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Snapshots: Larionov, Rotenberg, Vellucci, Bjorklund

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Top Russian club SKA St. Petersburg announced on Monday that they’ve relieved head coach Roman Rotenberg of his duties, and hired Igor Larionov as an immediate replacement. The move concludes Rotenberg’s four-year tenure as SKA’s head coach, which began when he took over for Valeri Bragin partway through the 2021-22 season. It is currently unclear if Rotenberg will continue on in his role as SKA’s Vice Chairman, though it’d be hard to imagine the prolific Russian stepping down after 14 years in the club’s front office.

SKA has seemed to fall short in every single season as of late. They lost in the conference finals each year between 2021 and 2023, then followed it up with earlier exits in the last two years. St. Petersburg also finished seventh in the KHL’s Western Conference this season, despite tremendous performances from star youngsters Ivan Demidov and Alexander Nikishin, midseason acquisition Evgeny Kuznetsov, and top goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin. A seventh-place finish is SKA’s lowest since the 2008-09 season, when they finished eighth.

To curb that poor momentum, SKA will turn to Igor ’The Professor’ Larionov. The legendary Russian player served as SKA’s Director of Hockey Operations in 2008-09, but didn’t kick off his coaching career until he began supporting Russia’s U20 club in 2019-20. He moved to KHL club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in 2022-23, and has led the club to quaint finishes and conference quarterfinals exits in each of the last two seasons. Larionov was a true star in the NHL. He won three Stanley Cups across his 14-year career, and served as a gut-punch scorer on the Detroit Red Wings at the turn of the century. His career concluded with 644 points in 921 NHL games, sprinkled across tenures with five different clubs.

Other notes from across the league:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have rounded out their coaching staff with the hire of Mike Vellucci into an assistant coach role. Vellucci has spent the last five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and served as an assistant on the gold-medal winning Team USA at this summer’s World Championship. He’s a seasoned-in name in the hockey world, having served as the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers from 2001 to 2014, then pursuing an assistant GM and Director oh Hockey Operations role with the Carolina Hurricanes until 2019. Part of his time with Carolina also saw Vellucci serve two years as head coach of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, who he led to a Calder Cup championship in 2019. He also served one year as the GM and head coach of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Vellucci should be another strong veteran voice to help guide Chicago’s young roster to a new era.
  • The Washington Capitals have signed AHL depth goaltender Garin Bjorklund to a one-year, two-way contract for next season. He will make a league-minimum $775K at the NHL level and $110K at the AHL level. Bjorklund spent the bulk of this season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, where he posted a .927 save percentage and 21-4-1 record. Those marks stand as the sixth-highest save percentage and wins in the league, despite Bjorklund ranking 35th with 29 total appearances. It was a true breakout year for Bjorklund, capped off by a 2-0-0 record and .942 save percentage in the first two AHL games of his career. A new deal should give the 22-year-old a chance to gain footing in the AHL next season, and potentially eye the starter’s role should he be able to keep up the stonewall performances.

Snapshots: Eklund, Colton, Ullmark, ECHL

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Sharks winger William Eklund is in stable condition after being taken to the hospital after being cut on the wrist in a tune-up game for the upcoming World Championship, Eklund’s agent, Todd Diamond, told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.  The incident occurred during a board battle with defenseman Filip Hronek.  Diamond noted early indications are that no key tendons or nerves were cut on the play.  The tournament begins next week, with Sweden as the event’s co-host. However, given the injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if Eklund didn’t participate now.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Avalanche forward Ross Colton took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays Ewan Rawal of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 28-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the series opener against Dallas and hasn’t played since; the non-contact restriction today suggests he won’t be available for the series’ final game tonight.  Colton got off to a hot start this season before dealing with some injury issues, finishing up with 16 goals and 11 assists in 61 games.
  • Speaking at Ottawa’s locker clean-out day, Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark told reporters, including TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link), that while he indicated that he’d have liked to play for Sweden at the upcoming World Championship, the team has decided to go in a different direction. Sweden is a co-host of the event, but they already have their three goalies for the event in Samuel Ersson, Arvid Soderblom, and Arvid Holm.
  • On Friday, the ECHL announced it will welcome New Mexico into the league for the 2026-27 season. They will be the 31st franchise, getting closer to being lined up with the 32 in the NHL and AHL.  The Stars will serve as hockey operations consultants to help the franchise get up and running, while suggestions for the team’s name are now being taken.

