Minor Transactions: 10/30/21
The NHL’s got a busy schedule today as the Florida Panthers attempt to maintain their undefeated record today on the road against a strong Boston Bruins team. Yet still, there are still many minor moves to keep track of across the AHL and ECHL on this busy Saturday. We’ll keep a record of those right here:
- The AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights have added a pair of forwards to the roster in Lynden McCallum and Colt Conrad, per a team release. McCallum signed a one-year contract after spending five games with the team on a professional tryout contract, impressing with a goal and three assists in those games. Conrad joins the team on a PTO after spending the 2020-21 campaign with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring four points in 22 games. The Golden Knights organization faces a thin forward group at the NHL level due to injury, which has cost the Silver Knights some players early on that they expected to be important contributors.
- Per a team tweet, the AHL’s Stockton Heat released forward Ryan Francis from his PTO, assigning him to the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. Francis went pointless in four games with the Heat before being released from the PTO. A fifth-round pick of the Flames in 2020, Francis was old enough to spend the entire season in the AHL, but the team has decided that his development would be better served with an overage season in the QMJHL.
- The AHL’s Belleville Senators recalled defenseman Xavier Bernard from the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators today and signed forward Kameron Kielly to a PTO, per a team tweet. Bernard was a 2018 fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils but was never signed and now finds himself in the Senators organization playing his first professional season. He has no points and a +1 rating with the Gladiators this season. Kielly is a 24-year-old entering his second professional season looking to play his first AHL game. He totalled 19 points in 39 ECHL games last season, split between the Allen Americans and Indy Fuel.
Joel Quenneville Resigns As Panthers Head Coach
The Panthers are on the lookout for a new head coach after the team announced on Thursday that Joel Quenneville has resigned. Panthers President and CEO Matt Caldwell released the following statement:
After the release of the Jenner & Block investigative report on Tuesday afternoon, we have continued to diligently review the information within that report, in addition to new information that has recently become available. It should go without saying that the conduct described in that report is troubling and inexcusable. It stands in direct contrast to our values as an organization and what the Florida Panthers stand for. No one should ever have to endure what Kyle Beach experienced during, and long after, his time in Chicago. Quite simply, he was failed. We praise his bravery and courage in coming forward.
Following a meeting today with Commissioner Bettman at National Hockey League offices, which was part of the league’s process to decide how to move forward, Joel made the decision to resign and the Florida Panthers accepted that resignation.
The independent investigation referenced in the above statement was released on Tuesday with Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and Senior VP of Hockey Operations Al MacIssac both leaving the organization immediately thereafter. Quenneville had previously denied being aware of the allegations having been made but the report squashed that assertion. As a result, Quenneville met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday.
Shortly following Florida’s announcement, Quenneville released a statement of his own:
With deep regret and contrition, I announce my resignation as head coach of the Florida Panthers.
I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered.
My former team the Blackhawks failed Kyle and I own my share of that.
I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone.
Should Quenneville wish to return to the NHL at some point, Bettman indicated in a statement of his own that “a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place”. No further disciplinary action will be coming to the 63-year-old.
Quenneville had three years remaining on his contract (including this one) with a $5.25MM salary plus more than $1MM in bonuses, per CapFriendly. It’s unknown at this time if there is any sort of settlement agreement in place between Quenneville and the Panthers.
The Panthers are off to a hot start this season with a 7-0-0 record to sit first in the league and assistant coach Andrew Brunette will take over as interim head coach, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). A search for a permanent head coach will soon be underway.
In the meantime, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, who first reported that a change was coming, suggests that veteran bench boss John Tortorella could be a potential candidate to take over behind the bench. Florida GM Bill Zito is certainly familiar with Tortorella having been with Columbus between 2015 and 2020 and with the team performing well for a veteran head coach, it would make sense to go down that path again. Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet, Claude Julien, and Mike Babcock are among the other veteran head coaches that are currently not working in the NHL at the moment.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel Receives Max Fine For Kneeing
A day after the NHL Department of Player Safety opted not to pursue supplemental discipline for Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa for a knee-to-knee hit, they have decided not to be so lenient toward Philadelphia Flyers forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel. The league has announced that Aube-Kubel has been fined $2,678.50 for kneeing Florida Panthers forward Mason Marchment on Saturday. This is the maximum fine allowable per the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The hit in question occurred early in the third period and was only called a trip on the ice, resulting in a two-minute minor penalty. With the puck in the Panthers’s zone and Marchment attempting to settle the puck in front of his own net, Aube-Kubel came from the corner with speed and hit Marchment, drawing an immediate whistle (video). While Marchment was shaken up on the play, he did return to the game and played a number of shifts in the remainder of Florida’s 4-2 win.
