- Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters, including Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune, that goaltender Corey Crawford is on track to practice with the team next week. While that doesn’t bode well for his odds of being available to start the season, he shouldn’t miss too much time past the opener. In the meantime, that will allow the team to keep Anton Forsberg up to start the season instead of running him through waivers over the next couple of days.
Blackhawks Rumors
Blackhawks Sign Brandon Davidson To A One-Year Contract
Brandon Davidson’s tryout with Chicago has proven to be successful as the Blackhawks announced (Twitter link) that they have signed the defenseman to a one-year $650K contract.
2017-18 was a whirlwind for the 27-year-old. After starting the season with Montreal, he dropped down the depth chart and was ultimately placed on waivers at the beginning of December. Edmonton placed a claim, bringing him back to his original organization but he didn’t stay there for too long as just before the trade deadline, the Islanders dealt a 2019 third-round pick to secure Davidson’s rights to give them some extra depth for their postseason push that ultimately fell short.
On the season, he wound up playing in 51 games between the three teams, collecting just four goals and three assists while averaging 16:49 per night in ice time. That output wasn’t enough to justify the Islanders tendering him a $1.55MM qualifying offer back in June which made him an unrestricted free agent.
Davidson should have a chance to make an immediate impact in Chicago as their back end is already banged up. Connor Murphy is dealing with a back injury and won’t be back until either November or December while Gustav Forsling is still recovering from offseason wrist surgery. Brent Seabrook is also nursing an abdomen injury although he could play in the season opener. That should allow Davidson to start the season in a third-pairing role and once the team is fully healthy, he’ll serve as an experienced extra player making the league minimum salary which is a nice bargain for the Blackhawks to have.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/26/18
After a handful of preseason games last night and with another set of contests coming later today, teams have begun to ice lineups more similar to what they could look like on Opening Night. Most teams are working to trim their roster to 30 players or less for their final preseason games and those efforts will be evident today. Follow along here for all of the camp cuts across the NHL:
Boston Bruins (per team release)
F Anton Blidh (to Providence, AHL)
F Colby Cave (to Providence, AHL)
D Cody Goloubef (to Providence, AHL)
F Mark McNeill (to Providence, AHL)
G Dan Vladar (to Providence, AHL)
F Jack Studnicka (to Oshawa, OHL)
Buffalo Sabres (per team Twitter update)
G Jonas Johansson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Danny O’Regan (to Rochester, AHL)
F C.J. Smith (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (per team release; Twitter update)
F Spencer Foo (to Stockton, AHL)
F Glenn Gawdin (to Stockton, AHL)
D Oliver Kylington (to Stockton, AHL)
F Ryan Lomberg (to Stockton, AHL)
D Adam Ollas Mattsson (to Stockton, AHL)
G Tyler Parsons (to Stockton, AHL)
F Matthew Phillips (to Stockton, AHL)
F Brett Pollock (to Stockton, AHL)
F Gilbert Brule (released from PTO)
D Justin Falk (released from PTO)
G Jeff Glass (released from PTO)
F Henrik Samuelsson (released from PTO)
D Duncan Siemens (released from PTO)
F Logan Shaw (released from PTO)
D Ryan Sproul (released from PTO)
D Viktor Svedberg (released from PTO)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
D Jake Bean (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Clark Bishop (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Charlotte, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team Twitter update; second update)
F Victor Ejdsell (to Rockford, AHL)
F Alexandre Fortin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matthew Highmore (to Rockford, AHL)
D Adam Boqvist (to London, OHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
F Travis Barron (to Colorado, AHL)
F A.J. Greer (to Colorado, AHL)
G Spencer Martin (to Colorado, AHL)
D Nicholas Meloche (to Colorado, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Michael Prapavessis (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Sam Vigneault (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Liam Foudy (to London, OHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Byron Froese (to Laval, AHL)
D Brett Lernout (to Laval, AHL)
F Michael McCarron (to Laval, AHL)
F Hunter Shinkaruk (to Laval, AHL)
D Rinat Valiev (to Laval, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per team release)
F Eeli Tolvanen (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Brian Cooper (released from PTO)
New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter update)
D Egor Yakovlev (to Binghamton, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (per team release)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (to San Jose, AHL)
