Chicago Blackhawks Sign Philipp Kurashev
The Chicago Blackhawks have inked one of their intriguing forward prospects, signing Philipp Kurashev to a three-year entry-level contract. Kurashev is currently playing with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, where he will remain for the rest of this season.
Kurashev certainly didn’t make headlines when he was selected 120th overall in the 2018 draft, but a few months later he was the talk of junior hockey. That came at the most recent World Junior tournament where the 19-year old led the field with six goals in seven games for Switzerland, impressing everyone in attendance with his slick puck skills and ability to finish around the net. Kurashev returned to the Remparts where he has 28 goals and 62 points in 57 games, easily leading the team in both categories.
The talented forward was actually ranked much higher than his eventual draft position by many outlets, and he’ll now get the chance to prove that he should have been a higher selection. Turning 20 in October means his contract will kick in for the 2019-20 season regardless of where he plays, making him a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.
Cam Ward To Miss Another Week
- The Blackhawks will likely be without goaltender Cam Ward for at least another week due to his knee injury, notes Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. The injury was sustained a week ago with an expected return timeline of seven-to-ten days so it appears he’s behind schedule in his recovery. In the meantime, Corey Crawford will continue to get the bulk of the work as he continues to work his way back following another concussion while youngster Collin Delia will remain as the backup.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Jan Rutta
UPDATE: Smith reports that defenseman Anton Stralman is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It’s not exactly an injury that screams play time for Rutta, so the newly-acquired defenseman is likely up in Tampa Bay as insurance for the time being. In the meantime, he can practice with the team and get the feel for his new teammates and coaches. If Stralman’s absence ends up being longer than expected, perhaps Rutta will make his return to NHL action.
It’s been a long time coming, but the moment is finally here. Defenseman Jan Rutta, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in early January, has finally been called up by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, with whom Rutta has played exclusively since the deal was made, were the ones to break the news, but note that GM Julien BriseBois initially announced the move.
Rutta, 28, is in his second NHL season after coming over from the Czech Republic ahead of the 2017-18 season. The big, two-way defender played in 57 games for the Blackhawks last season, notching 20 points, and despite spending the last three months in the minors, has 23 NHL games to his credit this year as well, along with six points. In 26 AHL games this year, eight of which came with the Rockford Ice Hogs, Rutta has twelve points. Since joining the Crunch, Rutta has been a dependable defensive presence for the team and has logged an impressive +15 rating. While it helps that Syracuse is a good team this season with the second-best record in the AHL, Rutta has done enough to show that he can be an NHL asset and perhaps a contributor to a playoff run.
As for why the call-up has finally come, The Athletic’s Joe Smith notes that the timing is a surprise and to his knowledge no Lightning defenders are currently injured. Tampa Bay has had the cap space to recall Ruuta if need be, but lacked the roster space – part of the reason they traded Slater Koekkoek in the first place to acquire Ruuta. However, with the trade deadline passed and roster limits eliminated, Ruuta was free to be recalled. It remains unclear where he fits barring an unreported injury, however. The Lightning have seven defensemen who have played more than 41 games this season already and Ruuta is not about to replace any of them in head coach Jon Cooper‘s blue line rotation. Yet, the veteran defenseman is probably content just to be back at the NHL level in a season that has surely not gone as he expected.
Chicago, Philadelphia To Begin 2019-20 Season In Prague
The NHL has been very happy with their Global Series efforts in recent seasons and very motivated to continue their preseason and regular season ventures in countries throughout Europe and Asia. As early as November, Prague – the capital of the Czech Republic, a major supplier of hockey talent – emerged as a likely destination for a Global Series event next season. Per Sportsnet’s John Shannon, that has now been confirmed and the competitors have been chosen. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers will start the 2019-20 season in Prague.
If the 2018-19 format is to be followed , the Blackhawks and Flyers are likely to play just the regular season opener overseas. This season, the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers started the year with a game in Sweden, which was preceded by exhibition contests elsewhere in Europe. However, in November the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets faced off in a pair of games in Finland, so it could be that the league opts to schedule two matches in the Czech Republic to open the season. All of the Global Series games had great success this year, which could encourage the league to expand on the total number of contests.
Also like the Global Series competitors this season, Chicago and Philadelphia have ties to the location. While the Blackhawks and Flyers are undoubtedly teams that the NHL likes to promote in league events, they also each have popular players among Czech fans. Jakub Voracek, long-time Flyers star forward, is one of the more popular Czech players in the NHL, while teammate Radko Gudas is a Prague native. Meanwhile, the ‘Hawks have several intriguing young players with Czech connections. Standout rookie Dominik Kahun has both Czech and German citizenship, second-year player David Kampf came over directly from the top Czech pro league, and NLA superstar and Czech native Dominik Kubalik was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago could push to sign him this summer. The game would garner great attention in a great hockey country like the Czech Republic regardless, but with several locals to watch it should be a quite popular event.
