Minor Transactions: 12/15/22
It’ll be a busy night on the NHL schedule tonight as 24 of the league’s 32 clubs will do battle. Among the many contests are a few games that look like they’ll be especially entertaining, such as the New York Rangers taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins going up against a Florida Panthers squad looking to spark some sustained positive momentum. As we keep track of this flurry of action tonight, we’ll also track notable transactions in minor leagues and foreign leagues. Those moves can be found here:
- 2016 Rangers sixth-round pick Tyler Wall signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears, the top affiliate of the Washington Capitals, today. While Wall, 24, couldn’t quite carve out a consistent role in the Rangers organization after a successful four-year collegiate career at UMass-Lowell, he now has an AHL contract in hand and the rest of the season to put some quality starts on his resume for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.
- Quinton Howden, a 2010 first-round pick of the Florida Panthers, was released from his tryout contract with Jukurit, a team in the Finnish Liiga. Howden scored just one point in ten games for Jukurit despite playing middle-six minutes and getting a chance on their power play. Howden, 30, scored 18 points in 45 games last season for Cologne in the German DEL and will look for a contract with another club to continue his pro career.
- J.D. Dudek, a 2014 fourth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, signed a one-year contract with the Coventry Blaze, a team in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the United Kingdom’s top pro hockey league. The 26-year-old went overseas this summer after two seasons in the ECHL, signing with Tranas AIF in the third tier of Swedish hockey. The former Boston College Eagle had eight points in 14 games in Sweden and will look to keep that solid scoring up as he joins a new league.
- Nando Eggenberger, a former NHL draft prospect who three times represented his native Switzerland at the World Junior Championships, signed a two-year contract with Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta. The deal will begin next season, as Eggenberger will finish out 2022-23 with his current club, Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. The former Oshawa General has seven points in 29 games so far this season.
- Another Swiss club announced the signing of a young forward to a two-year contract beginning next season: the ZSC Lions. Per their announcement, they signed forward Yannick Zehnder, currently of EV Zug, to a two-year, 2023-2025 contract. Zehnder is a Swiss champion who has six points in 27 games so far this season.
- Talented veteran defenseman Nick Bailen saw his KHL rights change hands today, with Spartak Moscow acquiring them from Traktor Chelyabinsk in exchange for 27-year-old blueliner Alexander Bryntsev. While Bailen, 33, is currently playing for Cologne in the DEL, he has 367 KHL games on his resume, including a brilliant 2021-22 season where he scored 42 points in 49 games. If Bailen makes the choice to return to the KHL, it seems now he’ll have to do so in Moscow.
- Veteran KHL depth defenseman Ruslan Ibatullin had his contract with KHL side Admiral Vladivostok terminated today. The 28-year-old had set a career-high in KHL games played this season, getting into 34 contests in Vladivostok. In need of a new contract, it’s likely that Ibatullin will return to playing in the second-tier VHL, the league where he has spent the bulk of his professional career.
Washington Capitals Place Alexeyev, Kuemper On IR; Recall Johansen, McIlrath
11:28 am: According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Capitals have indeed made those corresponding moves. Alexeyev, as well as goaltender Darcy Kuemper, have both been placed on IR. Kuemper’s IR placement shouldn’t come as too much of a concern, as it is retroactive to December 3rd, meaning he could come back as soon as Tuesday when the team is in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks.
10:44 am: The Washington Capitals announced they’ve recalled a pair of defensemen in that of Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath from the Hershey Bears, their AHL affiliate. While no other corresponding moves were formally announced, the Capitals’ roster is already full at 23 players. The moves could signal an IR stint for defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, who suffered an upper-body injury in Friday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Despite being at 23 skaters, the Capitals had just six defenseman before the recalls, which included Alexeyev.
Notably, these two recalls seem to cap off a morning of defenseman shuffling in the Capitals organization. Earlier, the Hershey Bears announced they’ve recalled defenseman Martin Has from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. That recall came not only with Johansen and McIlrath’s recalls in mind, but after the Bears lost defenseman Bobby Nardella during the first period of last night’s game with an undisclosed injury. For Has, 21, he could have a chance to take the next step in his development after a solid start to this season in the ECHL with three points in 14 games. This is the defenseman’s first professional season in North America, spending last season with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL.
