Ryan Murray Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Stint
The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had Ryan Murray in the lineup since late November, but they could be getting him back just in time for some added depth in the playoffs. The veteran defenseman has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors on an AHL conditioning assignment, suggesting he’s ready to get back into a game after missing the last several months.
Murray has played just 13 games this season after signing a one-year, $750K contract with the Oilers last summer. He averaged just 13 minutes a night in those appearances and will likely receive even less than that if Edmonton’s current group can stay healthy.
As most teams have discovered, though, the Stanley Cup playoffs are a war of attrition, and teams that go on deep runs usually need eight, nine, or even ten defensemen. With over 400 games of NHL experience, Murray can fill the role of practice player until they need an extra body.
It’s a role he’s familiar with, given he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche last season without appearing in the postseason.
Noah Juulsen Placed On Waivers
The Vancouver Canucks aren’t going to make the playoffs this season, but the Abbotsford Canucks sure are. The AHL club has secured its postseason berth and will soon start a Calder Cup run. They may get a reinforcement, as Noah Juulsen has been placed on waivers today by Vancouver for the purpose of assignment to the AHL.
Juulsen, 26, was included in a paper transaction at the deadline so that he is eligible for the minor league postseason, and will now officially rejoin Abbotsford to help on the run. The 2015 first-round pick has bounced back and forth throughout his entire career, never able to establish himself as a full-time NHLer.
It’s been a very disrupted path for Juulsen, who has dealt with scary eye injuries, team changes, and a lack of consistent playing time. Since debuting in 2017, he has only played 223 professional games, and more than half of those have come since joining the Canucks organization in 2021.
It is almost unthinkable for him to be claimed at this point in the year, meaning he should have no issue reporting to Abbotsford and trying to help them win a Calder in the coming weeks.
Mark Friedman Clears Waivers
April 13: Friedman has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues before tonight’s game.
April 12: As the team is getting healthier with their season on the line, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
While it’s rare for a player to hit waivers after the trade deadline, let alone this late in the season, the move comes out of salary cap necessity for Pittsburgh. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson has progressed in his recovery from a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision tomorrow night, per head coach Mike Sullivan, meaning the team needs to clear some cap room to activate Pettersson from long-term injured reserve.
Friedman and his $775,000 salary are the odd factors out here, and assuming the near-given scenario that he clears waivers, will be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. The 27-year-old has split the season evenly between the two teams, playing a total of 47 pro games and recording nine points.
After dropping their last home game of the regular season to the Chicago Blackhawks last night, 5-2, the Penguins must rely on the 68-point Montreal Canadiens to defeat the New York Islanders in regulation tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. Pittsburgh would then need a regulation win against Columbus on Thursday to continue their 16-year postseason streak.
Friedman, strictly a depth defender, had suited up in 12 straight games for Pittsburgh before he was a healthy scratch against Chicago.
Minnesota Wild Recall Damien Giroux
The Minnesota Wild are locked into the third spot in the Central Division, unable to catch Dallas or Colorado and too far ahead of Winnipeg to worry about what happens into tonight’s regular season finale. With that in mind, the team is preparing to play quite a different lineup than the one that will open the playoffs.
As Michael Russo of The Athletic reports, Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Boldy, Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, and Sam Steel will all sit out, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Oskar Sundqvist remain sidelined by injury. Ryan Hartman will also miss the game after being suspended.
That means the opportunity is available for some young players, and they’ve recalled Damien Giroux to take advantage. He and Nick Swaney will make their NHL debuts, while Calen Addison will play on their wing as the team ices just 11 natural forwards.
Giroux, 23, was a fifth-round pick of the Wild in 2018 and brings very little offensive upside to the ice. He has just three goals in 65 AHL games this season, but has still managed to wiggle his way into a call-up through hard work.
Neither he or Swaney are expected to suit up in the NHL playoffs, though they will get a nice reward with some extra pay and a chance to debut at the highest level.
Calgary Flames Reassign Three Players
After the Calgary Flames finished their disappointing season last night, they’ve sent three young players back to the minor leagues to chase a Calder Cup. Jakob Pelletier, Walker Duehr, and Dustin Wolf have been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers.
