s Stockton Heat To Play 2020-21 Season In Calgary

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Jan 28: The AHL has officially announced the move to Calgary, where the Heat will join in the Canadian Division for 2020-21. A revised schedule will be released in the coming days.

Jan 25: In a surprising move, especially given the AHL’s return to action in less than two weeks, the Stockton Heat will not be playing in Stockton in 2021. Scott Linesburgh of The Stockton Record writes this evening that city and county officials have confirmed that the club does not intend to play out of their home city this season. Instead, the Calgary Flames’ affiliate is expected to share a home with their parent club. Linesburgh reports that this is likely just a one-year change related to the Coronavirus pandemic and cross-border logistics, though he does note that this was the final year on the Heat’s current lease at Stockton Arena.

This move will have quite the ripple effect on the AHL just ten days away from the planned start to the season. Stockton’s move north of the border, and the impossibility at this time of playing American opponents as a result, means that the AHL will have to realign on the fly once again. The Heat will be placed in the Canadian Division alongside the Belleville Senators, Laval Rocket, Manitoba Moose, and Toronto Marlies. This will mean that the Pacific Division will drop to six teams this season and the schedule, which was already released on Friday, will need to be amended. The Heat leave behind a 40-game schedule against the numerous AHL clubs in the American Southwest for an unknown slate in the Canadian Division, which has yet to release a schedule and features only one team within 1,600 miles of Calgary.

Of course, for the Flames’ purposes this means a much simpler strategy for moving players to and from the minors this season. Players who cross the border into Canada this season require a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. While the taxi squad has been implemented to offer a small group of stand-ins, any other additions for Calgary from Stockton would have left those players out of commission for two weeks. Now the team will require no wait time at all with their AHL squad expected to be sharing a facility.

The Heat’s move leaves the Edmonton Oilers as the only Canadian NHL team whose AHL affiliate remains in the U.S. or who hasn’t otherwise negotiated an agreement to send players to another AHL team in Canada, such as the Vancouver Canucks’ and Manitoba Moose’ relationship. If the Oilers plan to make such a move, they have limited time before the AHL season begins.

Trade Rumors: Penguins, Mete, Bjork

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Amidst the shocking news that Jim Rutherford had resigned as GM of Pittsburgh Penguins, it is easy to forget that this was a team that less than a week ago was reported as being active on the trade market. While ownership suddenly needs to focus on the long-term welfare of the franchise by finding a new GM, the Penguins are still in need of defense in the short-term. While Rutherford’s final move was to find a stopgap in free agent addition Yannick Weber, that might not be enough. The Pittsburgh blue line has been devastated by injuries early this season with Michael Matheson, Juuso Riikola, and Zach Trotman on injured reserve, Marcus Pettersson also officially out, and Brian Dumoulin injured in last night’s game. Even the thought-to-be-healthy John Marino was missing at practice today. What’s left is a group that is almost entirely right-handed, including the newcomer Weber, and includes a struggling Cody Ceci and an untested rookie in Pierre-Olivier Joseph. The Penguins need to to continue to be on the look out for help on the back end. With that said, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz doubts that interim GM Patrick Allvin will have the authority to make a trade, until they potentially remove the interim tag that is. In the meantime, can the Penguins afford to stand pat in a shortened season facing tougher playoff odds and a more difficult division? Can they withstand extended absences from their current injured defenders? Unless owner Mario Lemieux decides to step in and pull the strings while also making a decision on his next GM, they may not have an option but to stick it out.

