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Minor Transactions: 11/20/20

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It’s the dog days of…November? The NHL offseason is moving like molasses these days, with no one-way UFA contracts handed out for the last two weeks. While things may be ramping up again at the end of the month, minor leagues and those in Europe have still continued to finesse their rosters recently. We’ll keep track of the notable moves right here:

  • Philip Holm has signed a contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk for the 2020-21 season, bringing him back to the KHL. Holm has tried multiple times to start a career in North America, but ended up playing just a single NHL game with the Vancouver Canucks in 2017-18. His latest NHL deal, signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019, was terminated in January in order for him to play in Switzerland. He’ll now be in Russia, trying to find some stability.
  • Lawton Courtnall, son of former NHL forward Russ Courtnall and nephew of Geoff Courtnall, will start his professional career with the Wheeling Nailers this season. The 24-year-old forward spent the last four years at Western Michigan University but has now signed a one-year ECHL deal.
  • Top draft prospect Mason McTavish is trying to go to Switzerland to play for the upcoming season, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. McTavish, 17, is eligible for selection in 2021 and scored 29 goals in his rookie OHL season. Switzerland may seem like an outside the box choice, but McTavish was actually born there when his father, Dale McTavish, played in the NLA. The young forward’s plans have “hit some snags” according to Wheeler, meaning he is currently skating in Ottawa while his representatives try to work through the issue.
  • Former Blue Jackets prospect Maxime Fortier has signed a one-year contract with Wichita of the ECHL.  The 22-year-old signed with Columbus as an undrafted free agent back in 2017 but didn’t progress past the minor league level in his first two professional seasons which resulted in him not receiving a qualifying offer last month.

Florida Panthers Announce ECHL Affiliation

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The Florida Panthers have not only adopted the Charlotte Checkers as their new AHL affiliate but will be bringing along the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL as well. Greenville had previously been affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes but will stay joined with the Checkers as they move to a new NHL partnership. Swamp Rabbits head coach and director of hockey operations Andrew Lord released a statement on the new affiliation:

In a season already filled with change and transition, we are proud to establish an affiliation with the Florida Panthers. Having Charlotte close by as our AHL affiliate makes perfect sense geographically, it is one of the closest AHL/ECHL affiliation distance wise in the leagues. Geordie Kinnear is a great coach and Charlotte as an organization won the Calder Cup in 2019, so there are a ton of positives to this affiliation. We are keen to be a great partner and are determined to develop players to the AHL and ultimately onto the NHL.

As Lord makes clear, the connection to the Checkers is the important part here for Greenville, which is just down the road from Charlotte. The two organizations can use the short distance to their benefit with player transactions, something that may be even more important in a year like this one.

Greenville is one of 13 ECHL teams still scheduled to open their season in mid-December, with a game against the South Carolina Stingrays kicking things off on December 11. The league recently lost an entire division of teams that opted to suspend operations due to COVID-19 situations but are trying to push on with a reduced schedule.

Minor Transactions: 11/18/20

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The ECHL was dealt a huge blow today when six more teams opted out, leaving more than 100 players looking for work. Minor league names will be popping up in new places over the new few weeks, and we’ll keep track of any notable deals right here.

  • The Wheeling Nailers, one of the teams still planning on playing this season in the ECHL, signed Dane Birks and Matt Foley today. Birks, 25, was actually still on the entry-level contract he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins until just recently, when the Arizona Coyotes—who had acquired him as part of the Phil Kessel deal—decided not to extend him a qualifying offer. Foley meanwhile has spent the last four seasons at Yale University but will now start his professional career with the Nailers.
  • The Nailers will be losing one of their key forwards after Yushiroh Hirano signed with the Cincinnati Cyclones today. Hirano, 25, has scored 92 points over the last two seasons for Wheeling and has had quite the career so far. The Japanese forward has played in several different leagues around the world and even suited up for his country during Olympic qualifiers.
  • Alex Smith, the captain of the Michigan Tech team in 2019-20 (not the Washington Football Team quarterback), has signed with the Florida Everblades to start his pro career. The 25-year-old scored 23 points in 39 games for the Huskies last season.