Johansen, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Capitals back in 2016, but has played in just two NHL games to date, one in each of the last two seasons. He may not have hit the ceiling expected of him as a first-round selection however he has turned into a solid defenseman at the AHL level. Given Washington’s injury issues on defense this season, which include Alexeyev and Dmitry Orlov, both left-handed, the left-handed Johansen may get a chance to shine.
McIlrath, 30, is a longtime veteran of the AHL and NHL as well. The former 10th-overall pick back in 2010 to the New York Rangers, has played in 66 NHL games total, spread over six different seasons between the Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Detroit Red Wings. The veteran hasn’t played in the NHL since 2019-20, when he got into 16 games with Detroit. This is McIlrath’s second season with Hershey, recording just five assists in 22 games to start this season, but does have a respectable 36 penalty minutes in that span, playing the role of physical shutdown defenseman.
Interestingly, McIlrath did appear to have a two game NHL suspension awaiting him upon his recall. He had been suspended during the 2021 preseason for two preseason games and two regular season games, but hadn’t played in the NHL, during the regular season, since. However, as NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports, according to the Capitals organization, the NHL and NHLPA reached a settlement agreement this fall that allowed McIlrath’s two regular season games to be served during this preseason. Thus, McIlrath should be eligible to play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, should Washington choose to dress him. Gulitti was also the first to raise the question about the suspension.
Minor Transactions: 12/06/22
While baseball news may be heating up, some great NHL storylines are still on the docket tonight. Mitch Marner and Jason Robertson will show down as two of the hottest players in the league, while Shane Wright will play his first NHL game against the team that passed on drafting him first overall. There’s been some movement today in the minors, too, and we’ll cover that right here.
- The Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, has made some roster swaps. Today, the team signed forwards Gordie Green and Lukas Craggs to AHL PTOs and sent forward Kirill Tyutyayev to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, per a team announcement. Undrafted, the Michigan-born Green was a former captain at Miami University-Ohio and has hovered close to a point per game in the ECHL ever since. Craggs, 26, was previously in the Nashville Predators organization, but the team released him several seasons ago. He’s failed to make much of an AHL impact since. Tyutyayev, who is actually a Detroit draft pick but remains unsigned, missed much of 2021-22 due to injury and will get his first taste of ECHL hockey.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Jakub Pour Clears Unconditional Waivers
Nov 30: CapFriendly reports that Pour has cleared waivers and will now have his contract terminated.
Nov 29: The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jakub Pour on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. The young forward had been playing with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL.
Signed in the summer of 2021 to a two-year entry-level contract, Pour was an undrafted free agent from the Czech Republic who had caught the eye of someone in the Blackhawks organization. After struggling in his first season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, it was down to the ECHL for him this year. More struggles have followed, with just five points in 15 games, so a mutual contract termination seems like the best thing for both parties.
This will clear the way for Pour to return to Europe, while also clearing a contract slot for the Blackhawks. He likely would not have received a qualifying offer at the end of the year, meaning this just allows him to look for another job a few months early.
Pour will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow, should he go unclaimed.
Minor Transactions: 11/28/22
The NHL has an entertaining six-game slate on tap for tonight, including the New Jersey Devils trying to make it an NHL-record 13 wins in November. However, there’s been plenty of activity outside of the league today, as some pertinent roster moves carry on at other levels of North American hockey. We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions right here:
- NHL veteran defenseman Brandon Davidson will remain a free agent after the AHL’s Rochester Americans released him from his professional tryout today. Davidson, 31, registered one assist in nine appearances in his comeback attempt with Rochester. The veteran of 180 NHL games could potentially have to look for his next playing opportunity overseas.
- The AHL’s Laval Rocket have swapped unsigned Montreal Canadiens prospects, recalling netminder Joe Vrbetic from the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions while sending down forward Ryan Francis. Vrbetic could be in line for his first AHL appearance. The 2021 seventh-round pick is on an AHL contract and has a .881 save percentage and a 6-4-0 record with Trois-Rivieres. Francis, a 2020 selection by the Calgary Flames, returns to Trois-Rivieres, where he has two goals and six points in 12 games.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 11/23/22
There’s a busy schedule tonight across the NHL, with fifteen contests set to be played. Highlighted by the New Jersey Devils’ chase of a franchise-record fourteenth-straight win, tonight looks set to be a treat for hockey fans. As these games are set to begin, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their roster. We’ll keep track of all those moves here.
