Minor Transactions: 01/17/23
This Tuesday night is a busy day of games, as we’ve grown accustomed to such a pattern on the NHL schedule. The night is highlighted by two crucial divisional matchups between high-powered teams, with a Florida/Toronto and Seattle/Edmonton matchup on tap for this evening. Some notable tidbits are trickling in from outside the NHL transaction wire today, though. As always, we’ll keep track of them right here.
- The AHL’s Calgary Wranglers assigned forwards Rory Kerins and Matt Marcinew to the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush today, per a team tweet. The 20-year-old Kerins is in the first year of his entry-level contract with the Flames, and the 2020 sixth-round pick keeps up a strong scoring pace in professional hockey. He has 27 points through his first 26 games in the ECHL with Rapid City, and he’s gotten his first two AHL points in six games up with the Wranglers. Kerins finished second in OHL scoring last season, notching 118 points in 67 games with the Soo Greyhounds. Marcinew, an ECHL veteran, returns to Rapid City after serving as an extra body for the Wranglers. He hasn’t appeared with Calgary this season but has 37 points through 33 ECHL games.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 01/13/23
It’s a light Friday on the NHL calendar, with just three games for NHL fans to enjoy. Among those games is a highlight, though, with the Winnipeg Jets, a Central Division contender, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are hoping to gain ground in an extremely competitive Eastern Conference playoff race. As fans across the world take in these games, teams in minor and overseas leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Former AHL blueliner and 2014 San Jose Sharks second-round pick Julius Bergman is moving down a division. The 27-year-old defenseman, who is perhaps best known as part of the 2019 Matt Duchene trade, has signed with Sodertalje SK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, the league below the top-tier SHL. Bergman has played 28 games at the SHL level this season with Brynas, but he hasn’t managed to register a point. He’ll now head down a level in order to help Sodertalje make a push toward promotion.
- Lukas Klok, a former member of the Arizona Coyotes organization, has signed a contract for the rest of the season in the Swiss League. He’s headed to HC Lugano, just a short period after leaving the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in order to sign in the SHL. Klok played four games in Tucson, 11 for Rogle in the SHL, and now heads to Switzerland to play for his third team since departing the KHL.
- 2022 New York Islanders third-round pick Quinn Finley has been traded in the USHL. Finley, 18, has been sent from his current club, the Madison Capitals, to the Chicago Steel, home of several top prospects including Jayden Perron and Macklin Celebrini. This trade allows Finley to join the USHL’s best team as he prepares to play for the University of Wisconsin in the fall.
- 2020 Florida Panthers seventh-rounder Elliot Ekmark is headed to HockeyAllsvenskan on a one-month loan. His current club, SHL side Linkopings HC, have loaned him for a month to IF Bjorkloven, one of the best teams in the Swedish second division. Per CapFriendly, the Panthers have until June 1st, 2024 to decide whether to extend Ekmark an entry-level deal in order to retain his exclusive rights. Ekmark has played seven games at Sweden’s highest level this season and has registered three points.
- Just two days after he parted ways with Brynas, former NHLer Kevin Roy has found a new home. Liiga’s HIFK Helsinki has signed a contract for the rest of the season with Roy, 29. Roy spent last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, scoring 33 points in 62 games. This year, his six-game run with Brynas is the only place he’s played, and he scored one goal in that six-game run.
- Matej Machovsky, a former member of the Detroit Red Wings organization, has left his current club, KalPa of the Finnish Liiga. Per a team announcement, KalPa is alleging that Machovsky breached his contract with the team, and it’s possible that Machovsky’s ability to transfer to another club could be impacted. The 29-year-old netminder left his native Czechia to sign in Finland last summer, and now seemingly faces significant uncertainty as to the future of his professional career.
- Veteran DEL forward Phil Hungerecker has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Schwenninger Wild Wings. The 28-year-old former DEL rookie of the year signed with the Wild Wings last summer and has helped them thus far stand comfortably outside the league’s relegation zone, scoring 10 points in 37 games in the process.
