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Central Notes: Kaprizov, Sissons, Ellis, Saad, Parayko

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In a Q&A on the KHL website, Gillian Kemmerer interviewed KHL star and Minnesota Wild prospect Kirill Kaprizov, who stated he is very interested in coming over and play in the NHL.

“I mean, what can I say? The [KHL] season is still on. I have to do my best here, but I do have a great desire to move over,” said Kaprizov. “I have to focus on the ongoing season. It’s the end of the regular season—I need to get ready for the playoffs and do well so that we win our second cup in a row. There’s still a lot to be done before I have to worry about it—such as making the World Championship team. There’s still time. I’ll think about it later.”

Kaprizov is expected to be a free agent this spring and could be a key piece in the Wild’s rebuilding effort if the team can convince him to sign an entry-level deal. The 22-year-old, who was a fifth-round pick in 2015, has been one of the KHL’s biggest stars as he has 23 goals and 45 points in 44 games this year with CSKA Moscow.

  • The Nashville Predators are hopeful that they might get a forward back into their lineup soon as head coach John Hynes said that the team hopes to get forward Colton Sissons back to practice after the all-star break, according to The Athletic’s Adam Vingan. The 26-year-old, out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 27, has been skating on his own.  Hynes also noted that the news isn’t as good on defenseman Ryan Ellis, who still hasn’t stepped on the ice. The blueliner suffered an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Dallas’ Corey Perry on Jan. 1. However, Hynes points out that Ellis, “he is on that protocol to come back,” although he did admit he didn’t know when Ellis might start skating again.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have activated Brandon Saad off of injured reserve and he is expected to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The 27-year-old has missed 12 straight games with an ankle injury and hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 19. Saad has 11 goals and 19 points in 36 games. The winger was considered to be out until the all-star break, but practiced fully on Friday.
  • NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that the St. Louis Blues could have defenseman Colton Parayko back after the all-star break. The 26-year-old defenseman has been out since Jan. 2 with an upper-body injury. Head coach Craig Berube said that he is “pretty confident” that Parayko will be ready to return when the team gets back from break.

 

Snapshots: Mikheyev, Phillips, Stalock

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If you were in a foreign country where you didn’t speak the language well, were away from your entire family and had just undergone emergency surgery to repair slashed tendons in your wrist, it might be a little overwhelming. That’s why Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM Kyle Dubas stayed with injured forward Ilya Mikheyev in New Jersey while he recovered from surgery. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports however, Dubas’ goodwill may actually have a positive impact on player acquisition down the road. Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, the agent for Mikheyev and many other Russian players, explained to Johnston that he has already told his other clients of how the situation was handled:

The agent has KHL free agents currently drawing significant NHL interest for next season and has made sure they’re all aware of the humanity the Leafs exhibited with Mikheyev, telling them: “You should know how Toronto took care of this particular accident.”

While that obviously doesn’t guarantee the Maple Leafs will get any sort of discount down the road, it certainly can’t hurt when they’re trying to convince the KHL’s top talent to come over to North America. The team will also have a negotiation with Mikheyev at some point, given that he will be a restricted free agent this summer.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have assigned minor league defenseman Markus Phillips to the Guelph Storm of the OHL, sending him back despite already having played in the ECHL and AHL this season. The 20-year old will re-join the Storm for the rest of his overage season, another addition to a team that is already 21-8-5 this season. Phillips was selected 118th overall in 2017 and had six points in 20 games for the Fort Wayne Komets this season.
  • Alex Stalock has been fined $2,000 for embellishment, following an incident that occurred against the Winnipeg Jets on December 21st. It was the second cited case of diving by Stalock, following an earlier incident against the Pittsburgh Penguins that incurred a warning from the league. Though it obviously isn’t a lot of money, embellishment comes with escalating fines that eventually are levied against the coach as well—something that never helps a player’s career.

Snapshots: Lafreniere, Chromiak, Omsk

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Alexis Lafreniere, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, has already improved (or rather confirmed) his draft stock at the ongoing World Junior Championship, but he may not have the opportunity to continue shining at the tournament. Lafreniere suffered a leg injury during Team Canada’s match-up with Russia on Saturday. He fell awkwardly while crashing the net and had to be helped off the ice (video). He did not return to the game and may not return to action at the WJC altogether. Lafreniere has already been ruled out for Canada’s next game against Germany, but TSN’s Frank Seravalli says that beyond that his status is up in the air. Seravalli reports that Lafreniere’s MRI results came back negative for any fracture or torn ligaments, which is good news long-term, but doesn’t necessarily mean that Lafreniere will be ready to go in time to suit up for Canada again at the WJC.

