Minor Transactions: 11/15/23
There’s a lot of activity around the world of professional hockey today, both in terms of player movement and in terms of games on schedule. The Champions Hockey League continues today with two Round of 16 contests, including a contest between the reigning German and Swiss champions. Over in Finland, Liiga resumes today, with Devils prospect Lenni Hämeenaho‘s Ässät Pori up against JYP.
On the player movement front, there has been quite a bit of activity recently as the European break for international hockey has concluded. As always, we’ll keep track of notable moves here.
- Former superstar Premier League goalkeeper Petr Čech will now have the chance to play at the highest level of professional hockey in the United Kingdom. The reigning EIHL champion Belfast Giants, who also competed in the Champions Hockey League this season, have signed Čech on loan as a temporary solution to the injury issues the club is currently wrestling with. Although it is likely that Čech’s celebrity influenced this signing far more than his on-ice ability, he is at least a somewhat capable hockey goalie. This season, he’s playing for the Oxford City Stars in a lower level of British hockey, and has posted a .900 save percentage in six games.
- Veteran defenseman Teemu Suhonen has led both of Finland’s top two divisions of pro hockey in scoring by a defenseman at times in his career, but he has slowed down in recent years. After signing a short-term deal with Liiga’s Vaasan Sport, Suhonen’s exceptional start to the season has now earned him a full-year deal. Suhonen has played in nine games for Sport, and has chipped in three goals and 10 points. He’s playing a significant role for the club that often sees him skate in over 20 minutes per night, and at 34 this contract will allow him to continue to re-establish himself as a top offensive blueliner in the Finnish Liiga.
- Adam Samuelsson, the son of 1080-game NHL veteran Ulf Samuelsson, has signed with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. The 23-year-old isn’t quite the player his father was, but he does have some impressive experience on his resume. A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Samuelsson won a Silver Medal at the IIHF World Under-18’s in 2018 and would go on to make his pro debut playing third-division hockey in Sweden. Samuelsson made his ECHL debut last season and split the campaign between the Newfoundland Growlers and Tulsa Oilers, scoring a combined four points and 63 PIM’s. A hulking six-foot-six rearguard, Samuelsson will bring even more size and physicality to a Mariners blueline that doesn’t have a single player below six feet tall.
- Rookie ECHLer Nick Nardella has been traded from the Idaho Steelheads to the Wichita Thunder in exchange for future considerations. Nardella, 24, is a five-foot-ten winger who had a decent start to his professional career last season, scoring three goals in three games for the Iowa Heartlanders. That earned him a shot with the Steelheads, but he struggled to make an impact and the team has now dealt him after just three games. Seeing as the Thunder are just 4-7-1, perhaps they believe the addition of Nardella can help jump-start a sputtering offensive attack.
- Another ECHL rookie, former Michigan State Spartans forward Adam Goodsir, has been traded from the Worcester Railers to the Iowa Heartlanders in exchange for future considerations. The 25-year-old has scored three points in eight games this season for the Railers, and he earned his spot with the team after a decent showing in a late-season cameo at the conclusion of his collegiate career. The Heartlanders currently rank second-to-last in their division for goals scored, so this reinforcement could help them climb in the standings should he hit the ground running.
- Matthew Barnaby Jr, the son of 834-game NHL veteran Matthew Barnaby, has signed with Finnish second-tier club RoKi. The Buffalo, NY native, 25, has made the decision to not return to the ECHL and instead try his luck in Europe. Barnaby spent last season with the Orlando Solar Bears, scoring 12 points in 42 games in a bottom-six role. Barnaby worked his way into the ECHL from the SPHL and will now seek to do the same in Finland, putting some good games on tape to potentially earn a contract later on in a higher-level European league.
- Former college hockey star Ian Scheid, once a top defenseman for Minnesota State Mankato, has reached an agreement on a mutual contract termination with his club, HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga. Scheid, 28, signed a two-way, AHL/ECHL deal at the end of his collegiate career and split 2020-21 between the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He used that campaign s a launching pad to land him a deal with the DEL’s Straubing Tigers, a club he would spend two seasons with. After helping Straubing to the German playoffs for two consecutive seasons, Scheid signed with Slovan but struggled to make an offensive impact. He’ll now look for a new team after scoring just four points in 15 games in the Slovak capital.
- Johnny Walker has made the decision to end his time with the EIHL’s Dundee Stars after eight games played. The 27-year-old Arizona native, once a point-per-game scorer in the NCAA with the Arizona State Sun Devils, has left Dundee according to an official team announcement. Walker scored two points in eight games to go along with 12 penalty minutes, and one wonders if a return to the ECHL is in the cards since he spent 2022-23 with the Utah Grizzlies. Walker made more of an impact last season with Utah, scoring 12 goals and 18 points in 33 games to go along with 171 penalty minutes.
- After spending 17 games with Liiga side HPK Hameenlinna to start the season, defenseman Elias Ulander has transferred to Västerviks IK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan. A veteran of 116 Liiga contests, has had quite the hockey journey in recent years, seeing time with clubs in Liiga, Mestis, Denmark, and Slovakia. He returned to Liiga for this season after a solid 2022-23 in Slovakia that saw him help HK Spisska Nova Ves to a respectable playoff run, but his time with HPK was not the most impressive. After losing six of his last seven games with HPK, Ulander appears to have decided that playing in HockeyAllsvenskan is likely more suited to his talents at this current stage of his playing career.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
New Jersey Devils Reassign Max Willman
According to the AHL’s official transactions wire, the New Jersey Devils have reassigned forward Max Willman to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. In a corresponding move, the Comets have reassigned forward Erik Middendorf has been reassigned to the Devils organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder.
Willman is a 28-year-old center who signed a one-year, $775k contract with the Devils in the offseason. After his five-year collegiate career ended, Willman, a former Buffalo Sabres draft pick, began his pro career in the ECHL with the Reading Royals. He scored 25 points in just 20 games, earning a quick call-up to the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Willman would go on to establish himself as a regular player for the Phantoms over the next few years, even earning a total of 50 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.
He was signed by the Devils over the summer to bolster the organization’s forward depth, and he has played a heightened role for the Comets than what he normally received with Lehigh Valley. He’s responded to getting first-line minutes with production, as he’s posted seven points in seven games.
The Devils rewarded his hot start with an NHL call-up, and he played in two games for the club. He played 11-12 minutes in each contest and even scored a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks before settling in as a healthy scratch.
With the Devils optimistic that Colin Miller will be able to return to the lineup on their two-game road trip, sending down Willman clears a spot on the Devils’ roster that can go to Miller when he is able to be activated off of injured reserve.
With Willman back on Utica’s roster, Middendorf was returned to Adirondack. The 23-year-old former Michigan State Spartan is in his first full season as a professional player, and he has gotten off to a good start for the Thunder. He’s scored three goals and four points in five games, and was rewarded with an AHL call-up. He registered one shot on goal during the Comets’ loss against the Rochester Americans on November 10th, and now he’ll return to the Thunder having gotten a taste of AHL hockey.
Minor Transactions: 11/07/23
Today’s schedule is absolutely overflowing with hockey, including 10 games in the NHL. Highlights from the game’s highest level include matchups between the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings as well as the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche, games that will be nationally televised in the United States. In addition, there is a 2021 Stanley Cup Final rematch on the docket, with head coach Martin St. Louis’ Montreal Canadiens taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Although the schedule outside the NHL is quite a bit lighter today, overseas professional leagues have kept busy adding and subtracting players. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement here.
- Ottawa Senators offseason signing Jiří Smejkal has been linked to a move back overseas, where he would play for IK Oskarshamn of the SHL. The report originates from TSN’s Shawn Simpson, who wrote that Smejkal “didn’t come over to play in the minors.” Smejkal, 27, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Senators that carries an $82.5k AHL salary. There was some hope that Smejkal could make the NHL roster after scoring 23 goals and 43 points in 49 SHL games last season, but he only registered one point in five preseason games. The hope was that Smejkal’s size and ability to play physical could lend himself to a fourth-line role, but that hasn’t happened as he’s played exclusively at AHL Belleville. If Smejkal doesn’t view there to be a viable path to the NHL with Ottawa then it appears he could very well return to Oskarshamn, where he would not only be better lined up to represent Czecha at the IIHF World Championships, but could also potentially take home more money.
- Former Edmonton Oilers netminder Mikko Koskinen won’t be extending his time with the Swiss National League’s HC Lugano beyond this season, according to a team announcement. The team has instead decided to bring in former Red Wings prospect Joren Van Pottelberghe on a three-year deal beginning next season. Van Pottelberghe was the starter for NL rival EHC Biel-Beinne from 2020-2022, but he has been relegated to backup duty due to the arrival of Harri Säteri. He’ll get another shot to be a starter with Lugano, while Koskinen will have to continue his career elsewhere. Since arriving in Switzerland from Edmonton, Koskinen has posted an .895 save percentage in 44 games for Lugano.
- 2009 New York Rangers second-round pick Ethan Werek has signed with Slovakia’s HC Slovan Bratislava, a club in Slovakia’s capital. Werek, 32, split last season between the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star and Czechia’s Mountfield HK. He’s scored decently well in spurts in both the KHL and Czech Extraliga, and could end up a productive forward in the Slovak league. Werek also brings some international experience to Slovan, having represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
- A bit of a rare occurrence happened in European hockey yesterday, as a team in the Finnish Liiga and the Czech Extraliga made a “trade” of sorts. Liiga’s SaiPa reached a mutual contract termination with Jan Lukáš, while Czechia’s HK Mountfield did the same with netminder Henri Kiviaho. Then, Lukáš signed with Mountfield to replace Kiviaho while Kiviaho did the same at SaiPa. Lukáš, 30, is an experienced netminder who was a quality tandem goalie in the Extraliga last season, but struggled immensely to start the year for SaiPa. He moves to more favorable surroundings in his home country. Kiviaho is, like Lukáš, a veteran goalie with some Champions Hockey League experience. According to Mountfield’s announcement, Kiviaho had been (via his agent) pushing for a greater workload than the club was able to provide, so they’ve opted to transfer him to SaiPa instead.
- Former NHL depth defenseman Cameron Schilling has agreed to a mutual contract termination with his club of the last two seasons, Djurgårdens IF. The 35-year-old one-time AHL All-Star has a total of 10 NHL games on his resume, though he left North America midway through 2021-22 to sign in Djurgården. The club had an immediate need for reinforcements at the time as they were trending towards relegation, a fate they did eventually suffer. Schilling played a minutes-eating role for the team last season as they fell just short of promotion back to the SHL, and now he won’t be with the team as they look to make the jump this year.
- Philadelphia Flyers fans might remember Russian forward Roman Lyubimov from the 2016-17 season, when he played in 47 games for the club, registering eight points. Lyubimov returned to the KHL after that season, the league where he would remain a regular forward until now. After a season where he posted just three points in 43 games for Spartak Moscow, Lyubimov has left the KHL and signed in France’s Ligue Magnus, with Grenoble. Grenoble is looking to re-claim the French league title and Champions Hockey League spot from Rouen, so they’ve added a forward with experience in two of the world’s top leagues in order to do so.
- Former college hockey star Julian Napravnik is rumored to be headed for the DEL via a report from Germany, specifically with the league’s Frankfurt Lions in mind. The 26-year-old German forward was a two-time First-Team Conference All-Star at Minnesota State Mankato, and his 49 points in 40 games helped the team reach the NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship game. Since that point, Napravnik has struggled to get on he ice and has played in a total of 22 career AHL games, scoring a total of seven points. A move to Germany might be better suited for him, though it may come as a bit of a disappointment that he couldn’t make more of a push towards consideration for an NHL contract.
- Justin Allen, the former captain of NCAA Division-III Utica College, has been traded from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals to the Allen Americans in exchange for future considerations. Allen, 26, signed with the Admirals at the conclusion of his NCAA career and made an instant impact, registering seven assists in 10 games. As the Admirals this season have taken on quite a few NHL prospects, such as 2019 third-round pick Domenick Fensore, he’s been squeezed out of a spot in the ECHL this season, and hasn’t been able to skate in a game yet this season. He’ll get a better chance to do so in Allen, a team in dire need of defensive reinforcements as they currently average over five goals against per game.
- Canadian netminder Cody Porter has signed with HockeyAllsvenskan’s Västerviks IK, according to a team announcement. The 26-year-old former Calgary Hitmen starter has had a bit of a winding hockey journey. He suited up for five different teams in his first professional season in 2018-19, playing for clubs from everywhere including Huntsville, Alabama and Elmira, New York. He then transferred to Poland, before spending 2021-22 as the backup goalie for IPK in Finland’s Mestis, their second division. Last season, Porter played the highest-level hockey of his career, skating in five total games in Liiga. He’ll get a chance now to compete for starts with Västerviks, a club whose incumbent goalies have each posted unconvincing performances so far this season.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 11/05/23
It’s another busy day for hockey, although most of the game action is happening outside the NHL. Just four teams in the world’s top league are set to do battle today, although the schedule does feature quite a few games in Germany, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and in the CHL.
Regular-season play poses many challenges to pro clubs around the world, with injuries and underperformance often causing player movement. As always, we’ll keep track of notable transactions here.
- Former Detroit Red Wings prospect Seth Barton has decided to continue his career overseas, signing a contract with KooKoo Kouvola of the Finnish Liiga. According to the team, the contract contains a trial period lasting until the end of the calendar year and is of a one-year duration with an option to extend for another season. Barton, 24, was a 2018 third-round pick who this past summer signed an AHL deal with the Hartford Wolf Pack, re-uniting him with Ryan Martin. Martin, the GM of the Wolf Pack and assistant GM of the New York Rangers, was the GM of Barton’s former team, the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. With Ben Harpur, Matthew Robertson, Brandon Scanlin, Nikolas Brouillard, and Connor Mackey standing in his way, Barton was unlikely to see significant time at the AHL level. So rather than potentially spend the season playing ECHL hockey with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Barton has decided to instead play in Liiga. He’ll join a KooKoo squad that is in need of defensive reinforcement as they have surrendered the second-most goals in league play.
- Kenny Johnson, the younger brother of veteran NHLer Jack Johnson, has signed a standard player contract with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. The six-foot-four former Penn State Nittany Lion concluded his four-year NCAA career last season and dipped his toes in the waters of pro hockey with games on two ECHL teams: the Orlando Solar Bears and Wheeling Nailers. Johnson has played in the Royals’ game yesterday and will look to secure a regular place in their lineup in what would be his rookie ECHL campaign.
This page may be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 10/26/23
There’s quite a bit of hockey on the schedule for today, including a total of 11 NHL games. Highlights from the NHL include a battle between contending teams when the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Dallas Stars, and an important game for the Edmonton Oilers as they look to turn their season around against the New York Rangers.
Over in Europe, many of the top pro leagues in the continent have contests on schedule today, including the SHL, DEL, and Liiga. With the season well underway in every notable professional league across the hockey world, the transaction wire is active as expected. As always, we’ll keep track of notable moves here.
- Veteran defenseman and former NHLer Brandon Manning has reportedly made the decision to leave the German DEL after two seasons with Straubing Tigers. According to SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson, Manning has signed with HockeyAllsvenskan’s IF Björklöven. Manning, 33, is a two-time AHL All-Star with over 250 NHL games on his resume. He skated in top-pairing minutes for the Tigers over the past two seasons, which were his first two campaigns playing overseas. He now heads to Björklöven, joining a club that is currently second in the HockeyAllsvenskan standings and looking to make a push for promotion to the SHL.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins blueliner Juuso Riikola has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, SCL Tigers of the Swiss National League. This season has been Riikola’s first with the team, and he’s so far played in 17 games and notched seven points. Riikola was once a key depth piece for the Penguins, who dressed him in 80 total NHL games across four seasons. Riikola’s last campaign in North America was in 2021-22, when he scored 35 points for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Riikola returned to Europe for 2022-23 and skated in 42 SHL games for IK Oskarshamn, scoring 19 points.
- Jérémy Grégoire, a former Montreal Canadiens prospect, has extended his short-term deal with Ilves Tampere into a full one-year contract. Grégoire, 28, is currently in his second season playing hockey overseas. The Canadian center joined the ICEHL’s Vienna Capitals last season after seven years in the AHL and led them to the playoffs scoring 35 points in 39 games. That performance earned him a chance in one of Europe’s top leagues, Liiga, and so far he’s played in 13 league games for Ilves, scoring three points. Grégoire has played more of a down-the-lineup role for Ilves, and has helped his new team get off to a strong start in the Liiga standings as well as reach the playoffs of the Champions Hockey League.
- Ilves has made another transaction, loaning Florida Panthers prospect Jakub Kos to HC Kometa Brno in Kos’ native Czechia. The 20-year-old winger was a 2021 sixth-round pick of the Panthers who has spent most of the last few years playing second-division Finnish hockey with KooVee Tampere. Rather than stick in Tampere for another season, though, it appears Kos is opting to play top-level hockey in his home country with Brno, a team that currently sits in the middle of the Czech Extraliga standings.
- One-time Liiga scoring leader Henrik Haapala has signed a one-year contract with Swiss National League club Lausanne. The 29-year-old Finnish forward has transferred from Genève-Servette HC, the club he scored 10 points in nine games with this season. Haapala is one of the more accomplished in-his-prime scoring forwards in Europe, having served as a point-per-game force for both Ilves and Tappara Tampere. He’ll now likely become a go-to scoring option for Lausanne, joining former NHLers Michael Raffl and Jiří Sekáč with the team.
- Former Los Angeles Kings prospect Johan Södergran has signed a two-year contract extension with the SHL’s MoDo Hockey Ornskoldsvik. Södergran was a playoff hero of MoDo’s promotion-winning 2022-23 campaign after he scored just 17 points in 52 regular-season games but added 12 points in 17 postseason contests. He’s started off decently well for MoDo this season, scoring six points in 12 games, and now will get to remain with the club for what it hopes will be a few more seasons in the Swedish top flight.
- Veteran SHL defenseman Gustav Backström has signed a four-year contract extension with his club Örebro Hockey. This is a somewhat expected transaction, as Backström has been a part of Örebro in some form or another for 11 straight years. Now 28, the six-foot-two blueliner has settled into a top-four, minutes-eating role at Örebro, and has helped them to the playoffs in three straight years. Those performances have been rewarded today with this four-year contract extension.
- Anthony Firriolo, the former captain of Army’s NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey program has been claimed off of waivers in the ECHL by the Indy Fuel. Firrolo concluded his NCAA career last spring and dipped his toes into the waters of pro hockey with the ECHL’s Jacksonville IceMen, skating in five total games for the club. He signed with the Atlanta Gladiators in July, but did not end up suiting up for the team in any regular-season games. Now he’ll join a Fuel team seeking improved defensive performances after surrendering 10 goals in its first three contests of this young season.
- Carter Allen has decided to sign in Europe for the 2023-24 season, leaving the ECHL after two years. Allen, 27, is a physical defenseman who broke into the ECHL as a member of the South Carolina Stingrays in 2021-22. He scored 10 points in 63 games for the club, adding on 58 penalty minutes as the team stumbled to a 28-38-6 record. He then split 2022-23 between South Carolina and the Cincinnati Cyclones, who claimed him off of waivers in late March. Now he’s joining the Coventry Blaze, a club in the EIHL, the top division of pro hockey in the United Kingdom. The Blaze have just one win in league play so far this season and have surrendered the most goals in the EIHL, so this defensive reinforcement comes at an urgent time for the team.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 10/19/23
With the ECHL starting up its season tonight, NHL and AHL teams have been shuffling players to that level in recent days. Some of those recent moves are highlighted in our latest batch of minor transactions.
- The Senators’ AHL affiliate announced the assignments of forward Philippe Daoust and defenceman Donovan Sebrango to ECHL Allen. Daoust was a sixth-round pick back in 2020 but was limited to just nine games last season due to injury. He had seven points with Belleville but will get more time to work on his rehab at the ECHL level. Meanwhile, Sebrango was acquired from Detroit as part of the Alex DeBrincat trade this summer and split last season between their AHL and ECHL affiliates. Both players are entering the second year of their entry-level contracts.
- Colorado’s AHL squad announced that they’ve sent goaltender Trent Miner, forward Ryan Sandelin, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother to ECHL Utah. Miner posted a 3.04 GAA along with a .910 SV% in 37 games with the Grizzlies last season and is in the final season of his entry-level deal. Sandelin wrapped up his college career last year with Minnesota State (Mankato), putting up 29 points in 38 games which helped him earn a minor league deal. As for Fairbrother, the Avalanche acquired him as part of the Alex Newhook trade this summer but missed all of last season with a knee injury. He’s also in the final season of his entry-level pact.
- Former NHL blueliner Christian Jaros is on the move to the KHL as he has signed with Severstal Cherepovets, per a team release. The 27-year-old received a two-year deal. Jaros has 94 career NHL games under his belts over parts of five seasons between Ottawa, San Jose, and New Jersey but opted to head overseas last season, seeing action with two separate KHL squads.
Minor Transactions: 10/15/23
It’s another busy day across the hockey world, although the NHL schedule is a bit sparse. Just two NHL games are set to be played today, though there has been quite a bit of action in the wider world of hockey.
Reigning German champions EHC Red Bull München were dismantled 6-2 by rivals Eisbären Berlin, thanks to two goals a piece from former NHLer Zach Boychuk and former AHLer Yannick Veilleux. Over in Scotland, a four-point performance from New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech‘s brother, Michael Pelech, was not enough for the Glasgow Clan to overcome the Nottingham Panthers.
As one would expect, just as the schedule is busy across the world of pro hockey, so is the transaction wire. We’ll keep track of notable player movement here.
- Just shortly after his release from Kazakh club Barys Astana, former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco signed a one-year contract with HK Sochi, a rival KHL club. Bracco, 26, joins two top NHL prospects (Matvei Michkov and Marat Khusnutdinov) in Sochi. Bracco has been a strong offensive producer outside the NHL, and is a former AHL First-Team All-Star and a one-time 40-point scorer in the KHL. Although Sochi already has quite a bit of offensive talent in their two NHL prospects, the addition of Bracco could bolster their attack even further.
- Former Tri-City Americans captain Kyle Olson has signed overseas, officially heading to Europe for the first time in his young professional career. The 24-year-old 2017 Anaheim Ducks mid-round draft pick did not receive an entry-level deal from the club that drafted him and instead began his professional career three seasons ago on an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. After three seasons in Wilkes-Barre Scranton where he tallied just 33 points in 149 games, he found an ECHL contract in September of this year. Rather than play the season in the ECHL with the Reading Royals, though, Olson appears to have instead opted to play for HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss SL, the second tier of hockey in Switzerland.
