Minor Transactions: 04/21/23
It’s another busy day in the world of hockey, with four NHL first-round Game Threes set to be played. The New York Islanders host the Carolina Hurricanes with the goal of avoiding falling into a 3-0 hole, the Florida Panthers host the Patrice Bergeron-less Boston Bruins in Sunrise, the Minnesota Wild are taking on the Dallas Stars in Filip Gustavsson‘s return to the crease, and the Los Angeles Kings will be looking to hold off the Edmonton Oilers without Blake Lizotte in their lineup.
In Europe, the top Central European professional league with teams in Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Italy wrapped up its season today. A late third-period game-winning goal from Nikolaj Meyer pushed EHC Red Bull Salzburg past HC Bolzano Foxes to win the club’s second title in as many years. In Germany, EHC Red Bull Munich took a 3-1 lead in the DEL finals against ERC Ingolstadt, powered by an impressive shutout performance from number-one netminder Mathias Niederberger. In Sweden, former Philadelphia Flyers prospect David Bernhardt‘s overtime winner stunned a sold-out crowd in Stockholm to give MoDo Hockey Ornskoldsvik a 2-1 series lead against Djurgarden in the HockeyAllsvenskan finals, with a place in the SHL on the line.
While all these important games are still being played, teams whose seasons have ended are getting a head start on offseason work. Multiple players have already signed with new teams, inked extensions, or announced departures. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- A talented Buffalo Sabres prospect might be leaving the organization after just a year in North America. Klaus Zaugg of Swiss news outlet Watson reports that Lukas Rousek could be headed back to Europe, and has been identified by HC Ambri-Piotta as a potential replacement for former Ottawa Senator Filip Chlapik. Rousek, a 2019 sixth-rounder, had an impressive 2022-23 season for the Rochester Americans, scoring 56 points in 70 games. It was a major improvement from the four points in 19 games he posted last season and is more in line with how he played in his native Czechia for HC Sparta Praha. Despite that performance, only got into two NHL games (scoring two points) so he could now be opting for a return to Europe, and his destination could be in Switzerland.
- Recently-relegated SHL side Brynas IF have signed a former Anaheim Ducks prospect for their upcoming promotion push: Jack Kopacka. The 25-year-old signs a one-year contract coming from Kristianstads IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, the league Brynas will now be competing in. This past year was Kopacka’s first playing pro hockey overseas, having spent the past four years before that point in the AHL and ECHL. The 2016 top-1o0 selection scored 27 points in 40 games this season and will help bolster Brynas’ attack after the departure of Dmytro Timashov.
- Former Chicago Blackhawk and longtime Liiga and KHL scorer Petri Kontiola is retiring, according to Jatkoika’s Pasi Jokinen. The 38-year-old has had an illustrious playing career as an overseas pro, compiling a combined 744 points in 1,068 games in the KHL, Liiga, and AHL. Kontiola, who spent the last two seasons in Tampere with Ilves, has taken home quite a few honors over the course of his career: he’s an Olympic Bronze Medal Winner (2014), three-time IIHF World Championship Silver Medalist, and an All-Star in each of the three non-NHL pro leagues he’s played in.
- Former Winnipeg Jets farmhand Kevin Clark is leaving the DEL’s Berlin Polar Bears a year early, having the second year of his contract terminated by mutual agreement. The 35-year-old won the DEL title in his first year in the German capital, and scored 20 goals and 37 points this season. The 2014-15 DEL Player of the Year could now be looking elsewhere to continue his pro career, and would likely be a player of interest to quite a few clubs.
- Breakout SHLer Okar Stahl-Lyrenas is transferring from Rogle BK to HV71, per a team announcement. The 25-year-old Champions Hockey League winner has enjoyed a fast rise over the past three years and seems to have now established himself as a scoring option in Sweden’s top division. He scored 25 goals and 44 points in 2020-21 with Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, earning a spot next season at Rogle. His first year in the SHL last season was uneven (18 points in 47 games) but showed promise, and this season he had a breakout, potting 15 goals and 33 points in 46 games. Now, he joins HV71, a club where his 33 points would have ranked third in team scoring, meaning he may have more to work with than at Rogle where his 33 points ranked second-highest on the team.
