Nashville Predators Reassign John Leonard
The Nashville Predators have reassigned forward John Leonard to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
The brother of top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Ryan Leonard, John has been playing in Nashville since February 2nd, when he made his season debut in a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers. Leonard scored his first goal of the year in that game, and finishes with just that goal and no assists in his four-game run at the NHL level.
A 2018 sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Leonard was sent to Nashville in the Luke Kunin trade over the summer. He made a name for himself playing college hockey at UMass Amherst, scoring around a point-per-game rate each year. He potted 27 goals in his final season of college, and scored 13 points in 44 NHL games with the Sharks the following year.
This season, he’s spent most of the year in Milwaukee, where he’s been a solid contributor. He has 32 points in 52 games at the AHL level, and heads back giving the Admirals a boost as they battle for position in the AHL’s Central Division.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Kirill Kudryavtsev
The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team release.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin issued the following statement regarding the signing:
Kirill has had a good season so far and our development team has been happy with his progress in the OHL. Our group looks forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him and get him ready for a pro career.
Allvin is entirely correct to say that Kudryavtsev has had a good season. The 2022 seventh-round pick has scored 45 points in 60 games for the Soo Greyhounds, a healthy increase from the 39 points in 68 games he scored in his rookie OHL season.
The Yaroslavl, Russia native doesn’t offer premier size standing at five-foot-eleven but he’s got a capable two-way game that should more easily translate to the professional game than some of the more high-octane styles of his peers in junior hockey.
Kudryavtsev has an entry-level deal in hand now, one that begins next season and pays him a league-minimum $775k base salary in the NHL, $80k in the minors (where he will likely spend time developing his game before he’s an NHL possibility) and a 75k signing bonus, according to CapFriendly.
With it, he’ll be able to enter Vancouver’s farm system and look to make a name for himself in what is a relatively thin Canucks defensive prospect pool.
Washington Capitals Loan Vincent Iorio to AHL
The Washington Capitals have loaned defenseman Vincent Iorio back to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. This will place Iorio back to where he’s spent most of this season, having played 51 games at the AHL level.
Iorio, 20, is a 2021 second-round pick who has been with the Capitals for about a week. He played in his first three NHL games in that timeframe, getting between 12 and 15 minutes in each contest. He even registered his first NHL point, getting an assist in the Capitals’ 8-3 rout of the San Jose Sharks.
The six-foot-four former Brandon Wheat Kings is in his first season as a professional and has impressed with his mature play in the AHL. Iorio has registered just six penalty minutes despite playing a defense-first game, and while his 17 points in 51 games don’t jump off the page, he appears to be getting closer to NHL readiness.
Now, he’ll get to head back to Hershey for possibly the rest of their season, helping ready them for what the team hopes will be a long Calder Cup playoff run.
Calgary Flames Acquire Kristians Rubins
The Calgary Flames have acquired defenseman Kristians Rubins from the Ottawa Senators, according to a team announcement.
The move clears a second contract spot for the Senators following their trade of Jayce Hawryluk to the New Jersey Devils, perhaps indicating that the team is looking at signing some college players to fill out their organization down the stretch this season.
Rubins is a 25-year-old Latvian defenseman who is on a one-year, $750k contract that will make him eligible for restricted free agency in the summer. He has three NHL games on his resume, all coming last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rubins has played in 42 games this season for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, and scored six points. He was a healthy scratch for Belleville’s most recent game, and when he did factor into the lineup it was in more of a down-the-lineup capacity.
He’s a big, physical six-foot-five defenseman who should add some depth to the Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers’ blueline. The Wranglers will be looking to secure first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, so adding Rubins to support their defense will definitely help them get there, even if Rubins remains in more of a depth role rather than becoming an everyday contributor in Calgary.
New Jersey Devils Acquire Jayce Hawryluk
The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Jayce Hawryluk from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations, per a team announcement. In addition, the Devils have acquired defenseman Zack Hayes from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Jack Dugan, per another announcement.
As a reminder, players involved in trades completed after the NHL’s March 3rd trade deadline lose NHL eligibility, meaning these trades have AHL implications only.
