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AHL Shuffle: 4/19/24

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Half the league has played their last games for the 2023-24 campaign, while the other half is gearing up for postseason action starting tomorrow. Either way, squads are making roster adjustments today, whether it’s assigning players back to the minors after their NHL seasons came to a close or recalling reinforcements for their playoff runs. We’ll keep track of all of today’s moves here:

  • The Bruins have recalled center John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei from AHL Providence. Both will be available for tomorrow’s Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against the Maple Leafs. The pair of youngsters were assigned to the minors throughout the last week for playing time down the stretch after spending most of the campaign on the NHL roster. They’ll likely be scratches for tomorrow’s contest, but after combining for 93 games played in the regular season, head coach Jim Montgomery won’t hesitate to plug them into the playoff lineup.
  • The Flames have assigned forwards Matthew Coronato and Adam Klapka, defenseman Ilya Solovyov, and goaltender Dustin Wolf to AHL Calgary. The NHL club’s regular season came to an end last night in a 5-1 win over the Sharks, a game all four players involved in today’s transaction played in. Wolf, one of the league’s top goaltending prospects, ended his season on a high note with 16 saves on 17 shots after putting up underwhelming numbers down the stretch for the Flames. All four will play major roles for the Wranglers over the next couple of weeks, at the very least, as they’ve clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
  • The Capitals have recalled goaltender Mitchell Gibson from ECHL South Carolina. The 24-year-old, who has no NHL experience, is in his first full season of pro hockey after spending the last four seasons in collegiate hockey at Harvard. He’ll serve as a Black Ace and emergency backup as their first-round matchup against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers gets underway. A fourth-round pick of the Caps back in 2018, he has a .899 SV%, 2.56 GAA, three shutouts, and a 22-14-3 record in 42 appearances with South Carolina this year, as well as a .915 SV% and a perfect record in two showings with AHL Hershey.
  • In a similar move, the Predators have brought up netminder Gustavs Grigals from ECHL Atlanta. Undrafted, the Latvian had spent the season in the Nashville organization on a minor-league contract before receiving a two-way deal from the Preds on deadline day. The 25-year-old was excellent last year for UMass-Lowell after transferring from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, posting a .924 SV% in 24 games and earning Hockey East Third All-Star Team honors. He’s adjusted decently well to the pro ranks, posting a .900 SV% and three shutouts behind a defensively challenged Atlanta squad in 34 appearances with an 11-19-0 record.
  • The Blackhawks have assigned forward prospect Lukas Reichel to AHL Rockford to finish his season. Chicago expected the 21-year-old to take a major step forward in his development this season and supplant himself as a top-six fixture for the future along with Connor Bedard, but it didn’t work out that way. The 2020 first-round pick was arguably among the worst players in the league this season, limited to five goals and 16 points in 65 games with a -29 rating despite seeing second-line looks for much of the season. His average ice time dipped to almost 14 minutes per game by the end of the campaign, however.
  • The Jets have assigned forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford, Brad Lambert, and goaltender Collin Delia to AHL Manitoba. Winnipeg recalled the foursome yesterday to provide reinforcements for yesterday’s regular-season finale against the Canucks. Chibrikov and Lambert made their NHL debuts, with the former notching his first NHL goal in the process. Delia backed up Laurent Brossoit while Jennings Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck was given the night off entirely, while Ford was a healthy scratch. Delia was again recalled under emergency conditions later Friday, suggesting he’ll be available as a Black Ace/emergency backup for Game 1 against the Avalanche on Sunday.
  • The Coyotes have made likely the final group of transactions in franchise history, returning forwards Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, Aku Raty, and defensemen Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok to AHL Tucson. The sale of the team’s hockey operations to Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors yesterday, rendering the Coyotes franchise inactive and establishing a new franchise in Utah. The five youngsters will finish the season in the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Roadrunners. Some of these players, likely Guenther and Doan at a minimum, will travel to Salt Lake City and will be a part of that team’s opening-night squad next season. The others may remain in Tucson, which is expected to serve as the Utah franchise’s minor-league affiliate.
  • The Oilers have assigned defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Adam Erne to AHL Bakersfield. The pair were recalled earlier in the week to allow the Oilers to rest stars like Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard before kicking off their first-round playoff series against the Kings in a few days. They’ll return to playoff-bound Bakersfield for now but will be among the first in line for recalls if necessary.
  • The Kings have assigned forward Alex Turcotte to AHL Ontario. He’d spent most of the last week in the minors on an LTI conditioning loan, but was activated off LTIR and reinstated to the NHL roster on Tuesday. He didn’t play in the Kings’ final game of the regular season last night, though. The 23-year-old presumably won’t be in their Game 1 lineup against the Oilers and will report for playoff action with the Reign.
  • The Islanders have summoned goaltender Jakub Skarek from AHL Bridgeport, per the league’s media site. The 23-year-old comes up to serve as the extra/reserve netminder as the Islanders begin their first-round series with Bridgeport eliminated from playoff contention. The 2018 third-round pick has again struggled in the third-string spot, posting a .888 SV% and 7-22-6 record in 36 appearances for the AHL Isles this year. He was passed over for recalls earlier in the regular season in favor of veteran Kenneth Appleby.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Predators Recall Troy Grosenick