F Noah Gregor (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
F Maxim Letunov (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jonathan Martin (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jacob Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
D Keaton Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Francis Perron (to San Jose, AHL)
F Vincent Praplan (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jeremy Roy (to San Jose, AHL)
F Alex True (to San Jose, AHL)
F Manuel Wiederer (to San Jose, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to San Jose, AHL)
F Sasha Chmelevski (to Ottawa, OHL)
G Zachary Emond (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team Twitter update)
D Andrew Nielsen (to Toronto, AHL)
D Rasmus Sandin (to Toronto, AHL)
F Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (to Peterborough, OHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter update)
D Connor Hobbs (to Hershey, AHL)
F Juuso Ikonen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to Hershey, AHL)
F Garret Pilon (to Hershey, AHL)
D Colby Williams (to Hershey, AHL)
Winnipeg Jets (per team Twitter update; release)
D Charles-David Beaudoin (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Simon Bourque (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Jacob Cederholm (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Luke Green (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Tye McGinn (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Matt Ustaski (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Ken Appleby (released from PTO)
Central Notes: Fabbri, Crawford, Boqvist, Jokiharju, Wild
St. Louis Blues winger Robby Fabbri may have avoided a scare today when he went down in the first period of today’s preseason game in Columbus with what the team refers to as a lower-body injury. While there is no word on the severity of the injury, the St. Louis Blues tweeted that head coach Mike Yeo reported that the injury is not related to Fabbri’s knee. In fact, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann tweeted that he saw Fabbri walking around after the game as if nothing was wrong.
Optimism had started to grow in St. Louis considering how good Fabbri has looked in training camp and the way he performed in his first preseason game. The 22-year-old showed promise with an 18-goal rookie campaign and had 11 goals in his second season before going down with a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the 2016-17 season. He then re-injured the knee in training camp last year and missed the entire 2017-18 season. After a rigorous rehabilitation of his knee, the team can only hope the injury isn’t too serious.
- The Chicago Blackhawks got good news as The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) reports that goaltender Corey Crawford may be close to the next step in his recovery from a concussion last season. The scribe writes that Crawford may be ready in the near future to practice with the team after a positive report from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. “Moving, progressing well, he had a really good day again today, getting closer,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “I think whether they ratcheted up a little bit more in the workload, but definitely in the right direction. Getting closer to hopefully in a practice.” Quenneville avoided questions on when that might happen, however.
- In the same piece, Powers writes that both Adam Boqvist and Henry Jokiharju are both still in play to making the Blackhawks roster, although Jokiharju is a little ahead of the two. Quenneville said that Boqvist is expected to play in all of their three exhibition games this week to get a better look at them. While it’s possible the team could keep both players, it seems more likely the team will keep just one.
- Dan Myers of NHL.com writes that the Minnesota Wild have been really impressed by the preseason line of Jordan Greenway, Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. That combination of players, who have center experience, have really found cohesion in training camp. The three are solid defensively, have offensive firepower and also give the team much needed size as Eriksson Ek is the smallest of the three at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Greenway, the least experienced of the group at center, has taken that position over and has fared extremely well. “They just work so hard and they’re all very big and strong guys,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once they get on you, they’re like a dog on a bone.”
Training Camp Cuts: 9/22/18
Plenty of players were cut from training camps around the league yesterday and today will probably be no different, especially with the waiver wire now open. We’ll keep track of all the cuts here and will update this post throughout the day.
Note that this list does not cover players placed on waivers today. Those players can be found here.