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Reese Johnson
The Chicago Blackhawks have added a prospect to their cupboard, signing undrafted free agent Reese Johnson to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2019-20 season and carries an average annual value of $925K. Johnson is currently playing with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL.
Johnson, 20, is the captain of the Rebels this season and has 45 points in 62 games, trailing only Brandon Hagel (a fellow Blackhawks prospect) for the team scoring lead. He’s also known for his incredible faceoff ability, where he has absolutely dominated over the past two seasons. Johnson has won nearly 65% of his draws this year, an incredible talent that will prove invaluable at the professional level.
That professional career will kick off next season when Johnson is expected to join the Rockford Ice Hogs, where he will be challenged to improve his offensive game. While he won’t wow you with puck skills or elusiveness, Johnson gives the Blackhawks another legitimate NHL prospect even if his ceiling is limited.
Chicago's Tough Offseason Decision On Dylan Strome
While the Blackhawks will undoubtedly look to extend winger Alex DeBrincat’s contract this summer when they can do so starting in July, John Dietz of the Daily Herald details the more challenging decision they’ll face with center Dylan Strome who is in a similar situation. The soon-to-be 22-year-old has been quite productive since joining Chicago with 40 points in 42 games but his struggles in Arizona would also play a factor in negotiations as well. Accordingly, it may make sense for both sides to hold off on pursuing an early extension with an eye on seeing if his success alongside DeBrincat extends over into next season and is sustainable.
Snapshots: Oilers, Boqvist, Radulov
The Edmonton Oilers want to start GM interviews in the next two weeks according to CEO Bob Nicholson, who spoke to reporters at the front office meetings in Florida today. Nicholson admitted that he hasn’t yet asked for permission to speak with any currently employed executives, but will be looking into that in the near future after he has all the information. Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, who was noted as a top candidate for both the Oilers and Seattle expansion job, will not be allowed to speak with other teams until after the season according to several reports including the latest Insider Trading panel.
On that panel insider Darren Dreger noted that the Oilers have narrowed their short list to somewhere around ten names, a group including McCrimmon, interim GM Keith Gretzky, Dave Nonis, Sean Burke, Mike Futa and Mark Hunter among others. The Oilers simply must get this hire right as they try to turn things around and take advantage of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl‘s prime.
- The Chicago Blackhawks knew they were getting an incredible offensive talent in Adam Boqvist when they selected him eighth overall last June, but Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) believes the young defenseman may benefit from another year in junior hockey in 2019-20. That belief is supported by a source who tells Powers that the Blackhawks are discussing keeping Boqvist in the OHL instead of moving him to the AHL next season. The 19-year old has 56 points in 50 games for the London Knights this year and is second among OHL defensemen in goals with 19. London is well known as an NHL development machine, and could very well give Boqvist some Memorial Cup experience this season.
- The Dallas Stars won’t have one of their top offensive weapons in the lineup tonight as the team will take Alexander Radulov out despite him being healthy enough to play. Radulov was late to practice this morning and will be punished by missing a game, a pretty meaningful development for a team trying to hold on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Radulov has 51 points in 54 games this season but will have to hope his teammates can take down the New York Rangers without him.
Minor Transactions: 03/05/19
It’s a busy night in the NHL with ten games on the schedule including an epic matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets. The two teams are considered top contenders from each conference and very well may end up battling for the Stanley Cup down the road. As teams prepare for action tonight we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Justin Bailey from the minor leagues, his second call-up since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in mid-January. Bailey, 23, played five games for the Flyers during that first recall but failed to score a single point.
- Joshua Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle are back up for the New York Islanders under emergency conditions, likely meaning a pair of New York Islanders forwards are dealing with injury or illness. The pair of youngsters have been playing together in the minor leagues and still have plenty of potential.
- Goaltender Collin Delia has been recalled under emergency conditions by the Chicago Blackhawks, and announced later on that Cam Ward will be out 7-10 days with a knee injury. Delia has played quite a bit for the Blackhawks this season and could potentially be a candidate to take over an NHL role next year.
- The Ducks announced the recalls of center Sam Steel and defenseman Jacob Larsson from San Diego of the AHL. Steel has had a productive rookie season with the Gulls while Larsson has seen action in 38 games with Anaheim this year while logging over 16 minutes per night of ice time.
Western Notes: Canucks Defense, Fabbri, Benn, Parise
With the playoffs being a longshot for the Vancouver Canucks, the team needs to start focusing on next year, especially with their defense. General manager Jim Benning recently said that the blueline needs work and the team could find themselves being active participants in free agency this summer.