In Hawryluk, the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, have acquired a former highly-drafted prospect who has settled in as a solid minor-league contributor. Although he’s only played in 19 games for Belleville and scored just eight points, Hawryluk has nearly 100 games of NHL experience under his belt and played very well for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2018-19, scoring 32 points in 31 games.
He’ll add to the Comets’ forward depth as they ready for the Calder Cup Playoffs, and will replace Dugan in their lineup as he’s headed to the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Dugan, a 2017 fifth-rounder of the Vegas Golden Knights, scored 11 goals and 27 points in 51 games for Utica this season. He was a high-scoring winger in the NCAA at Providence College, and will head to Chicago, the team that was formerly the Golden Knights’ affiliate. (Dugan has not played for the Wolves before, as in his time with the Golden Knights organization he played for the Henderson Silver Knights.)
In exchange for Dugan, Utica is adding Hayes, a 23-year-old blueliner who has already been traded once this season. He played in 14 games for the Henderson Silver Knights, but did not manage to factor into their lineup consistently before being traded.
He played in three NHL games last year as the Golden Knights dealt with significant injury issues on their blueline, and should be able to help bolster a Utica defense that lost Nikita Okhotyuk at the trade deadline, thanks to the Timo Meier deal.
Injury Notes: Hall, Brown, Lindgren
The Boston Bruins have been the NHL’s best team this season, and one of the major reasons for the squad’s success has been their depth. With Brad Marchand stapled next to Patrice Bergeron on coach Jim Montgomery’s first line, and Pavel Zacha occupying the left-wing spot on the team’s all-Czech second line (next to David Pastrnak and David Krejci), 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, who has scored 36 points in 58 games this season, is the team’s third-line left winger. It’s an embarrassment of riches for the team, but one they can’t quite enjoy at the moment as Hall is out with an injury.
Come playoff time, though, things could be back to normal. Montgomery told the media today, including Ty Anderson of 985 The Sports Hub, that the current hope for Hall (and fellow injured veteran Nick Foligno) is for each to return to the lineup in the playoffs. Hall last played February 25th, and his placement on LTIR paved the way for the team to acquire Tyler Bertuzzi to further strengthen its forward corps. We have seen injured players return in time for the playoffs (when the salary cap is no longer a factor) such as when Nikita Kucherov missed the regular season for Tampa Bay in 2020-21, so it seems Boston will hope that Hall can follow a similar timeline.
- Washington Capitals forward Connor Brown skated before the team’s practice this morning, according to the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs. Brown is around five months removed from the ACL surgery he underwent earlier this season, with the procedure expected to knock him out for the Capitals’ season. While it’s likely too late for him to factor into the Capitals’ season, progress in his recovery is important to note given that he is a pending unrestricted free agent, and despite his consistent performance, his health is likely to be a major question mark as he heads into the open market.
- Top-pairing New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren has been out since February 25th with an injury, and due to the Rangers’ significant salary-cap issues after their trade for Patrick Kane, the team has been forced to play short-handed on defense, unable to make call-ups. The team could be getting some great news, then, as the New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that Lindgren was a full participant in today’s Rangers’ practice. If he is indeed nearing a return, his return to Norris Trophy candidate Adam Fox‘s side would represent a significant boost to the Rangers as they look to make a final push for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens Issue Injury Updates
Once again this season, the Montreal Canadiens’ significant injury woes have forced them to make a set of announcements to update the hockey world on some of their players still working their way back to full health. Last time, the team issued four medical updates at once, and last night they officially announced new developments in the injury statuses of three players.
Firstly, the team announced that breakout forward Kirby Dach is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. As we wrote in our coverage of the last major Canadiens injury update, Dach has been out since February 14th, with his absence first attributed to a non-COVID illness. The team then discovered that Dach’s illness symptoms were actually consistent with the effects of a lower-body injury, hence this new development.
Dach’s progress this season has been an encouraging early success for the Canadiens’ stated goal of revamping their player development process, and he has at times this season looked like one of the more dangerous offensive options at coach Martin St. Lous’ disposal. While it’s unclear if Dach will return this season, if his season does end at the 54-game, 35-point mark, the team can consider his first campaign in Montreal to be a strong one.
