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Snapshots: Smith, Schenn, Second Round, DiPietro

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Forward Cole Smith was held out of Friday night’s Game 6 lineup due to a lower-body injury, per the team (Twitter link). Smith was replaced by Juuso Parssinen making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. Parssinen took on a larger role than Smith’s received, stepping into the team’s second line and bumping Mark Jankowski down the lineup. Only three Predators forwards, including Smith, have failed to record at least one point through their first five playoff games. Parssinen will need to quickly join that list, with Nashville down 3-2 in the series.

The Predators also welcomed Luke Schenn back to the lineup, after he missed Game 5 with illness, shares The Athletic’s Thomas Drance (Twitter link). Schenn’s absence made way for Tyson Barrie to return to the lineup. Barrie brought speed and tempo to the lineup, even recording an assist in Nashville’s eventual 2-1 win. But with elimination so close, the Predators opted for the more physical and defensive presence of Schenn.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The NHL has announced the start times for the Second Round’s Eastern Conference matchups. The round will begin with Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers on Sunday, while the Florida Panthers will take on the winner of Toronto versus Boston on Monday. Start times for each of these games haven’t yet been announced. This schedule marks a quick turnaround for Boston or Toronto, while each of Carolina, New York, and Florida will have at least five days off.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to the minor leagues, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter link). DiPietro has served as Boston’s emergency third-string goalie for a handful of playoff games, though he’s yet to play his first game as a Boston Bruin. He instead spent all season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, where he recorded 18 wins and a .918 save percentage in 30 appearances. He’ll now return to a prime role for Providence, as they prepare to take on one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Charlotte, or Hartford in the Atlantic Division’s Semifinals.

Hurricanes Place Alexander Pashin On Unconditional Waivers

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Right wing prospect Alexander Pashin was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination by the Hurricanes today, the team’s Walt Ruff reports.

Carolina selected Pashin, now 21, in the seventh round of the 2020 draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in May 2022. The Russian forward came to North America immediately, spending 2022-23 with AHL Chicago where he recorded four goals, 10 points and a -12 rating in 47 games. It was a difficult adjustment for the agile but undersized winger, who had put up strong numbers in the junior and second-tier professional ranks in Russia but couldn’t break through a deep forward prospect pool in Carolina.

Without an affiliation agreement in place with Chicago this season, the Hurricanes loaned Pashin to Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League for the 2023-24 season. He provided solid depth scoring in a depth role there, posting 10 goals and nine assists in 60 games with a +3 rating. He was one of nine double-digit goal-scorers on Spartak’s roster and finished tied for 11th on the club in points. Spartak was eliminated in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the KHL postseason, falling to eventual champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Prior to coming to North America in 2022, Pashin logged his first full professional season with Toros Neftekamsk of the second-tier VHL. In 34 appearances for them in 2021-22, he was among their top scorers with 17 goals and 30 points.

If Pashin clears waivers tomorrow, he will become an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any NHL, AHL or overseas club. With his 5’8″, 154-lb frame already proving difficult in his adjustment to the AHL a season ago, he’s unlikely to receive any NHL offers and will likely remain in Russia. The move opens up an additional contract slot for the Canes this summer, who now only have 25 of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for 2024-25.

Hurricanes Confirm AHL Affiliation Agreement With Chicago Wolves

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As reported yesterday, the Hurricanes have now officially agreed on a three-year affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to once again become their top minor-league affiliate.

Carolina spent the 2023-24 season without an AHL affiliate after the Wolves’ ownership and management group opted to try operating independently. Results for both clubs this season proved it was a decisively lose-lose choice.

The Wolves, who had gone independent to have full control of their hockey operations department without oversight or influence from the Hurricanes’ staff, struggled without the presence of NHL-affiliated prospects. They only received a select few players on loan from the Hurricanes throughout the season and iced a roster of players solely on minor-league contracts.

As such, they finished second-to-last in the league with a 23-35-7-7 record and 60 points, only one ahead of last-place Bridgeport. It was a disappointing result for a club that won a Calder Cup championship while under an affiliation agreement with Carolina in 2022.

The lack of a full-time affiliate didn’t affect the Hurricanes’ record this season in the slightest, but it did have a marked effect on some of their prospects. 2019 second-round pick Jamieson Rees was coming off a breakout season with Chicago in 2022-23, posting career-highs across the board with 14 goals and 42 points in 65 games. Without an agreement in place with the Wolves, the Hurricanes found a home for the center with Springfield, the primary affiliate of the Blues, where he failed to score a goal and mustered just three assists in 30 games. He’s no longer in the Carolina organization after being traded to the Senators in March.

