Oilers Sign Connor Ungar To Entry-Level Contract
11:32 a.m.: Ungar’s deal begins next season and carries a cap hit of $860K, per PuckPedia. He’ll earn $775K in base salary, an $85K signing bonus, and $82.5K in minors salary each season.
11:16 a.m.: The Oilers have signed undrafted free agent goaltender Connor Ungar to a two-year entry-level contract, per a team release Monday. The team did not release financial terms but did confirm he’s been assigned to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Ungar, 22, was surprisingly not signed by any professional team last summer after posting a .925 SV% and 26-7-0 record in 38 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. A late bloomer, the Calgary native wasn’t a full-time netminder in the major junior ranks until his age-19 season, but he was one of the best goalies in the league during his two full campaigns with the Warriors and the Red Deer Rebels.
With no professional home and having aged out of the WHL, Ungar took his talents to the Canadian collegiate circuit for 2023-24. Playing with St. Catharines’ Brock University, Ungar led Brock to a first-place finish in the OUA West Division and was the only USports goalie to reach 20 wins. In 26 appearances, he posted a .932 SV% and three shutouts.
He’s now secured his first professional home on the heels of that strong showing. While the team didn’t confirm the start date of the contract, it’s likely his NHL deal begins with the 2024-25 season, and he plays out the season with the Condors on a tryout contract. He’ll join a minor-league rotation with Jack Campbell and Olivier Rodrigue down the stretch, the latter of whom is an RFA this summer. Fifth-string netminder Ryan Fanti, who’s spent all of 2023-24 on assignment to the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, is also a pending RFA and seems unlikely to receive a qualifying offer. Ungar will likely replace Fanti’s job on the depth chart next season, either as a backup or third-string option in Bakersfield behind Rodrigue. If his deal begins next season, Ungar will be an RFA in 2026.
Wayne Simmonds Confirms Retirement
March 18: Simmonds has officially announced his retirement and will sign a one-day contract with the Flyers, per a team release. He’ll sign the contract and be honored by the team on April 13, the second-to-last home game of Philadelphia’s season.
Jan. 26: Free agent winger Wayne Simmonds told Joshua Clipperton of The Canadian Press on Friday that he won’t continue his 15-season NHL career. The 35-year-old has yet to file retirement paperwork with the league but confirmed he will not attempt a comeback.
Simmonds last suited up in 2022-23, making 18 appearances with the Maple Leafs. The Scarborough, Ontario native reached UFA status after completing a two-year, $1.8MM extension signed with Toronto in June 2021.
He played for six NHL clubs during his career. The first of those was the Kings, who selected him with the final pick of the second round in the 2007 draft from the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack after racking up 49 points and 112 PIMs in 66 games.
Simmonds spent the following season back in junior hockey, breaking out for his first point-per-game campaign and winning gold with Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championship. That was enough of a development jump for the Kings, who named Simmonds to their opening-night roster in 2008-09.
The Kings struggled that season, finishing three games below .500 and scoring only 2.46 goals per game, but Simmonds’ rookie performance was promising. He didn’t earn Calder Trophy consideration, but he played in all 82 games while posting 23 points in a bottom-six role.
His sophomore season wasn’t his defining campaign, but it was a large step forward. The Kings offense went from 28th to seventh in 2009-10, and Simmonds’ 16 goals and 40 points (along with 116 PIMs) helped kickstart the jump. He finished with a team-high +22 rating, too, earning him a handful of Selke Trophy votes.
He took a small step back in the third and final season of his entry-level contract, though, seeing his goal and point output drop to 14 and 30, respectively. With the Kings exiting their late 2000s rebuild and looking to build a more veteran core around Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty, they decided to cut bait with Simmonds and ship him, along with center prospect Brayden Schenn, to the Flyers in the 2011 offseason in exchange for established top-six threat Mike Richards.
The trade worked out well for the Kings, who won two Stanley Cups over the next three seasons with Richards anchoring their second line. It also worked out quite well for Simmonds, who scored 28 goals in his first season with Philadelphia and spent parts of eight years in the City of Brotherly Love.
With the Flyers, Simmonds became one of the most visible power forwards in the league, inking a six-year, $23.85MM extension within two years of the trade and eventually eclipsing the 30-goal mark twice. He racked up 203 goals, 175 assists and 378 points over his 584 games for the Flyers, consistently logging top-six minutes and serving an important leadership role, as evidenced by his Mark Messier Leadership Award win in his final season with the team.
As the extension wrapped up, though, it was clear Simmonds was in an early decline. His totals had steadily dropped since his 32-goal, 60-point season in 2015-16, and the Flyers decided to part ways with the fan-favorite near the 2019 trade deadline. They dealt him to the Predators, who were two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but his play outside of Philadelphia stagnated further. He recorded one goal and three points in 17 games with Nashville after the trade and played in two of six games during their first-round loss to the Stars.
Simmonds spent the following four seasons playing for the Devils, Sabres and Maple Leafs in a reduced role, seeing his ice time dip below 10 minutes per game by the 2021-22 season. He was waived twice over the course of the 2022-23 campaign, recording two assists in 18 games to close out his career.
He ends his time in the NHL with 263 goals, 263 assists and 526 points, along with 1,313 PIMs, over the course of 1,037 games. He also added 22 points in 53 career playoff games.
PHR extends its best wishes to Simmonds in his post-hockey career and congratulations him on a lengthy and impactful NHL stint.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Canadiens Reassign David Reinbacher To AHL
The Canadiens reassigned 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher to the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Monday, per the minor league’s transactions log. The organization’s highest-drafted defense prospect will get his first taste of North American pro hockey to close out the 2023-24 season.
Reinbacher spent this season on loan to EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League, where he’s played since making his professional debut in 2021-22. The 19-year-old logged major minutes on one of the worst teams in the league, finishing second among Kloten defensemen with a goal and 11 points in 35 games with a -15 rating. It was a downturn in production compared to last season from the Austrian defender, although it’s excusable given the state of Kloten, which cycled through multiple head coaches and posted a -69 goal differential in 56 games. Once one of the best teams in the country before the turn of the century, Kloten was relegated to the second-tier Swiss League in 2018 before gaining promotion back to the NL in 2022.
The right-shot blueliner inked a lucrative three-year entry-level contract which could pay him up to $6.35MM shortly after last summer’s draft, but his European Assignment Clause meant he needed to return to his Swiss club after not making the Montreal roster out of training camp. However, by all accounts, that was the plan as early as draft day. If Reinbacher doesn’t get a recall to the Canadiens and remains under 10 NHL games played on the season, his ELC will not go into effect this year and will slide to 2024-25. If that occurs, he will be an RFA in 2027.
Laval is in a fight for a playoff berth in the North Division, trailing the Toronto Marlies by three points with two more games played for the final berth. The Canadiens hope Reinbacher can slot into a defense that’s allowed a division-worst 209 goals this year and play major minutes during their 12 remaining regular-season games in preparation for a battle for a roster spot during next season’s training camp.
Flyers Recall Olle Lycksell, Adam Ginning
The Flyers have recalled forward Olle Lycksell and defenseman Adam Ginning from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, per a team announcement Monday. The 24-year-old Swedes and longtime teammates will serve as reinforcements for their Tuesday home game against the Maple Leafs. CapFriendly reflects that both recalls are emergency loans, meaning the Flyers still have two of their four post-trade deadline standard recalls remaining. As such, injuries or illnesses likely have the status of multiple players in doubt ahead of tomorrow’s game.
Philadelphia last recalled Lycksell in late February, keeping him on the roster for a five-game stretch before returning him to the Phantoms the day before the trade deadline. A sixth-round Flyers pick in 2017, Lycksell has been recalled three times this season, his second playing pro hockey in North America. After slowly developing into a top-six producer over a half-decade in the Swedish Hockey League, Lycksell has been highly productive since arriving in Lehigh Valley last season, recording 83 points in 89 games.
Lycksell has been especially hot lately despite sporadic playing time. He has three goals and seven assists in his last three games for the Phantoms and is now over a point per game on the season, putting himself in “too good for the minors” territory. Despite playing 17 NHL games over the past two seasons, he’s still searching for his first NHL goal and has four assists with a -4 rating while averaging 10:09 per game. He’s been a volume shooter in his limited minutes, recording 13 shots in nine appearances this season. He also has decent possession metrics (51.7 CF%, 65.4 xGF% per Hockey Reference) after a disastrous showing with Philly in 2022-23 in that department.