- The SHL’s Orebro has announced the signing of defenseman Robin Norell, a former Chicago Blackhawks prospect, from IK Oskarshamn. Norell is an undersized defensive defenseman who has skated in nearly 400 SHL games but produced single-digit points production in all but one season. His career highlights include helping his hometown club, Djurgarden, earn promotion to the SHL in 2013-14 and a 2021-22 season with Oskarshamn where he featured in a run to the SHL semifinals.
- Big six-foot-three blueliner Henry Haase, a veteran of nearly 500 DEL games, will not be returning to his club of the last five years, the Augsburg Panthers. Per a team release, Haase is eyeing a return closer to home, which for him is Berlin. Haase developed into a professional with the Berlin Polar Bears’ junior teams and eventually broke into their first team around 2012, helping them win a DEL title in 2012-13. Haase ended up playing three seasons as a regular in Berlin before signing with Dusseldorf in 2016, and now he could be headed back there just in time for his 30th birthday.
- In terms of players confirmed to be making a return to Berlin, the Polar Bears announced the signing of Blaine Byron, a former Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick who scored 42 points in 43 games in the 2021-22 DEL season. His 14 points in 11 playoff games contributed significantly to Berlin’s 2021-22 title, and after the success of his first overseas pro campaign, he signed with IK Oskarshamn in the SHL. He only managed 12 points in 26 games, though, so despite signing a two-year deal with the Swedish side he’s now headed back to his old stomping grounds to see if he can help lift the Polar Bears back to the DEL championship.
- Five-year college hockey blueliner and former NAHL Defenseman of the Year Eric Gotz has landed his first professional contract. He signed a one-year deal with Krefeld Pinguine, a club in Germany’s DEL2. Gotz scored 15 points in 36 games for Vermont this season and will look to help Krefeld get back to the top division of German hockey, the level they were relegated from last season.
- Former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nicolas Mattinen, a big six-foot-five blueliner, has earned a contract in the DEL after a strong first season in European professional hockey. Mattinen is headed to the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers after a year spent with VSV EC in the ICEHL. He scored 42 points in 46 games and clearly excelled at that level of hockey, paving his way to the new challenge he’ll face next fall in the DEL.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Martin Frk Linked To Swiss League
Martin Frk has consistently been one of the top-scoring threats in the AHL for the better part of the last decade. However, it appears that there’s a chance he’ll be heading elsewhere for next season as Blick’s Stephan Roth reports that the winger could be joining EV Zug in the Swiss NLA for 2023-24. No agreement has been finalized at this time.
The 29-year-old signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Blues last summer, a contract that guaranteed him $560K in total salary which is quite high for an AHL player. However, St. Louis has yet to bring Frk up this season. Instead, he has spent the full campaign with AHL Springfield, notching 30 goals and 34 assists in 64 games, good for tenth in the league in scoring.
Barring a recall in the final week, Frk’s streak of six straight years of seeing NHL action will come to an end. He has 124 appearances at the top level with decent numbers of 20 goals and 21 assists but hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time role. With his role now seemingly set as a high-end minor league scorer, the time might be right for Frk to try something new and see how things fare for him overseas.
Minor Transactions: 04/06/23
Today is another busy day across the hockey world, with 14 NHL games set to be played. Highlights from tonight’s slate include a rivalry showdown between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, a dramatic Pacific Division matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Jonathan Quick‘s Vegas Golden Knights, and a major contest in Pittsburgh where franchise legend Marc-Andre Fleury has a chance to deal a devastating blow to his former team’s playoff hopes.
In Europe, some similarly major games have already been completed. The Pelicans took a 2-1 lead against Ilves Tampere in the Liiga semifinals thanks to a game-winning goal from former Ottawa Senators prospect Ben Blood, while EHC Red Bull Munchen tied their DEL semifinals against Grizzlys Wolfsburg thanks to a third-period rally. In Sweden, IF Bjorkloven overcame an early goal from Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Djurgarden to take a series lead in their chase for promotion to the SHL. As fans everywhere continue to enjoy the great games on offer today, teams in leagues around the world are making roster moves. We’ll keep track of those transactions here.
- Former Carolina Hurricanes 20-goal scorer and 506-game NHL veteran Victor Rask signed a two-year contract with Switzerland’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, confirming his transfer from a rival Swiss side, Fribourg-Gotteron HC. Playing alongside multiple former NHLers such as David Desharnais, Janne Kuokkanen, and Reto Berra, Rask had a decent first season in the top tier of Swiss hockey. He scored 26 points in 35 games and last season split time between three clubs, scoring 21 points in the NHL and 10 in the AHL.
- Former Buffalo Sabre Arttu Ruotsalainen signed a two-year deal with Switzerland’s HC Lugano, according to a team announcement. The move confirms his transfer from National League rival EHC Kloten, where he scored 42 points in 52 games. Ruotsalainen, 25, played both 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the Buffalo Sabres organization, compiling 64 points in 70 AHL games and 10 points in 35 NHL games. He joins a Lugano club that lost in the NL quarterfinals and will replace another former NHLer, Brett Connolly, as a go-to offensive producer.
- A few notable players will not be returning to Sweden’s Brynas IF next season, which will take place in HockeyAllsvenskan as the club was relegated for the first time in its history. Some of those notable names include former NHLer Dmytro Timashov (their leading scorer with 33 points in 52 games), former Laval Rocket blueliner David Sklenicka, and Jussi Olkinoura, who played 15 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season.
- Colgate University forward and ECAC Champion Colton Young took his first step to professional hockey today, inking an amateur tryout agreement with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The 24-year-old is the brother of San Jose Sharks prospect Alex Young, who has emerged as one of the best scorers in his conference. Colton scored 28 points in 40 games this season and had an impressive 32 points in 38 games last year. Also of note is that Young attended the Edmonton Oilers’ 2022 Development Camp.
- Kenneth Johnson, the brother of Stanley Cup Champion and longtime NHL veteran Jack Johnson, was claimed on waivers today by the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. Johnson signed his first professional contract on March 28th with the Wheeling Nailers and was let go by the team after playing just two games. Now, he’ll get another chance to show what he can do in North America’s third-tier pro league.
- The AHL’s Ontario Reign, the affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, have signed Pennsylvania State University forward Ture Linden to a PTO. Linden made the ECAC’s Second All-Star Team last season as a forward for RPI, scoring 39 points in 44 games. He transferred to the Nittany Lions and had a solid season there, tallying 29 points in 39 games. Now, he’ll get a chance to earn a pro contract for the first time in his career with the Reign.
- After helping his team defeat Brynas and narrowly avoid relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan, Johan Olofsson is headed back to the Malmo Redhawks on a one-year contract extension. The 28-year-old is a veteran of nearly 500 SHL games and has played the last six seasons with the Redhawks. He scored 15 points in 48 games this season and will look to help secure Malmo’s SHL place next season.
Minor Transactions: 04/02/23
It’s another busy day across the hockey world as we reach an important stretch of the NHL season with several teams in the thick of tight playoff races, especially in the Western Conference. The New York Islanders take on the Carolina Hurricanes in what could be a first-round playoff preview, while the Los Angeles Kings take on the Vancouver Canucks in a game that could push L.A. ahead of the Edmonton Oilers in the race for the Pacific Division’s second seed.
In Europe, multiple playoff semifinals are underway, and today Frolunda HC captured a crucial victory against Vaxjo in Sweden, tying the SHL’s semifinals at one game apiece. In Germany, Grizzlys Wolfsburg tied their DEL semifinal against EHC Red Bull Munchen 1-1, while an important third-period tie-breaking goal by former New York Rangers prospect Ty Ronning helped ERC Ingolstadt win 6-3 over Adler Mannheim and tie their side of the DEL semifinals. As fans take in all of the hockey on offer today, teams around the world are making tweaks to their roster or preparing for next season. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Stanley Cup champion and former NHL top prospect Brett Connolly is among the players leaving Swiss club HC Lugano, according to a team announcement. Connolly signed in Switzerland over the summer after spending most of last season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The Canadian forward, who is still just 30 years old and was a decent NHL goal-scorer as recently as 2019-20, did well in his first year overseas, scoring 12 goals and 38 points in 45 games. He was sandwiched between two other former NHLers, Markus Granlund and Mirco Mueller, in Lugano’s scoring rankings, and he helped his side reach the Swiss playoffs.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Philip Samuelsson, the son of two-time Stanley Cup champion Ulf Samuelsson, is among the players announced not to be returning to the DEL’s Fischtown Pinguins. Samuelsson, 31, has 13 NHL games on his resume, the last few coming in 2015-16 with the Arizona Coyotes. Samuelsson played three straight seasons exclusively as an AHLer before heading overseas in 2019-20 to play most of the year in his native Sweden. He split the last three seasons between Leksands IF and IK Oskarshamn in the SHL before signing last summer in the DEL. He scored 31 points in 47 games for Fischtown, helping lead them to a playoff series win over the Nurnburg Ice Tigers.
- 2008 Minnesota Wild first-round pick Tyler Cuma has signed a two-year contract with Austria’s EK Zell am See, a club in the AlpsHL, a league with many second-tier Austrian clubs as well as teams in Italy and Slovenia. The 33-year-old blueliner has played in one career NHL game, which took place in 2011-12 with the Wild. Since then, he spent two more seasons in the AHL before deciding to head to Austria, and has now played nearly 300 games at the highest level of Austrian pro hockey. He’ll be moving down a level with this move after a season spent with Innsbruck HC, where he scored nine points in 43 games.
- Former New York Rangers prospect Andrew Yogan will not continue his career with the IceHL’s Graz99ers, per a team announcement. The 31-year-old has been a star in the ICEHL since leaving North America, with 247 points in 236 career games. Yogan made the choice to leave Austria in 2021 to play with HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak league, and the 52 points in 48 games he scored propelled the team to a Slovak Extraliga championship. Yogan split 2022-23 between Slovakia and Austria, scoring 15 points in 16 games for Poprad before transferring and scoring 13 goals and 20 points for Graz.
- Dylan St. Cyr‘s tryout with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins is over, per the team. The 23-year-old former Michigan State Spartan appeared in one game with the Griffins, saving seven shots in relief of Jon Lethemon during a March 31st loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The son of famous women’s hockey goaltender Manon Rheaume, St. Cyr will now look for his next chance in professional hockey with some valuable first experience under his belt.
- 2013 San Jose Sharks fourth-round pick Fredrik Bergvik will not be returning to HockeyAllsvenskan’s Sodertalje SK for next season. The 28-year-old has been a tandem netminder for the second-tier Swedish side for the past four seasons, spending the last two as the backup for Nikita Tolopilo, who signed with the Canucks on Friday. Bergvik posted 2 shutouts and a 5-2 record in 10 total games played, with a .902 save percentage, and will now hit the open market for the first time in several years.
- Michal Jordan is leaving the Lakers. The former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman is among the players not returning to Switzerland’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, per a team announcement. The 32-year-old spent 19 games in Switzerland after transferring there in December. Before that point, he had captained the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk, playing over 250 games there. Jordan last appeared in the NHL in 2015-16 and will now look elsewhere to continue his pro career.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 03/31/23
It’s been a busy day across the hockey world, despite just four NHL games on the schedule. Today’s news cycle featured major headlines such as a season-ending surgery for William Eklund and the announcement of Jonathan Toews‘ return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup. Over in Europe, some big games have been played, including two contests in the DEL Semifinals in Germany, and the first game of the SHL semifinals: a 6-2 win for Vaxjo over Frolunda. Two thrilling overtime contests were completed in Finland’s Liiga semifinals, including a double-overtime victory by Champions Hockey League winners Tappara Tampere.
As fans across the hockey world enjoy all the action on offer this Friday, teams in both minor leagues and foreign leagues are completing transactions and either making changes for this season or preparing for 2023-24. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Earlier this month, we covered reports that former NHL defenseman Juuso Riikola would be headed to Switzerland for next season. Today, those reports were made official as Swiss club SCL Tigers have announced that they have signed Riikola to a one-year contract for 2023-24. Riikola, 29, has 80 career NHL games on his resume and last played in North America last season, when he scored 35 points in 53 games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. This season Riikola scored 19 points in 42 games as an alternate captain for the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn, helping them reach the first round of the SHL’s playoffs. Now, he’ll continue his pro career with the Tigers, hoping to keep them in Switzerland’s top league after the team just barely avoided relegation this season.
- The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, have signed NCAA free agent Max Andreev to an ATO agreement, one that will become a standard AHL player contract next season. The Cornell University product, 23, has scored 65 points in 77 games over the last three seasons he’s played. He made the ECAC’s Third All-Star team last season and served as an alternate captain this season, helping lead Cornell to an upset victory over the defending national champions the University of Denver. He’ll now join one of the AHL’s top teams with the hope of fashioning a professional career for himself and potentially even earning an NHL contract down the line.
