Sabres Notes: Thompson, Tuch, Okposo, Free Agents
Forward Tage Thompson will be taking plenty of time over the offseason to recuperate from a physically taxing end of the season, the 25-year-old sniper told reporters today. Thompson will be taking at least a month off from training during the offseason to recover from multiple injuries, including a hip pointer suffered in late March against the New Jersey Devils and some pre-existing back problems. He’s also dealing with a minor shoulder injury sustained during the team’s second-to-last game of the season against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Despite those injuries, Thompson performed admirably down the stretch for Buffalo when he was healthy enough to dress. The team’s leader in goals and points notched four goals in eight games down the stretch, leading Buffalo to its first 90-point season since 2011. While the team narrowly missed the postseason this year, Thompson and his teammates have their eyes set on the playoffs in 2024 as they exit their rebuild.
Some other Sabres notes after their season drew to a close:
- While a number of NHL players on non-playoff teams have already publically declined participation in the upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships, Sabres winger Alex Tuch is not one of them. He told reporters today that he and his brother, Montreal Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch, will both suit up for the United States at the only major international tournament currently involving NHL players. Tuch, 26, is coming off the first point-per-game campaign in his NHL career, notching 79 points in 74 games for Buffalo in 2022-23.
- Captain Kyle Okposo is a free agent this offseason after wrapping up a seven-year, $42MM deal with the Sabres, but isn’t certain about his playing future. The 34-year-old mentioned today that he’ll need some time to decide what’s next for him, although if he does return to NHL ice in 2023-24, it will be in Buffalo. Okposo registered 11 goals and 17 assists in 75 games this season and is less than 20 games away from the 1,000-game plateau.
- Another pair of free agents this offseason, Zemgus Girgensons and Tyson Jost, both expressed their interest today in returning to Buffalo next season. Both players had solid seasons in bottom-six roles, and it does seem unlikely that Buffalo would opt to move on from either. Jost is still under team control as a restricted free agent, while Girgensons is the longest-tenured player on the team, amassing 625 games in a Sabres uniform. With the team on the cusp of their first playoff appearance in over a decade, it would seem odd not to have a leader such as Girgensons in the fold.
Ducks AHL Coach Roy Sommer To Retire
It won’t just be a new head coach in Anaheim that Ducks GM Pat Verbeek will be looking for in the coming weeks. There will be a vacancy to fill with their AHL affiliate in San Diego as well; the team announced that head coach Roy Sommer will retire following tonight’s season-ending contest against Colorado.
The 66-year-old is in his first season outside of San Jose’s organization in the better part of three decades. Sommer spent 26 years behind the bench with their affiliates before departing and joining Anaheim last summer. He is the winningest coach in AHL history with 828 while tonight’s contest will be his 1,814th, also a league record.
This season didn’t go as planned for Anaheim who finished at the bottom of the Western Conference and the NHL. Meanwhile, things didn’t go much better for the Gulls as they also sit last in the Western Conference and AHL with just 43 points through 71 games. With the Ducks battling injury trouble throughout the season, that put extra strain on San Diego that they clearly weren’t able to overcome.
This will be the second straight summer under Verbeek that he’ll be seeking an AHL bench boss. Last summer, he fired Joel Bouchard after just one season in the role and with Sommer calling it a career after tonight, that search will resume.
Wild Notes: Johansson, Eriksson Ek, Sundqvist, Petan
The Wild are hopeful that winger Marcus Johansson will be available for the start of their first-round series against Dallas, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The veteran was injured earlier in the week on a cross-check from Winnipeg blueliner Neal Pionk but head coach Dean Evason indicated that while the 32-year-old is sore, nothing is broken. Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota has been quite successful as he had six goals and 12 assists in 20 games after being acquired from Washington just before the trade deadline. He returned to practice with the team today which is a positive sign for him being able to suit up on Monday.
More from Minnesota:
- Center Joel Eriksson Ek skated before practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed a little over a week since suffering the injury against Pittsburgh. Eriksson Ek was given a week-to-week designation so it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready for Monday’s season opener. His absence is a significant one as not only is he their matchup center against top opponents but he also finished fourth in team scoring, surpassing the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.
- Forward Oskar Sundqvist also skated today for the first time since suffering also a lower-body injury against Pittsburgh last week, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 29-year-old was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline and had made a good first impression with Minnesota, collecting three goals and four assists in 15 games before the injury. It’s unclear at this point if he’ll be good to go to start the series against Dallas but he has not yet been ruled out for Game One.
- The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Nic Petan cleared waivers today, enabling them to return him to AHL Iowa. Petan played his tenth game of the season Thursday, meaning that he had to pass through waivers to get back to the minors. The 28-year-old has had another strong season at the AHL level, tallying 60 points in 51 games heading into the final weekend.
Carl Hagelin Hopes To Play Next Season
It has been more than a year since Capitals winger Carl Hagelin has played due to an eye injury. As a result, he spent all of this season on LTIR. However, while his current contract is set to come to an end, the veteran told reporters including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to play next season.
Hagelin, when fully healthy, has been an effective two-way player whose speed was a significant asset. However, his production had tapered off over his last few seasons to the point where he managed just three goals in 53 games last season before being shut down.
While the 34-year-old hasn’t yet been cleared to return from the injury, he indicated that he’s hoping to be cleared later this summer. For now, the plan is for him to skate for a couple of months this summer and then look to make a final decision on his future sometime in August.
Between his decline in production and the uncertainty surrounding his future, Hagelin can certainly afford to be patient in trying to see if he’ll be able to play in 2023-24 as he’s quite likely to be a PTO candidate in training camp if he does get the green light to suit up. Otherwise, he’ll probably be hanging up his skates after a successful 11-year career that saw him collect 296 points in 713 games with five different organizations.
Metropolitan Notes: Carter, Worlds, Dowd, Islanders
After a good performance in 2021-22, Penguins center Jeff Carter was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. However, things didn’t go as well this year as the 38-year-old managed just 29 points in 79 games while having his playing time cut by nearly four minutes a night. However, despite the setback, Carter told reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that he intends to play next season instead of retiring. