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Lias Andersson Will Not Return To Rangers For Postseason

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Disgruntled New York Rangers prospect Lias Andersson is apparently still upset with his NHL club. The 21-year-old forward was loaned to the SHL’s HV71 in his native Sweden in late January after he had requested a trade out of New York in December. However, after a lengthy amount of time apart, the Rangers decided to offer Andersson a spot at training camp and on their playoff roster, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. However, Brooks reports that a source told the Post that Andersson has declined this invitation and will remain in Sweden. This could very well be the last straw for the Rangers and Andersson.

Andersson, the seventh overall pick in 2017, has openly expressed his displeasure with his role in New York and it eventually led him out of town. The problem is that the talented forward does not have the numbers to back up his argument. Yes, Andersson is a skilled player who flashed incredible offensive ability in the SHL at a very young age and was worthy of his draft slot. However, in three seasons in North America the young center has recorded just nine points in 66 NHL games and 39 points in 74 AHL games. The production simply has not matched the hype and few would fault the Rangers for using Andersson sparingly while they wait for his talent to catch up with the pace of NHL play.

Unfortunately, it now seems like the Rangers are unlikely to see Andersson reach his potential (if he ever does). With bridges all but burnt, Brooks expects that he will remain in Sweden until he is traded. However, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello does point out that Andersson is under contract with New York next season and the Rangers will have the final say as to where he plays. Regardless, that is unlikely to be the Big Apple. It’s all hands on deck for the Rangers, one of the more unlikely playoff teams in the NHL’s expanded postseason, but when Andersson is needed the most, he has opted not to answer the bell. For a player lauded for his work ethic and leadership ability in the draft process, Andersson has failed the Rangers at every turn and they likely face little choice now but to try to get a fair return back for the troubled prospect.

Dmitri Samorukov Nearing A Deal In The KHL

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Dmitri Samorukov’s first foray into professional hockey had some tough moments and it appears he’s looking for a change of scenery.  As first reported by Sport-Express’ Michael Zizlis and since confirmed by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Samorukov is closing in on a one-year deal with CSKA Moscow that would see him play there on loan from the Oilers for next season.  Edmonton GM Ken Holland is aware of the plan and has given his approval.

Samorukov’s agent Pat Morris indicated that the current playing landscape in the NHL is playing a factor in this decision:

He wants to play. He doesn’t want to lay dormant for 8-10 months in this current situation. And he, unlike some other players, has this option. We’re exploring it long and hard.

While Edmonton will be participating in the play-in round against Chicago, it would take several injuries for the 20-year-old to get a look in their lineup.  His last AHL action came back in early March before the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the schedule and eventually resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the season and playoffs.  While there’s no firm timeline on when the NHL or AHL 2020-21 seasons will begin, it’s looking like December or January could be the options.  That’s a long time for any prospect to sit.

Samorukov had two goals and eight assists in 47 games with AHL Bakersfield this season and he may have an opportunity to make an immediate impact with CSKA.  Veteran blueliner Nikita Nesterov is drawing NHL interest while Montreal prospect Alexander Romanov has already agreed on his entry-level deal; former NHL defender Alexei Marchenko has signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl so there are certainly some vacancies to be filled.  A chance to get some guaranteed action (with the KHL schedule still on track to start in September) on a quality team may very well be the best move for his development next season.

Josh Ho-Sang Loaned To San Antonio

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It seems as though the awkward relationship between the New York Islanders and Joshua Ho-Sang is coming to an end, as today the team loaned the enigmatic forward to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Ho-Sang has played just 16 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, after sitting out the first part of the year demanding a trade.

With the loan, Ho-Sang remains under control of the Islanders for the rest of the season but will get a chance to play for a different organization down the stretch. A restricted free agent in the summer, he seems destined to either be traded or go unqualified.

If he has played his last game for the Islanders organization, it is a disappointing end for a young forward that showed so much promise. Selected 28th overall in 2014, Ho-Sang has routinely put up strong offensive numbers at any level. Even in his sporadic NHL appearances he has recorded 24 points in 53 games, but it looks now like he’ll have to try to restart his career somewhere else.

Now 24, it remains to be seen which organization will give him a chance this summer. For now, he’ll play for the Rampage and try to prove that he can still perform at a high level.

Joonas Korpisalo Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have been getting Vezina-type goaltending for the last month, but haven’t even had their presumed starter healthy. Elvis Merzlikins took over the net and is performing at an All-Star level, but now the real All-Star, Joonas Korpisalo, is on his way back. Korpisalo, who hasn’t played since the end of December, has been loaned to the AHL for a conditioning stint as he prepares to return to action.

The 25-year old has missed 22 games with a knee injury, but actually wasn’t placed on injured reserve until today. That allowed the Blue Jackets to send a goaltender down on off days to keep them fresh, while Merzlikins handled almost all of the NHL work.