Metro Notes: Sullivan, Brunicke, Royals

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If the New York Rangers had it their way, they’d have their new head coach signed in the next couple of days. According to Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet, the Rangers are expected to pursue Mike Sullivan’s services aggressively.

Before he was brought into the Penguins organization to be the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015-16, and before he served as the Canucks assistant coach and Blackhawks development coach, Sullivan served as the Rangers assistant coach from 2009-2013.

During that time, John Tortorella was the Rangers’ head coach, while Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan were the team’s captains. Unfortunately, Sullivan had already left the organization by the time New York returned to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years in 2014. 

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • In his offseason series regarding Pittsburgh Penguins’ players, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took a look at prospect Harrison Brunicke’s developmental status. As one of the team’s higher-end prospects, Brunicke competed for a spot on the Penguins opening night lineup before the 2024-25 campaign started. Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury that limited him to 10 games for the AHL Penguins, Rorabaugh believes Brunicke is likely another year away from becoming a full-timer in Pittsburgh.
  • According to a team announcement, the Philadelphia Flyers have extended their affiliate agreement with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. The extension will run through the 2026-27 ECHL season, and will serve as the 12th consecutive season the two organizations have held a partnership.

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

West Notes: Trouba, Foligno, Utah, Biakabutuka

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Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba will not face any supplemental discipline from his hit on St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou on Sunday, notes Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).  The hit occurred in the first period and no penalty was assessed on the play while Kyrou remained in the game.  While it looked as if contact was made with Kyrou’s head, the league determined that the head was not the principal point of contact, and Trouba connected with Kyrou’s arm and shoulder as well.

More from the West:

  • The Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Marcus Foligno was scratched from tonight’s game against Los Angeles due to an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old leads Minnesota in hits with 219 through 67 games this season but his offensive production has been limited once again as he has just 11 goals and 11 assists while logging a little over 14 minutes a night.  There’s no word yet on how long Foligno might be out for.
  • It appears that Utah Hockey Club has settled on its team name moving forward, according to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd (Twitter link). However, there’s no timeline just yet for when that name will be revealed.  The latest fan vote on the name came in late January with Mammoth, Outlaws (replacing Wasatch), and Hockey Club as the three options.
  • The Ducks have reassigned defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to ECHL Tulsa, per an announcement from their AHL affiliate in San Diego. He was promoted to the Gulls last month, getting into 11 games but with Stian Solberg recently being sent to the AHL, Anaheim decided that they were best off getting Biakabutuka more playing time at the lower level.  The 23-year-old has 15 points in 21 outings with Tulsa and has one year left on this one on his entry-level contract.

Minor Transactions: 3/12/25

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While the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, the AHL trade deadline doesn’t hit until Friday.  We’ve seen a couple of recent moves on that front; we’ll go through those here as part of a rundown of minor transactions.

  • Earlier this week, Pittsburgh’s farm team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announced the trade of defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov to Grand Rapids for future considerations. The 26-year-old had his contract terminated by San Jose last offseason but he wasn’t able to secure a guaranteed deal right away.  Instead, he played on a PTO in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for nearly three months before being converted to an AHL contract.  Knyzhov has seven points in 14 games this season and has 81 career NHL appearances under his belt.
  • The Red Wings have recalled goaltender Gage Alexander to their AHL affiliate, per an announcement from ECHL Reading. The 22-year-old hasn’t played in the AHL this season and was loaned to Reading, Philadelphia’s affiliate, in mid-January to get some playing time where he posted a 2.81 GAA and a .913 SV% in five games.  Acquired to match contracts in the Robby Fabbri trade last year, Alexander is a pending restricted free agent but is unlikely to be tendered a qualifying offer this summer.
  • Another former NHL player is on the move in the AHL, as San Diego announced that they’ve acquired Carsen Twarynski from Abbotsford in exchange for future considerations. The 27-year-old has played in 26 games in the minors this season, notching two goals and five assists.  Twarynski has 22 career NHL appearances to his name back with Philadelphia in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Minor Transactions: 3/8/25