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The Predators recalled Troy Grosenick from AHL Milwaukee on Friday, per a team announcement. He’ll back up Kevin Lankinen tonight against the Blackhawks, allowing starter Juuse Saros to take a rest and avoid injury risk with three games left until the playoffs.

Grosenick, 34, has been one of the AHL’s premier goalies for most of the last decade. However, his success has never brought him close to a full-time NHL role. He’s only made four career top-level starts—two in 2014-15 with the Sharks and two in 2020-21 with the Kings.

The former Union College standout’s professional career began in 2013, inking an entry-level deal in San Jose as an undrafted free agent. He’s since bounced around on two-way deals with the Kings, Predators, Bruins, and Flyers. He returned to the Preds organization last summer on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$175K) to mentor top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, his second contractual stint with the club after signing a one-year deal for the 2019-20 season.

That wasn’t his only previous campaign in Milwaukee, however. The Sharks loaned him there for a decent chunk of his time with the club, resulting in him playing 86 games with the Admirals between 2018 and 2020.

His return to Milwaukee has been solid but not overly triumphant. An injury kept him out for most of last season in the Flyers organization, limiting him to six appearances with Lehigh Valley. He’s failed to return to his former routine showings above a .920 SV%, posting a .907 mark and two shutouts with a 17-7-1 record in 28 games for Milwaukee this year. He’s only two years removed from a career-best campaign in the Bruins organization with AHL Providence when he led the league in GAA (2.00) and SV% (.933) in 30 appearances and earned a Second All-Star Team nod.

A pending UFA, Grosenick could make a fifth NHL start down the stretch if the Preds decide to let Saros rest for the remainder of the regular season. Entering tonight, Saros had started 11 of Nashville’s 15 games since the deadline. They’ve clinched a playoff spot and are guaranteed one of the two wild-card berths in the West.

Filip Forsberg To Play Through Injury During Playoffs

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Predators winger Filip Forsberg is in the middle of a career year as he leads the team in scoring with 43 goals and 44 assists through 76 games so far. However, he’s playing through some kind of injury as he has been rarely practicing with the team. In an appearance on 102.5 The Game (audio link), head coach Andrew Brunette indicated that the issue isn’t going away anytime soon. While he termed it as something that’s manageable, the bench boss also added that it might take the entire offseason before Forsberg heals up. The winger hasn’t shown any ill effects from whatever is bothering him, helping to lead the Predators on an improbable 18-game point streak recently, taking them from out of the playoffs to safely in the postseason picture.