Returning to a full-time affiliation with the Wolves gives a degree of certainty to many Hurricanes prospects who have recently signed entry-level contracts. 2023 first-round pick Bradly Nadeau, defense prospect Scott Morrow, and 2024 Hobey Baker Award finalist Jackson Blake are all expected to log big minutes in the AHL next season and will do so in a more traditionally controlled environment geared toward prospect development.

In their statement today, the Hurricanes confirmed that they will have oversight over the Wolves’ hockey operations decisions as part of the affiliation agreement.

Latest On Rod Brind’Amour

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May 2: Talks between Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes have advanced since yesterday’s report, Dreger said in a follow-up Thursday. The two sides have had additional contract talks in the last 24 hours while Carolina preps for its second-round series against the Rangers, and signs are “encouraging” that an extension will get across the finish line.

May 1: The Hurricanes have pulled an extension offer previously on the table for head coach Rod Brind’Amour, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Wednesday.

Brind’Amour’s current deal expires after this season. There have been extension talks throughout the year, but they did not discuss the framework of a deal last summer, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN reported in September. Other reporting over the past few months indicated Brind’Amour was waiting until extensions were also in place for assistants Jeff Daniels and Tim Gleason before putting pen to paper on his own deal, but it’s unclear whether that’s the reason the offer has been taken off the table.

After eliminating the Islanders last night, the Hurricanes have now won a series in all six years of the 53-year-old’s tenure behind the bench. Brind’Amour is the second head coach in NHL history to have a career-opening six-year playoff series win streak, joining three-time Jack Adams Award winner Pat Burns.

Since replacing Bill Peters behind the Carolina bench ahead of the 2018-19 season, Brind’Amour has accumulated a 278-130-44 record, good enough for a .664 points percentage. He’s already second in wins in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history, trailing Paul Maurice’s 384 in 920 games coached.

The 2021 Jack Adams winner has been a part of the Hurricanes organization for 24 years as both a player and coach. He racked up 473 points in 694 games for the Canes after they picked him up from the Flyers in a blockbuster 2000 trade, with Keith Primeau headed the other way. His Carolina tenure included collecting back-to-back Selke Trophies in 2006 and 2007 and captaining the team to its only Stanley Cup in 2006.

Immediately upon retiring in the 2010 offseason, Brind’Amour joined the Hurricanes’ front office as their director of player development. He was named an assistant coach ahead of the 2011-12 campaign and remained there until his promotion in 2018.

If Brind’Amour and the Canes’ extension talks continue to fall apart, he would immediately become the top coaching candidate available. Six teams – the Blues, Devils, Kings, Kraken Senators and Sharks – do not have a full-time head coach in place for 2024-25. The Sabres were the seventh team on the list after firing Don Granato last month but promptly replaced him with franchise wins leader Lindy Ruff for his second go-around with the club.

Before Dreger’s report Wednesday, Carolina general manager Don Waddell told reporters that Brind’Amour “wants to be a Hurricane for life” and that “there’s going to be a solution here very quickly” (via the team’s Walt Ruff). Whether that solution involves the Canes making a more acceptable offer to Brind’Amour or extending his assistants remains to be seen.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NHL Announces 2024 Bill Masterton Trophy Finalists

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The NHL has announced the three finalists for the 2023-24 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The award is given to “the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The nominees are goaltenders Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes, Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes, and defenseman Oliver Kylington of the Calgary Flames.

Andersen started the season well with a 4-1 record in his first five games. However, he was diagnosed with a blood clotting issue early in the year and missed four months of action that ended up totaling 49 games. He returned to the Hurricanes crease late in the season and finished the year off on an elite level, posting a 1.30 GAA and a .951 SV% as he went 9-1-0 down the stretch. He’s continued his solid play in the postseason, going 4-1 with a .912 SV% and a 2.25 GAA as Carolina dispatched the Islanders in five games in the first round.

Ingram was close to retiring in 2021 but received assistance through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program to deal with lingering mental health issues, which he said earlier this year was undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder. Blossoming into a true starter this season with the Coyotes, he registered a .907 SV%, a 2.91 GAA and a 23-21-3 record. He also tied for the league lead with six shutouts and played in a career-high 50 games.