Aube-Kubel plays hard and is quickly gaining the reputation of a frustrating player to go up against. However, the 25-year-old grinder needs to be careful not to build a reputation with Player Safety, too. While he has yet to be suspended, this is Aube-Kubel’s second maximum fine, both coming within this calendar year. He received a $4,633.62 max fine for roughing the Buffalo Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin back in January. As that disciplinary history grows, Aube-Kubel will face harsher review from the league and could miss time with another incident.
Thornton Fined For "Slashing"
- The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined Joe Thornton of the Florida Panthers $1,875 for “slashing” Tampa Bay Lightning forward Boris Katchouk last night. While battling for a puck, Thornton completed a cup check on the young Katchouk, sending him to the ice in a heap of pain. The veteran forward received a two-minute penalty on the play and will have to pay a little bit extra for the trouble.
Kevin Connauton, Joseph Woll Activated From Injured Reserve
A pair of preseason injuries are no longer limiting two players that are looking to push for more NHL opportunity this season. PuckPedia reports that the Florida Panthers have activated veteran defenseman Kevin Connauton from the Season-Opening Injured Reserve and CapFriendly reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have done the same with young goaltender Joseph Woll.
Connauton, 33, is just two years removed from being a starter for the Arizona Coyotes and the year before that set a career high with 21 points and 73 games. Yet, the past two years he has been used sparingly, to say the least. Connauton played in only four games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20 and last season suited up for just seven games with the Panthers. Despite his limited NHL time of late, Florida still re-signed the experienced blue liner this summer and at least seem willing to give him a shot at a permanent job by not only activating him to the NHL roster, but making room by demoting priority NCAA free agent addition Matt Kiersted. The Cats are still only carrying seven defensemen with Markus Nutivaara currently on injured reserve, but Connauton may still have to prove he is worthy of a roster spot before Nutivaara returns. With solid depth on the blue line, recently supplemented by the acquisition of Olli Juolevi, Florida needs a reason to keep Connauton on the NHL roster and his seven games last season may not be enough. Getting healthy and back in action as quickly as he did certainly helps his case though.
Woll, 23, may ironically have a better shot at NHL opportunity this season despite having no experience in the league. The 2016 third-round pick, who was a standout at Boston College, has been with the AHL Marlies for the past two seasons and while his numbers aren’t eye-popping, his play continues to draw praise. The Toronto net is far from set and just while Woll was recovering from injury himself, the Leafs lost off-season addition Petr Mrazek to injury. Mrazek signed a three-year deal this summer, but has a history of injury issues. Current starter Jack Campbell and backup Michael Hutchinson are on expiring contracts and will be on the wrong side of 30 as they look for their next deal. Between planning for the future and managing the present, the Maple Leafs have some incentive to give Woll a look – potentially a long look – this season. Now healthy, the young keeper can settle in down in the AHL and hopefully look forward to his NHL debut sooner rather than later.
AHL Shuffle: 10/15/21
An increasingly tight salary cap situation for many teams across the league has expectedly led to a lot of wheeling, dealing, and maneuvering early on this season, especially in the recalls and assignments department. We’ll keep track of all of today’s minor NHL to AHL and AHL to NHL roster moves right here.
Atlantic Division
- Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports the Panthers re-assigned Chase Priskie and Maxim Mamin to the Charlotte Checkers. Priskie was recalled Thursday prior to the team’s season opener against Pittsburgh but was a healthy scratch. Mamin had previously been listed as a non-roster player. Mamin last played in the NHL with the Panthers in 2018-19, playing seven games, but has played in the KHL ever since.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers are sending forward Jackson Cates back down to Lehigh Valley, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Cates was recalled from the Phantoms Thursday to give the team roster flexibility as their two new waiver claims in Patrick Brown and Zack MacEwen were both unavailable. Yesterday’s other two recalls, Max Willman and Nick Seeler, remain with the team and will likely play in the team’s home opener against Vancouver Friday night.