- The AHL’s Iowa Wild have signed CHL free agent defenseman Landon Kosior to an ATO agreement for the rest of this season. Kosior, 20, is an undrafted blueliner who spent his major junior career with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. Kosior served as an alternate captain for the team this season and scored 63 points in 60 games, his first WHL campaign above the point-per-game threshold. As is generally expected for junior players who gain more experience, Kosior’s numbers took major jumps as he got older, and he went from 23 points in his first season with Prince Albert to the aforementioned 63 this season. With this ATO, Kosior will get his first taste of pro hockey with Iowa, and will likely get to follow along as the team prepares for the Calder Cup playoffs.
- 2022 Anaheim Ducks fifth-round pick Connor Hvidston has been signed to an ATO agreement by the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. The deal allows Hvidston to dip his toes into the waters of professional hockey now that his WHL season with the Swift Current Broncos is over. Hvidston was one of the youngest prospects available at the 2022 draft, just days from being in the 2023 class. He’s scored 21 goals and 65 points in 59 games this season, which ranks him third in team scoring. Seeing as he’ll have to wait until next September to turn 19, he’s still a ways away from turning pro full-time, but with this ATO agreement, he’ll at least get a firsthand look at what it takes to play professional hockey in the Ducks organization.
- Another Cornell University player has signed his first pro contract: defenseman Sebastien Dirven. The 24-year-old teammate of Andreev signed with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers after playing three seasons with the Big Red. The big six-foot-three, 200-pound blueliner doesn’t have much of an offensive game (just 15 points in 93 career NCAA games) but will add some size and snarl to the Nailers’ blueline as they conclude what has been a difficult 2022-23 season.
- 2016 Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Noah Carroll has signed his first professional contract, landing with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. Carroll has spent the last four years with the University of New Brunswick on the Canadian university circuit, playing 59 games there. Before that point, the six-foot-one defenseman played for the Soo Greyhounds and Guelph Storm in the OHL, a major junior career highlighted by a 37-point final season during which he was an alternate captain.
- Cade Borchardt, the captain of one of college hockey’s better programs at Minnesota State, has signed with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. The 24-year-old’s production took a hit this season, going from 41 points to 20. But despite that decline in numbers, Borchardt earned the honor of captaining his team and finishes his collegiate career with a respectable 85 points in 121 games. In signing Borchardt, the Mavericks, who currently rank second in the ECHL’s Mountain Division, infuse some energetic young talent to their roster as they continue to grapple for playoff position.
- The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have signed two players out of St. Cloud State University: Aidan Spellacy and Brendan Bushy. Spellacy, 24, is a forward who scored 12 points in 35 games this season. He’s served as an alternate captain for St. Cloud State and Robert Morris University, and he also captained his high school team, meaning he could bring some off-ice value to the Wings beyond his on-ice utility. Bushy, 24, is a six-foot-two blueliner who scored 11 points in 41 games this season playing in a top-four role.
- Former Owen Sound Attack star and OHL Champion Cameron Brace is transferring to Germany, per an announcement from his new team, the DEL’s Frankfurt Lions. The 29-year-old has spent the last two seasons in the SHL with IK Oskarshamn, scoring 52 points in 99 games there. Brace earned his shot at the SHL level after a proving himself as a professional in Denmark’s top league, where he scored 110 points in 78 games for Herning Blue Fox. Brace has fashioned himself a solid overseas professional career in the last few years, and now that career will continue in Germany.
- Longtime DEL veteran Max Renner has signed a contract for next season with the Augsburg Panthers. The 31-year-old has nearly 300 DEL games on his resume with most coming with the Straubing Tigers, save for the last two seasons spent with the Bietigheim Steelers. Renner scored nine points in 56 games last season and brings an established veteran presence to the Panthers’ defense corps.
- The ICEHL’s Black Wings Linz have signed forward Nico Feldner to a two-year contract, per a team announcement. Feldner has played the past two seasons entirely with HC Innsbruck, save for a six-game stretch with the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers in England. Feldner scored 17 points in 43 games for Innsbruck this season and should be counted on to bolster Linz’s forward corps for the next two years as they look to return to the ICEHL’s playoffs next season.