Matthew Wood Transfers To University Of Minnesota

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In recent days, reports indicated that Nashville Predators’ prospect, Matthew Wood, would be entering the transfer portal to move on from the University of Connecticut. Having now made his decision, we can independently confirm that Wood is expected to choose the University of Minnesota as his new destination.

Over two years in Connecticut, Wood appeared in a total of 70 games, scoring 27 goals and 62 points overall, leading to his selection as the 15th overall pick of the Predators in the 2023 NHL Draft. Unfortunately, outside of some personal success, Connecticut has failed to compete with other schools within the Hockey East Conference, likely leading to Wood’s decision to move on.

Predators’ Matthew Wood Expected To Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

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Top Nashville Predators prospect and former top-15 pick Matthew Wood is expected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter link). Divver adds that the University of Minnesota is currently the favorite to land Wood, though the University of Wisconsin and North Dakota are in the race as well. Wood will be departing from the University of Connecticut, after leading the team in scoring in each of his two years with the school. His move to the transfer portal is not yet finalized, with March 31st representing the first day that underclassmen can enter.

The Predators drafted Wood with the 15th-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, following his freshman year at UConn last season, when Wood became the first 17-year-old to play D1 Men’s Hockey since Ryan Poehling in 2017 and Noah Hanifin and Zach Werenski in 2015. He did the best with the opportunity, with 11 goals and 34 points in his first 35 collegiate games. The hot performance earned Wood plenty of draft attention, with flashy stickhandling and a heavy shot proving tough for college goalies to handle. But he wasn’t without flaws, struggling to show consistent finesse skating and not always filling his roles outside the offensive zone.

Nashville put aside those concerns, taking the hefty-built Wood early in the draft, and he’s vindicated the team’s confidence this season – with 16 goals and 28 points in 35 games. He also added plenty of grit, recording 43 penalty minutes after just four last season. Wood now represents perhaps the best value on the NCAA’s open market, with his heavy-hitting offense providing plenty of scoring. He’s expected to move to the Big Ten after two years in Hockey East, giving him a good preparation for the high level of competition he’ll face if he moves to the Midwest.

Predators Sign Ryan Ufko To Entry-Level Contract

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After being eliminated by Denver University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Nashville Predators quickly signed one of their prospects from the University of Massachusetts. The organization announced they have signed defenseman Ryan Ufko to a three-year, entry-level contract that will begin at the start of next season.

Ufko was originally the 115th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, coming out of the popular Chicago Steel program in the USHL. Nevertheless, Ufko decided to continue his playing experience in the NCAA, joining the University of Massachusetts the following season.

Over a three-year collegiate career, Ufko scored a total of 23 goals and 81 points in 106 games, showing off legitimate two-way potential as a defenseman. Not only did his on-ice play improve over the last three years, but his leadership qualities developed nicely as well, leading to his captaincy during the 2023-24 season.

It is more than likely that Ufko will spend the next year and a half at least with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, but the intangibles are there for him to become a common presence in Nashville’s defensive core. Ufko has shown a keen ability to predict the play before it happens during his time in the NCAA, allowing the Predators organization to work on other teachable areas of his game.

Minor League Notes: Carriere, Bucheler, Hanzel, Hanelt

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The San Jose Barracuda have joined in on the NCAA free agent market, signing University of Vermont defenseman Jérémie Bucheler and goaltender Gabriel Carriere (Web link). Carriere is signing after his senior year, having spent all four college seasons with Vermont. He’s become a pivotal piece of their lineup since joining in 2020-21, totaling 89 games with the club, while no other goalie topped 25. And he’s performed well in the role, with 28 wins ranking him as the fourth-winningest goalie in Vermont’s history. His career .908 save percentage ranks 10th in club history.