Before his injury, Korpisalo had been playing extremely well. After a shaky start as the No. 1 goaltender in Columbus, he had posted a .932 save percentage over his last month with a 7-2-3 record. That earned him a nomination to the All-Star Game, though he could not attend. In his place, Merzlikins has kept up that incredible play, posting a .924 save percentage in 29 appearances including five shutouts.

When Korpisalo returns, the Blue Jackets will have a tandem with the ability to be one of the best in the league. Whether they decide to let them share the net is unclear, but after such a frustrating season injury-wise, it will be nice to have some added depth at the position.

Kole Sherwood has also been assigned to the Cleveland Monsters.

Pacific Notes: Ferland, Roussel, Hayton

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The Vancouver Canucks have sent Micheal Ferland to the AHL on a long-term injury conditioning loan, allowing him to get some game action under his belt before returning to the NHL lineup. The 27-year old forward has been out since early December and has just 14 games played with the Canucks this season.

After signing a four-year, $14MM deal with the Canucks in the offseason, Ferland was expected to give the team another potential top-six option and physical force up front. That hasn’t been the case yet, but if he can get healthy and back to playing well before the postseason the team will be even more formidable in a seven game playoff series.

  • One of those other physical presences, Antoine Roussel, has been fined $5,000 for slashing Nashville Predators defenseman Yannick Weber in last night’s game. The amount may seem trivial, but it is the maximum allowable under the CBA and will be considered in future supplementary discipline.
  • The Arizona Coyotes also have a player on conditioning loan in the minor leagues, and Craig Morgan of The Athletic is reporting that Barrett Hayton will be allowed to stay there a little longer. The young forward is actually too young to play regularly in the AHL, but a request to extend his conditioning stint by two games has been approved by the league. Hayton is coming back from a shoulder injury he suffered during the World Juniors.

Barrett Hayton Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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After scoring a goal in the World Junior gold medal game with an injured shoulder, Barrett Hayton returned to the Arizona Coyotes in early January. Labeled back then as week-to-week as he recovered, the young forward will now head to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners for a conditioning stint. That move indicates that Hayton is close to returning, though how the Coyotes will use him is still unclear.

Interestingly, Hayton is actually too young to stay with Tucson beyond the conditioning loan. Still just 19, once healthy he has to stay with the Coyotes or be returned to his junior team. Returning to junior doesn’t make much sense at this point after the first year of his entry-level contract was already burned, but the top prospect was also not playing regularly for Arizona before leaving for the international tournament in the first place.

In 14 games this season with Arizona, Hayton has one goal and four points. He tripled that total in seven games at the WJC, as he captained Team Canada to gold. The fifth-overall pick from 2018, Hayton can do a little bit of everything on the ice and projects to be a star option down the middle for the Coyotes in the future. This short stint with the Roadrunners may prove to be his only time in the minor leagues.

Snapshots: Kapanen, Dumba, Puistola

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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen owned up to the reasoning behind his benching on Saturday night when he met with the media this morning. Kapanen had been a healthy scratch, but head coach Sheldon Keefe declined to provide any details as to why in his post-game media availability. It turns out that Kapanen had specifically asked for the opportunity to speak about the issue. Kapanen told a number of reporters, including Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, that he had overslept on Friday and was late to a team meeting and practice. This was not the first incidence of this, as Kapanen had previously had problems being punctual in the AHL, also under Keefe. He stressed this morning that these were honest mistakes and he does not want his coaches and teammates to think that he does not care about being the best player that he can be. It seems that Kapanen and Keefe are ready to move past this but these locker room issues won’t help to quell the trade rumors surrounding the young winger.

  • In an entertaining article that was mostly educated guesses, Pierre LeBrun did manage to drop a few rumor nuggets in his recent trade deadline piece for  The Athletic. One such report was that the Carolina Hurricanes – known to be seeking defense – had inquired about the Minnesota Wild’s Mathew Dumba. Not only does this say that the Hurricanes are at least looking into options beyond rentals, with Dumba signed for three more years at $6MM, but it implies that the Wild are at least listening to offers on the young defenseman. New GM Bill Guerin has stated that the team is open for business, but moving Dumba would be a major move for the franchise. The team would have to recoup some highly valueable  pieces to warrant trading away one of their few young difference-makers.
  • Hurricanes prospect Patrik Puistola is on the move in the Finnish Liiga yet again. Puistola, 19, has struggled while playing for the team that owns his rights, Tappara, with just two points in 24 games. However, in an earlier loan this season to Jukurit, the swift winger posted five points in just seven games. Tappaara will try to loan him out again now, announcing that he has been sent to Kookoo. If Puistola performs with Kookoo as he did with Jukurit or at the World Juniors, where he posted eight points in seven games, then the team will be very happy about this temporary arrangement. Meanwhile, as Puistola’s attachment to Tappara continues to diminih, the odds are improving that he will make the jump to North America next season.