Anaheim Ducks (per team release)
D Terrance Amorosa (to San Diego, AHL)
G Lukas Dostal (to SK Horacka Slavia Trebic, Czech league)
F Alex Dostie (to San Diego, AHL)
D Hunter Drew (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
F Justin Ducharme (released from ATO)
G Olle Eriksson-Ek (to BIK Karlskoga, SHL)
D Chris Forney (to San Diego, AHL)
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Scott Moldenhauer (to San Diego, AHL)
F Antoine Morand (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Julius Nattinen (to San Diego, AHL)
F Kyle Olson (to Tri-City, WHL)
F Tyler Soy (to San Diego, AHL)
F Ben Thomson (to San Diego, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (per team release)
F Eric Cornel (to Rochester, AHL)
F Vasily Glotov (to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (to Rochester, AHL)
F Kevin Porter (to Rochester, AHL)
D Zach Redmond (to Rochester, AHL)
D Devante Stephens (to Rochester, AHL)
G Adam Wilcox (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (per team release)
G Nick Schneider (to Stockton, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team Twitter)
F Radovan Bondra (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
F Alex Broadhurst (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
D Andrew Campbell (to Rockford, AHL)
D Dennis Gilbert (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matheson Iacopelli (to Rockford, AHL)
F Graham Knott (to Rockford, AHL)
F Anthony Louis (to Rockford, AHL)
F Jordan Schroeder (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)
D Luc Snuggerud (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (via team Twitter)
G Shane Starrett (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
F Jonathan Ang (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ludwig Bystrom (to Springfield, AHL)
G Chris Driedger (released from PTO, to Springfield, AHL)
F Sebastian Repo (to Springfield, AHL)
F Paul Thompson (to Springfield, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release; PTO cuts via Sirius XM’s Jonathan Davis)
D Kyle Bauman (released from PTO)
F Jamie Devane (released from PTO)
F Mike Eyssimont (to Ontario, AHL)
D Stepan Falkovsky (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sam Herr (released from PTO)
F Boko Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
G Cole Kehler (to Ontario, AHL)
F Matt Luff (to Ontario, AHL)
F Philippe Maillet (released from PTO)
F Brad Morrison (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
D Chaz Reddekopp (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
D Matt Roy (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)
D Austin Strand (to Ontario, AHL)
F Brett Sutter (released from PTO)
D Sean Walker (to Ontario, AHL)
F Spencer Watson (to Ontario, AHL)Read more
Central Notes: MacKinnon, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Honka
The Colorado Avalanche had a phenomenal turnaround season last year after many years where the team was considered among the bottom-fodder of the league. Yet in one year, the team now looks like an ever-improving playoff team that is definitely heading in the right direction. The team also has one more thing going for them — that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who in one year also has established himself into one of the top players in the league after posting 39 goals and 97 points last season. The 23-year-old is also, fortunately for the team, locked up for five more years at a very reasonable $6.3MM AAV.
In fact, the young superstar told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that the money isn’t an issue for him even though he could make a salary much closer to that of Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM contract if he was a free agent right now.
“If I was up, I would ask for more than what I’m getting now,” MacKinnon told The Denver Post. “I think you want to get paid what you’re worth. And at the time, I thought I was paid what I was worth. But I’m trying to get better every day and money is the last thing on my mind. It really is. I just want the respect of my teammates, respect from my peers and to reach my own expectations.”
Regardless of MacKinnon’s lack of worry about being paid as a top player, he can’t negotiate a new contract until July 1, 2022, when he’ll be 28 years, so he could be even better then.
- The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield feels that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henry Jokiharju has already made the team and feels it isn’t too early to declare that fact. The 19-year-old first-rounder in 2017 has impressed in camp and has been among the top seven defenseman in camp. On top of that with injuries to Connor Murphy and Gustav Forsling, who are both expected to be out until at least November, Jokiharju has found that opening that should slot him in with Erik Gustafsson as a third-pairing defenseman to start the season. The hope would be that he would earn the right to stay in the first month of the season and force Chicago to make a tough decision when Murphy and Gustafsson return.
- Speaking of Blackhawks’ defensive prospects, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney suggests that 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist has re-established himself as a candidate for a roster spot on the Blackhawks after an impressive performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Many people felt he would be re-assigned after the game, but head coach John Quenneville stated that Boqvist would be staying with the team – for now.
- Matthew DeFranks of SportsDay writes that only two players will have played in all three of their recent preseason games, including Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Thursday’s game against Minnesota and tonight’s game against Florida in defensemen Julius Honka and Gavin Bayreuther. While Honka is a lock to make the roster, head coach Jim Montgomery wants him to play as much as possible to increase his confidence. However, the team also wants to see as much as it can of Bayreuther, who will likely end up with the AHL Texas Stars, but could be the top defenseman to be called up, if Montgomery likes what he sees.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/21/18
Nearly 60 players were cut from training camps around the league yesterday, and today will probably be no different. We’ll keep track of all the cuts here and will update this post throughout the day.
Note that this list does not cover players placed on waivers today. Those players can be found here.