Meanwhile, Bucheler just completed his first season with the Cougars, joining via the transfer portal after four years at Northeastern University. Bucheler had the best season of his collegiate career in Vermont, setting career-highs in all scoring categories on his way to six goals and 18 points in 33 games. He also served as an assistant captain for the club. Bucheler played in five collegiate seasons, totaling 143 games and 46 points. He’s already made his professional debut, stepping into the Barracuda’s lineup on Wednesday night. He went without a point, but did record his first shot on goal.

Other notes from the minor-leagues:

  • The Milwaukee Admirals have signed WHL defenseman Jeremy Hanzel to an amateur try-out (Twitter link). Hanzel was the main return in the Trade Deadline move that sent Yakov Trenin to the Colorado Avalanche, moving to the Predators organization alongside a 2025 third-round pick. Colorado originally drafted Hanzel in the sixth-round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He’s now signing his first pro deal after four seasons with the AHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he totaled 149 points in 218 career games. He also showed plenty of clutch, with 35 points in 44 playoff games. Hanzel is a great on-puck defender that knows how to find teammates and draw opponents out of position. He’ll look to maintain that poise into the pros, moving to the AHL for the remainder of the season.
  • Washington Capitals draft prospect Haakon Hänelt has signed a professional try-out with the AHL’s Hershey Bears (Twitter link). The 20-year-old forward – who can also play defense – has spent all season in the DEL, Germany’s top league. He’s scored two points, split evenly, in 38 games this season – his second stint in the league after spending the last two years in the QMJHL. The Capitals drafted Hanelt in the fifth-round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Adam Wilsby Linked To SHL

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  • Predators prospect Adam Wilsby has been linked to SHL Farjestad next season, notes Varlands Folkblad’s Johan Ekberg. The 23-year-old blueliner was a fourth-round pick back in 2020 and has spent his three-year entry-level deal playing with AHL Milwaukee where he has six goals and eight assists through 49 games so far.  A pending restricted free agent, it might make more sense for Wilsby to return home over continuing to play in the minors as he’s likely behind several prospects on Nashville’s organizational depth chart.

Cody Hodgson Signs Second PTO With AHL Milwaukee

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  • Center Cody Hodgson has inked a second PTO deal with the Predators’ AHL affiliate, per the AHL’s transactions log. Hodgson was forced into early retirement following the 2015-16 season due to malignant hyperthermia but has recovered well enough to attempt a comeback which started in January.  So far, the 34-year-old has done quite well in limited action, notching six goals and two assists in 12 games.  This second PTO is a 25-game one which would easily take Hodgson through the rest of the season.

The Matt Duchene Buyout Was A Win-Win

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A year ago, the 2024 free agent class had the potential to be one of the most star-studded in a long time, especially compared to 2023’s unusually weak class that allowed players like Alex Killorn and Dmitry Orlov to receive well above standard market value. While superstars like Auston Matthews and William Nylander have signed extensions and are off the market, there are still multiple impact forwards with point-per-game upside slated to be available, namely longtime Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Panthers breakout performer Sam Reinhart. The defense market is significantly less appealing, although Noah Hanifin will get a payday somewhere if he doesn’t extend with the Golden Knights, although Vegas will surely attempt to lock in the blue-liner after making a splash for him at the trade deadline.

However, Stars forward Matt Duchene is also quietly producing among the top echelon of pending UFAs. Sitting in the top six in points-per-game alongside Reinhart, Stamkos, Jake Guentzel, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Marchessault, the 33-year-old has proved to be the best value pickup of last season’s UFA period after the Predators executed a surprising last-minute buyout of the final three seasons of his seven-year, $56MM contract. The one-year, $3MM pact he signed to continue his NHL career in Texas was a mid-tier contract compared to others handed out on July 1. Yet, he’s second among all 2023 UFA signees in scoring, trailing Nashville’s Gustav Nyquist.