- L.J. Mooney, a potential top 2025 draft prospect, has decided to follow in the footsteps of his cousin Logan Cooley and commit to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota. Cooley, now an Arizona Coyotes forward, tore college hockey apart in his lone season as a Golden Gopher, forming a deadly trio alongside Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud to pile points. While at this moment in time, it’s not easy to say that Mooney will end up the same caliber of player as Cooley, he remains a highly intriguing prospect and someone who could end up making a big impact for the Golden Gophers.
- 23-year-old forward D-Jay Jerome has been traded in the ECHL, as he was sent from the Trois-Rivières Lions to the Newfoundland Growlers in exchange for cash considerations. Jerome split last season between the third-tier ECHL and fourth-tier SPHL, skating in 14 games and scoring eight points in each spell. Jerome has prior ECHL experience from the year prior, when he skated in 30 games for the Allen Americans and registered 10 points.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Snapshots: Matthews, Butcher, Mast
In a rather lengthy interview with Mike Zeisberger of the NHL, franchise icon for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, expresses his unwavering desire to stay in Toronto and is more than excited an extension was completed between the two sides. More than a year before he was originally set to become an unrestricted free agent, rumors were rampant suggesting Matthews may leave the Maple Leafs to sign with his hometown Arizona Coyotes or find an organization with less media pressure.
During the interview, when he was asked specifically about the rumors circulating about the next contract he would sign, Matthews said, “It was my mindset to come back all along. I felt I’ve been pretty clear about that. I really enjoy playing here, and I love the core guys I’ve been playing with going back to my early days here. And the way the staff treats us is amazing. I’ve kind of repeated these things, they’re all true, and it means a lot to me to be here. So, when I see stuff like some of the speculation this summer, I get a pretty good chuckle out of it because it’s just nonsense, to be honest with you“.
As many are well aware at this point, Matthews would sign a four-year, $53MM contract with the Maple Leafs, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL as soon as it starts. Although there was very little doubt that Toronto would regret re-investing in Matthews, he rewarded them early this season, scoring back-to-back hat tricks in the team’s first two games.
Other snapshots:
- A little over a week before the start of training camp this autumn, new depth defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Will Butcher, sustained an injury that would keep him out of all on-ice activities for over a month. Today, Matt Vensel of Post-Gazette Sports is reporting that Butcher is back to practice in a non-contact jersey, and will likely be sent to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins very soon. Spending all of last season for the Texas Stars in the AHL, Butcher would score six goals and 37 assists in 65 games.
- In smaller news, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal is reporting that the Providence Bruins, AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, have sent defenseman Ryan Mast to their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. Mast is a recent sixth-round pick of the Bruins back in the 2021 NHL Draft, and recently wrapped up a career with the Sarnia Sting of the OHL, scoring eight goals and 22 assists in 50 games during his last season.
Minor Transactions: 10/12/23
It’s another busy day on the NHL schedule, with quite a few teams set to make their season debuts tonight. Top prospect Adam Fantilli is set to debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight, while Red Wings fans will get their first regular-season look at Alex DeBrincat wearing the winged wheel.
Regular season hockey is back just about everywhere (save for the AHL which begins tomorrow) and as a result player movement remains active across the hockey world. As always, we’ll keep track of those transactions here.
- Former Toronto Marlies star forward Jeremy Bracco and his club, the KHL’s Barys Astana, have mutually agreed to terminate the player’s contract. Bracco, 26, joined the KHL’s Kazakh club in July 2022 and had a solid first season there, scoring 14 goals and 40 points in 59 games. This season, though, Bracco has struggled and has only managed one point in six games. He’ll now look elsewhere to continue his pro career, whether it be in North America (where he is a former AHL First-Team All-Star and Calder Cup champion) or in Europe (such as Germany, where he played in 2021-22.)