Ginning has suited up for the Flyers more recently, making his lone appearance of the season on March 7 against the Panthers. The blue liner was recalled again under emergency conditions before last Tuesday’s game against the Sharks, but he was scratched and returned to the Phantoms the next day. The 2018 second-round pick had a rough showing against Florida in his second career NHL game, recording a -1 rating, 43.8 CF% and 16.2 xGF% (per MoneyPuck) in over 18 minutes of ice time while paired with Ronald Attard at even strength. A developing shutdown prospect with good size at 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds, Ginning has 13 points, a -7 rating, and 82 PIMs in 56 games with the Phantoms this year.
Lycksell is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal with a $787.5K cap hit. He’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights upon expiry in 2025. Ginning is still on his entry-level contract with a $883.75K cap hit, although the deal expires this summer, making him an RFA with arbitration rights if the Flyers issue him a qualifying offer.
The Flyers now have four extra skaters on the active roster, not including the forcibly reinstated Ryan Johansen. As CapFriendly notes, adding Ginning and Lycksell’s combined $1.67MM cap hit puts them over the $83.5MM Upper Limit, meaning they’ve likely transferred de facto retired blue-liner Ryan Ellis‘ $6.25MM cap hit to long-term injured reserve unless a corresponding transaction is pending.
Morning Notes: Rempe, Capitals, Ducks
Rangers forward Matt Rempe has served his four-game suspension and is eligible to return Tuesday against the Jets. Last week, the NHL Department of Player Safety handed down the first supplemental discipline of Rempe’s brief career after he illegally elbowed Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head in the second period of last Monday’s game. Devils interim head coach Travis Green said Siegenthaler sustained a concussion on the play and is out indefinitely.
Rempe, 21, has played 10 games for the Rangers since they recalled him in mid-February. The 2020 sixth-round pick stuck in the lineup after fighting Islanders heavyweight Matt Martin less than two minutes into his first NHL game, last month’s Stadium Series event at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. While a decent bottom-six checking forward at the minor-league level, Rempe has dialed it up to full-on enforcer status in the majors, posting nearly as many PIMs (54) as he has total time on ice (56). Despite logging double-digit ice time in a game just once thus far, the Calgary native has logged a goal, an assist, and eight shots. If he draws back into the lineup against Winnipeg, Jonny Brodzinski, who was a healthy scratch in two straight before Rempe’s suspension, would likely come out.
Other updates to kick off the week:
- The Eastern Conference wild-card race is heating up like a game of hot potato. The two leading contenders for the final playoff spot, the Islanders and Red Wings, are both on significant skids. The Isles have lost four straight, and the Red Wings have only won two out of their last 10. That’s paved the way for the Capitals to take advantage despite their remarkable -30 goal differential. With a point against the Flames on Monday on a two-game slate, they can move into the second wild-card spot in earnest, surpassing the Red Wings. They’ve already moved into the spot based on points percentage, as they trail Detroit by one point with two games in hand entering Monday night’s action.
- On the other side of the coin, the Ducks became the third team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention after losing 4-2 to the Blues on Sunday night. Sitting with a 23-42-3 record (49 points) through 68 games, they trail the current second wild card, the Golden Knights, by 30 points but can only earn 28 if they win out. This marks the sixth straight season without playoff hockey in Anaheim, last cracking the field in 2018, when the Sharks swept them in the first round. Only four players who suited up in regular-season games for the team that season remain in SoCal – forwards Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry, defenseman Cam Fowler, and goaltender John Gibson.
Five Key Stories: 3/11/24 – 3/17/24
With the trade deadline now behind us, activity around the NHL was much quieter as expected. However, there was still some news of note which is recapped in our key stories.
Third Time’s A Charm? There has been plenty of speculation about NHL expansion or potential relocation with a handful of markets emerging as potential places. One of those is a market that has had an NHL team twice before as former NHL player Anson Carter is leading a group that wants to bring a franchise back to Atlanta. That market was home to the Flames from 1972 through 1980 while they also had the Thrashers, an expansion franchise, from 1999 through 2011 before the team relocated to Winnipeg to become the second iteration of the Jets. The group has apparently been in talks with the league about this since 2019 but with no expansion on the immediate horizon (yet, at least), they’ll likely be waiting a while longer before trying to garner serious consideration.
Third Time’s A Charm? (Part Two): Senators center Josh Norris has had a hard time staying healthy with lingering shoulder issues. He missed the beginning of the season while still recovering from the second surgery on his left shoulder and that same shoulder will cause him to miss the rest of the season as a third surgery is required. Norris is an important part of Ottawa’s young core and is signed through the 2029-30 campaign at $7.95MM per year. However, between this season and last, he only was able to play in 58 of 164 games. There was no immediate word on how long the recovery will be from this procedure and if it will roll over into training camp in the fall.
Vilardi Out Indefinitely: When healthy, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi has been quite an impactful player. However, staying healthy has been a challenge. Now, already on the shelf due to an upper-body injury, the team learned that the 24-year-old has an enlarged spleen. Accordingly, his status has now been changed to out indefinitely. Vilardi was arguably the centerpiece of the offseason trade that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois go to Los Angeles and he has made an impact when he’s in the lineup, collecting 30 points in just 38 games. But now, Winnipeg will be without a key performer for the foreseeable future as they continue their tough three-way battle with Colorado and Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division.
St. Louis Takes A Leave: Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has taken a leave of absence from the team for family reasons. He’s in his third season behind Montreal’s bench with the team playing to a 70-94-21 record in his 185 games at the helm. There is no word on when he’ll be able to return. In the meantime, assistant coach Trevor Letowski is serving as Montreal’s acting bench boss. This is Letowski’s first experience running a team at the professional level although he has several seasons in that role from his days in the OHL.
Johansen’s Demotion Reversed: Earlier in the week, the NHL quietly reversed Philadelphia’s assignment of center Ryan Johansen to AHL Lehigh Valley. The veteran was acquired for salary-matching purposes in a trade with Colorado earlier this month but was immediately waived and demoted when he cleared. However, Johansen is dealing with a hip issue and since injured players can’t be waived, the 31-year-old won’t be permitted to rehab with the Phantoms. There is no timetable for his recovery which is particularly noteworthy as injured players can’t be bought out. With one year and $4MM left on his contract (more specifically, Philadelphia’s portion of his $8MM deal), if the injury lingers, they won’t be able to clear at least part of his contract off their books.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Red Wings, Lohrei, Jiricek
The Red Wings were quiet at the trade deadline which came as a surprise to many with Detroit being in a playoff spot at the time. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that there were a couple of reasons for that. GM Steve Yzerman felt that the asking prices were way too high for his liking while he was reluctant to part with any of his prospects. Even if Detroit is able to lock down the final Wild Card spot and end their seven-year playoff drought, they’re still in the process of building up their roster. It appears that Yzerman had no interest in taking any shortcuts when it comes to their long-term plan.
Elsewhere in the East:
- While the Bruins papered Mason Lohrei back to AHL Providence to keep him eligible to play down there for the stretch run, that may not happen. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he feels the young blueliner will be up for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old has done well in his first pro campaign, getting into 39 games with Boston so far where he has a dozen points along with 61 blocks while averaging nearly 17 minutes a night.
- With the Blue Jackets playing out the stretch and their back end being a bit thinned out due to injuries and the Andrew Peeke trade, the fact they haven’t recalled David Jiricek has been a surprise to some. Head coach Pascal Vincent told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that they’re prioritizing him playing big minutes with AHL Cleveland, a team that has been hit hard as of late due to recalls. Jiricek has played in 36 NHL games this season; he’d accrue a season toward UFA eligibility if he gets to 40. Speculatively, that could be playing a role in them holding him down there as well.
Injury News: Lindgren, Johnson, Murphy, Carlsson
Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren left today’s game with a lower-body injury, relays Ethan Sears of the New York Post. The injury occurred in the second period and he was helped off the ice without being able to put weight on his left leg. Head coach Peter Laviolette didn’t have an update following the game, noting Lindgren was still being evaluated. The 26-year-old came into today logging over 19 minutes a night on their second pairing but it appears they’ll need to shake things up again after redoing the pairings following Jacob Trouba’s injury. Chad Ruhwedel was acquired at the trade deadline but has yet to play so far, he’d likely draw in if Lindgren isn’t able to suit up on Tuesday against Winnipeg.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Blackhawks winger Reese Johnson (concussion) is doing better but won’t accompany the team on their three-game road trip, reports Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 25-year-old was injured back on Tuesday. Johnson has played in 42 games so far this season, picking up five points along with 109 hits while averaging just under 11 minutes a night.