New York Rangers Loan Lias Andersson To SHL

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The New York Rangers announced they have loaned suspended forward Lias Andersson to HV71 of the SHL. While the team had been looking for a potential trade partner for their disgruntled forward since he walked out on his AHL team on Dec. 21, the team has decided that allowing him to play overseas for now is the best case for his continued development and could drum up some interest before the trade deadline.

Despite being drafted seventh-overall back in 2017, Andersson hasn’t lived up to his billing, having scored just six points in 42 games with the Rangers in 2018-19 and got even less playing time this year. In 17 games with New York, Andersson played mostly on the fourth line, averaging just 9:33 per night, and tallied just one assist in that time. He was eventually assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack where he scored four goals and five points in 13 games, but was also seeing a decline in his playing time, which wasn’t going to help him return to the Rangers squad. Unhappy with his playing time and frustrated that he still wasn’t with the Rangers, Andersson choose to walk away from the team and demanded a trade, where the team responded by suspending him. He returned to his home country of Sweden not long after that.

Since then, Andersson has been in direct contact with Rangers team president John Davidson for the past few weeks and was rumored to be working out with a low-level team in Sweden. The 21-year-old should be quite familiar with HV71 as he played with the team for two years before he was drafted, scoring nine goals and 19 points as a 17-year-old in 2016-17.

With little trade value at the moment, the Rangers have to hope that Andersson can continue his development in the SHL and improve that value, although it would seem unlikely that all that can happen before the trade deadline. Being a seventh-overall pick, New York would expect a solid return for a 21-year-old player and aren’t likely to give the youngster away for less than that. If Andersson can become one of the team’s top players and put up some numbers over there, he could improve his stock and either opt to return to the team or give the team a better chance to trade him.

Los Angeles Kings Make Several Roster Moves

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The Los Angeles Kings have activated Trevor Lewis from injured reserve, meaning he, Dustin Brown and Derek Forbort are all expected to make their returns tonight. Because of the roster crunch, Martin Frk has been sent to the minor leagues. He’ll be joined there by Tobias Bjornfot and Rasmus Kupari who have both been recalled from their World Junior loans. Kupari was forced from the tournament due to injury, but there is no update on his condition yet.

Getting Lewis and Forbort back in the lineup may not change the Kings’ fortune this season, but both are potential trade deadline assets for the club. They only become assets if they’re healthy and playing though, meaning their return will help build up some value over the next several weeks.

Bjornfot meanwhile is coming back after a disappointing bronze medal finish at the World Juniors. He was part of an elite defensive group playing mostly alongside Edmonton Oilers prospect Philip Broberg, and will come back to continue his development in the minor leagues.

WJC Notes: Groulx, Thomson, Ford

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Team Canada has finalized its roster for the upcoming U-20 World Junior Championship, hosted this year by the Czech Republic. The team has made one last cut, and TSN’s Mark Masters reports that it is Anaheim Ducks prospect Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Groulx, a 2018 second-round pick, has been having yet another strong season in the QMJHL and doing so on a poor Halifax Mooseheads team. The two-way pivot is likely a victim of a roster chock full of centers, with many already slated to line up on the wing. With “Bo” heading home, Masters has also shared Team Canada’s practice lines with their roster finalized, which is likely the way that they will line up to begin the tournament.

  • Team Finland, looking to defend their championship performance from last year, has announced their leadership group for the WJC. Ottawa Senators 2019 first-round pick Lassi Thomson has been named captain, leading the team as their top defenseman. Thomson brings an array of experience to the squad, having played professionally in Finland this year, recording ten points in 23 games on loan with Ilves of the Liiga, as well as the junior level with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets last season. Given the Senators’ issues on the blue line, Thomson is a strong candidate to join the NHL ranks next season and his WJC performance could be telling of where he stands versus other elite prospects. Los Angeles Kings forward prospect Rasmus Kupari and Vancouver Canucks defensive prospect Toni Utunen will sere as alternates.
  • Even after making a trio of cuts on Wednesday, Team USA still has a few tough decisions to make. For now, a few surprises remain on the roster, hopeful that they will get a chance to shine on the international stage. Overage prospect Parker Ford headlines that group, looking to make a name for himself after getting passed over in the NHL Draft. The Providence College freshman forward was a good if unspectacular player in the USHL, but has gotten off to a strong start in his NCAA career with 14 points in 17 games. Ford would be an intriguing name to watch for the Americans if he does in fact make the final roster. Other potential surprise inclusions on the roster include New York Islanders seventh-round defenseman Christian Krygier of Michigan State, Boston Bruins fourth-round center Curtis Hall of Yale, and Notre Dame teammates Jacob Pivonka and Trevor Janicke, late picks of the Islanders and Anaheim Ducks respectively.

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