  • Through their first six games of the season, the Montreal Canadiens have yet to lose in regulation and have earned 10 of a possible 12 points. Everyone in Montreal is happy so far this year, that is except defenseman Victor Mete. With the team rolling on all cylinders, the Habs have had no reason to change out their starting six defenseman. In fact, there has been only one lineup change among skaters for one single game thus far. The Canadiens do not want to lose the promising, young Mete on waivers, but so far that has left 22-year-old sitting in the press box for every game. If Montreal continues to win and stay healthy, then there is also no reason for that to change. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has taken notice and he’s not alone. Friedman reports that there is interest in Mete across the league and offers will be coming to Montreal soon, if they haven’t already. After losing Noah Juulsen on waivers earlier this year, the Habs may be hesitant to part with another young defenseman whose career has been impacted by injuries but could be primed for a breakout. However, if Mete won’t get any opportunity to shine in Montreal, they may as well move him. After all, he will likely be available for free to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft anyway.
  • If there is one thing that has quietly defined the Don Sweeney administration in Boston, it is that they are not afraid to move young forwards who are unable to carve out a consistent role in the lineup. In consecutive years, the Bruins have traded away Frank Vatrano, Ryan Donato, and Danton Heinen, each of whom was struggling and bouncing around the lineup prior to being moved. Now, Anders Bjork could be the next name on that list. The team has liked the upside of Bjork, 24, and made that clear with a three-year, $4.8MM contract this summer. However, injury and inconsistency has made it hard to get a good look at the player. Now healthy and in the starting lineup through six games this season, that look hasn’t been good. Bjork has played on several different lines and with different line mates but nothing has clicked. He has zero points and just two shots on goal and hasn’t made a major impact defensively either. With the emergence of rookies Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic as NHL-ready assets and the upcoming injury returns of David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase, there won’t be space left in the lineup for Bjork. Multiple sources are now reporting that in anticipation of this result, interest is growing in the young winger. Bjork may not be a fit in Boston right now, but as a player with positional and two-way versatility and under team control for several years, a number of teams could be interested in taking a chance. With a lineup that is looking pretty complete so far this season, Bjork may also come cheap with the Bruins opting for a pick or prospect rather than a roster player in return.

Sharks Set To Return To San Jose In February

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The San Jose Sharks will soon be back home at the SAP Center. Due to a ban on contact sports in Santa Clara County, the Sharks held training camp in Glendale, Arizona. The team has since played on the road and will be the “home” team in Glendale for games against the Vegas Golden Knights on February 1st and 3rd. However, the Sharks have announced that with the ban lifted back in San Jose, they have begun planning and implementing health and safety measures in preparation for a return home. The Sharks plan to make their true home debut on February 13 against the Anaheim Ducks.

The plan is for all future Sharks (and AHL Barracuda) home games beyond the upcoming Glendale series to take place in San Jose. However, the team will be on a short leash. Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News writes that Santa Clara County has already vowed that “Any professional athletics organization that violates the order shall be immediately and automatically suspended from engaging in athletic activities.” The Sharks must abide by the NHL’s COVID Protocol anyhow, but rather than only face a league fine and players and/or coaches out of commission, the team may actually lose their home again if they do not follow local guidelines as well.

For now, the team is focused on their upcoming “home” games in Glendale. The Sharks’ players may arguably be more excited for these games than they are for their return to San Jose. Included in the team’s release today was that they have received permission to have limited attendance during the two-game series. Given the much stricter COVID climate in California, these may be the only games that the Sharks play in front of fans all year. Of course, Pashelka notes that only 2,500 tickets are expected to be sold for each game and sales are limited to Arizona citizens only, but there are sure to be some local Sharks fans in attendance.

Minor Transactions: 01/27/21

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With the NHL season now fully underway and many AHL training camp rosters now finalized, options are running out for remaining free agents. Fortunately, opportunities seem to always be available in Europe and in the ECHL, even with most of those league well through their current campaigns. This keeps minor moves flowing, even on a relatively quiet day for NHL transactions:

  • Scouring the recently released AHL rosters, one will find Paul Bittner suspiciously absent. The 24-year-old forward, a second round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015, has been a solid contributor for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters over the past few years. However, when his entry-level contract expired this off-season, Columbus did not extend him a qualifying offer. Unable to find another NHL deal and apparently unable or unwilling to sign in the AHL as well, Bittner is off to Sweden. Vasby IK of the second-tier Allsvenskan has announced a deal with Bittner for the remainder of the season. The 6’4″ power forward should be quite the disruptive force in the Swedish minor league.
  • Another former Blue Jackets prospect is also on the move. Defenseman Michael Prapavessis, an NCAA free agent out of RPI, did not receive a qualifying offer this off-season either following the completion of his two-year ELC. Prapavessis was less of a surprise than Bittner, having seen limited action in the AHL as well as some time in the ECHL. Seemingly unable to land an AHL contract, Prapavessis is now in the ECHL on a permanent basis, at least for now, inking a deal with the Orlando Solar Bears for the rest of the season.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned forward Jack Badini from the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The first-year pro, who was expected back at Harvard for his senior season this year, instead signed with the Ducks after the Ivy League cancelled all winter sports. The Ducks won’t rush his development this season, especially after a quiet start in the ECHL, but they want to see what he can do against AHL competition.
  • As noted yesterday, former Yale forward Curtis Hall has signed with the Bruins, but for this season it is an AHL deal with Providence rather than an entry-level contract with Boston. The Bruins expected the 2018 fourth-round pick to spend at least one more year developing in the NCAA, but that became an impossibility due to the Ivy League’s suspension of winter sports. The Bruins clearly felt that Hall, who already has pro size and was a dangerous goal scorer last season, was better off in the AHL than back in junior this season. However, they will wait to burn the first season of his ELC.