The second update the team issued concerns one of the team’s core veteran leaders: Brendan Gallagher. He is out with his own lower-body injury on a three-to-four-week recovery timeline. This means that it’s possible that Gallagher misses the rest of the season, as their final game is on April 13th, meaning Gallagher’s current timeline will be cutting it close.
If this injury does indeed cost Gallagher the remainder of his season, it will end what has been a disappointing campaign. While Gallagher has maintained his tenacious style of play, that trademark style seems to have taken its toll on his availability. He’s been in and out of the lineup for the last three seasons, and while the underlying numbers paint a prettier picture than his box score stats, Gallagher’s productivity has suffered as well.
If he has played his final game of this season, he’ll finish with just nine points in 25 games. Armed with a $6.5MM AAV deal that runs through 2026-27, getting their heart-and-soul player back to his old, productive self will be an important priority for the Canadiens organization.
The final injury update relates to rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj, who underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the team’s season. Xhekaj, an undrafted product who surprisingly made the Canadiens out of training camp, has quickly become a fan favorite in Montreal.
His bruising, exceedingly physical style of play quickly endeared him to both Canadiens coaches and the Montreal market, and the understated skill he brought to the table indicated that there could be more in his future than a career as a simple physicality specialist.
He’ll finish his rookie campaign with 13 points and 101 penalty minutes in 51 games, and Canadiens fans will turn their attention to the other promising first-year-pro defensemen in their lineup: Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Justin Barron.
While Xhekaj’s injury certainly takes a bite out of the entertainment value of the rest of the Canadiens’ games this season, seeing as the team won’t make the playoffs and is playing for pride alone over the next few weeks, having Xhekaj undergo surgery with an eye towards returning to full health for next season (rather than seeing him play through the injury/pain in order to help his team’s odds of winning, as some players have done in the past) seems like a wise course of action.
Detroit Red Wings Recall Austin Czarnik On Emergency Basis
The Detroit Red Wings have announced that forward Austin Czarnik has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on an emergency basis.
The move comes as Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri looks set to miss time due to an injury. Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde told the media today that Fabbri would miss Detroit’s game against the Boston Bruins, but remained “fairly optimistic” that Fabbri will eventually return this season.
Czarnik, 30, has spent most of this season in AHL Grand Rapids, where he has played well as a leading scorer for the team. He’s a veteran of over 150 NHL games, and while he’s scored just three points in 12 games this season, he can typically be counted on to give some competent depth minutes to a team in a pinch.
Czarnik last appeared in the NHL in December, with his most recent game coming on a December 19th loss to the Washington Capitals. While it’s unclear if Czarnik will directly replace Fabbri’s spot in the Red Wings’ lineup, he will give Lalonde another option to work with as he looks to stay afloat in a highly-competitive Eastern Conference.
Dallas Stars Sign Kyle McDonald
The Dallas Stars have signed prospect forward Kyle McDonald to a three-year entry-level contract, according to a team announcement. McDonald is an undrafted 21-year-old forward who last season served as an alternate captain for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion.
McDonald spent the preseason in rookie camp and training camp with his hometown Ottawa Senators, although they ultimately were not the ones to sign him to an entry-level deal. Instead, he signs with the Stars, who in turn add a big winger with some intriguing physical tools.
The 21-year-old scored 28 goals and 45 points in 38 games for the Battalion this season, and also scored above a point-per-game rate the year before. Standing six-foot-four, 217 pounds McDonald offers the size and strength at the winger position that many teams covet. He’s also a former teammate of Stars rookie Wyatt Johnston, meaning that connection may have informed the Stars’ willingness to complete this deal.
Now aged-out of junior hockey, he’ll begin his pro career next season and in all likelihood spent time with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, attempting to develop his game.
He’s missed quite a bit of time due to a combination of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out an entire OHL season, but now with his entry-level deal in hand he’ll be afforded a solid runway to grow his skills and attempt to develop into a quality pro player.
Philadelphia Flyers Fire Chuck Fletcher
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced this morning that they have released Chuck Fletcher from his duties as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.