It’s been a remarkable return to form over the past few years for a player who, shortly after signing his big payday with the Preds in free agency in 2019, looked to be on one of the worst contracts in the league. An injury-plagued and COVID-laced 2020-21 campaign was easily Duchene’s most disappointing outing in just the second year of his megadeal, missing significant time with lower-body issues and recording career-lows across the board with six goals, seven assists and 13 points while averaging 15:50 per game over 34 contests. In 2019-20, the first season of his contract, he scored only 13 goals in 66 games after crossing the 30-goal mark with Ottawa and Columbus the year prior.

The next two seasons were much more fruitful for the 2009 third-overall pick, who broke out for a career-high 43 goals the following season and put up 142 points in 149 games between 2021 and 2023 while returning to first-line minutes. The stink of the first few seasons of Duchene’s deal had soured the reputation of his contract, though, and with incoming GM Barry Trotz looking to infuse a youth movement into a squad that was stuck in wild-card territory, the team unexpectedly made him one of the top UFAs on the market the day before free agency opened.

Despite Duchene’s success with a divisional rival this year, it’s hard to criticize the decision from Nashville’s perspective. They’ve replaced his production with a cheaper UFA pickup in Nyquist, and freeing up his roster spot has allowed players like Luke Evangelista and Thomas Novak to make more of an impact. That, plus a rebounding Juuse Saros after an unusually slow start, has the Predators cooking with a 14-0-2 record in their last 16 games and the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference all but guaranteed. Much-improved depth scoring has been the Predators’ calling card this year, something that decidedly wouldn’t have occurred without the Duchene buyout.

The buyout will carry some short-term pain, though. Duchene’s cap penalty is a reasonable $2.6MM this season, but it jumps to $5.6MM in 2024-25 and $6.6MM in 2025-26. It’ll coast at $1.6MM from 2026 to 2029, though, almost a non-factor with the salary cap’s projected increase over that period. A retooled prospect pool should allow the Preds to staff some important roles with entry-level contracts over the next few years, however, so the buyout shouldn’t be too severe of an obstacle.

In any event, the Preds are rolling into the playoffs at an incredible pace that routinely proves advantageous to wild-card or lower-seeded teams’ chances of a first-round upset (or further, if you ask last year’s Panthers). No regrets in Smashville, at least not yet.

And the Stars, a potential first-round opponent for the Predators, are thrilled Duchene fell into their lap. With the 15-year veteran set to earn a significant amount of money from his buyout as well, he was more incentivized to settle for a bargain deal on a contender. He’s played a crucial part in Dallas having one of the deepest forward groups in the league, flip-flopping between first- and second-line duties. He’s posted 23 goals and 59 points in 68 games, slightly up from last season’s pace in Nashville despite averaging almost 90 fewer seconds per game. His presence has also helped revitalize Mason Marchment, who, alongside Duchene, has rebounded for a career-high 19 goals and 50 points after a tough first season in the Lone Star State last year.

He’s also straight-up Dallas’ second-leading scorer, ranking second on the team in points per game at 0.87 behind the point-per-game Jason Robertson. After the induction of rookie Logan Stankoven into the major league ranks over the past few weeks, every player in the Stars’ top nine has produced over 0.65 points per game this season. Only one player – captain Jamie Benn – has produced under 0.70.

The only two teams that have scored more per game this season than the Stars are the Avalanche and Maple Leafs. Both have been buoyed by MVP-level seasons from their star first-line centers. Their depth attacks simply don’t compare – Colorado only has one player producing over half a point per game in its entire bottom six (Ross Colton), while the Maple Leafs have none.

With $18.3MM in projected cap space with a roster size of only 12 next season, per CapFriendly, it’s unlikely the Stars will be able to bring Duchene back without him taking a significant discount. Otherwise, Duchene is poised to be the third major beneficiary of the Predators’ decision to buy him out by landing a lucrative short-term deal on the open market this summer. This season, however, he’s helped give Dallas their best chance at a Stanley Cup since 1999’s victory.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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