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Philadelphia Flyers Claim Lukas Sedlak

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

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

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

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

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

Snapshots: Nichushkin, Keenan, Carter

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The IIHF has dropped all charges related to a years-old doping allegation for Valeri Nichushkin, according to the Russian Hockey Federation. The decision follows the additional analysis of a sample given back in 2013, when he was still playing with Traktor Chelyabinsk. It had been reanalyzed in 2019 and found to have a “suspicious level of testosterone,” leading to an additional investigation.

While this wouldn’t have affected his NHL standing, it could have impacted Nichushkin’s international eligibility. He hasn’t played at the World Championship since 2017, or Olympics since 2014.

  • Speaking of IIHF announcements, there’s another big name in the news today. Mike Keenan, legendary (and infamous) hockey coach, will lead the Italian men’s national team in the 2023 World Championship. The program is ramping up in preparation for hosting the 2026 winter Olympics in Milan, and has brought in a well-known name to get them on track. Keenan hasn’t coached professionally since the 2017-18 season when he was with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL, and hasn’t been an NHL head coach since 2009 with the Calgary Flames. The 72-year-old has championships at the NHL, KHL, and AHL levels, and coached Canada at the Worlds in 1993.
  • Anson Carter is now a minority owner of the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, as the controlling interest of the club was transferred today. Alex Campbell will serve as majority owner, while Carter, a veteran of nearly 700 games in the NHL, is just excited to be involved in pro hockey in his “adopted hometown” of Atlanta. The Gladiators start their season on Friday when they take on the defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades.

Snapshots: Ruff, Valimaki, Segafredo

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In today’s edition of their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek name New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff as being one of the early names on the hot seat to start the year. The Devils have dropped both their opening games to the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings.

Although they’ve played well overall in both outings, they’ve gotten just a .804 save percentage from Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood, goaltending that doesn’t exactly permit you to win many games. Firing Ruff may not fix that, but some of his usage decisions have admittedly been puzzling as well. Forward Jesper Bratt, who has three points in those two games and has been extremely strong analytically to start the year, ranks sixth among Devils forwards in average ice time to start the year, behind players like Ondrej Palat, who has a -5 rating and is pointless through two games.

  • PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan notes that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki will make his team debut tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs after being claimed off waivers last week from the Calgary Flames. Valimaki has been unable to play with the team due to work visa issues in the US, which still aren’t resolved, but he can play in Canada on the team’s three-game road trip through the eastern part of the country. He’s looking to secure a full-time NHL role again after playing just nine games for the Flames last year.
  • The WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders today released forward Alessandro Segafredo, who will be returning home to Europe. The Italian-born forward was technically eligible for last year’s draft but was born on the cutoff date of September 15, so he’s hardly an overage prospect. He raised some eyebrows in his first North American appearance, registering 10 points in 19 games last year for the Seattle Thunderbirds, but has scored just five points in 25 games split between the Raiders and Winnipeg Ice since. Segafredo has a Swiss player license and will likely return there to continue his junior career.

Coaching Notes: Laviolette, Green, Keenan

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There are currently four NHL head coaches in the final seasons of their contracts.  Avoiding the ‘lame duck’ situation is something teams try to do and on that note, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported on the latest TSN Insider Trading segment that extension discussions are believed to be underway between the Capitals and bench boss Peter Laviolette.  The 57-year-old is in his third season behind the bench in Washington with the team playing to a .636 points percentage in his 140 games at the helm.  With GM Brian MacLellan admitting to LeBrun in a piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that a rebuild is basically off the table with their commitment to their veteran core, it makes sense that they’d want to keep Laviolette, whose reputation is that he’s a win-now coach, in the fold.

Other coaching news from around the hockey world:

  • One name who didn’t get much attention for coaching vacancies this summer was former Vancouver head coach Travis Green. As TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in that Insider Trading segment, Green wanted to recharge before putting his name out there for openings.  That recharge has now happened and he’ll do some consulting for Switzerland’s national team this season while waiting for his next coaching opportunity at the NHL level to present itself.
  • Long-time NHL head coach Mike Keenan is heading behind the bench again. Or, more specifically, he will be coaching again in a few years as the 72-year-old confirmed to the Associated Press that he has been named Italy’s head coach for the 2026 Olympics which will be held in Italy.  Keenan was an NHL bench boss for 20 years, last running things in Calgary in 2008-09.  His last coaching opportunity was in the KHL back in 2017 with Kunlun.  Interestingly, the Italian vacancy was created recently when their head coach was hired away by Kunlun earlier this year.

