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Schedule Notes: North Division, Future, ECHL

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The NHL has released the start times for the final three games of the North Division schedule, set to be played between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. Both teams are out of the playoff race and will now finish the year with a pair of afternoon tilts. The game on May 19 is especially noteworthy, as its 1:30pm MT start leaves the possibility for the North to start its playoffs that evening. Starting the playoffs the same day the regular season concludes is something deputy commissioner Bill Daly hinted at yesterday as the league tries to get through the 2020-21 season without any further delays.

The other three divisions will already be well into their first-round playoff matchups, with things kicking off on Saturday with the Washington Capitals hosting the Boston Bruins. Those two teams will meet tonight as well, though the Bruins aren’t going to risk any injuries; Boston will rest Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Craig Smith, Sean Kuraly, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Ondrej Kase, Matt Grzelcyk, Mike Reilly, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, Kevan Miller, and Tuukka Rask this evening.

  • As for the future, the league is expected to go back to the schedule matrix and playoff format that was used during the 2018-19 season, according to Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com, with the exception of course of the Seattle Kraken being added to the Pacific Division and the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central. Past the 2021-22 season though things may change, as Daly explained they are canvassing clubs to find out what it will look like down the line. The deputy commissioner suggested they may be able to release information on the 2022-23 scheduling format before the 2021-22 season starts.
  • There are other leagues preparing for a more regular 2021-22 campaign as well, including the ECHL which released its schedule today. The minor league will kick things off on October 21 and play 972 games through April 17, 2022. The ECHL will have 27 teams for next season, including new ones from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and Coralville, Iowa.

Michael Houser To Make NHL Debut

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The Buffalo Sabres will have an unfamiliar face in net tonight when they take on the New York Islanders. Michael Houser will make his NHL debut after nearly a decade in the minor leagues, playing mostly in the ECHL.

The undrafted goaltender spent three seasons with the London Knights of the OHL and made his professional debut with the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2012. Since then he has been shipped around, suiting up for the San Antonio Rampage, Ontario Reign, Manchester Monarchs, Cleveland Monsters, Fort Wayne Komets, and Tucson Roadrunners. He has spent basically this whole season as a practice goaltender, not even seeing any action for the Rochester Americans. Houser’s last appearance was in March 2020 with the ECHL’s Cyclones.

Coming into the season, an NHL debut wasn’t even a possibility for Houser. The minor league veteran had signed an AHL deal meaning he couldn’t even serve as the taxi squad netminder. But after injuries started to pile up, the Sabres signed Houser to his first NHL deal on March 19 and kept him as the third goaltender while the rest of his position peers were coming in and out with various injuries. Now, after the latest Sabres netminder, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday, Houser will get the chance of a lifetime.

Grinding in the ECHL isn’t glamourous, but Houser has managed to make 255 appearances there over his long minor league career. He was named Goaltender of the Year in 2019 after posting a .922 save percentage, going 29-7-5 in the process. Excellence isn’t anything new to Houser, who was once named not only goalie of the year in the OHL but won the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player. It’s been a very long road since then, but the 28-year-old will now be in an NHL net for the first time.

The Sabres have also been given an exemption from the league in order to sign Stefanos Lekkas to a professional tryout. The 25-year-old undrafted netminder is in his first professional season after four years at the University of Vermont. He could serve as backup for Houser tonight, but won’t actually get an entry-level deal.

Minor Transactions: 04/13/21

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The trade deadline has passed and movement in the NHL will slow considerably for the next several weeks. Still, deals for college free agents and international players should keep trickling in as players start to make decisions about their hockey-playing future. We’ll keep track of the notable minor moves right here.

  • The Rochester Americans have signed Brent Gates, Brendan Warren, and Stefanos Lekkas to professional tryouts. Gates, originally selected in the third round by the Anaheim Ducks, has split the last few seasons between the San Diego Gulls and Tulsa Oilers (with a short stop with the Indy Fuel). Once captain of the University of Minnesota, the 23-year-old Gates never signed an NHL deal. Warren comes with much the same story, a third-round pick that spent four years playing college hockey and never signed an NHL deal. Lekkas, a goaltender, also played four years of NCAA hockey, but was never drafted in the first place and has spent the majority of his career so far in the ECHL.
  • According to AHL reporter Mark Divver, the Chicago Wolves have signed Zach Solow to an amateur tryout, an interesting result for a player that some believed would land an NHL contract after his senior season at Northeastern. The undersized forward had 24 points in 21 games this season while serving as captain, but will now have to prove his worth in the minor leagues before earning an entry-level deal.