Calgary Flames (per team release)
F Justin Auger (released from PTO; to Stockton, AHL)
F Yasin Ehliz (to Stockton, AHL)
F Jordan Ernst (released from PTO; to Stockton, AHL)
F Zach Fischer (to Stockton, AHL)
D Josh Healey (to Stockton, AHL)
G Mason McDonald (to Stockton, AHL)
F Mike McMurtry (to Stockton, AHL)
D Andrew O’Brien (to Stockton, AHL)
D Michael Paliotta (to Stockton, AHL)
F Scott Sabourin (released from PTO; to Stockton, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
D Josiah Didier (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Michael Fora (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Jeremy Helvig (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Steven Lorentz (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Cliff Pu (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Aleksi Saarela (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Josh Wesley (to Charlotte, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team release and team Twitter account)
D Nicolas Beaudin (to Drummondville, QMJHL)
D Lucas Carlsson (to Rockford, AHL)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (to Hamilton, OHL)
D Blake Hillman (to Rockford, AHL)
G Kevin Lankinen (to Rockford, AHL)
F Nathan Noel (to Rockford, AHL)
D Darren Raddysh (to Rockford, AHL)
F Henrik Samuelsson (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
Dallas Stars (per Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News)
D Jakob Stenqvist (IF Bjorkloven, Allsvenskan)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Morgan Adams-Moisan (to Laval, AHL)
F Jeremiah Addison (to Laval, AHL)
F Alexandre Alain (to Laval, AHL)
F Daniel Audette (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Will Bitten (to Laval, AHL)
D Josh Brook (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
D Ryan Culkin (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Jake Evans (to Laval, AHL)
D Cale Fleury (to Laval, AHL)
F Alexandre Grenier (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Nikita Jevpalovs (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
D Maxim Lamarche (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
G Etienne Marcoux (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Phelix Martineau (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
D T.J. Melancon (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Michael Pezzetta (to Laval, AHL)
D Adam Plant (released from PTO; to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Antoine Waked (to Laval, AHL)
D Scott Walford (to Victoria, WHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
D Guillaume Brisebois (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
G Ivan Kubalkov (released from ATO; to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Zack MacEwen (to Utica, AHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)
D Dylan Coghlan (to Chicago, AHL)
F Reid Duke (to Chicago, AHL)
G Zach Fucale (to Chicago, AHL)
F Tomas Hyka (to Chicago, AHL)
D Kevin Lough (to Chicago, AHL)
F Brooks Macek (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jimmy Oligny (to Chicago, AHL)
F Gage Quinney (to Chicago, AHL)
D Zach Whitecloud (to Chicago, AHL)
F Tyler Wong (to Chicago, AHL)
Connor Murphy Out At Least Eight Weeks With Back Injury
Sep 19: The Blackhawks issued an update on Murphy’s status, indicating that he will be off the ice for the next six weeks and is looking at somewhere between eight and twelve weeks before actually getting back into the lineup. That confirms that the Blackhawks will be without him for a good chunk of the season, and will need to find someone else to step up on the blue line.
Sep 14: The Chicago Blackhawks have question marks all through their group of defenseman, and got another one today when it was announced that Connor Murphy will miss the next eight weeks with a back injury. Murphy was locked into a role with the team heading into camp, but will have to sit out well into November as it turns out. The team also announced that Brent Seabrook will miss a week with an abdominal injury, and Gustav Forsling continues to work his way back from wrist surgery.
After a down year from Seabrook and Duncan Keith, Chicago is coming into the season without a real obvious plan on the blue line. Murphy’s injury will only complicate things and could lead the Blackhawks to bringing along a young player like Henri Jokiharju for the first part of the season. Jokiharju, Chicago’s first round pick from 2017, had an outstanding 2017-18 season with the Portland Winterhawks and could be ready for NHL competition even at the tender age of 19. The Finnish defenseman has shown an incredible ability to move the puck under pressure and could quickly become the primary option for the Blackhawks on the powerplay.
Still, that’s a lot to ask of a teenager at this point, especially given the pressure that is on the Blackhawks to perform this season. After a down year the team is still stuck in contract purgatory given their huge commitments to Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Seabrook and Keith, and needs to find a way back into the playoffs immediately. There’s no rebuild happening in Chicago, though the organization does have several interesting young names who will play a big role up front this season. Jokiharju, or whoever is given an opportunity in Murphy’s absence, will be asked to shoulder a lot of responsibility right away.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/19/18
NHL regular season action is just a few weeks away, and as the preseason schedule gets started teams are reducing their training camp rosters. We’ll keep track of all the cuts right here:
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
F Tyler Steenbergen (to Tucson, AHL)
F Kelly Klima (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jordan Gross (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jacob Graves (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jalen Smereck (to Tucson, AHL)
D Kevin Ekman-Larsson (to Tucson, AHL)
F Liam Kirk (to Peterborough, OHL)
F Nate Schnarr (to Guelph, OHL)
D Kevin Bahl (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Dennis Busby (to Flint, OHL)
D Noel Hoefenmayer (to Ottawa, OHL)
G Ivan Prosvetov (to Saginaw, OHL)
G David Tendeck (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Jan Jenik (to Liberec, Czech Rep.)