In addition, former Flyer Daniel Briere has been named Interim General Manager while the team begins the process of permanently filling two separate positions: a President of Hockey Operations and a General Manager, indicating that the team is pursuing the split structure that other clubs, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, have employed.
Dave Scott, Chairman of Comcast Spectacor and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers, issued the following statement, that begins:
The Philadelphia Flyers organization has always been defined by grit, determination, and a standard of excellence. Over the past several seasons, our team simply has not lived up to that standard, so today, we will begin to chart a new path forward under a new leadership structure for Hockey Operations.
The full statement can be read in the team’s release. While circumstances outside of the organization’s control have definitely played a part in the Flyers’ struggles in recent seasons, the fact that this change has ultimately been made should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Philadelphia recently.
Fletcher was originally hired by the Flyers to replace former general manager Ron Hextall, whose patient, sometimes overly passive approach to team-building was believed to be holding the Flyers back. At that point, led by Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier, and some ascending young players, the club believed that they had all the right ingredients (and the right head coach in Alain Vigneault) to win them hockey glory.
That belief held some merit, as the Flyers nearly made it to the Eastern Conference Final in the “bubble” playoffs in 2019-20 before ultimately falling to the New York Islanders. That belief that their club was on the cusp of true Stanley Cup contention, however reasonable at the time, proved to be the underlying mistake that inspired much of what went wrong in Fletcher’s tenure.
When the wheels fell off in 2020-21 and the team stumbled out of the playoff picture, it was despite their intention on competing, and so although the team had disappointed, the organization remained steadfast in their belief that true contention was not far away. This led to some questionable team-building decisions that, while undoubtedly made as part of a collaborative effort on behalf of multiple decision-makers in the organization, ultimately are Fletcher’s responsibility as he was at the top of hockey operations.
It began in the summer of 2019, when the Flyers signed career second-line center Kevin Hayes to a seven-year, $7.14MM AAV contract.
Hayes had reached the 20-goal mark just once in the five seasons prior to signing the mega-deal, with 25 goals in 2017-18 with the New York Rangers. He had hovered around 2o goals multiple times, but hardly had warranted a long-term contract, but the Flyers were desperate for a scoring center.
Hayes had a solid first season in Philadelphia, with 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points in 69 games, but did not take the offensive leap the Flyers were hoping for. Hayes has struggled to stay healthy since that first season, appearing in less than 60 games the next two years, but has rebounded a bit with 17 goals and 32 assists for 49 points in 64 games.
With three seasons left on that contract, Hayes is now looking like an odd man out in Philadelphia, although the large hit against the cap will make moving him a difficult task.
In 2021, the Flyers acquired defenseman Ryan Ellis from the Nashville Predators, taking on a contract with a $6.2MM AAV running through the 2026-27 season. Ellis has played just four games for the Flyers, and has missed the entire current season due to injury.
The trade for Ellis saw center Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, shipped out for a quick fix on the blueline. Ellis had been a strong member of a stout Nashville Predators blueline for a few years, and on paper looked to be a strong acquisition for Philadelphia.
Ellis surely would have aided in making the Flyers a more difficult team to play against, and his absence hasn’t made things easier.
Another move that has resulted in a highly paid player not producing as much as the team would like was the trade for forward Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Jakub Voracek. Atkinson brought a lower cap hit to the Flyers, but has missed the entire season due to injury.
Another move made for a defenseman in the summer of 2021 brought Rasmus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers signed Ristolainen to a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.1MM. Ristolainen has been on the ice for the Flyers, but hasn’t provided much of an impact, especially offensively with just two goals and 12 assists for 14 points this season.
Fletcher’s legacy with the Flyers is the construction of an expensive roster that has performed nowhere near expectations. The Flyers are in a tough spot, as they stare down the abyss of a potential rebuild while also boasting some solid talent depth on the roster, although much of that depth is signed to long-term contracts that would be difficult to part with.
It will be interesting to see how Briere moves into the role, as he is likely auditioning for a chance to be involved with the Flyers’ hockey operations decision-making moving forward.