Wolf stole the show in the regular season finale, exciting fans from his acrobatic pre-game routine to the final whistle on his debut victory. The 21-year-old netminder, who fell to the seventh round in 2019 because of his size, has dominated every level of hockey so far. An all-time performance in his WHL career led to incredible results in the AHL and now a .958 save percentage in his one-game NHL sample.
Through 53 appearances for the Wranglers this year, the diminutive goalie went 41-9-2 with a .932, and should help them challenge for a league title. Before long, you might see him as a regular in the Flames crease, especially given the struggles of Jacob Markstrom and Daniel Vladar this year.
Pelletier, meanwhile, was the team’s first-round pick in 2019, and has had similar success at the minor league level. In 33 games with the Wranglers this year, he scored 16 goals and 36 points, leading to a significant call-up to the Flames. He recorded seven points through 24 games to start his NHL career and could be a regular as soon as next year.
Duehr, the oldest of the three at 25, was an undrafted free agent signing out of Minnesota State in 2021 and has 11 points in 27 games for the Flames this season. While not as highly regarded in the Calgary system, he’ll lend his size and versatility to the Wranglers as they go on a playoff run as the AHL’s top seed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Samuel Richard To ATO
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed another amateur goaltender to serve as backup tonight, the fourth-straight game that they’ve had only one NHL-level goalie on the ice. Samuel Richard will be tonight’s amateur tryout agreement, backing up Joseph Woll against the New York Rangers.
Richard, 22, played for the University of New Brunswick this season after a three-year career in the QMJHL with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. He was outstanding at the USports level, posting an 18-4 record, 1.59 goals-against average, .933 save percentage.
The UNB Reds won the national championship last month, with Richard posting a shutout in the final game.
Still, that’s certainly not the same path most NHL backups take, and the continued use of amateur goaltenders at the end of this season has to be a cause for concern among the league offices.
Luckily, in this case, the game is effectively meaningless. The Maple Leafs and Rangers are locked into their playoff positions and will try to get out of tonight’s game healthy.
Ilya Samsonov, the team’s regular starter, will take another game off as he deals with some minor injuries and prepares for the playoffs.
St. Louis Blues Recall Vadim Zherenko
The St. Louis Blues have recalled Vadim Zherenko under emergency conditions, sending Joel Hofer back to the Springfield Thunderbirds. The young netminder will serve as the backup for Jordan Binnington in tonight’s finale.
Zherenko, 22, is in his first season of North American pro hockey, after being selected 208th overall in 2019. He posted an impressive .918 save percentage in 24 appearances with the Thunderbirds, forming an excellent tandem with Hofer and taking the club to the Calder Cup playoffs.
With seeding still on the line for Springfield, and a big back-to-back-to-back situation coming this weekend to finish their season, Hofer will prepare for tomorrow’s AHL contest.
That’s to the benefit of Zherenko, who will get another day of NHL pay while he sits on the bench. This is the second call-up of his career after a short stint on the roster earlier this month. The young netminder will have to wait to make his debut, but it already looks like he has a rather promising future—especially for a seventh-round pick.
Chicago Blackhawks Will Not Re-Sign Jonathan Toews
Tonight will be the last game of Jonathan Toews‘ Chicago Blackhawks career. General manager Kyle Davidson officially announced that the captain would not be re-signed, releasing the following statement:
I’ve had a number of conversations with Jonathan throughout the season about his future with the Blackhawks, and recently, we had the difficult conversation that we won’t be re-signing him this offseason. Tonight will be his final game as a Blackhawk, and it was very important to us to be able to provide the proper send off for Jonathan and our fans.
He has done so much for this organization, and no matter where he plays next, we’re excited our fans get the chance to show Jonathan exactly how much he means to them.
After the last few years have brought the departure of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and most recently, Patrick Kane, Toews was the final piece standing from the core that brought three Stanley Cup championships to Chicago.