- Matus Spodniak, a top scorer at the NCAA Division-III level with Adrian College, has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. The 25-year-old native of Kosice, Slovakia scored 94 points in 60 games across two seasons with Adrian College, and now the Fuel are looking to roll the dice on him to see if he can translate his game to professional hockey. This tryout will represent a significant jump in competition level for Spodniak, and he’ll have a relatively short period of time to make an impression with one of the East Coast league’s top teams.
- Spodniak’s teammate, Ty Enns, also signed an amateur tryout agreement with an ECHL club: the Toledo Walleye. Enns, 24, scored 50 points in 31 games this season and scored a total of 140 points in 106 games at the Division-III level. As mentioned with Spodniak, this jump to the ECHL will be a significant increase in difficulty for Enns, but at the very least it should be encouraging that the ECHL’s third-best team is willing to give him a tryout opportunity.
- The ECHL’s Maine Mariners are another club to dip into the pool of college free agents, signing University of Windsor forward Sean Olson. The 24-year-old scored 40 points in his 54-game career for Windsor, and standing six-foot-three 203 pounds as some size down the middle to the Mariners’ group of pivots.
AHL Shuffle: 3/30/23
The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent defenseman Topi Niemela to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, the Marlies announced on Twitter. Niemela finished his season with Karpat of the Liiga, Finland’s top league, earlier this month, and is set to cross the pond to get his first taste of North American pro hockey. Drafted in the third round by Toronto in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Niemela played 58 games for Karpat this season, tallying 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points. It was a dip in production, as he recorded 10 goals and 22 assists in just 48 games in 2021-22. He will join a Marlies squad that has already punched a ticket to the AHL playoffs, and the chance for Niemela to learn while on a playoff run will only be more beneficial. He will likely spend a decent amount of time with the AHL squad before suiting up for the Maple Leafs.
- The Florida Panthers recalled goaltender Mack Guzda from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStart Bets. Johnston reported Wednesday that both Alex Lyon and Sergei Bobrovsky both took the morning skate before yesterday’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Lyon got the start, stopping 40-of-42 shots in the 3-2 Panthers win. The Panthers are set to take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Guzda, 22, has appeared in 26 games with Charlotte this season, posting an .899 save percentage and 2.86 GAA. If Guzda were to get into a game, it would be his NHL debut.
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled defenseman Andrej Sustr on an emergency loan from the AHL, according to CapFriendly. Sustr, a veteran defenseman of more than 350 NHL games, has spent the entire season in the AHL. He played 39 games with the Iowa Wild, then was flipped to the Ducks in the John Klingberg trade, and has played seven games with the San Diego Gulls. Sustr suited up for the Ducks in both 2018-19 and 2021-22, making this his third stint with the team.
Minor Transactions: 03/05/23
It’s a relatively slow day on the NHL calendar, at least compared to yesterday, with just five games on the schedule. But in leagues across the hockey world, teams are gearing up for the playoffs, such as in Europe where the ICEHL and DEL both are set to begin their playoffs this week. As teams in foreign leagues or minor leagues either get set to begin their playoffs or secure their spot in them, they’re also making tweaks to their rosters and other forms of transactions. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Former Ottawa Senator and three-time Spengler Cup champion Chris DiDomenico is returning to Fribourg. Swiss club HC Fribourg-Gotteron has announced that the 34-year-old forward has signed a two-year deal set to begin next season. After a 2017-18 season that saw DiDomenico play 24 NHL games and score 18 points in just 13 AHL playoff games, he made the choice to cross the Atlantic and return to Switzerland, where he was before making it to the NHL. DiDomenico has been a star there, scoring a total of 314 points in 328 total games, and has scored 23 goals and 53 points in 46 games this season.
- 2016 Carolina Hurricanes third-round pick Jack LaFontaine, 25, has been reassigned to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, according to a team announcement. LaFontaine returned in time to play in the Solar Bears’ game against the South Carolina Stingrays today, where he stopped 32 of 34 shots en route to a 7-2 victory. LaFontaine has spent most of this season in the ECHL, and he has a .905 save percentage in 22 games in Orlando this season.