  • The OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs received a major boost yesterday by finally landing a commitment from forward Martin Chromiak. Chromiak, a 2020 NHL Draft prospect, was selected by Kingston with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 CHL Import Draft. The Slovakian winger has been playing in his native country’s top pro league this season, recording five goals and six points in 32 games with HK Dukla Trencin thus far, after putting up 46 points in 39 games in the U-20 league last year. The Frontenacs stated that while the process took longer than they had hoped, they are excited to have the skilled Chromiak as part of their team moving forward. Kingston has the second-worst record in the OHL this year and can use all the help they can get.
  • Two players that won’t be making the jump to North America are Alexei Emelin and Sergei Shirokov. The NHL veterans have each signed new two-year contract extensions with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk. Emelin, the more well-known of the two, played in six seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and one with the Nashville Predators before signing with Omsk in 2018. Avangard’s captain and top defenseman, Emelin has been injured for much of this season but is still a top two-way defender in the KHL when healthy, even at 33. Shirokov, who played two seasons in the Vancouver Canucks system from 2009 to 2011, has otherwise been a career KHLer, despite perennial rumors that he could jump back to the NHL. Now in his second stint with Omsk, Shirokov’s offense has actually improved over the past few years since entering his thirties and is back at it this year with 19 points through 25 games.

Overseas Notes: Shore, Howden, Zatkoff

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The NHL may have a holiday roster freeze, but there’s still plenty of action ongoing in Europe. A few recognizable names are on the move, including Drew Shore. The former top prospect, who last played in North America in 2016-17 with the Vancouver Canucks, is now in his fourth season in Europe, split between the Swiss NLA and KHL. Shore began this season with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk, but after a hot start has been moved to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Shore, who has 17 points in 24 games thus far, moves up the KHL’s Western Conference standings from a basement dweller to a team competing for a playoff spot.

  • With the addition of Shore, Torpedo has opted to trade another NHL veteran, Quinton Howden, to Vityaz Podolsk. Howden, a former Florida Panthers prospect like Shore, last suited up in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets in 2016-17. Howden had 13 points in 36 games prior to the trade, but Torpedo essentially sold Howden, using the money to pay for a more productive player in Shore. It’s a somewhat risky move however, seeing as how Vityaz holds a higher position in the standings than Nizhny Novgorod.
  • Veteran goaltender Jeff Zatkoff will be staying overseas a while longer. The former Penguins and Kings keeper, who last played in North America in 2017-18, has signed an extension with the Straubing Tigers of Germany’s DEL. Now in his second season with the Tigers, Zatkoff has excelled since moving to Germany and it makes sense that the 32-year-old would like to stay put.

Five Key Stories: 12/16/19 – 12/22/19

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The days leading up to the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze are always full of potential for big moves by teams looking to make a change before a stretch of mandatory inactivity. This year did not disappoint, as the biggest target on the rental market was dealt, highlighting a busy week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:

Taylor Hall Traded To Arizona: The week started with a bang, as the Taylor Hall saga came to an end with a trade to Arizona. The Coyotes sent a 2020 first-round pick, a conditional 2021 third-round pick, and prospects Nate Schnarr, Nick Merkley and Kevin Bahl to the Devils. New Jersey retained half of Hall’s $6MM cap as well. Hall was the top name in the rental market this season, but many were left underwhelmed by the trade return. The asking price may have been affected by Hall’s reluctance to negotiate an extension in-season, which he has maintained since arriving in the desert. Nevertheless, the Coyotes’ acquisition could make them the favorite to win the Pacific Division this year as they pursue the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

Ilya Kovalchuk Leaves Kings: Veteran Ilya Kovalchuk is on the move as well, but his destination is yet to be determined. He and the Los Angeles Kings came to a mutual agreement on a contract termination on Monday, with Kovalchuk clearing unconditional waivers on Tuesday. The former superstar never fit with the Kings after returning from the KHL and could be tempted to return to Russia after this failure. However, he is reportedly willing to sign a minimum deal to remain in the NHL as he too is pursuing his first Stanley Cup, without much time left in his lengthy career.

Eric Comrie, Stefan Noesen Claimed: Three players entered the waiver wire on Wednesday and two emerged on new teams. Both goaltender Eric Comrie and forward Stefan Noesen were claimed on waivers. For Comrie, he returns to the Winnipeg Jets, the team with which he began the season, after making stops with the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Noesen only signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins a few weeks ago, but is already on the move to the San Jose Sharks. Austin Czarnik, the most accomplished player waived on Wednesday, but also the most expensive, was not claimed and remains with the Calgary Flames.