This page will be updated throughout the day

San Jose Sharks Sign Zach Sawchenko

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The San Jose Sharks snuck a signing in before the deadline, as AHL goaltender Zach Sawchenko has earned his first NHL deal. The Sharks have announced that Sawchenko has signed a two-year entry-level contract that starts this season. CapFriendly adds that the deal carries the minimum salary for both years, $700K in 2020-21 and $750K in 2021-22, for an AAV of $725K. Sawchenko will have an AHL salary of $80K in both seasons, albeit prorated for the current year.

Sawchenko, 23, was once a highly-regarded young prospect. A two-time WHL First Team All-Star with the Moose Jaw Warriors and a member of Canada’s 2015 U-18 World Juniors team, Sawchenko looked like a budding NHL prospect, but was somehow never drafted. He even attended two years at the University of Alberta, with his stellar numbers again pointing toward pro potential. The Sharks finally gave the netminder a shot last season, signing him to a minor league contract. He found success right away, putting up strong numbers in limited AHL and ECHL action, and this season has been even better. Through two seasons, Sawchenko has a .912 save percentage and 2.76 GAA in 16 AHL games and a .928 save percentage and 2.42 GAA in 20 ECHL games.

Signing Sawchenko now serves a couple different purposes for the Sharks. Firstly, San Jose needed another pro option this season following the trade of Devan Dubnyk. The team plans to use other youngsters Josef Korenar and Alexei Melnichuk as interchangeable backups to Martin Jones for the rest of the year, so Sawchenko is unlikely to see any NHL action too quickly. However, there are no other pro goalies in the system for San Jose and in the event of an injury at the NHL level Sawchenko would become third-string and would likely be on the taxi squad down the stretch or in the postseason should the Sharks qualify. Signing Sawchenko to a two-year deal this season also allows the Sharks to reduce his cap hit for next season below the league minimum without actually having to pay him the full salary for this season. In the event that he is able to crack the NHL roster at any point next season, Sawchenko will be as affordable a player as possible.

New York Rangers Sign Hunter Skinner

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After impressing so far in his first taste of professional hockey, Hunter Skinner has earned himself an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. The deal will begin in the 2021-22 season, with Skinner signing an AHL contract for the remainder of 2020-21.

The 19-year-old defenseman has played in 26 games with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL this season as he waited for the OHL to return to play, but hasn’t looked like he needs any more junior seasoning. In those 26 appearances, Skinner has seven goals and 17 points, holding his own against players sometimes more than a decade his senior. He currently ranks third among all ECHL defensemen in goals.

Not bad for a fourth-round pick in 2019, who needed just one year with the London Knights of the OHL to really take his game to a new level. The 6’2″ defenseman was also part of this year’s Team USA at the World Juniors, winning gold (though he played just one game).

There is certainly work to be done, but Skinner took another strong step in his development this season and should be a full-time member of the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2020-21.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Max Willman

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The Philadelphia Flyers have rewarded a player that has been grinding for years, signing Max Willman to a two-year two-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $750K and begins in the 2021-22 season.

Originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres way back in 2014, Willman played four years at Brown University, one at Boston University and then spent last season splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in the Flyers system. An incredibly hard worker, the 26-year-old forward has finally landed the NHL contract that seemed out of reach and can now compete for a role with Philadelphia next season.

There’s no guarantee he sees time at that level, but it’s been a great start for Willman in 2020-21 as he plays on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 11 games he has six goals and eight points, earning Player of the Week honors in early March. Because of his age, Willman isn’t limited by the entry-level system and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Michael Houser

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The Buffalo Sabres have added some goaltending depth to the organization, signing Michael Houser to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $700K at the NHL level and represent’s Houser’s first NHL deal since his entry-level contract expired in 2015.

With Linus Ullmark out due to injury, the Sabres have Carter Hutton, Jonas Johansson and Dustin Tokarski (taxi squad) all at the NHL level to fulfil the league requirements. That leaves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as the only other goaltender in the organization signed to an NHL deal, something that could become an issue should the team have to deal with any other injuries.

Houser, 28, will be the beneficiary of that situation, earning an NHL deal despite not even having much experience at the AHL level. The undrafted netminder has spent most of his career in the ECHL, including 26 games for the Cincinnati Cyclones last season. Now on this new contract, he can be recalled to the taxi squad if necessary.

As John Vogl of The Athletic points out, it isn’t necessarily injury that the Sabres are preparing for, but potentially a trade of Hutton or Johansson. Both goaltenders are free agents after the season, with the latter qualifying as a Group VI unrestricted free agent if he fails to play 18 more games before the end of the season. If they deal either one, Houser’s contract allows the team to keep Luukkonen in the minor leagues, instead of recalling him to the taxi squad.

Minor Transactions: 03/13/21

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While things are largely quiet on the NHL transaction front, some familiar faces have recently signed deals elsewhere.  Here is a rundown of those moves and other minor transaction news.