While his game has deteriorated in recent years, Toews was, at one point, considered one of the greatest two-way centers in history. He won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP at age-22, was a Selke Trophy finalist four times (winning once), and was included as part of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017.
With career-highs of 35 goals and 81 points (both reached in 2018-19), his offensive game was never the reason for excellence in Chicago. Instead, a commitment to defense and a reputation as one of the best leaders in the sport drove his greatness for the Blackhawks. He would routinely tilt the ice in his team’s favor by controlling play, and was captain of one of the most dominant groups in recent NHL history.
Toews’ eight-year, $84MM contract will expire at the end of this season, and it is unclear what the future will bring for the veteran center. He’ll be 35 before the month is up, and has been limited by serious health issues the last few years. Toews missed all of 2020-21 with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and was kept out of the lineup this year with it again.
Limited to just 14 goals and 30 points in 52 games, it would have been difficult to work out a soft landing like the one Davidson found Kane at the deadline. Those numbers, and recent health issues will likely limit the market for him this summer, though if he wants to continue playing, teams should be willing to give the Blackhawks legend a chance.
This is the last symbolic move for Chicago away from the old regime. Davidson will now have a relatively clean slate to build a team, though it may still be several years until he can put together a competitive group.
Just two players—Seth Jones and Connor Murphy—are signed to one-way contracts past 2023-24, giving Davidson a blank canvas to work with. Even next year, the team has only $37.3MM in salary commitments, meaning there will be plenty of cap space to try and coax extra assets out of contenders.
It’s been a difficult season for Blackhawks fans, watching the team tank and trade away one of the greatest offensive talents in NHL history. Now, they’ll be forced to say goodbye to the last part of the previous era, and look forward to whatever comes next.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Washington Capitals Sign Reid Cooper To ATO
Another NHL organization will have an amateur goalie on the bench tonight, as the Washington Capitals have signed Reid Cooper to an amateur tryout agreement. Cooper will serve as the backup against the New Jersey Devils after Charlie Lindgren suffered an injury and is unavailable.
Cooper, 24, has played the last two seasons at Curry College, a Division III school in Massachusetts. Before that, he was the backup at Robert Morris for three seasons and played in the BCHL.
He was outstanding for the Colonels in 2022-23, posting a 20-6-1 record and .935 save percentage, taking home the CCC Goaltender of the Year trophy.
Thanks to several injuries, the Capitals already have three emergency exemptions on the roster to finish the year. The club is pushed right up against the salary cap ceiling but will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and for just the second time since 2007.
As ATO goaltenders become more prevalent, there will likely be some discussion between the NHLPA and NHL on potential exemptions. The league doesn’t want amateurs playing regular season games, especially with playoff seeding on the line.
With the Devils just one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, it would be rather embarrassing to see Cooper forced into the net to try and hold off New Jersey’s attack.
Mason McTavish Out For The Rest Of The Season
Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury in last night’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. McTavish scored a powerplay goal in the game but was limited to just 8:09 in ice time after he left with an upper body injury. He will now miss Anaheim’s season finale on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.
The 2021 third overall pick will finish his first full NHL season with 17 goals and 26 assists in 80 games, pretty good numbers for a 20-year-old who was tasked to play against top line opponents on a nightly basis. McTavish is among a group of young, skilled, exciting forwards that Anaheim has been able to draft and develop over the past few years. But, with all that youth there have been growing pains, Anaheim will finish this season out of the playoffs for a fifth straight season and are currently tied for the second worst record in the NHL.
While they don’t have a ton of talent at the NHL level, Anaheim boasts one of the best farm systems in the entire NHL. Should they land another top tier prospect in the 2023 entry draft, they could be turning the corner on their rebuild sooner than later. And while they didn’t get a first round pick for John Klingberg, they do boast an awful lot of second and third round picks in the next two drafts.
The Ducks will be busy this summer, on top of what will be a busy draft day, they will need to work out new contracts for Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Maxime Comtois, and Jamie Drysdale. The Ducks will have plenty of cap space to work with though, as they currently sit $38MM under the salary cap for the 2023-24 season.