- Per the team, the New Jersey Devils activated forward Tyce Thompson off injured reserve and have assigned him to the Utica Comets. The brother of Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, Tyce made his NHL debut last season, scoring one assist in seven games.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov to the Cleveland Monsters. Likely to see another call-up at some point this season, Chinakhov will make his North American debut with Cleveland soon.
- Greg McKegg has been recalled by the New York Rangers after Ryan Strome‘s placement on the COVID protocol list. He’ll draw into the lineup Saturday against Montreal as the team has only 12 active forwards.
Central Division
- The Avalanche’s Jayson Megna has been sent down to the Colorado Eagles, notes The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Megna drew into Colorado’s lineup on Wednesday against Chicago in the place of Nathan MacKinnon, who remains on COVID protocol. Megna could be recalled again soon, as Baugh reports it could just be a salary cap maneuver.
- Soon is apparently today, as Megna has rejoined the big club along with Stefan Matteau and Dylan Sikura, with the Avalanche sending Alex Newhook down to the Eagles. A peculiar transaction, you can expect more paper shuffling before the team’s game Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
Pacific Division
- The Vegas Golden Knights assigned Peyton Krebs, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Jake Leschyshyn to the Henderson Silver Knights ahead of the team’s season opener tonight. All three played in Thursday night’s 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and they’ll likely be recalled soon as the team continues to deal with injuries and absences in the bottom six.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Florida Panthers Acquire Olli Juolevi From The Vancouver Canucks
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the Florida Panthers are acquiring defenseman Olli Juolevi from the Vancouver Canucks. The move comes just two days ahead of the start of the regular season. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reports that Vancouver will receive forward Juho Lammikko and defenseman Noah Juulsen in return.
Drafted fifth overall in 2016, the 23-year-old Finn has failed to secure an NHL role up to this point in his career and made his NHL debut just last season. He’ll now look for a bigger role and a different, potentially more favorable system under coach Joel Quenneville in Florida. General manager Bill Zito spoke about the acquisition today:
We are excited to welcome another young defenseman like Olli to our organization. We look forward to Olli developing with our club as he joins our deepening core on the blueline.
Juolevi tallied just two goals and an assist in 23 games with Vancouver this season, averaging 13:13 per game. With Florida, it’s possible that he resumes a seventh defenseman role while he’s given more time to work with coaching staff.
When he is ready to enter the NHL lineup in South Florida, he’ll have to likely knock off one of Markus Nutivaara or Brandon Montour for a spot in the lineup. It won’t be an easy task, but it is possible if Juolevi begins to realize his top-ten pick potential.
Juolevi had been productive in the AHL over the past few seasons, tallying 38 points in 63 games with the Utica Comets from 2018-2020. If given more of a role in Florida, it’s likely that his offensive and defensive play would improve.
Injury Notes: Reaves, Bennett, Guentzel
Despite suffering an injury on Wednesday night that forced him to be helped off the ice, New York Rangers free agent addition Ryan Reaves may not miss any regular season time. The grinder has not been practicing since the injury occurred, but head coach Gerard Gallant is optimistic that he could return by opening night. “I think it’s going to be close,” Gallant told Collin Stephenson on Newsday. “When we left the game, I said no, but… the last couple of days it’s going in the right direction… I can’t really say, but I think it’s going to be real close.” The Rangers prioritized adding grit and physicality this summer, adding Reaves, Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais, and Patrik Nemeth, so they hope to be able to roll out their full complement of toughness for Opening Night.
- Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett missed the team’s preseason match-up on Saturday night as he has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol, the team announced. Depending on the context of Bennett’s absence, the two-way forward could miss more than just one game. The Panthers certainly hope that the physical center is good to go for the start of the season; Bennett was an excellent addition to the Florida roster at the deadline last season, recording 15 points in ten games while averaging a career-high 18:04 time on ice. As the Cats look to compete in the Atlantic Division this year, every game matters and a healthy Bennett is a difference-maker.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins expect to have Jake Guentzel back sooner rather than later from COVID Protocol. Head coach Mike Sullivan told The Athletic’s Rob Rossi that Guentzel is asymptomatic and going through the steps of the protocol. Though he has missed a week of practice, Guentzel will jump right back into the lineup if he is healthy. The 27-year-old has scored at a point-per-game pace over the past three years and will be relied on even more with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin injured.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/9/21
With the submission of season-opening rosters due on Monday, many teams should be making more cuts today. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Tyler Angle (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Josh Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tristan Mullin (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Justin Scott (released from PTO, to Cleveland, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Cleveland, AHL)
Florida Panthers (via WPLG’s David Dwork)
F Zac Dalpe (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Noah Juulsen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Matt Kiersted (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Serron Noel (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Chase Priskie (to Charlotte, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (via team release)
D Calen Addison (to Iowa, AHL)
F Adam Beckman (to Iowa, AHL)
F Marco Rossi (to Iowa, AHL)
Montreal Canadiens (via TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie)
F Jesse Ylonen (to Laval, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
F Joseph Gambardella (to Utica, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)
F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Mads Sogaard (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release)
F Michael Chaput (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Juuso Riikola (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release)
G Colten Ellis (to Springfield, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Springfield, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Springfield, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via team release)
F Carson Focht (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F William Lockwood (to Abbotsford, AHL)
Florida Panthers Extend Aleksander Barkov
The news that every Florida Panthers fan has been waiting for is about to happen. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team has signed a long-term extension with Aleksander Barkov, their star center, inking a new eight-year contract that will kick in for the 2022-23 season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $10MM according to Friedman, with the majority of the money coming in the form of signing bonuses. PuckPedia reports that the deal will have a no-move clause for the first six years, and a 16-team no-trade clause in the final two. The modified no-trade clause Barkov had for this season has also been converted to a full no-move. The contract has now been officially announced, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has the full breakdown:
- 2022-23: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $1.0MM salary + $10.6MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $1.0MM salary + $9.0MM signing bonus
- 2027-28: $1.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
- 2028-29: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus
- 2029-30: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus
Panthers GM Bill Zito released a statement on the deal:
Over his past eight years in South Florida, Sasha has demonstrated his leadership, character and elite playmaking ability, cementing himself as one of the best all-around players in hockey. He has earned the respect of the hockey community through work ethic and a team-first attitude. Most importantly, he is a tremendous person, athlete and friend and we are thrilled to secure Sasha as our leader on and off the ice for the next eight years.
Barkov, 26, will carry just a $5.9MM cap hit this season on the last year of a deal that turned into one of the biggest bargains in the NHL. Signed in 2016 just a few months into his third NHL season, the six-year, $35.4MM contract was an absolute steal for the Panthers, who watched their young phenom turn from a lanky, inconsistent presence to a powerful two-way force. In 2018-19 Barkov recorded a career-high of 35 goals and 96 points, but the 6’3″ 215-lbs center is much more than his offensive numbers.
The reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov has been nominated as one of the best defensive forwards in the league every year since his sophomore season, finishing in the top-6 four times. His faceoff numbers have improved dramatically in the last few seasons and he took home the Lady Byng Trophy in 2019 as a nod to his minuscule penalty totals. Through 529 games, with an average of 20 minutes a night, Barkov has recorded just 98 penalty minutes.
There’s no way the team was going to let him get anywhere near unrestricted free agency if they could help it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of risk in a deal like this. Barkov likely could have secured even more on the open market, but that $10MM cap hit will tie him for 11th in the entire NHL moving forward–a tie with teammate Sergei Bobrovsky, whose free agent deal has certainly not worked out. With both of those in the fold, the Panthers become just the fourth team in the NHL with at least two players earning in excess of $10MM. The Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs (who have three), have had well-documented salary cap crunches that have cost them depth over the years because of the big money deals at the top.
That cap crunch will be real for the Panthers, who also have $7.5MM Aaron Ekblad and $6.5MM Sam Reinhart to fit in. The team now has more than $77.8MM committed to just 16 players for next season, not leaving them a ton of room to fill out the rest of their roster.
Still, if there was ever a player to spend on, it’s Barkov. Not only does he represent the best skater Florida has seen in quite some time (or perhaps ever), he also only turned 26 a month ago. An eight-year term always buys out years that could see a decline in production, but at least the Panthers aren’t going into his late-thirties with this new extension.
This is also a new comparable for other top centers around the league, including Nathan MacKinnon who has just two years left on his current deal. There’s no telling just how high the Colorado Avalanche will have to go with their franchise player, given his offensive numbers the last several years are even more impressive than Barkov’s. It’s also one of the first big dominoes for next year’s free agent market, which currently includes high-end names like Mika Zibanejad, Johnny Gaudreau, and Filip Forsberg. The former in particular will be looking at Barkov’s deal, though there is plenty of time for each of them to reach new extensions before free agency even approaches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images