Six More ECHL Teams Opting Out Of 2020-21 Season

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1:15 pm: The league has made it official. The six teams from the North Division will suspend play for the 2020-21 season, though the release does confirm that all are expected to return in 2021-22. ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin released a statement explaining the decision:

As we continue to navigate the continually changing regulations across North America, we recognize the difficult nature of this decision. While some of our teams’ host cities have allowed upcoming plans to include fans inside arenas, we unfortunately do not see the same path for these highly-affected areas in the Northeast.

As part of the decision, every player under contract with the affected teams is now a free agent. This does not include those under NHL contracts that had been playing for the affiliate.

11:45 am: The ECHL will not have a North Division this season as all six teams have decided to opt-out of the 2020-21 campaign. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet was the first to report the news, which has since been confirmed by Greg Wyshynski of ESPN and is expected to be officially announced later this afternoon. The six teams that will be ceasing operations for the upcoming season are the Adirondack Thunder, an affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, the Brampton Beast (Ottawa Senators), Maine Mariners (New York Rangers), Newfoundland Growlers (Toronto Maple Leafs), Reading Royals (Philadelphia Flyers) and Worcester Railers (New York Islanders). These six teams join the Atlanta Gladiators (Boston Bruins) and Norfolk Admirals (independent) who had already opted out.

This is a tough blow for the ECHL’s desire to hold a 2020-21 season and will send players from each of the affected teams scrambling to find new jobs. It also means that the NHL teams who are partnered with these minor league affiliates will find it much more difficult to find playing time for some of their young players. The ECHL is routinely used as a development league, most notably for an organization’s goaltending prospects that need to get on the ice as much as possible.

The league has 18 teams left to play this year, with 13 of those expected to start next month. The schedule will kick off on December 11 and consist of 72 games for the 13 teams, with the other five set to start in January and play a reduced schedule. Still, even those plans seem temporary following today’s news.

Goalie Notes: Delia, Warm, Smith

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There are still plenty of free agent option available, but to this point the Chicago Blackhawks seem content to enter next season with their current stable of untested goaltenders, truly committing to their rebuild by going with youth over experience in net. Who will emerge from the group of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen, and Matt Tomkins? Given his relative experience, draft pedigree, and recent success at winning the backup job for the Blackhawks’ postseason run, most have their money on Subban. However, don’t underestimate Delia. In a profile by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope, Delia states that he is confident in his ability to win the job:

I’d be remiss if I said I wasn’t frothing at the mouth. It’s an opportunity not many people get, and I don’t want to let that pass me by… When (Chicago) signed Robin [Lehner], I was kind of cutting my teeth because I thought I earned the position, but then, coming full circle, I was like, ‘You can’t try to earn a position as a backup goalie. You try to earn the starting position’… Without a doubt, I think I can earn that job. There’s no complacency when it comes to training camp. Every single day you step on the ice, you’re proving how much better you are than the other two guys. We all have to have that mindset.

Delia may have the stats on his side, too. While Subban has 48 more NHL appearances than Delia, in his extended experience he has failed to show that he can be a reliable option. Subban has an .899 save percentage and 2.97 GAA and has struggled the most as a starter, with just 23 quality starts out of 60. Granted, Delia has also struggled in the NHL with a 3.65 GAA, but a) in a much smaller sample size and b) with a a superior .906 save percentage and .438 quality start percentage. Delia also has the advantage of being used to a starter’s schedule; Subban has never made more than 36 appearances in a pro season and no more than 22 in each of the past three years, while Delia has made 32 appearances in back-to-back seasons and played in 40 games in 2017-18 as a first-year pro. With Delia, Subban, and Lankinen all having comparable AHL numbers in varying levels of experience, it could come down to NHL success and more natural fit as a No. 1 to determine the winner of the starter’s job and on both counts Delia appears to have the edge.