- Morten Poulsen, who represented Denmark at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and is a star in Denmark’s top professional league, has signed a two-year extension with his current club, Herning Blue Fox. The 34-year-old is Herning’s captain and has scored 290 points in 394 career games at Denmark’s highest level. He’s a three-time Danish champion and has experience playing in Austria, in the Finnish Liiga, and in Sweden.
- A longtime veteran of the second and third divisions of German hockey won’t be hanging up his skates anytime soon. 41-year-old blueliner Lukas Slavetinsky, who has nearly 1,300 games of experience at four levels of German hockey has signed a one-year extension with his current team, EV Fussen, who play in the third tier of German hockey. He’s still quite productive, having scored 39 points in 39 games this season, and got into eleven games of action this year in second-tier DEL2. He last saw the ice in the DEL, the highest level of German pro hockey, in 2006-07 with ERC Ingolstadt.
- Michel Ackers, a 31-year-old defenseman who has served as captain of Herner EV 2007, a club in Germany’s third division, has signed a two-year extension to remain with the team. Ackers is one of the club’s most committed players, having skated in over 300 games for them and scored around a point-per-game rate multiple times. He’ll remain with the team for the next two years with the hope of finally leading them to promotion to the DEL2.
Minor Transactions: 02/18/23
It’s a busy Saturday for hockey, with 13 games on the NHL schedule, including an outdoor contest. In addition, the final of the Champions Hockey League was today, with Finland’s Tappara Tampere triumphing over Sweden’s Lulea. As hockey fans across the world enjoyed all today has had to offer, teams in minor and foreign leagues have made some tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Former New Jersey Devil Nick Lappin has been traded in the ECHL. He was part of a four-player deal between the Kalamazoo Wings and the Florida Everblades. Lappin heads to Kalamazoo after an underwhelming ECHL debut with the Everblades. The 30-year-old has 60 games of NHL experience on his resume, and was once a 30-goal scorer in the AHL, but managed just nine points in 24 games in Florida. He’ll get a fresh start in Kalamazoo, where he’ll hope to earn a potential path back to the AHL.
- The other two pieces sent to Kalamazoo as part of the trade were rookie forward James McEwan and a player to be named later. This is McEwan’s debut professional season, and the Wings will be his third ECHL team of the year, as he began with the Orlando Solar Bears, was released after just one game, got 24 games with the Everblades and now has been dealt to Kalamazoo. McEwan was a solid contributor for the Guelph Storm in his OHL games and will look to translate his junior scoring to the ECHL level.
- In return for those players, the Everblades received the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks’ reassignment of forward Carson Focht. The 2019 Vancouver Canucks fifth-rounder scored 21 points in 33 games for Kalamazoo, and will now head to Florida where he’ll get a chance on a playoff-bound team. Focht will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer as his $821k AAV contract with the Canucks will expire.
- Former San Jose Shark Antti Suomela is reportedly headed to Switzerland for next season, according to Blick’s Gregory Beaud. The 28-year-old forward is a former Champion’s Hockey League winner who has been a star in both the Finnish Liiga and Sweden’s SHL. This past season, he scored a whopping 59 points in only 43 games played for IK Oskarshamn, including 33 goals. Per Beaud’s report, he’ll be playing for HC Lausanne next season, a major acquisition for the Swiss side.
- The ECHL playing rights to former Soo Greyhounds star Billy Constantinou have been traded to the Atlanta Gladiators, per the ECHL’s official transactions page. The 21-year-old has been playing for the Norfolk Admirals most recently and has also spent time with the Wichita Thunder this season. He has 56 points in 91 career ECHL games and now heads to Atlanta, where he was for 16 games last season.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Minor Transactions: 02/06/23
NHL teams return to the ice tonight after the conclusion of the All-Star break. Twelve teams are set to do battle, and the slate of contests is highlighted by newly-minted $68MM man Bo Horvat‘s debut with the New York Islanders and Anthony Beauvillier‘s debut for the Vancouver Canucks. As fans enjoy tonight’s games, teams in minor and foreign leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- 2002 34th overall pick Tobias Stephan will hang up his skates. Swiss club HC Lausanne has announced that Stephan will retire at the end of this season. While the 39-year-old goalie never quite stuck in North America and was limited to just 11 career NHL games, he is an extremely accomplished veteran of the Swiss league. He won NLA Goalie of the Year in 2009-10 and has won a Spengler Cup and Swiss Cup over the course of a 20-year career at the top of his country’s professional hockey ladder.