Snapshots: Bowness, Kings Staff Updates, Bieksa

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The Winnipeg Jets have announced that head coach Rick Bowness has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of the test, Bowness will not be able to coach tonight’s season-opening game against the New York Rangers, and assistant coach Scott Arniel will assume head coaching duties in the interim during Bowness’ absence.

This news isn’t ideal for Bowness and the Jets, although it’s thankfully not a regular occurrence in the NHL as it used to be, nor is it the sort of development that could threaten to derail a season, as some COVID positives have been in the past. The Jets will afford Bowness the time he needs to get back to full health while Arniel takes the reins in the interim. Arniel, 60, was an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals for four seasons before joining Bowness’ staff this summer, and he has six years of head coaching experience on his resume split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Los Angeles Kings announced updates to their hockey operations staff last night. Per the announcement, Nelson Emerson has been promoted to the position of Assistant General Manager, while Glen Murray has been promoted to Senior Director of Player Personnel. As Zach Dooley of L.A. Kings Insider writes, both executives have been “key right-hand men” for GM Rob Blake, meaning their promotions could be a response to the Kings’ encouraging 2021-22 season.
  • Former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Vancouver Canucks yesterday in order to retire with the team he spent most of his 808-game NHL career with. Bieksa, 41, is best remembered from his playing days as a hard-nosed, physical defenseman, and he is now most visible as a studio analyst on Sportsnet’s NHL broadcasts.

Buffalo Sabres Extend Don Granato

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The Buffalo Sabres have looked like an entirely different team under head coach Don Granato, even if the postseason results have been the same. The team seems energized and is developing an impressive core of young players to go along with some veterans that have rediscovered their game. Because of that success, the Sabres have decided to sign Granato to a multi-year contract extension. General manager Kevyn Adams explained:

Don’s passion for the game and leadership skills have been on display since the moment we met. He is someone who the players have a tremendous amount of respect for, and he dedicates himself to bettering each individual on the team. 

Don’s mentality of ’earning it’ resonates throughout the team – it is more than just a mindset, it is a driving force for our players and staff. I appreciate his thoughtfulness when it comes to developing our players and the open communication we are able to have about the team. I am happy to extend Don’s contract, keeping him in Western New York for many years to come.

Granato’s contract already extended through the 2023-24 season, meaning he’ll be around for quite a while with this new deal in hand. Entering his second full season with the team, he’ll be looking to take another step forward and take the record over .500. Last season, the Sabres went 32-39-11 in the tough Atlantic Division, missing the playoffs by quite a bit.

But it was the growth of players like Tage Thompson, who broke out for 38 goals, and the resurgence of highly-paid Jeff Skinner, who had 33, that was so impressive. With a defense corps that now boasts two first-overall picks in Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, a forward group that has breakout candidates like Dylan Cozzens and Peyton Krebs, and improved goaltending in place, the Sabres may at least put a scare in some of the Eastern Conference powerhouses, even if the playoffs don’t happen right away.

Snapshots: Kravtsov, Pastrnak, Flames

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The New York Rangers and winger Vitali Kravtsov were both hoping that the former top prospect could finally make an NHL impact this season in a top-six role. Unfortunately for Kravtsov, his season has gotten off to a rough start. After taking a hit early in the first period of tonight’s season opener from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, the Rangers said that Kravtsov would not return to the game with an upper-body injury.

The ninth overall pick in 2018 returned to North America this season after spending last year with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL, recording 13 points in 19 games. He made his season debut tonight skating on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. Kravtsov played just 1:28 before leaving the game.

  • Talks remain amicable between the Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak on an extension. Still, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported today that the Bruins have yet to make a specific offer to Pastrnak’s camp. It makes sense, all things considered, as Pastrnak has publically said multiple times since he was eligible for an extension that his main focus is on starting the season strong. The team will need to rely on him heavily, of course, with Brad Marchand out of the lineup. Dreger cited Jonathan Huberdeau’s recent eight-year, $84MM extension as a reasonable comparison.
  • Speaking of the Calgary Flames, head coach Darryl Sutter said today that the team has “no need” to name a captain ahead of the 2022-23 season. The Flames have not had a captain since the 2021 offseason when Mark Giordano was claimed in the expansion draft by the Seattle Kraken. New acquisition Huberdeau was a commonly discussed candidate for the role, as well as longtime Flame, Mikael Backlund.

Flames Sign Darryl Sutter To A Two-Year Extension

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Darryl Sutter’s second stint with the Flames will be lasting a little while longer as the team announced that they’ve signed their bench boss to a two-year contract extension.

Sutter spent parts of nine seasons with Calgary in the early 2000s as both their head coach and general manager.  He somewhat surprisingly returned to the team in the 2020-21 campaign as he took over for Geoff Ward.  The 64-year- signed a three-year deal at that time with the final season of that deal coming in 2022-23.