- The AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have signed two forwards to one-year AHL contracts: former NHLer Justin Bailey and former Brandon Wheat Kings captain Tanner Kaspick. Bailey, 28, has been on the NHL/AHL bubble for much of his pro career, skating in NHL games for three separate teams. He’s long been a quality top-six forward at the AHL level, and scored 19 goals and 32 points in 58 games for the Bakersfield Condors last season. Kaspick, 25, hasn’t yet made his NHL debut but has been a regular AHLer for most of his professional career. He scored six points in 43 games for the Iowa Wild last season playing in a checking role.
- Undrafted forward Samuel Asselin, an undersized forward who once led the QMJHL in goals, may not have earned an NHL contract from the New York Islanders off the back of his PTO. What he earned instead was an AHL deal with the Bridgeport Islanders, something the team announced today. After his stellar final season of Major Junior hockey, Asselin spent his first year as a professional in the ECHL with the Atlanta Gladiators, scoring at a near-point-per-game rate. Since that season Asselin has been a full-time AHLer, and he set a career high in 2021-22 with eight goals and 30 points. He’ll now take his services to Bridgeport, likely with the hope of making a push for consideration for an NHL deal in the future.
- Former Vegas Golden Knights prospect Peter DiLiberatore has signed a one-year ECHL contract with the South Carolina Stingrays, according to a team announcement. DiLiberatore endured a difficult 2022-23 campaign, one in which he suited up for four different teams across the AHL and ECHL. He finished the season playing in West Virginia with the Wheeling Nailers, scoring one assist in five games. Now in South Carolina, perhaps the stability potentially offered by this signing will help DiLiberatore translate some of the production he showed in college at Quinnipiac University to the professional level.
- Last week, Jáchym Kondelík was placed on unconditional waivers by the Nashville Predators for the purpose of contract termination. Now a free agent, Kondelík has decided to sign in Czechia with Extraliga club Motor České Budějovice. Kondelík, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Predators at the 2018 draft, selected out of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. He went on to have a quality career playing NCAA hockey with the University of Connecticut, captaining the team as a senior. He turned pro near the end of 2021-22 and played 2022-23 with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, making it the first full season of his pro career. He scored just 11 points in 38 games, though, and now appears to prefer continuing his career closer to home.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
West Notes: Hintz, Mikheyev, Winnipeg
Before their opening night matchup tomorrow night, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News gives some clarification on the status of Dallas Stars’ forward Roope Hintz, sharing that he will be a game-time decision. Since September 27th, during training camp, Hintz has been out of the Stars’ lineup due to an upper-body injury, and Dallas does not seem keen to rush him back for the start of the regular season.
Starting off the first year of an eight-year, $67.6MM extension signed last season, Hintz will surely be a key missing part of the Stars’ lineup if he is unable to play. Dallas will be able to survive for the time being with him out of the lineup but would have a hard time replacing a player of his caliber in the lineup if it is more long-term.
At the very least, with the addition of Matt Duchene this summer and an incredibly affordable one-year, $3MM deal, the Stars appear to have added appropriate depth in case something such as this transpired. Not only do the Stars appear headed for a war with the Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division, but they are also looking to compete as the top team in the Western Conference, and potentially the entire league.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- One player who is confirmed to not be playing opening night is Ilya Mikheyev of the Vancouver Canucks. Relaying on the news from the head coach of the Canucks, Rick Tocchet, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet announces Mikheyev will indeed miss the season opener. Mikheyev is still rehabbing from an ACL injury sustained last season in January, an injury that would prematurely end his season.
- Murat Ates of The Athletic shares that the Winnipeg Jets have sent Simon Kubicek, Mark Liwiski, and Thomas Milic to their ECHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. Last year, Kubicek also played in the AHL for the Manitoba Moose, while Liwiski spent his entire season in the ECHL for the Wichita Thunder. Milic, on the other hand, was the 151st overall selection for the Jets in the 2023 NHL Draft, coming out of the Seattle Thunderbirds organization of the WHL.