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The NHL Trade Deadline has finally passed, pulling teams into the late stages of their seasons. The transaction wire has stayed hot as teams continue to sort out their lineups for the remainder of the year. As always, Pro Hockey Rumors will track the minor moves here:

  • The Anaheim Ducks have reassigned goaltender Ville Husso to the AHL. Husso was recalled to be Anaheim’s third-string goalie behind Lukas Dostal and John Gibson on Friday, after news that Gibson had suffered a day-to-day, lower-body injury. Husso has played in three games with the San Diego Gulls since joining Anaheim’s system. He won the first with a 34-save shutout, but split his last two while allowing 10 goals on 59 shots. With this move, Husso will look to build on his 2-1-0 record and .892 save percentage with the Gulls.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned defenseman Jack St. Ivany. Pittsburgh recalled St. Ivany under emergency conditions and used him as a healthy scratch in Friday’s game against Vegas. He has been a fixture of the minor leagues since November, netting six points, eight penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 21 games. Before that, St. Ivany appeared in 19 NHL games and recorded one assist, 17 penalty minutes, and a minus-three. He could find a tougher time earning another call-up, after Pittsburgh acquired longtime Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins at the deadline. Timmins has eight points in 51 NHL games this season.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have swapped emergency netminders, assigning Arturs Silovs to the minor leagues and utilizing an emergency recall on Nikita Tolopilo. Silovs played in two NHL games in late February. He lost them both while allowing six goals on 56 shots. He’ll return to the minors sporting a dismal .858 save percentage and 1-6-1 record at the NHL level. He’s been far more productive in the AHL, where he has a .906 Sv% and 10-4-0 record. Meanwhile Tolopilo could be in store for his NHL debut after posting a .890 Sv% and 12-14-2 record as the AHL starter in Silovs’ absence. Tolopilo is in just his second season of North American pros after two years in the HockeyAllsvenskan. He posted a .912 Sv% and 39-38-0 record across 79 games in Sweden’s second-tier league.
  • Defenseman Calen Addison has been traded from the Henderson Silver Knights to the Springfield Thunderbirds in exchange for future considerations. Addison played in 49 games and recorded 33 points, 55 penalty minutes, and a minus-24 with Henderson. He is expected to initially report to Springfield’s ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades. Addison was once a second-round pick in the NHL Draft and managed a single-season high of 29 points across four NHL seasons. His career totals at the top level stand as 50 points and 96 penalty minutes in 152 games.

Sharks Sign Gabriel Carriere To One-Year, Two-Way Contract

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The San Jose Sharks have signed depth goaltender Gabriel Carriere to a one-year, two-way contract. Carriere was moved from the ECHL to the AHL in mid-February after splitting time between the rosters for much of the year.

Carriere is playing through his first full professional season this year, after playing in his AHL debut at the end of last year. He was previously the starter at the University of Vermont for the last three seasons, where he combined for a commendable .908 save percentage and 28-50-8 record. The AHL’s San Jose Barracuda awarded the undrafted Carriere with his first professional contract at the end of Vermont’s 2023-24 campaign, and assigned him to the ECHL at the start of this season. Carriere has made good work of his first full pro season, posting a 14-9-2 record and .922 Sv% through 25 ECHL games. He ranks eighth in the league in save percentage.

That hot start has earned Carriere a handful of AHL games throughout the season. He managed a .900 save percentage through his first four AHL games of the year, just enough to earn a hardier look when the Barracuda needed more support in February. He has played in six of the Barracuda’s last eight games, posting a .906 save percentage and 3-4-1 record. While his record still needs to come along, the Sharks have taken the step to validate Carriere’s improving performances – awarding him with the first two-way NHL contract of his career. The 24-year-old netminder should continue to rival Georgi Romanov and Aaron Dell for the AHL backup role behind top Sharks prospect Yaroslav Askarov.