Kylington spent a year and a half out of the NHL and made his return at the midway point of the 2023-24 season. He was also away from the game for mental health reasons, staying on personal leave for the entire 2022-23 season and working with support staff during his time away from the Flames. The 26-year-old re-established himself as a regular upon his return, averaging 17:15 in ice time per game with three goals and five assists.

The NHL has yet to announce an official date and place for the NHL awards show.

Hurricanes Notes: Pesce, DeAngelo, Brind’Amour, AHL Affiliate

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The Hurricanes could get a key reinforcement on their back end at some point in their upcoming series against the Rangers.  Speaking with reporters today including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, GM Don Waddell indicated that blueliner Brett Pesce is no longer in a walking boot and is progressing to the point where he may play at some point in the series.  The 29-year-old, who has already been ruled out for the opening contest, was injured in the second game of their series against the Islanders.  Pesce has been a key shutdown defender for the Hurricanes for several years now and considering he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, a strong finish to his postseason when he’s able to come back could help cement him toward being near the top of that class on the back end.

More from Carolina:

  • Also from Alexander, Waddell indicated that blueliner Tony DeAngelo was not seriously injured after taking a slash in the arm in the final game of the series against the Isles. X-rays were negative so he should be good to play in the opener.  DeAngelo was in and out of the lineup during the season, suiting up just 31 times but with Pesce’s injury, he played in the final three games of the opening round and should stay in the lineup until Pesce is cleared to return.
  • Earlier today, a report emerged that the team had pulled its extension offer to head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Despite that, Waddell said in an interview with The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription link) that he’s not worried about the state of negotiations.  Instead, he stated that a new deal will get done and that his bench boss wants to be a Hurricane for life.  Brind’Amour would undoubtedly be highly sought after if the two sides aren’t able to agree on an extension to his contract that expires at the end of June.
  • Carolina operated without its own AHL affiliate this season after AHL Chicago opted to operate as an independent franchise. However, that might not be the case for long as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that there is some chatter that the Wolves could be aligned with the Hurricanes next season.  That would certainly be a much better outcome for Carolina who had to loan prospects to several organizations while loaning a handful of others to teams overseas to ensure they had places to play.  With a deep prospect pool, being able to have more of those players on one team would certainly be beneficial.  Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis adds that the affiliation agreement, if finalized, will be for three years with a pair of one-year extension options.

Hurricanes Sign Ruslan Khazheyev To Entry-Level Contract

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The Hurricanes have inked goaltender Ruslan Khazheyev to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team announcement. The deal carries a cap hit of $845K, comprised of a $775K base salary and a $70K signing bonus each season. His minor-league salary is $82,500.

A fifth-round pick of the Canes last year, the 19-year-old Khazheyev has put up strong numbers in the high-scoring MHL, Russia’s top junior league, over the past two seasons. This season, he held down the 1A role for Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk, compiling a 16-5-2 record, 2.19 GAA, .927 SV% and two shutouts in 28 appearances.

The quick-moving 6’4”, 201-pound netminder also made his professional debut this season, stopping 23 of 24 shots he faced for Chelmet Chelyabinsk of the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league, in mid-February. Early on, he looks to be one of the better value pickups of last year’s draft, but he faces an uphill battle to break out of the eight other goalies under the age of 25 who are either under contract with the Hurricanes or on their reserve list.

Without an AHL affiliate in place for next season, it’s plausible that Khazheyev will spend the first year of his ELC back on loan to the Chelyabinsk organization, either at the KHL level with Traktor or the VHL level with Chelmet. He’ll be waiver-exempt for the life of the deal, barring the unlikely event he plays in 80 or more NHL games over the next three seasons. While he’s 19 at the time of signing, he’ll turn 20 before January 2025, making him ineligible for an entry-level slide. The contract will take effect next season and make him a restricted free agent in 2027.

Hurricanes Recall Ryan Suzuki

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The Hurricanes recalled center Ryan Suzuki from AHL Springfield on Friday, per a team release. He joins defenseman Ronan Seeley, who was recalled from the minors yesterday, as a player on Carolina’s expanded playoff roster without any NHL experience.

Suzuki, 22, managed to tread water in his development this season while other Hurricanes prospects struggled without a stable minor-league affiliate. Carolina loaned the 2019 first-round pick out to Springfield, the Blues’ top-level affiliate, for the entire season after they couldn’t reach a deal to extend their affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He made a career-high 51 appearances, managing 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points with a -9 rating.