While Sutter’s return may have been surprising, this particular news shouldn’t be.  Calgary has thrived with Sutter behind the bench with the team posting a 65-36-11 record under his tutelage.  On top of that, the Flames won the Pacific Division last season with a points percentage of .677, the second-best in franchise history.  That helped Sutter take home the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year for 2021-22.

Sutter will be at the helm of a team that has undergone some significant changes this summer, ones that often aren’t seen from a reigning division winner.  Long-time core players Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk have moved on while Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar all came to town and inked long-term deals in recent weeks.  As a result, there could be some early-season struggles as those players adapt to his system but Calgary still projects to be one of the top teams in the West this season.  Sutter currently sits 11th in NHL history for victories (699) and will only be going up on that list over the next few years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Waivers: 10/04/22

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After all of the players from yesterday cleared, there is a new batch of talent on waivers today. Placement here is usually indicative of a training camp cut, though not necessarily. It gives teams the option to send a player to the minor leagues, but that doesn’t have to happen right away. Until a player spends 30 days on the active roster or plays in ten regular season games, they won’t have to clear waivers again.

Here are the players on waivers today:

Boston Bruins

Oskar Steen
Nick Wolff
Connor Carrick

Buffalo Sabres

Sean Malone

Chicago Blackhawks

Luke Philp
Nicolas Beaudin
Dylan Sikura
Brett Seney

Columbus Blue Jackets

Brendan Gaunce

Minnesota Wild

Zane McIntyre

Montreal Canadiens

Alex Belzile
Anthony Richard
Mitchell Stephens

New Jersey Devils

Tyler Wotherspoon
Robbie Russo
Joseph Gambardella
Jeremy Groleau

Pittsburgh Penguins

Taylor Fedun

Vancouver Canucks

Collin Delia
John Stevens
Noah Juulsen
Brady Keeper
Guillaume Brisebois

Snapshots: Bruins Injuries, Carcone, Caggiula, Sharks Front Office

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This afternoon saw a preseason rivalry contest with the Boston Bruins playing host to the Philadelphia Flyers. For the most part, things went the Bruins’ way, as they defeated the Flyers 4-0 with young forwards John Beecher and Marc McLaughlin each netting a pair of goals. Despite the promising performance, the team did have a couple of injury scares when both Fabian Lysell and Taylor Hall were forced to leave the game with injuries.

However, it looks like Boston avoided the worst with these injuries. In speaking to the media, including The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said both players only have minor injuries. Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now adds that both will be out only one or two days. Injuries are never good news, but for a Boston team trying to compete despite a myriad of long-term injuries already on the books, missing a dynamic forward like Hall and a top prospect trying to make the team like Lysell for only a few days is certainly a relief.

  • The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled forward Michael Carcone from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Carcone, who is entering the second year of a two-year, two-way deal, had only just cleared waivers yesterday. The 26-year-old winger is a veteran of six AHL seasons, and just made his NHL debut last year for Arizona where he contributed four goals and two assists in 21 games. Clearing waivers may not feel like a great sign for a player, however given Arizona’s current state as well as Carcone’s track record of AHL production and his NHL contributions last season, he should still be able to find opportunities going forward.
  • For his career, when healthy, forward Drake Caggiula has proven he can be an impactful depth player for whatever team he’s been on. The key words there, though, are ’when healthy.’ Perhaps the most notable injury of Caggiula’s came last season, when the forward missed the final 64 games of the Buffalo Sabres’ season with a herniated disc in his neck. Recently, Caggiula had a chance to speak with Trib Live’s Seth Rorabaugh about his injury last season, his recovery, and his play this preseason. The forward mentioned that before his surgery in February, not only was he unable to play hockey, but his quality of life was severely impacted. However, after having surgery, relief was immediate and he was able to recover. Now, the 28 year old says he feels fully healthy. That much appears clear now, not just from Caggiula’s own words, but he has impressed in training camp as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who he signed a one-year, two-way contract with this summer. In three intra-squad scrimmages, Caggiula has three goals, in addition to scoring the Penguins’ only goal of the day in today’s 3-1 loss to the Sabres.
  • The San Jose Sharks and GM Mike Grier today announced several new hockey operations hires. Dominik Zrim, Director of Salary Cap Management/CBA Compliance; A.J. Bernstein, Coordinator, Hockey Analytics; Martin Uhnak, European Scout, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland; Cody Ward, Assistant Video Coach; and Brian Ganz, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach. Already with the Sharks, but now promoted, is Stephen DiLustro, who was promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning, who had been working under Mike Potenza in that role. Interestingly, Zrim is one of the co-founders of website CapFriendly, which tracks player transactions and salary, as well as salary cap related topics.

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