  • Oscar Fantenberg used a good showing in the KHL back in 2016-17 to secure his first NHL contract and when he opted to return there this season, it certainly felt like he was trying to have history repeat itself by using a strong 2020-21 campaign to land another opportunity in North America. However, that won’t be the case as SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL announced that they’ve inked Fantenberg to a two-year extension, taking one depth defender off the UFA market early in the process.  The 29-year-old had seven assists in 37 games this season.
  • The Kings have inked winger Devante Smith-Pelly to a minor league PTO, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 28-year-old has played in 395 career NHL games over parts of eight seasons but hasn’t suited up at the top level since the 2018-19 campaign with Washington.  Smith-Pelly spent last season in the KHL with Kunlun Red Star and has yet to play at all in 2020-21.
  • The Sharks have recalled winger Ivan Chekhovich from his KHL loan and assigned him to AHL San Jose, CapFriendly reports. The 22-year-old was quite productive with Torpedo this season, notching 17 goals and 17 assists in 43 games but his team was swept in the opening round of the postseason.  Now, Chekhovich will be able to get a couple more months of playing time in with the Barracuda, resulting in close to a full year worth of games in a season where very few NHL prospects have had that opportunity.  He will have to serve a quarantine period before he can suit up, however.
  • The Coyotes have reassigned goaltender David Tendeck from ECHL Rapid City to AHL Tucson, per the ECHL’s transaction log. The 21-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level deal and has played in 13 games with the Rush this season, posting a 2.74 GAA along with a .913 SV% and two shutouts.
  • The Wild have signed center Bryce Misley to an AHL ATO, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick of Minnesota back in 2017 and recently wrapped up his college career with Vermont, picking up a goal and two assists in 13 games this season.  Minnesota has until August 15 to sign him to an entry-level deal or lose his rights.

Minor Transactions: 03/07/21

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While it has been relatively quiet on the transaction front in recent days, there have been a few moves of some note from the AHL.  Here is a rundown of those.

  • Jordan Nolan’s time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has come to an end as Pittsburgh has released the winger from their affiliate, relays Tyler Piccotti of the Citizens’ Voice (Twitter link). Nolan had been away since mid-February with head coach J.D. Forrest calling the move a mutual decision.  The 31-year-old played in two games with the Baby Pens and last saw NHL action back in 2018-19 with St. Louis.
  • While a handful of undrafted college free agents will sign NHL deals in the coming weeks, many more will sign AHL agreements. The Rangers have jumped into that market as their farm team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed winger James Sanchez to an AHL deal.  The 23-year-old just wrapped up his NCAA career, spending the last two seasons with Arizona State.  In 26 games this season, he had five goals and 11 assists after putting up 40 points in 36 games in 2019-20.
  • With the WHL season underway in some divisions and starting soon in others, several players have recently been released from AHL tryouts to head back to their respective teams. Colorado is the latest team to do so as they’ve released goalie Trent Miner and winger Sasha Mutala from their AHL deals, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Miner, a 2019 seventh-round pick, will head to Vancouver while Mutala, a fourth-rounder that same year, is off to Tri-City.  In a corresponding move, the Avs re-assigned winger Ty Lewis from ECHL Utah to AHL Colorado.
  • The Kings have re-assigned goaltender Jacob Ingham from Greenville of the ECHL to AHL Ontario per the AHL’s transactions log. The 20-year-old is in the first season of his entry-level contract and has posted a 3.90 GAA with a .859 SV% in his first five professional appearances.

ECHL’s Brampton Beast Cease Operations

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The COVID-19 situation had ECHL teams in Canada cancel their season and now at least one of them will shut the doors for good. The Brampton Beast has announced they will cease operations effective today. In the release, the team explains that it wasn’t just a one-season postponement that killed them. Instead, president and GM Cary Kaplan described it as “three seasons of COVID,” noting that the 2019-20 season was shut down early, the 2020-21 season canceled completely and the continued uncertainty preventing them from scheduling a 2021-22 season.

Kaplan released this statement:

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to offer an enormous thank you to the City of Brampton, Mayor Patrick Brown and Brampton City Council for supporting us with open arms, to the hundreds of thousands of Fans and sponsors who we truly worked for and tried our best to exceed your expectations, to all the amazing players, staff and coaches who gave their blood, sweat and tears for the Beast, to our three owners who invested in our Vision, we are very proud of the lasting memories that we provided.

The Beast had been affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and most recently the Ottawa Senators over the seven-year run of the franchise.

This announcement comes on the heels of two expansion teams in the ECHL set for 2021-22 and another joining in 2022-23. Coralville, Iowa, and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec will be the two teams joining next season, while a team in Savannah, Georgia is scheduled to join the following year.

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