  • Another goalie headed to Chicago, but not to the Blackhawks but rather the AHL Wolves, is former WHL standout Beck Warm. The Wolves have announced a one-year deal with the first-year pro and there’s reason to believe that the Carolina Hurricanes’ new affiliate could have a diamond in the rough on their hands in Warm. The 21-year-old had an impressive 2018-19 season with the Tri-City Americans, making 61 appearances to the tune of a .916 save percentage and 2.94 GAA. When those numbers slipped to begin the 2019-20 campaign, a trade to the Edmonton Oil Kings resulted in Warm winning 11 of 15 games with a .915 save percentage and 2.30 GAA. If he can replicate his best numbers from junior to the pro level, Warm could find great success. With Carolina employing five goalies for the coming season, Warm could spend much of the year in the ECHL. However, the Hurricanes have zero goalies under contract beyond 2020-21 and could look at Warm as an entry-level contract candidate as they reboot their goalie group next year.
  • One veteran goalie not returning to North America is Jeremy Smith. The journeyman netminder, who made stops with the Predators, Blue Jackets, Bruins, Avalanche, Hurricanes, and Islanders, never had any problem finding a two-way contract. However, he finally moved on from the minors last year to take over the starting job for the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. Although Smith ended up splitting time with Simon Hrubec, the tandem were among the most consistent in the league. The Red Star began their new season without Smith and the results have been disastrous; the team allowed well over three goals per game through their first 24 contests and the struggling Hrubec has been traded away. As a result, Kunlun has signed Smith to a one-year extension and they hope he can stabilize the net in his return.

Minor Transactions: 11/17/20

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It’s the dog days of…November? The NHL offseason is moving like molasses these days, with no one-way UFA contracts handed out for the last two weeks. While things may be ramping up again at the end of the month, minor leagues and those in Europe have still continued to finesse their rosters recently. We’ll keep track of the notable moves right here:

  • Brandon DeFazio, who played two games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2014-15 and was a standout at the AHL level, has signed with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech professional league. DeFazio has been travelling the world playing hockey in recent years, suiting up in the KHL and Liiga. His numbers dropped off a cliff with Kunlun Red Star last season, but he’ll try his luck again overseas in a new league.
  • Cameron Hebig, who was not extended a qualifying offer by the Edmonton Oilers and became an unrestricted free agent, has signed an ECHL contract with the Florida Everblades for 2020-21. Hebig, 23, scored 29 points in his rookie season in the AHL a few years ago but ended up spending half of 2019-20 in the ECHL anyway. The undrafted forward will have to take a big developmental step if he has any hope of making an NHL roster.
  • Mads Sogaard, the 37th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has been loaned to Esbjerg Energy in Denmark for the upcoming season. The 19-year-old goaltender had played the last two seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. Joining him is defenseman Mathew Hill of the OHL’s Barrie Colts, a sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2019.
  • Former Dallas Stars prospect Cole Ully has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, the team announced. Ully returns to the Charleston-based club after playing the whole season with the Stingrays this past year while on an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. Ully previously played parts of four seasons in the minors for the Stars after being selected in the fifth round in 2013.
  • The rumors have been confirmed and top 2021 NHL Draft prospect Brandt Clarke is officially headed to Sweden. Vasby IK of the Allsvenskan announced that Clarke has joined the team, though they do not state definitively whether it is on a loan basis from the OHL’s Barrie Colts or if he has signed on for the full season. Either way, the club did not pull any punches in describing their excitement for Clarke’s arrival (translated):

    Sometimes it is easy to use superlatives when describing new acquisitions. But this time, the title super talent is simply the only correct description one can make of the Canadian acquisition… Clarke will probably be the greatest talent in the entire history of Väsby Hockey.

Jakub Skarek Loaned To Peliitat

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The New York Islanders have sent another prospect overseas, this time loaning Jakub Skarek to Peliitat in the Finnish second league. Skarek should be back in time for NHL training camp, if only because the Islanders don’t have any other goaltenders signed.

The 21-year-old join Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin as the only three under NHL deals in the Islanders organization, meaning he would be the default third-string option should anything happen to one of the roster goalies. That’s a lot to ask of a player that has only one professional season under his belt in North America and split time between the AHL and ECHL.