He hasn’t yet managed to be a true impact player at the minor-league level, though, and he’s still searching for his first regular-season NHL recall. The younger brother of Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was drafted as an expert playmaker out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts, and he made the jump to the pro ranks with AHL Chicago a year early when the OHL canceled the 2020-21 season entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s managed 39 goals, 47 assists and 86 points in 153 AHL games since turning pro.

They aren’t bad numbers, but they’re still disappointing for a first-round pick and not strong enough to force Carolina to disrupt one of the deepest offenses in the league. Since Carolina has options with more NHL experience (Max Comtois, Brendan Lemieux) and higher ceilings (Jackson Blake, Bradly Nadeau) ready to go if injuries strike, the chances of Suzuki making his NHL debut this postseason are slim to none.

The London, Ontario, native is in the final season of his entry-level contract. The Hurricanes owe him a $874,125 qualifying offer to retain his rights as a restricted free agent this summer. He’s not yet eligible for salary arbitration, although he would be in 2025 if he signed a one-year deal.

Jesper Fast Expected To Miss The Rest Of Playoffs

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Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News is reporting that Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast could miss the rest of the NHL playoffs with a neck injury. The news comes from Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour who told Bally Sports South’s Tripp Tracy that Fast re-injured his neck in Carolina’s final regular season game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and is unlikely to return this season. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell had previously called Fast’s injury a neck strain, and it appeared to be tweaked after Fast was crosschecked into the boards by Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson

Fast completed his fourth year with Carolina after originally signing with the team as an unrestricted free agent back in October 2020. He hasn’t played the first two playoff games and is not in the lineup this evening. The 32-year-old had six goals and 13 assists in 73 games this year in what was his worst offensive season since he broke into the league back in 2014-15 with the New York Rangers.  While his scoring dropped off this year, he remained a big part of Carolina’s shutdown line with Jordan Martinook and Jordan Staal.

Brind’Amour was somber when speaking before the game, however, the Hurricanes have not officially shut Fast down for the season as they will reportedly re-evaluate him a month from now (according to Cory Lavalette of North State Journal).

Metropolitan Notes: Chytil, Fast, Martin, Seeley

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The New York Rangers will be joined by centerman Filip Chytil when they travel to Washington D.C. for Games Three and Four, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). It’s another substantial step in Chytil’s storied return from a November 2nd concussion. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a game since and took time away from the team around the holidays to recover in his native Czechia. He returned to New York in late January and received clearance to return to practice just two games before the end of the regular season.

Chytil has since worked his way out of a no-contact jersey, and back to full conditioning, even serving in Alexander Wennberg’s slot as the fourth-line center during the team’s Thursday morning practice while Wennberg took a maintenance day. There has been no indication of Chytil’s game availability, but his traveling is certainly an encouraging step. He’s been out of the lineup for six months and 74 games, ending his season with six assists in 10 games.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • Forward Jesper Fast will remain out of the Carolina Hurricanes lineup in Game Three, shares team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Fast hasn’t skated since exiting the team’s season-finale with an upper-body injury, missing the last two games. He was a steadfast piece of Carolina’s fourth line this season, recording 19 points in 73 games while averaging roughly 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time. His absence has made way for Jack Drury to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after playing in 13 games in last year’s postseason. Drury has recorded two assists in two games but is still searching for the first postseason goal of his career.
  • New York Islanders veteran Matt Martin sustained an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision for Game Three, head coach Patrick Roy shared with The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (Twitter link). Martin has averaged just north of 10 minutes of ice time through the first two games of the series, recording 16 penalty minutes, five hits, and two blocked shots. Forwards Ruslan Iskhakov and Oliver Wahlstrom will likely contend for the open spot should Martin sit. Iskhakov was impressive when he received his NHL debut in the team’s season finale, recording an assist and seeming well-adjusted. He’d be an interesting change-of-pace option if the Islanders are looking for a spark, though Wahlstrom’s 32 NHL games this season could earn him the edge. The Islanders are currently down 2-0 in their First Round matchup with the Hurricanes.
  • Carolina has recalled defenseman Ronan Seeley as a black ace, shares Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Seeley has yet to make his NHL debut, though he did record 14 points in 58 AHL games this season. He’s in his second pro season, after being drafted in the seventh-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Seeley is one of four extra defenders on Carolina’s roster, alongside Scott Morrow, Dylan Coghlan, and the injured Brett Pesce.

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