Snapshots: Moser, Chychrun, Wennberg, Kraken

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The Lightning will welcome back an important part of their defense corps on Sunday.  Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relays that J.J. Moser will be back in the lineup against Seattle after missing two-and-a-half months with a lower-body injury.  The 24-year-old was an important part of the return for Tampa Bay in the Mikhail Sergachev trade from the draft and had 10 points in 27 games before the injury while averaging nearly 20 minutes per night of playing time.  Moser was technically activated off IR before the break but the team elected to scratch him for their last game instead to give him more time to recover.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • While Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun made it known last month that he’s open to signing a contract extension with Washington, he told reporters including Sammi Silber of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that there haven’t been any extension discussions since before the break. The 26-year-old has been a great addition for Washington, already notching 14 goals and 21 assists through 50 games while logging 21 minutes a night.  He’s well on his way to earning a sizable raise on his current $4.6MM price tag but it doesn’t appear a new deal is coming in the near future.
  • San Jose will get a key veteran center back for their upcoming seven-game road trip as Alexander Wennberg told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link) that he’ll be ready to return on Sunday. The 30-year-old has 23 points in 52 games for the Sharks this season and suffered an upper-body injury late last month.
  • The Kraken have changed up their backup goalie. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Ales Stezka from AHL Coachella Valley and reassigned Victor Ostman to ECHL Kansas City, reversing the move made before the 4 Nations break.  Stezka has been Seattle’s backup as of late after Philipp Grubauer was assigned to the Firebirds but has yet to make his NHL debut.  He has a 2.99 GAA with a .902 SV% in 25 games this season.  Ostman, meanwhile, is in his first full professional season after signing with Seattle as a college free agent last spring.  He has played exclusively with the Mavericks, putting up a 2.44 GAA and a .905 SV% in 29 appearances.

Minor Transactions: 2/14/2025

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The first set of games in the coveted 4-Nations Face-Off have come and gone, speaking plenty of positives for North America while the European side both need to find another kick. But the pause in the NHL season hasn’t slowed down the news cycle in professional leagues around the world, with plenty of former NHL talent on the move or cementing their stay overseas. As always, we’ll track the minor moves from Valentine’s Day here…

  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has signed a standard player contract with the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison. Kaskisuo played in two games for the Norfolk Admirals earlier this season. He lost both matchups and allowed seven goals on 55 shots. He was a bit more successful with the AHL’s Laval Rocket last season, posting a modest .909 save percentage and a 7-4-0 record in 13 games. Kaskisuo has journeyed around the hockey world over the last few seasons. He climbed through the minor leagues from 2015 to 2020, and made one start each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. He followed those spot starts up with a trip to Sweden, spending two years and 60 games with the SHL’s Leksands IF. Kaskisuo performed well with a move to pro starts, totaling a 26-31-0 record and .904 save percentage. He slowed down in his latter Finnish starts, prompting a return to North America that he’ll look to now spark in Bloomington.
  • Top Switzerland club the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers have extended three former NHL talents to two-year contract extensions. The group is led by former Minnesota Wild lineup piece Victor Rask, who ranks third on the Lakers in scoring with 30 points in 47 games this season. It’s his best Swiss year yet, after he totaled 34 points in 59 Swiss games over the last two seasons. Rask previously recorded 223 points in 506 career NHL games. Rask is joined in re-upping by defenseman Nicklas Jensen and winger Tanner Fritz, who have followed similar paths to Switzerland. Jensen was a first-round selection in the 2011 NHL Draft, but managed just 31 NHL games and six points before he decided to the KHL. He added 220 games in Russia, and joined the Lakers in 2022. Fritz had a bit more success in North America. He mounted a nine-year career in the AHL that rewarded him with 221 points across 347 games. Those appearances were interspliced with 42 career NHL games – but Fritz couldn’t find the scoring push to hold up a top-flight role. He started the 2024-25 season in Canada’s North Peace Hockey League, but joined the Lakers partway through the year. That’s proven a good bet, with Fritz netting 12 points in 14 games so far. This extension will now give him a chance to carry those numbers over the course of a full season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

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