- Theodor Niederbach, one of three Detroit Red Wings 2020 second-round picks, is headed down a division. Per a team announcement, HockeyAllsvenskan’s MoDo Hockey has received Niederbach on a loan from his SHL club, Rogle BK. The hope is that Niederbach can find more offensive success in Ornskoldsvik than he was finding in the SHL, as he has just one goal and zero assists in 17 SHL games so far this year.
- Pavel Gogolev, an undrafted prospect who was signed into the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, has been assigned to the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers. Gogolev had been with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and he played a single game there. Gogolev should be an elite scorer in Newfoundland, as he scored 20 points in just 14 games there last season to go along with eight points in ten playoff games.
- Veteran Swiss league forward Julian Schmutz has just seven points in 22 games so far this season playing for HC Davos, but that hasn’t stopped him from securing his playing future. Per a team announcement, rival Swiss club SCL Tigers has signed Schmutz to a three-year contract, set to begin after this season. The Tigers have had a tough season so far in 2022-23, with just nine wins in 23 games, so they’ll hope that Schmutz can improve their overall game next season.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 11/22/22
It’s a relatively quiet day on the NHL schedule with just four teams set to go to battle tonight. The Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the division rival Buffalo Sabres as the Sabres look to end their eight-game losing streak. Then, the Los Angeles Kings will host the New York Rangers as each team looks to build momentum and chase the teams above them in the standings. As the NHL readies for these contests, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their roster. We’ll keep track of all those moves here.
- Alex Grant, a former Anaheim Duck and Arizona Coyote, is switching KHL teams. Kazakh club Barys Astana has announced that Grant has been moved to the team from his current KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg. Grant represented Canada at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and has six points in 16 KHL games this season.
- Veteran minor-league defenseman Robert Hamilton is headed overseas. The 28-year-old blueliner has signed a two-year deal with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk and will leave his current team, the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, in order to play there. Hamilton bounced between the AHL and ECHL levels after ending his collegiate career at the University of Vermont, and in recent years had established himself firmly as an AHL-caliber player. Now, he’ll continue his career in Russia.
- Maxim Chudinov, a veteran KHL defenseman with nearly 600 games of experience, is changing clubs. The 32-year-old has left Ak Bars Kazan to sign a deal for the rest of the season with Spartak Moscow. Chudinov, a 2010 seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins, has played in seven games for Ak Bars Kazan and has registered one assist.
- After scoring 18 goals and 38 points last season for IK Oskarshamn, Kim Rosdahl signed with another SHL club, Rogle BK. His time in Rogle hasn’t gone as planned, though, and with just three points in 17 games Rosdahl is headed elsewhere. The Malmo Redhawks have announced his signing to a two-year deal, meaning Rosdahl will head back to Malmo, which is his hometown and where he developed as a junior player.
- Another winger who has been off to a tough start this season is changing clubs. Per a team announcement, 25-year-old forward Jordan Kaplan is headed from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals to the Reading Royals. Kaplan has just one assist in 11 ECHL games so far this year but had 11 goals and 32 points in 65 games for the Adirondack Thunder last year.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 11/20/22
It’s a busy day around the sports world, including the beginning of the FIFA World Cup, but for the NHL, it’s a rather quiet Sunday with just two games on the docket. The Columbus Blue Jackets will play host to the Florida Panthers in one game, while the Chicago Blackhawks host the Pittsburgh Penguins. The latter of those two isn’t just a matchup of two of the best teams of the 2010’s, but is also Marian Hossa‘s jersey retirement, which will get underway earlier in the afternoon. Though Hossa played for a few teams in his Hall of Fame career, he’ll have a chance to see his number raised in front of two of his former teams in that of Chicago and Pittsburgh. Hossa played just 32 total games as a Penguin, but were they special, as the winger recorded 26 points in 20 playoff games on a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, ultimately losing to his future team, the Detroit Red Wings, who would fall to Pittsburgh in the Finals the very next year.
As Chicago pays homage to one of their all-time greats and the games get underway, we’ll keep track of some of the smaller transactions right here.