Of course, the Islanders are still expected to sign Cory Schneider at some point, though it is curious why the deal hasn’t happened yet. If they do, Skarek could go back to being a developmental project for the team this season. For now, he’ll get his legs under him back in Finland for the same team he played for in 2018-19. The Czech-born goaltender has a long way to go if he wants to push for an NHL spot, meaning every minute of game action is important.

Minor Transactions: 11/11/20

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As we wait for tomorrow’s announcement about the upcoming NHL season, minor league and European teams continue to fill out their depth charts. With a few months of offseason still to come, signings and loans will slowly drip out and we’ll try to cover all the important ones. Make sure to refresh this page throughout the day as we keep track of today’s minor moves:

  • Graham Knott has signed a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL after he was left unqualified by the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason. A second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, Knott’s career hasn’t gone as planned. The 23-year-old 6’4″ forward spent most of the 2019-20 season in the ECHL, playing just 11 games at the AHL level with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Once considered a promising prospect that won gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky and took home a Memorial Cup, the chances of him ever reaching the NHL are dwindling.
  • While Manuel Wiederer was not given a qualifying offer by the San Jose Sharks, the organization did sign him to an AHL contract for the upcoming season. While he waits for that season to start, he has been loaned back to his hometown team in Deggendorf, Germany where he’ll play in the third-tier until the AHL resumes. Wiederer, 23, scored just 12 points in 35 games for the San Jose Barracuda last season.
  • Andrew O’Brien, a fourth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2012, has mutually-terminated his contract with Dinamo Riga of the KHL after just seven games. The 27-year-old dominated the Norwegian league last season, scoring 45 points in 51 games (and recording an incredible 309 penalty minutes) in his first year overseas after several in the AHL.

ECHL Announces Training Camp, Season Schedule

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For NHL teams looking to get their prospects back on the ice in a competitive situation, the ECHL may soon be an option. The minor league announced today that training camps will open on November 27 for all the teams that are starting their season on December 11. The ECHL has split their league into two groups, with 13 teams beginning on December 11 and the rest waiting until January 15. The training camps for the latter group will open on January 1.

The teams that will begin things later this month are Allen Americans, Florida Everblades, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Indy Fuel, Jacksonville Icemen, Kansas City Mavericks, Orlando Solar Bears, Rapid City Rush, South Carolina Stingrays, Tulsa Oilers, Utah Grizzlies, Wheeling Nailers and Wichita Thunder. They will play a 72-game season.

Still, there is some discussion on which prospects would actually be eligible to play. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that the NHL was discussing a change that would make only players on entry-level contracts eligible to play in the low minors. For many organizations though, getting any of their young players into a game situation will be imperative for their development.

Atlantic Notes: Duclair, Sabres, Bruins

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When Anthony Duclair was non-tendered by the Senators, some eyebrows were raised but the team had kept in contact with the winger in the early days of free agency.  That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that as a result of Ottawa’s other offseason additions up front (including wingers Evgenii Dadonov, Alex Galchenyuk, and Austin Watson), he’s no longer in the mix for a spot on the roster.

Garrioch adds that Duclair turned down a two-year offer around $3MM per year from the Senators, one that would have still represented a sizable raise on the $1.65MM he made last season.  However, after putting up 23 goals and 17 assists last year, the 25-year-old thought he could do better while representing himself on the open market.  Given the state of free agency right now though, it’s hard to see Duclair receiving the type of offer that he turned down just a month ago let alone an increase on that.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sabres have named Charlie Mendola as their new director of hockey strategy, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. It’s a newly-created position within Buffalo’s department under new GM Kevyn Adams who is familiar with Mendola when the two worked together at the Academy of Hockey program at the LECOM Harborcenter.
  • While the Bruins saw their ECHL affiliate in Atlanta opt out of participating this season, they appear to be working towards finding a short-term replacement as Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they are in talks to place some players with Jacksonville (an affiliate of Winnipeg). The Icemen are one of the teams that will start the season next month so reaching an agreement with them would allow Boston to potentially send a few prospects there for some game action.

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