- Severi Lahtinen, an established contributor in Liiga, has had the next two years of his contract confirmed by his current club, JYP Jyvaskyla. The 24-year-old has scored 19 points in 33 games this season and has helped JYP make a modest jump in performance so far this season.
- One of the many young players hoping to help get Djurgardens IF back to the SHL this season, David Blomgren, has signed a contract extension to remain in Stockholm. The 19-year-old forward has developed in Djurgardens’ junior teams for many years, impressing at each level he’s played at. This season is his debut on Djurgarden’s first team, and he’s played 30 games so far at the HockeyAllsvenskan level, scoring six points and helping Djurgarden stay within striking distance of promotion.
- The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals have acquired the playing rights to goaltender Logan Flodell from the Allen Americans. Flodell, 25, arrives in Norfolk coming off of a nightmarish stretch with the Americans. In eleven games he’s posted a 1-9 record, a 3.86 goals-against-average, and a grisly .889 save percentage. Flodell will presumably compete with yesterday’s waiver claim, Joe Murdaca, for opportunities in the crease for the Admirals. These transactions illustrate the ripple effect that can happen across a three-tiered NHL organization when a goaltender faces an absence. Predators prospect Tomas Vomacka was called up to AHL Milwaukee yesterday after Yaroslav Askarov left to make his NHL debut. Left with just one goalie given the absence of Vomacka, the Admirals have now claimed one goalie and acquired another via a trade. These moves illustrate how the circumstances of just one netminder at the top of an organization can cause major changes to the careers of multiple players lower down the totem pole.
- A top player in the German third division has been rewarded by heading up a level. Krefeld Pinguine, a team in Germany’s second-tier DEL2, has signed Victor Knaub to a contract. The 26-year-old has been playing with EV Fussen in the third tier of German hockey scoring 19 points in 17 games. Now he gets a chance to impress with a club that was in the DEL just a year ago.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 01/12/23
There are quite a few intriguing contests on the NHL calendar for tonight, including a celebration of now-retired defenseman P.K. Subban in Montreal as the Canadiens take on the Nashville Predators. Fans can also enjoy two of the NHL’s top-10 teams, the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, do battle as well, among many other games. As people across the hockey world take in these matchups, numerous teams in overseas leagues and minor leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll track those moves here.
- 2018 Dallas Stars second-round pick Albin Eriksson has signed an extension with his current club, BIK Karlskoga, a team in Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. The Stars let their exclusive rights to sign Eriksson expire last summer, seemingly not seeing enough development in his game to merit signing him to an entry-level deal. The six-foot-three winger has fared better in the Allsvenskan than he did in the SHL and Liiga, and he’s currently leading Karlskoga in goal scoring with 14 goals and 26 points in 33 games.
- Veteran Liiga forward Panu Mieho has left for Sweden, signing a two-year contract with Timra in the SHL. By signing this deal, Mieho leaves Ilves Tampere in his fifth year with the club. Mieho’s scoring has been down this season, as he’s managed just seven points in 23 games, so perhaps the 27-year-old is hoping this move to the SHL can help improve his form.
- Harri Pesonen, captain of Switzerland’s SCL Tigers, has signed a two-year extension to remain with his team. Pesonen is actually a former NHLer, having played four games for the New Jersey Devils in 2012-13. He’s played exclusively in Europe since 2014, and has been an elite forward in the Swiss league. Pesonen has scored 26 points in 34 games this year for the Tigers and is a two-time IIHF World Champion and a one-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
- Former Boston College star Julius Mattila has signed a one-year extension with his current club, Lukko, of the Finnish Liiga. An alternate captain at Lukko, Mattila has been a consistent scorer in Finland. He has 78 points in 153 career games in Finland’s top league and helped Lukko win the 2020-21 Liiga title.
- HC Sparta Praha has signed two players to two-year contract extensions: Ondrej Miklis and David Nemecek. Miklis, 26, transferred from Kladno in 2021 and is establishing himself in Czechia’s top league. Nemecek, 27, is a top defenseman for Prague. He is in his third season with the team and has spent three seasons of his career in North America, having patrolled the blueline in the OHL, WHL, and USHL.
- Sandro Schonberger is going to continue his captaincy of the DEL’s Straubing Tigers for another season. The German forward is in his fifteenth season with the Bavarian club, and he’s in his tenth as the team’s captain. Despite a budget that is reportedly one of the lowest in the DEL, the Tigers have managed to consistently reach the DEL’s playoffs under Schonberger, a testament to the 35-year-old’s leadership and play.
- Another DEL veteran has signed an extension with his current club: Sven Ziegler. The 28-year-old forward, who is a veteran of over 400 DEL games, will remain with the Iserlohn Roosters for another season, per a team announcement. Ziegler has been with the Roosters for the past two seasons, leaving Straubing in 2021 to sign in Iserlohn.
- Former Kootenay Ice forward Arnaud Jacquemet has signed a two-year extension to remain with his current team, Geneve-Servette HC. The 34-year-old is closing in on a decade spent playing in Geneva and is in his fifth season as an alternate captain for the team. On his watch, Geneva has managed to win two Spengler Cups, and this year he’s scored seven points in 26 games.
- Yesterday, just a short period after acquiring him via trade, the Orlando Solar Bears released goaltender Joe Murdaca. The acquisition of Murdaca led to the team’s release of veteran netminder Brad Barone, and now with Murdaca gone, it means the Solar Bears have let go of two netminders in under a week. It’s likely that the return of prospect goalie Jack LaFontaine from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch had something to do with these moves, as he’ll now resume his role as the Solar Bears’ undisputed number-one goalie. The Solar Bears were Murdaca’s sixth career ECHL team, and now he’s moved on to his seventh, having been claimed off of waivers by the Norfolk Admirals.
- Jordan Kaplan, the 25-year-old brother of Philadelphia Flyers third-round pick Devin Kaplan, was released by the Newfoundland Growlers yesterday, per the ECHL’s official transactions page. Kaplan made his professional debut with the Adirondack Thunder last season, scoring 32 points in 65 games after a four-season collegiate career spent at Sacred Heart University and the University of Vermont. He signed with the Norfolk Admirals in August, but after scoring just one point in 11 games he left to join the Reading Royals. Kaplan got just three games in Reading before he was released, and just under a month ago he signed in Newfoundland. Now, he’s been claimed off of waivers by the Worchester Railers.
- Just one day after signing him, the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen have released forward Kyle Blaney. The 31-year-old ECHL veteran scored 43 points in 65 games last season for the Kalamazoo Wings and will now be forced to find a new team to continue his career with, now that this signing in Jacksonville has ended without a single game played.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 01/11/23
It’s a relatively light day on the NHL calendar, with just four games on the docket. Two sets of Pacific Division rivals will do battle tonight, with the Anaheim Ducks taking on the Edmonton Oilers, while the San Jose Sharks will attempt to best their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. As the NHL season rumbles along, many minor league, overseas league, and junior league teams are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Kevin Roy, who spent last season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, is leaving Brynas IF. The Swedish club announced yesterday that their short-term agreement with Roy expired and that he would not be offered an extension. Roy, 29, has 28 NHL games on his resume (from 2017-18 and 2018-19) and scored one goal in his six-game run with Brynas in the SHL.
- Former NHL defenseman Korbinian Holzer is remaining in the DEL. The German blueliner, 34, has extended his contract with DEL side Adler Mannheim for another season. Holzer, a veteran of over 200 NHL games, last played in the NHL in 2019-20. Since then, he’s played one season in the KHL, two with Mannheim, and represented Germany at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and two straight IIHF World Championships.
- Philadelphia Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom was re-assigned to the Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, today. Wisdom, 20, was a fourth-round pick of the team at the 2020 draft and impressed as a rookie in the AHL, scoring 18 points in 28 games at an age where playing in the AHL can be very challenging. Wisdom returned to the OHL last season and scored 38 points in 43 games. This season, his second as a professional, hasn’t gone to plan, as Wisdom has just seven points in 28 games playing in a bottom-six role.
- Former Olympian Janis Kalinins, who represented his native Latvia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, has signed an extension to remain in the KHL. KHL side Amur Khabarovsk has announced contract extensions for both Kalinins and defenseman Cameron Lee, a former Penguins AHLer. Kalinins, 31, has a .923 save percentage in 19 games this season, while Lee scored 14 points in 35 games as a top-of-the-lineup blueliner for the team.
- Slovakian pro side HK Poprad have signed two players to their squad, Slovakian center Petr Kolouch, and American forward Nick Jermain. Kolouch, 31, is a veteran of the European professional circuit, having spent more than a decade playing in Czechia. So far this season, he’s played in Austria with EC Graz. Jermain, 26, was a four-year player at Quinnipiac University and made his professional debut last season in the ECHL. He has nine points in 24 ECHL games this season.
- Miles Gendron, a 2014 third-round pick of the Ottawa Senators, left his club yesterday. Storhamar, a team in the Norwegian Fjordkraft-Ligaen, announced that they had parted ways with Gendron yesterday. Gendron had played in 19 games in Norway after signing with Storhamar in the offseason and has scored eight points. A return to North America could be in the cards for Gendron, as he’s spent the past few years manning the bluelines of the ECHL.
- The EIHL’s Glasgow Clan announced a pair of signings yesterday, bringing in former Arizona Coyotes prospect Niklas Tikkinen, as well as ECHL defenseman Jeff Solow. For Tikkinen, the signing moves him from Denmark, where he’s spent the last two seasons, to Scotland. For Solow, the deal will represent his first chance to test his mettle on a professional basis outside of North America.
- 2007 Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick Will Weber has signed a two-year extension to remain with his current club, the DEL’s Schwenninger Wild Wings. Weber, 34, is in his fifth season playing in Germany, having spent the last three with the Wild Wings. The big six-foot-three blueliner has registered one assist and 69 penalty minutes in 30 games this season.
- Another member of the 2007 draft class, Dallas Stars fifth-rounder Ondrej Roman, has ended his contract with France’s Rouen Dragons via a mutual agreement. Roman, a 33-year-old Czech winger, signed in France in the summer having spent the past two seasons in the Czech league. He found success in France, scoring 25 points in 27 games, and will now look to another destination to continue his professional career.
- Johan Ivarsson, a veteran of both the SHL and Liiga, has signed a two-year extension with his current club, Sodertalje SK. The 27-year-old is playing in Sweden’s second division, HockeyAllsvenskan, for the first time in a half-decade, attempting to get Sodertalje promoted. Ivarsson signed with his current club after a two-year stint with TPS Turku in Finland, and has scored 10 points in 31 games.
- Veteran minor league netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos has signed with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, per a league announcement. The 28-year-old has played for seven ECHL clubs in the past five years, bouncing around somewhat in order to fill in for teams in need of help in the crease. Last season, Sakellaropoulos got some consistency, playing in 30 games for the Adirondack Thunder. He wasn’t great, posting an .881 save percentage, but he’s solidified himself as an option in the ECHL, one the Gladiators will now turn to.
- Former ECHL star Darik Angeli has departed his club, the EIHL’s Belfast Giants. The 32-year-old scored 70 points in 63 ECHL games last season and signed with Belfast over the summer. The former Ohio State Buckeye will now leave Northern Ireland having scored twelve points in 24 games there.
- Longtime ECHL scorer Kyle Blaney has signed a contract with the Jacksonville Icemen. The 31-year-old spent last season with the Kalamazoo Wings, scoring 43 points in 65 games. He should be able to help Jacksonville’s offensive attack, a unit that currently ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored.
- Defenseman Dilan Peters was released by his club, the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, today. The six-foot-six blueliner was traded to Newfoundland on December 6th, heading there from the Wheeling Nailers, the team he signed with in the summer. Peters, who has made his professional debut this season, has yet to register on an ECHL scoresheet, and he had gotten into nine total games across both teams before yesterday’s release.
- Swiss blueliner Samuel Kreis, a seasoned veteran who has spent over a decade playing in his home country’s top professional league, has signed a three-year deal with SC Bern, set to begin next fall. The 28-year-old signed with EV Zug in 2021 and helped the team win the 2021-22 NL Championship. Kreis last played for Bern in 2016-17 and won three league championships and a Swiss Cup in his time there.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Morning Notes: Tinordi, Kane, Boldy, Brassard
Things might not be going so well on the ice for the Chicago Blackhawks this season and while falling down the standings might be the ideal situation for now, the team does still need to ice a healthy lineup for several reasons. For one, the team will need to assure its prime trade assets, such as Patrick Kane, are healthy in order for the team to trade them and maximize their return. For those who might not necessarily be on the move, the team will still want a mix of veterans, perhaps like Jarred Tinordi, in the lineup, along with their young players who need time and experience to develop.
It appears Chicago might have some news on both of the aforementioned players. According to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, Kane participated in the Blackhawks’ morning skate once again this morning. The winger, who has been skating, missed the team’s game Friday against the Arizona Coyotes and will not play tonight either, adds Powers. Tinordi, who suffered a facial fracture back on December 18th against his former team, the New York Rangers, was also spotted on the ice this morning by NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis.
- The Minnesota Wild are dealing with a difficult cap crunch at the moment which has made, and will continue to make, extending their players and bringing in new ones rather challenging. One player the team will certainly have to work in a new contract for is 21-year-old Matt Boldy. The second-year forward is in the final year of his entry-level contract, set to hit the RFA market this summer. Fortunately, as The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports, both the Wild and Boldy’s agent, Brian Bartlett, have begun working on a new deal. Russo adds that talks are in the very early stages, but the expectation is that Boldy’s next contract will be a bridge deal.
- After a brief recall to the AHL, the Providence Bruins have sent netminder Francois Brassard back to the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, according the AHL’s transactions page.. The 28-year-old has spent the majority of his professional career in the ECHL, but did have a five game stint with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season. He didn’t play for Providence during this recent recall. Brassard did make headlines recently when he scored a goal for the Mariners back in December.
Minor Transactions: 01/07/23
We’re in the full swing of the NHL season, and today featured a busy slate of games. The New Jersey Devils secured a thrilling overtime victory over their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, while the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout. There are seven additional games today for NHL fans to enjoy, and while hockey fans take in all the action, teams in foreign leagues, minor leagues, and junior leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll track those moves here.
- Quinton Howden, a 2010 first-round pick and former NHLer, has found a new club to play for. The 30-year-old forward, who is the brother of Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden, has signed with Grenoble, the reigning French champions. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster year for Howden, who began the year on a tryout with Jukkurit in Liiga. He then joined Orebro for the Spengler Cup tournament, and now lands in France.
- Former OHL Playoff MVP Logan Morrison has been traded to the Ottawa 67’s. His former team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, will receive a package of six draft picks in return, bolstering their ability to add talent via the OHL Priority Selection. Morrison, 20, is an elite scorer at the junior level, scoring 100 points in 60 games last season. He has 55 points in 34 games so far this year.
- High-scoring QMJHL defenseman Kale McCallum has left his current team, the Val d’Or Foreurs. Reporting from Pierre-Olivier Poulin of Le Citoyen indicates that McCallum’s departure is due to the fact that the Foreurs did not trade him to a team with legitimate playoff hopes. He has scored 34 points in 36 games this year, and 69 points in 68 games last season. Per Poulin, McCallum will look to continue his career on the Canadian University circuit.
- Veteran netminder Brad Barone, a well-traveled minor league veteran, has signed with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. The Nailers will be the ninth club Barone has suited up for in the East Coast league, having made his debut there in the 2014-15 playoffs. Barone signed an extension to continue his career with the Orlando Solar Bears in August and ended up playing 19 games for the club this season. He was released from that contract after the Solar Bears acquired 24-year-old Joe Murdaca, though, paving the way for today’s move. Barone has a .910 save percentage through 19 games this season and had an impressive .919 mark in 48 games in 2021-22.
- The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets acquired defenseman Max Balinson from the Reading Royals in exchange for cash considerations. Balinson, 26, is a former college hockey defender for both Arizona State University and Long Island University. The Komets will be his third career ECHL club, and he has four points in 15 games this season.
- Former top WHL draft pick Rhett Rhinehart was released from his standard player contract today, per the AHL’s official transactions page. Rhinehart, 21, was the 13th overall pick by the Prince Albert Raiders at the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft and played parts of six seasons in the WHL. Rhinehart earned a one-year AHL deal from the Calgary Wranglers in August after attending Calgary Flames development camp. He made his professional debut at the ECHL level, and played in seven games for the Rapid City Rush.
- Martin Gran, a top scorer in lower-level European leagues, has signed with Kristianstads IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish Hockey. Gran, 26, comes from Lillehammer, a team in the top division of Norwegian professional hockey, where he has scored 28 points in 27 games.
Pacific Notes: Kylington, Golden Knights, Fanti
While the Flames have been without defenseman Oliver Kylington all season so far due to a personal matter, GM Brad Treliving told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that they’re not giving up on the idea that he will be back at some point in the second half. Kylington had a breakout year in 2021-22, collecting 31 points in 73 games, earning himself a two-year, $5MM contract in the process and his return would certainly be a big boost to Calgary’s back end. At the moment, there haven’t been any discussions with him about when he might be able to return but with the trade deadline now less than two months away, it stands to reason that those conversations will be taking place at some point in the near future as if Kylington isn’t able to return, Calgary may have to make a move to find a replacement for the stretch run.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- There’s more help on the horizon when it comes to the Golden Knights. After getting center Jack Eichel and winger Paul Cotter back on Thursday, they could get winger Jonathan Marchessault back in the lineup tonight against Los Angeles, reports Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 32-year-old has missed six straight games with a lower-body injury but still sits third on the team in goals with 14. Gotz adds that defenseman Alec Martinez also has a chance to return tonight although, with the team off until Thursday after this game, they could opt to give him a few more days of rest. The veteran has been out for four straight games after being injured in the Golden Knights’ first game after the holiday break. He has five assists in 37 contests this season.
- The Oilers have re-assigned goaltender Ryan Fanti to Fort Wayne of the ECHL, per the AHL’s transactions log. Edmonton signed the 23-year-old to an entry-level deal back in March but he has struggled in his first full professional season, posting a save percentage below .900 in both the AHL and ECHL. He had a 3.46 GAA and a .895 SV% in seven games with AHL Bakersfield during his seven-week stint with the Condors.
Snapshots: Hughes, Pacioretty, Rhinehart
The New Jersey Devils are finally reaping the rewards of their high-end prospect pool, looking to be in a solid playoff position for the first time in years.
They could soon get another important young piece into the lineup, too. 2021 first-round pick Luke Hughes will “very likely” be in the Devils lineup at the end of the 2022-23 season after his college campaign at the University of Michigan ends, said Michigan coach Brandon Naurato speaking with NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky. Naurato calls Hughes a “Cale Makar-like” talent, and if Hughes is anything reminiscent of Makar’s late-season debut with Colorado in 2019, the Devils have a much better chance at breaking through an air-tight Eastern Conference.
- The Carolina Hurricanes made waves today by activating All-Star forward Max Pacioretty off season-opening injured reserve. However, it’s unclear whether Pacioretty will make his Carolina debut tomorrow night. Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff notes that the team will not have a morning skate tomorrow, and we likely won’t know whether Pacioretty is playing until head coach Rod Brind’Amour‘s pregame media availability in the afternoon.
- An intriguing unsigned prospect could be getting his first look in the AHL. 21-year-old defenseman Rhett Rhinehart was recalled to the Calgary Wranglers today, according to the ECHL’s transactions log. Rhinehart is valuable in that he’s a tall, right-shot defenseman with some offensive awareness. He served as an alternate captain for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades last season, where he had 27 points in 53 games.
Snapshots: Nedeljkovic, Draisaitl, Latimer, AHL Trade
Not too many players receive Calder Trophy votes in two separate seasons. Detroit Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is one of those players. The former Carolina Hurricanes netminder lead an impressive rookie campaign down south before a surprising trade to the Red Wings that summer. Since the trade though, Nedeljkovic has struggled to adjust, slipping to a 3.31 goals-against average and .901 save-percentage. Things haven’t gone his way this season either, slipping further to a troubling 4.09 goals-against and .880 save-percentage.
With those struggles, many have wondered what Detroit will do with the goaltender, who is now the third-string behind starter Ville Husso and backup Magnus Hellberg. Some have wondered if a conditioning stint will be next for Nedeljkovic, who hasn’t played since December 8th. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan that discussion of a conditioning stint hasn’t happened yet, but “[e]verything is on the table.” Lalonde added that the team will need that roster spot eventually with players coming back from injury, so “something will probably shake down.”
- Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl, who missed last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken, is unlikely to play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, says TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Draisaitl, who Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said was nursing some bumps and bruises, didn’t practice Thursday either. The 27-year-old has 21 goals and 36 assist through 36 games this season. With Edmonton’s struggles, despite having Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the lineup, they’ll need the former back in the lineup as soon as possible to keep things rolling.
- Ottawa Senators prospect Carson Latimer has been dealt in the WHL. The former Prince Albert Raiders forward will be heading to the Kootenay Ice in exchange for forward Aiden Oiring, a third-round pick in 2024, and a conditional third-round pick in 2025. Latimer has spent parts of four seasons with Prince Albert and the Edmonton Oil Kings, sitting on 28 points through 31 games thus far in 2022-23.
- The Colorado Eagles and Hartford Wold Pack completed a small trade in the AHL earlier today, reports NHL.com and AHL.com’s Patrick Williams. Forward Ben Tardif is heading to Hartford while defenseman Luke Martin will be heading to Colorado. Tardif, 22, has four points through 15 games in the AHL this year, as well as nine points in seven ECHL games. The ability for offensive dominance is there for Tardif, who had 59 points over 53 ECHL games last year. Martin, 24, was a second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2017, and though he hasn’t made his NHL debut yet, he’s also dominated the ECHL with 68 points in 84 games on the backend over this season and last.
Minor Transactions: 12/30/22
The NHL is getting back into the swing of things as the holiday break wraps up and the calendar turns to 2023. It also means that activity is heating up at minor and junior levels of the sport, especially as some teams keep their eyes locked on the ongoing World Junior Championships. We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions right here.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned prospect Jordan Frasca to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers today. He was up in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he’s yet to record a point in three games. Frasca signed with the Penguins as an undrafted free agent earlier this year after a 42-goal, 87-point season with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs last year.
- Arizona Coyotes prospect Manix Landry was dealt in the QMJHL today, with the Gatineau Olympiques dealing him to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 QMJHL draft. Landry, Gatineau’s captain, has been injured since the second game of the season.
- NHL veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski has found a permanent home for the rest of the 2022-23 season. The AHL’s Rochester Americans converted his PTO into a full AHL contract for the remainder of the season today. He’d played 20 games for Rochester this year, where he has five points.