Snapshots: Stempniak, Pettersson, Dubois

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The Arizona Coyotes announced a pair of front office additions today, including one name familiar to fans. Joining the ’Yotes in the hockey operations department are Matt Perri, hired as Director of Analytics, and long-time NHLer Lee Stempniak as Hockey Data Strategist. While Perri will oversee the team’s analytics, Stempniak’s role is to translate that data into something that coaches and players can understand and use. In a capacity that is the first of its kind, Stempniak will combine his experience as a player in the NHL for 14 seasons with his Ivy League education in Economics from Dartmouth College to become a valuable communicator between analytics and those involved in the actual on-ice product. After elevating the “journeyman” role during his playing days as an effective player for ten different organizations, Stempniak may now be forging a new path for former players with a knack for analytics.

  • Looking ahead to negotiating his next contract this off-season, young Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson has switched agents, reports Patrick Johnston of The Province. Pettersson has joined CAA Sports and is now represented by super-agent Pat Brisson. Not only does Brisson’s track record lend some leverage to Pettersson’s side, but he is also the agent for Quinn Hughes, who will also be a crucial RFA for Vancouver this summer. Brisson will undoubtedly tie the two contracts together and ensure that both are well-compensated for a long time. In fact, the main beneficiary might actually be Hughes, who as a 10.2(c) free agent lacks the leverage of an offer sheet possibility, but gains the leverage of being linked to Pettersson. The two are the clear leaders of the Canucks and the club was unlikely to play hardball anyhow, but now Pettersson and Hughes are in even better shape this off-season (and so too will be Brisson).
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets and as such we may never get an answer as to why he was unhappy being a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois requested a trade out of Columbus, but never gave any of his teammates, coaches, or management a valid explanation, something that head coach John Tortorella publicly resented even before Dubois’ departure. While some speculated that this past off-season’s contract talks were the cause, GM Jarmo Kekalainen refuted that idea on TSN 1050 today, again begging the question of what drove Dubois out of town:

    That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that, because that’s not true… There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides…Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process… It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table… I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.

Minor Transactions: 01/25/21

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The NHL season is still less than two weeks old with teams continuing to work out the kinks and find the right balance in their lineups. Down in the AHL, training camps are underway and the league is quickly approaching the start of the regular season. At the junior level, plans are still being made to get seasons re-started, and in the QMJHL in particular the trade deadline arrived all the same. Overseas, most leagues have been playing for quite some time and teams are already making preparations for the postseason, some of which begin as early as March. Everyone is currently making moves and several are notable to NHL fans without falling neatly into “taxi squad management”. Keep up with those transactions here:

  • The Bakersfield Condors, AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, have finalized their training camp roster ahead of their  season opener next Friday, February 5. In announcing the group, the team revealed a pair of late veteran additions. Defenseman Kevin Gravel, who played for the Oilers and did a brief stint in Bakersfield in 2018-19, has signed a one-year AHL contract. Gravel brings over 100 NHL games, including at least three in each of the past five season, to the Condors. Goaltender Angus Redmond, who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Anaheim Ducks this off-season, will join the team in camp on a PTO. Redmond’s performance through his first three pro seasons, spent almost exclusively in the ECHL, has been unspectacular, but he is a former NCAA standout that had his best season to date last year.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack’s training camp roster also included some surprise names. In addition to the usual names – New York Rangers prospects, signed and unsigned, and AHL contract holdovers from last season – Hartford will also take a look at forward Nolan Vesey and defenseman Jordan Sambrook. Vesey, the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jimmy Vesey, became a UFA this off-season when the Edmonton Oilers declined to extend a qualifying offer. Vesey has split the past two seasons between the AHL and ECHL and is still looking to find his footing in the pros after a successful collegiate career. Sambrook, a former Detroit Red Wings prospect and OHL standout, spent last season in the USports ranks at Brock University but is now trying to get back on track and break into the pros.
  • The QMJHL’s Val d’Ors Foreurs continue to pile up talent this season. After trading for reigning Defenseman of the Year Jordan Spence earlier this month, the team has now added a pair of prominent NHL prospects in a deal with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Forward Samuel Poulin, a 2019 first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Sherbrooke captain, and defenseman Xavier Bernard, a 2018 New Jersey Devils selection, are headed to the Foreurs. In return, the Phoenix net a first-, second-, two third-, and sixth-round picks, including two 2021 selections.
  • Sherbrooke also added an exciting young piece to replace their outgoing veterans. The Phoenix traded first-round picks in 2021, 2022, and 2023 as well as a 2022 second-rounder to the Saint John Sea Dogs for forward Joshua Roy. Roy, a first-round hopeful in the 2021 NHL Draft, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL Draft and recorded 17 points in his first 15 games earlier this season.
  • Colorado Avalanche prospect Alex Beaucage has also been traded in the “Q”, dealt by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to the Victoriaville Tigres. The 2019 third-round pick of the Avs had 14 goals and 20 points through 14 games to begin this season. The Huskies land a 2022 first-round pick and 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for the talented scorer.
  • Helge Grans, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings last year, will take at least one more season to develop at home in Sweden. The SHL’s Malmo Redhawks have announced a one-year contract extension with Grans to keep him with the club through 2021-22, featuring an interview with the young defenseman who appreciates how he has developed with the team. A valuable combination of size and skill on the blue line, Grans is yet another prospect that Kings fans have to look forward to.
  • After playing on a temporary contract to begin his tenure with the team, NHL veteran Vladimir Sobotka has officially earned a full-year contract with Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. The deal was well-earned, too; Sobotka’s 24 points in 25 games makes him the second-best per-game scorer on the team, behind only captain and former Florida Panther Michal Repik. While Sobotka, 33, clearly has plenty of game left in him, it remains to be seen if he will attempt a return to the NHL next season.

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois For Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic

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Morning has arrived and with it the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade that was reported as imminent yesterday. The Winnipeg Jets, considered the favorite late last night, have completed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets to add the cornerstone center, as first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. The club has parted ways with two disgruntled young pieces of their own: winger Patrik Laine, selected one spot ahead of Dubois in 2016, and RFA center Jack Roslovic, a Columbus native. The Jets also receive a 2022 third-round pick alongside Dubois. Both teams have confirmed the trade.

The Jets have retained 26% of Laine’s salary for the final year of his current contract, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli, bringing his cap hit down to $4.995MM and making the cap exchange of the two players even given Dubois’ $5MM AAV. Of course, Roslovic will also contribute to the Blue Jackets’ cap and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he has already agreed to a two-year contract. Colleague Chris Johnston believes Roslovic’s new deal carries a $1.9MM AAV; PuckPedia adds that the breakdown is as follows:

2020-21: $1.3MM
2021-22: $2.5MM

The qualifying offer at the end of the deal will be $2.28MM, the lower of 120% of the AAV and the final-year salary.  It’s also worth noting that with the contract being signed in-season, the AAV will vary each year.  This season, the cap charge will be just under $2.018MM while next season, the charge will be a little under $1.844MM.

There seemed to be too much in common between these two clubs for this not to be the eventual deal that ended the Dubois saga in Columbus. Dubois and Laine are a very similar caliber of player, with almost identical draft billing and both currently playing on bridge deals. Both were also not content with their current surroundings. Then there is Roslovic, who was an unsigned restricted free agent still living at home in Columbus early on this season. Perhaps the most disgruntled of all, Roslovic likely could not be happier with staying home. Dubois also has ties to the city of Winnipeg and the organization as his father, Eric Dubois, serves as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and his parents live there year-round.

With that said, Columbus’ own beat writer for The Athletic, Aaron Portzline, was skeptical that Laine and Roslovic would be headed to Columbus without another substantial sweetener alongside Dubois. He noted that the Jets were also thought to be seeking a defenseman, an area of strength on the Blue Jackets’ organizational depth chart. Not only did Columbus succeed in making this deal without giving up a Vladislav Gavrikov but they also held on to young blue liners like Andrew Peeke and Gabriel Carlsson at the cost of a third-rounder.