- Former Vancouver Canuck Marc Michaelis has made the choice to switch clubs at the end of the season. Regning Swiss champions EV Zug have announced the signing of Michaelis to a contract to a two-year deal, set to begin next season. Michaelis was a coveted college free agent after scoring 162 points in his 142-game career for Minnesota State, and he got 15 games with the Canucks in 2020-21. He didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, though, and signed with the Toronto Marlies. His AHL tenure in Toronto was shaky as well, leading to an exit back to Europe. Michaelis’ debut in the Swiss league has gone extremely well, and he has formed a deadly partnership with former top prospect Aleksi Saarela. With 15 goals and 39 points in 44 games, Michaelis will be headed elsewhere for next season.
- Liiga’s TPS Turku have signed veteran defenseman Taneli Ronkainen on loan from Oulun Karpat for the rest of the season. Ronkainen is an experienced blueliner in Finland’s top league, having won a championship in 2017-18. He has nearly 300 games of experience in Liiga, and will be able to reinforce a TPS Turku blueline that has been solid so far this year, ranking sixth in goals-against this season.
- Young Finnish winger Jere Henriksson has had his three-game loan to HPK Hameenlinna converted into a full loan, and has additionally signed an extension for next year as well. The 21-year-old already has over 120 games of Liiga experience to his name, and won the league title last season with Tappara Tampere.
- Veteran KHL forward Nikita Pivtsakin and his club, HC Sochi, have agreed to a mutual contract termination. The 31-year-old, who has over 500 games of KHL experience under his belt and won World Juniors gold for Russia in 2010-2011, will now look elsewhere to continue his career. Pivtsakin has scored six points in 50 games in the KHL this season, and perhaps this release is meant to give him a chance to return to the Finnish Liiga, where he was last season when he played 16 games for KalPa Kuopio.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Minor Transactions: 01/20/23
It’s a slow night on the NHL calendar, with just two games set to be played. It’s the second half of a two-game series between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to that contest, the Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Vancouver Canucks. While those four clubs do battle, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
- TJ. Brennan, a two-time Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s best defenseman, has signed a two-year extension with his current club HC Ajoie. This is relatively big news for the Swiss side, as Brennan is an extremely accomplished defenseman in European and minor leagues. He signed in Ajoie over the summer from the ICEHL’s Red Bull Salzburg, after a season where he was an ICEHL All-Star, champion, and leader in defensive scoring. Brennan, 33, has 27 points in 39 games this season.
- Former Ottawa Senator J.C. Beaudin has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Beaudin signed in Wolfsburg, a club in Germany’s DEL, this summer, his first signing away from North America in his professional career. The former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies star has 22 NHL games on his resume, and last played on this side of the Atlantic with the Laval Rocket last year. He scored 17 points in 41 games in Laval and has had real success in Wolfsburg, scoring 12 goals and 20 points in 30 games.
- Former Kitchener Ranger Matthew Greenfield has stolen the show for the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers this season, posting a .927 save percentage over the course of 32 games. His red-hot form has now had a ripple effect on the careers of two other netminders, as seen by today’s announcement that the Steelers have released Oskar Ostlund and signed Hayden Lavigne. Ostlund had originally been signed from the DEL to a two-year contract with the intention of him playing a major role. But after what the team called a “freak injury” before the Steelers’ first game sidelined him, Ostlund’s spot as the team’s number-one has been seized by Greenfield. Now, Ostlund will be able to continue his professional career elsewhere.
- The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets have released forward Neil Robinson. Robinson arrived in Fort Wayne from the Utah Grizzlies via trade in December. Robinson had fallen out of favor in Utah, having scored just five points in eleven games. He didn’t have much success in Fort Wayne, scoring just one assist in eleven games, and now will have to look elsewhere to continue his professional career.
- The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have released forward Brennan Blaszczak today. The 26-year-old had been in the midst of his first extended stint in the ECHL of his career, having spent the prior two seasons in the SPHL with the Pensacola Ice Flyers. Despite being above a point-per-game in the SPHL, Blaszczak couldn’t quite hang on with either the Wings or the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and is handed his release having scored three points in eight total ECHL games.
This page will be updated throughout the day.