The Injury Bug Bites: Injuries are not exactly an uncommon occurrence in the NHL, but this week in particular took a heavy toll across the league. Just how bad was it? Here is the list of players who were announced this week as being out long-term: Josh Anderson, Danny DeKeyser, Troy Terry, Derek Grant, Andrew Peeke, Ryan Murray, Darcy Kuemper, Jason Zucker, Josh Leivo, Brandon Saad, Cal Clutterbuck, Anthony Mantha, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. 

Chris Snow Diagnosed With ALS: Calgary Flames Assistant General Manager Chris Snow has been diagnosed with ALS, as disclosed by his wife in a public letter. As Snow begins this difficult battle, we here at PHR wish he and his family the best this holiday season.

 

Snapshots: Gardiner, Clutterbuck, Enroth

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It was a long summer for defenseman Jake Gardiner after a long career with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended with heartbreak at the hands of the Boston Bruins once again. Gardiner became an unrestricted free agent and ended up waiting until September to sign a four-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. In a long interview with The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required), Gardiner explains exactly why he chose to leave a hockey hotbed for quieter Carolina, even confirming that he turned down a bigger offer from the Montreal Canadiens.

After the piece was published, Mirtle’s colleague Pierre LeBrun tweeted that there are teams around the league wondering if they can pluck Gardiner out of Carolina given his relatively low usage behind stars like Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton. Gardiner is currently averaging just over 16 minutes a night for the Hurricanes. The 29-year old comes with a $4.05MM cap hit and holds a seven-team no-trade list.

  • The New York Islanders will not issue an update on Cal Clutterbuck’s status until tomorrow, other than he was allowed to fly home with them following their game against the Boston Bruins. Clutterbuck had his wrist sliced by the skate of Patrice Bergeron, immediately dropping his glove and leaving the game. Injuries caused by a skate blade are always hard to watch, especially after the recent incident involving junior goaltender Tucker Tynan. As always, Clutterbuck has been a solid contributor for the Islanders this season, leading the team in hits and all forwards in blocked shots.
  • Former NHL goaltender Jhonas Enroth could return to the SHL after having his KHL contract with Dinamo Minsk terminated. The 31-year old actually posted a .909 save percentage during his 153-game NHL career, but struggled in his most recent stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016-17. The undersized netminder was originally a second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2006 and has regularly suited up for Sweden in international competitions.

Overseas Notes: Sorokin, Samonov, Bobkov, Austria

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For many New York Islanders fans, Russian goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin has long been considered the team’s stud goalie of the future. However, a new report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman casts doubt on that premise. Friedman hears from sources in Russia that Sorokin continues to negotiate an extension in the KHL, where he currently stars for perennial contender CSKA Moscow. At 24 years old already, another contract in Russia would be a tough pill to swallow for the Islanders, who would potentially be waiting until Sorokin was well past “prospect” age. Of course, Friedman believes that talks with Moscow could in fact be a ploy to force a trade from the Islanders. He believes that Sorokin wants a clear path to guaranteed appearances in the NHL and may not see that opportunity in New York. This would be an ironic development, seeing as many pointed to the long-term signing of Semyon Varlamov this summer as a way of convincing fellow Russian keeper Sorokin to sign with the Isles, not the other way around. Not enough is known about this situation just yet to definitively say that Sorokin would like a trade from the Islanders and would rather play in Russia than New York, but perhaps fans need to begin to temper their expectations that the young KHL star is cemented as their heir apparent in net.

  • Two Russian goalies who definitely won’t be making the jump to the NHL any time soon are Alexander Samonov and Igor Bobkov. Samonov, 24, is enjoying a breakout year with SKA St. Petersburg and has decided to sign long-term with the team, inking a three-year extension. SKA dealt Carolina Hurricanes prospect Pyotr Kotchetkov to Vityaz Podolsk earlier this season to acquire the red-hot Samonov, and so far the investment has paid off. Samonov has led SKA in appearances since the trade and his .934 save percentage and 1.83 GAA are among the best numbers in the KHL, even though he was even better to begin the year with Vityaz. If he was to continue this level of play, Samonov would undoubtedly draw NHL interest, but with a new deal that would not allow him to debut in North America until he was 28, the odds are that Samonov may never play in the NHL at all. Bobkov meanwhile had his cup of coffee in North America, but could never push beyond the AHL level while playing in the Anaheim Ducks system. Since returning to Russia, Bobkov has asserted himself as one of the best goalies in the league and is having the best season of his career thus far, with a .926 save percentage and 1.85 GAA in a whopping 31 appearances already for Avangard Omsk. The team has rewarded their workhorse with a two-year extension, carrying him into his thirties. As such, Bobkov is unlikely to play in the NHL again.
  • The 2020 World Junior Championship has not yet even begun, but one team is already looking ahead to 2021. Austria was the surprise winner at the Division 1-A WJC in Minsk, Belarus. The tournament, which offers the champion the opportunity to move up to the top level of the WJC, ended on Sunday with an unassuming Austrian squad at the top. A dominant Team Latvia, as well as strong entries from Norway and Belarus, were unable to get it done. Austria, which accounts for just three NHL players and hasn’t had a player drafted in a number of year, will instead make their return to the main tournament next year.