- Yesterday, after getting Drew Helleson back from the Anaheim Ducks in the wake of Kevin Shattenkirk being activated off IR, the San Diego Gulls of the AHL swapped a few players with ECHL affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers. The Gulls recalled forward Evan Weinger and goaltender Daniel Mannella and assigned forward Logan Nijhoff to Tulsa. Weinger, 25, has 11 points in nine games to start the season with Tulsa, but zero points in one game with San Diego. He had spent a majority of the previous four seasons playing with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. The 27-year-old Mannella has struggled through five games with Tulsa to start this season, but was dominant in 51 games in 2021-22. Nijhoff, 21, spent parts of six seasons with the Regina Pats before signing with San Diego as an undrafted free agent last year. Through nine games this season, eight with San Diego and one with Tulsa, Nijhoff has yet to record a point.
- Goaltender Remi Poirier has been reassigned from the AHL’s Texas Stars to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL, their affiliate. Poirier, 21, has been solid through four games this season, three with Idaho and one with Texas. The goaltender was a sixth-round pick of the Dallas Stars back in 2020. Prior to turning pro, he had an impressive four year stint in net with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL.
This post will be kept updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/22
It’s been an eventful day throughout the NHL so far with plenty more to come. Several games took place this afternoon, including Claude Giroux‘s return to Philadelphia with much more continuing into tonight. The Toronto Maple Leafs honored legendary defenseman Borje Salming in a touching tribute before taking on the struggling Vancouver Canucks, both teams looking to make a statement. Meanwhile, down in New Jersey, the Devils look to make it nine in a row against the Arizona Coyotes, but will have to do so without their top three goaltenders.
Even with the exciting day in the NHL, there are a few other moves worthy of reporting and we’ll keep track of them here:
- Anaheim Ducks forward Sam Carrick, who had been loaned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, on a conditioning loan back on November 1st, appears to have been recalled by Anaheim. Although unconfirmed, the AHL’s transactions page lists Carrick as recalled on today’s date, seeming to be a good bet the veteran forward will be rejoining the Ducks soon. The forward has been recovering from left hip surgery he had back in May, and wasn’t expected to rejoin the team until sometime in November. Carrick signed a two-year, $850,000 AAV extension with the Ducks after playing a career-high 64 games in 2021-22.
- The Grand Rapids Griffins have returned forward Trenton Bliss on loan to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Bliss, 24, is playing in only his second professional season, finishing up a four-year stay at Michigan Tech last season, where he had 40 points in 36 games. Bliss didn’t record a point over his four games with Grand Rapids, but does have a goal and an assist in three games for Toledo.
- The Belleville Senators have recalled goaltender Logan Flodell from his loan to the Allen Americans of the ECHL. A longtime veteran of the WHL, Flodell moved on to Acadia University for the 2018-19 season, where he played parts of three seasons before turning pro at the end of 2021-22. The 25-year-old played in three games with Belleville last year in addition to 19 ECHL games split between the Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays. This season, Flodell has played just three games in net for Allen, posting a .909 save-percentage and 2.70 goals-against.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 11/09/22
After a packed night of hockey yesterday, today’s NHL slate is a bit lighter. Four games are on the schedule for today, headlined by a primetime showdown between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. As we await the NHL action set to be played tonight, we have some minor league and foreign transactions to track. We’ll cover all those moves here:
- Veini Vehvilainen, a former member of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, has changed clubs. Per a team announcement, Vehvilainen has joined JYP, the Liiga club of his hometown, Jyvaskyla. Vehvilainen spent last season as the starter for Brynas in the SHL, putting up a .907 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average. He’s struggled so far this year with a grisly .854 save percentage, possibly prompting Vehvilainen to make this move. Brynas announced that they’ve signed veteran netminder Tomi Karhunen.
- Jeremy Brodeur, the son of legendary NHL netminder Martin Brodeur, has made the choice to head overseas to continue his professional career. Brodeur has signed with the Manchester Storm of the EIHL, the top pro hockey league in the United Kingdom. Brodeur has played in two games this season, both with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, and now heads to a Storm club in need of help in the crease. The team’s current starting goalie, Hayden Lavigne, has a .888 save percentage through 11 games, so the Storm will hope that Brodeur can be an improvement in the net.
- Strauss Mann, a talented goalie prospect in the San Jose Sharks organization, was recalled to the AHL San Jose Barracuda yesterday. Mann, 24, has a sterling resume so far in his career, having represented the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and been an elite college netminder at the University of Michigan. His recall is possibly motivated by a desire for the Barracuda to improve their goaltending fortunes, as the incumbent tandem of Aaron Dell and Eetu Makiniemi boasts a combined .900 save percentage.
This page will be updated throughout the day