- Still with the Blackhawks, blueliner Connor Murphy visited a specialist as he continues to be out with a groin injury, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Murphy has been listed as week-to-week for two months now and head coach Luke Richardson indicated that this is still the case. At this point, it’s unknown if Murphy will return this season.
- The Ducks announced (Twitter link) that center Leo Carlsson was cleared to return from his concussion tonight against St. Louis. The rookie had missed eight straight games because of it. Between injuries and early-season load management, Carlsson has been limited to just 40 games so far this season but he has played well, picking up nine goals and 14 assists in those contests.
Dmitry Kulikov To Have Player Safety Hearing
Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will have a hearing Monday for an illegal check to the head of Lightning winger Conor Sheary, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced.
Early in the second period of yesterday’s 5-3 loss, Kulikov pinched to join a net-front scrum that resulted in a Florida goal, although it was disallowed due to the penalty on the play. While entering the slot, Kulikov leaned to lay a check on Sheary, who was slightly bent over in an attempt to play the puck. Kulikov’s principal and only point of contact on the hit was Sheary’s head and shoulder. Kulikov did not leave his feet or extend his elbow on the hit, leading into the check with his upper arm (video link).
Kulikov was assessed a match penalty on the play by on-ice officials and missed over half the contest, which could factor into the length of a potential suspension. He’s been suspended once in his 15-year, 936-game NHL career, receiving four games for clipping Stars forward Tyler Seguin during his first stint with the Panthers in 2015. However, since the discipline occurred nearly a decade ago, he will not be considered a repeat offender by the Department of Player Safety.
The 33-year-old has 16 assists and a +9 rating in 64 games for the Panthers this season, averaging 16:22 per game. Now on his sixth team in the past four years, he inked a one-year, $1MM deal last summer to return to the team that selected him 14th overall in 2009.
Ryan Johansen’s AHL Assignment Reversed Due To Injury
The hip injury keeping Flyers forward Ryan Johansen out of the lineup is already inhibiting their roster flexibility. The ailment, which may prevent the Flyers from executing a buyout on his contract this summer if not healed, has now reversed the team’s attempt to assign him to the minors after he cleared waivers earlier this month, GM Daniel Brière told Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now.
Brière told Bailey that the Flyers were surprised by Johansen’s injury at the time of his acquisition. He was included as part of the return from the Avalanche for defenseman Sean Walker a few days before the deadline. Johansen, who has a reduced $4MM cap hit and was limited to 23 points in 63 games with Colorado, landed on waivers the same days. Brière stated shortly after the deal that he didn’t expect Johansen to ever suit up in an NHL game for Philadelphia, and he was only included in the trade for salary cap management on Colorado’s end.
According to Brière, Johansen informed the Flyers directly after the trade that he was dealing with a hip injury, which did not keep him out of the lineup for any period of time in Colorado. Philadelphia’s team doctors then confirmed the injury. While the initial plan was for Johansen to rehab with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the league reversed the reassignment because an injured player cannot be sent down on a non-conditioning loan. Per Brière, the team does not have a timeline for Johansen’s return to health. If he remains on the roster for under 30 days, he won’t need to clear waivers again to head to Lehigh Valley.
If the Flyers can provide documentation that Johansen’s injury healed before this summer’s buyout window, they may buy out the final season of his eight-year, $64MM contract. They would only be responsible for half of the buyout cost — the Predators, who retained half of Johansen’s salary in last summer’s trade that sent him to Colorado, would shoulder the other half.
League game reports show that Johansen was reinstated to the NHL roster sometime between Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Sharks and Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. As such, his cap impact for the Flyers is now $4MM instead of the reduced $2.85MM they have as a buried penalty while Johansen is in the minors. Per CapFriendly, this reversal leaves Philadelphia just over $500K in cap space.