Hunter Shinkaruk Headed To KHL

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After spending the first 20 games of the season with the Charlotte Checkers, former top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk is taking his talents overseas. The 25-year old was released from his AHL contract with the Checkers last night, with head coach Ryan Warsofsky explaining that he “got a good offer in the KHL.”

Originally selected in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Vancouver Canucks, Shinkaruk was the piece that went to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Markus Granlund in 2016. After he still failed to catch on with his second team, another trade took him to the Montreal Canadiens organization (in exchange for another struggling first-rounder, Kerby Rychel) before he was non-tendered last summer.

Even with some offensive success early on in the minor leagues, Shinkaruk never could make the leap to the NHL and show the skill that got him into the first round of the draft. He’ll now try to keep his professional hockey career alive by testing the KHL, where that offer is from Kunlun Red Star, according to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express.

Prospect Notes: Clague, Romanov, Bilyalov

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The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Kale Clague for the first time in his career, reassigning Paul Ladue to the Ontario Reign in the meantime. Clague, 21, is in his second professional season with the Kings organization after an outstanding junior career that saw him win two medals at the World Juniors (one gold, one silver as part of Team Canada), gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament and earn the WHL Top Defenseman award in 2018.

The left-handed Clague was selected 51st overall in 2016 but has found plenty of success so far with Ontario, scoring 44 points in 79 games over his first two seasons. Though there is still room for development in the young defenseman, he’ll get a crack at the NHL for the first time.

  • Speaking of young defense prospects, the Montreal Canadiens seem confident that Alexander Romanov will indeed come over to join their organization after his KHL contract ends this season. That’s what GM Marc Bergevin expressed to reporters today after recently visiting with Romanov in Russia. The 19-year old is under contract through April 2020 with CSKA Moscow.
  • That’s not the only young KHL player who might be coming to the Atlantic Division. Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown interest in KHL goaltender Timur Bilyalov. The 5’10” netminder has been outstanding this season for Kazan Ak-Bars, posting a .957 save percentage through 16 games. He’ll turn 25 before the end of this season, but could potentially add some depth to a Maple Leafs goaltending depth chart that currently has a sizable gap between starter Frederik Andersen and 21-year old top prospect Joseph Woll.

Latest On Ilya Kovalchuk

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After the Los Angeles Kings removed Ilya Kovalchuk from the lineup a month ago, the rest of the hockey world has waited to see what would happen to the veteran forward. With a signing bonus payment due on December 15th, there should be some clarity coming this weekend. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweeted today that the rest of Kovalchuk’s contract could be terminated after that, and even with considerable interest from the KHL, the forward wants to stay in the NHL.

Even after the bonus payment this weekend, Kovalchuk’s contract is still significant. The deal stretches through the 2020-21 season and still has more than $4.25MM on it. His cap hit of $6.25MM meanwhile will stay on the Kings’ books even with a termination, thanks to the contract being signed after he was 35. All of this makes a termination a messy conclusion to a marriage that simply hasn’t worked.

Leaving the KHL to return to the NHL in 2018, Kovalchuk was pursued by several teams and eventually signed a three-year, $18.75MM with the Kings. When he scored 14 points in his first 14 games while averaging nearly 19 minutes a night, it looked like the old Kovalchuk was back and ready to take over the NHL once again. Things quickly went south however when John Stevens was fired and Willie Desjardins took over the coaching duties, with the winger going scoreless in an 11-game stretch and finding himself on the fourth line playing just a handful of minutes each night.

Kovalchuk ended with 34 points on the season last year in 64 games, and has nine in 17 before being removed this time around. The 36-year old has remained with the club through it all though, attending practices and sitting in the press box to watch the games he wasn’t in.

If the contract does get terminated, you can bet that someone else will at least take a chance on Kovalchuk on a short-term, low-money deal. The Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks showed interest in him during the free agent process, but it is not clear who will be after him this time around.

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