Boston Bruins (per team release)
F Austin Fyten (to Providence, AHL)
F Brett McKenzie (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
D Olivier Galipeau (to Providence, AHL)
D Joel Messner (to Providence, AHL)
D Wiley Sherman (to Providence, AHL)
G Alex Sakellaropoulos (to Providence, AHL)
F Cedric Pare (to Saint John, QMJHL)
D Daniel Bukac (to Brandon, WHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Oshawa, OHL)
D Mark Fayne (released from tryout)
F Marcel Noebels (released from tryout)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)
F Philipp Kurashev (to Quebec, QMJHL)
D Jake Ryczek (to Halifax, QMJHL)
G Alexis Gravel (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Shaw Boomhower (released from tryout)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
F J.C. Beaudin (to Colorado, AHL)
F Matthew Boucher (to Colorado, AHL)
F Josh Dickinson (to Colorado, AHL)
F Grayson Downing (to Colorado, AHL)
F Julien Nantel (to Colorado, AHL)
D Turner Ottenbreit (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kevin Davis (to Colorado, AHL)
D Nolan De Jong (to Colorado, AHL)
F Nick Henry (to Regina, WHL)
F Brandon Saigeon (to Hamilton, OHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to Edmonton, WHL)
F Egor Sokolov (released from tryout)
D Jordan Sambrook (released from tryout)
Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of NHL.com)
F Riley Damiani (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Brett Davis (to Kootenay, WHL)
F Ty Dellandrea (to Flint, OHL)
F Curtis Douglas (to Windsor, OHL)
F Liam Hawel (to Guelph, OHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (to Kamloops, WHL)
F Jason Robertson (to Kingston, OHL)
D Dawson Barteaux (to Red Deer, WHL)
G Anthony Popovich (released from tryout)
Edmonton Oilers (per team release)
F Nolan Vesey (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Ostap Safin (to Saint John, QMJHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release)
F Aidan Dudas (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Nathan Dunkley (to London, OHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Mississauga, OHL)
D Michal Ivan (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
D Markus Phillips (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Mark Rassell (released from ATO)
F Akil Thomas (to Niagara, OHL)
G Matthew Villalta (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)
F Gabriel Fortier (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Jackson Leppard (to Prince George, WHL)
F Mathew MacDougall (to Windsor, OHL)
F Chase Wouters (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Walter Flower (to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to Everett, WHL)
D Radim Salda (to Saint John, QMJHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)
C Lucas Elvenes (to Rogle, SHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Kamloops, WHL)
Washington Capitals (per team release)
F Eric Florchuk (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Kody Clark (to Ottawa, OHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Everett, WHL)
F Alex Kannock-Leipart (to Vancouver, WHL)
D Alexander Alexeyev (to Red Deer, WHL)
D Martin Fehervary (to HV71, SHL)
G Logan Thompson (released from tryout)
Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.
Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.
Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:
- C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
- RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
- C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
- C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
- C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
- C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
- D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
- RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
- RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
- C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
- LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
- LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
- RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
- C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
- LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
- C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
- RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets
Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins
What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?
Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
Pettersson
15.85%
(204 votes)
Dahlin
14.37%
(185 votes)
Zadina
11.19%
(144 votes)
Donato
9.87%
(127 votes)
Mittelstadt
6.92%
(89 votes)
Heiskanen
6.45%
(83 votes)
The Field - comment below
6.14%
(79 votes)
Svechnikov
5.75%
(74 votes)
Chytil
4.27%
(55 votes)
Tkachuk
3.50%
(45 votes)
Sikura
2.87%
(37 votes)
Vesalainen
2.25%
(29 votes)
Strome
1.94%
(25 votes)
Yamamoto
1.86%
(24 votes)
Tolvanen
1.71%
(22 votes)
Steel
1.71%
(22 votes)
Cirelli
1.17%
(15 votes)
Borgstrom
0.85%
(11 votes)
Abramov
0.62%
(8 votes)
Necas
0.54%
(7 votes)
Zykov
0.16%
(2 votes)
Total Votes: 1,287