All things considered, the Blue Jackets make out very well in this trade. Dubois is a tough piece to give up, but there is a very strong argument to be made that Laine is the best player in the deal. The big, sniping winger has notched 140 goals and 250 points in 306 NHL games, finishing in the top ten league-wide in goal scoring twice in just four seasons. The 2017 All-Star is one of the most dangerous shooters and power play assets on the planet and should help to bring along some of Columbus’ young centers. That now includes Roslovic, who is 23 years old just like Dubois and Laine and a first-round pick as well. The young pivot has shown flashes of high-end ability and will finally land a permanent top-nine role in Columbus. Of course, the final judgement on the deal will have to wait a couple of years. The Blue Jackets have struggled to retain top talent and head coach John Tortorella has a history of clashing with players, so how contract negotiations play out between the team and Laine (and potentially Roslovic as well) will dictate how successful this move was for Columbus’ long-term success.

As for Winnipeg, the team adds yet another skilled center to a roster that was already deep on the wing and now has the talent to match down the middle. Dubois has recorded 159 points in 239 NHL games, not including a 2020 postseason where he tallied ten points in ten games and averaged nearly 23 minutes per night. While Dubois will miss some time with a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Laine was out of action on injured reserve anyhow. Once Dubois joins the Jets, who have the second-best record in the North Division early on, the team could be primed for a strong season and playoff success. They also will have nearly two seasons to evaluate Dubois before he needs a new contract. The hope in Winnipeg is that playing closer to family and having more sustained success will be enough to keep Dubois content and committed to the club long-term.

While many sources believed that the Jets were the most likely team to wind up completing a deal for Dubois, they were not the only team still in pursuit. Friedman reported last night that the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and Montreal Canadiens were still very much in the mix. He added that the Ducks, a team chock full of talented prospects, were thought to have significantly improved their offer recently. Well-off contenders like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche were even been linked to the young forward, who has the makings of a long-term top-six center. In fact, TSN’s Frank Seravalli says that it is easier to name the teams who were not interested in Dubois and assume all other at least kicked the tires. That list of non-suitors includes the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vegas Golden Knights. Practically anyone else could have still made a competing offer in time, but with Laine and Roslovic on the table for the Jets, Winnipeg was always likely to come out on top.

Snapshots: Tkachuk, Provorov, Hutton, Pastrnak

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Although his entry-level contract expires after this season, Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators are not rushing into contract talks. Tkachuk spoke with the media on Wednesday, including The Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren, and stated that he was happy with the club and not worried about negotiating an extension. “We’re not really talking about (a new contract),” Tkachuk said, “I don’t think that’s the focus for both sides. Our goal right now is to do everything we can to make the playoffs.” Neither side really has much to worry about anyhow. Tkachuk has continually stated that he enjoys playing for the team and living in Ottawa and seems committed to a long-term future with the Senators. And with more than $34MM in projected cap space for next season and few existing long-term contracts to worry about, the club should have no problem giving their young centerpiece whatever he wants in order to ensure a lengthy extension of their relationship.

  • No league discipline is coming for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov in regards to a net front collision that injured Buffalo Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton on Tuesday. The play in question did look like it was at least partially caused by Hutton’s teammate, Brandon Montour, and there is not nearly enough evidence for NHL Player Safety to state that Provorov was definitively at fault. That hasn’t stopped Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger from publicly stating his disappointment with the situation, though. Krueger tells The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor that Provorov’s actions were purposeful: “if you look at the way the elbow comes extended, you know what you’re doing.” Krueger believes his team has already been the victims of several bad hits to the head so far this season and is clearly to get some extra attention for the next time such a situation arises. Hutton continued on in the game following the collision, but did not return after the second intermission and is currently questionable for the Sabres’ next game.
  • The Boston Bruins’ scoring woes are one of the early season’s biggest stories, but help is on the way. NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin writes that David Pastrnak is ahead of schedule in his recovery from off-season hip surgery. Initially expected to return around mid-February, Pastrnak has already re-joined practice as a non-contact participant. Head coach Bruce Cassidy now expects that he could return to action as early as late next week. The reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner will be a welcome addition to a team that has yet to produce an even strength goal through three games.

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