“We’re going to look this summer to try and change things up in the back end. There’s work to be done on defence,” he told reporters.
The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the team will likely make a play for San Jose’s Erik Karlsson, Toronto’s Jake Gardiner and Winnipeg’s Tyler Myers or even try and deal for Jacob Trouba. All are possibilities, although many of them are likely to be longshots. In fact, there may not be many big-name defensive free agents that Vancouver can add.
However, while the team feels good about bringing Quinn Hughes on board later this year, possibly in the next few weeks, and have him take over a spot on the team’s top-four immediately, the Canucks have quite a few decisions of their own roster to make, including the status of defenseman Alexander Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but has indicated a willingness to return to the team even though a they haven’t managed to work out an extension yet. The team will also have to give a significant pay raise to defenseman Ben Hutton who has had a solid season in Vancouver this year.
The Canucks are expected to give a long look to blueliner Ashton Sautner, and still have high expectations for Olli Juolevi, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Regardless, the team will need to do something to improve the teams defense next season.
- It hasn’t exactly been the year that St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri would have hoped for, but the oft-injured winger feels that his play is starting to turn the corner for the Blues, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fabbri has appeared in just 29 games this season with just five points, but with injuries to Brayden Schenn and David Perron, Fabbri has been receiving those extra minutes as well as some time on the power play, showing some signs that interim head coach Craig Berube is starting to show some confidence in the 23-year-old forward, who has lost almost two seasons to serious knee injuries. “I’ve been feeling good, and I’ve been feeling good for a while,” Fabbri said. “But there’s nothing like playing games. There’s a lot of things during the game that you can only practice in-game. It’s nice that I’m getting that opportunity right now.” Coincidentally, Fabbri has been made a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game, replaced by Sammy Blais, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac.
- The Dallas Stars get a big boost on their offensive end as veteran forward Jamie Benn is expected back to their lineup Saturday against St. Louis, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. Benn was forced to leave their Feb. 24th game against the Chicago Blackhawks after suffering an upper-body injury early in the game and subsequently missed the next two games. “I’m good. Ready to go,” Benn said. “100 percent.” The team could use an offensive boost even though Benn hasn’t had his usual type of season with just 21 goals and just 20 assists in 61 games this season.
- The Minnesota Wild will be without veteran forward Zach Parise, who will miss Saturday’s game in Calgary and is questionable for Sunday’s game against Nashville with a foot injury, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The 34-year-old Parise is having a impressive season with 24 goals and 54 points and has been hot lately with a goal and four assists in his last five games.
Pacific Notes: Burns, Kane, Quick, Carrier
Already without Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson for Sunday, the San Jose Sharks could be without another Norris Trophy winner on Sunday as well as defenseman Brent Burns skipped today’s voluntary practice with a flu bug and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, according to the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka. Oh, and Burns currently holds the iron man streak of 454 straight games played.
There’s a “little bit of a flu bug going through the team,” said Sharks’ head coach Peter DeBoer.
The team already announced that Karlsson will miss Sunday’s game due to re-tweaking a groin injury last week. However, the team hasn’t played a game without Burns on the ice since Nov. 21, 2013. The defenseman currently leads all Sharks with 71 points in 65 games and is in the running for his second Norris Trophy in the last three years. If Burns can’t play, the team is expected to utilize Joakim Ryan to replace him. Ryan hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 22.
- Sticking with the Sharks, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that Evander Kane‘s remains questionable for Sunday’s game after missing Friday with an undisclosed middle-body injury. Kurz writes that the injury to Kane is not considered to be serious. The 27-year-old has 27 goals and 51 points this year and is closing in on career highs in both areas.
- The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required) suggests that this may be Jonathan Quick‘s last season in Los Angeles as the team might be looking to trade their longtime goaltender. With a solid season by backup Jack Campbell and the impressive play of rookie Calvin Petersen, the team could consider moving on from Quick. While most teams in need of a goaltender might be looking at Sergei Bobrovsky as their first choice, Quick might make a solid second option for teams who miss out on Bobrovsky. Of course, the 33-year-old Quick isn’t having his best season as he has just 11 wins, a 3.31 GAA and a .897 save percentage and is owed $5.8MM for four more years. However, most people expect Quick to rebound after a tough, injury-plagued season.
- David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Vegas Golden Knights fourth-liner William Carrier, who has missed six straight games with an upper-body injury and has appeared in only 48 games this season, could begin skating today and could return to the lineup within the next two weeks. Carrier is second in the NHL in hits with 247 this season, two behind teammate Ryan Reaves.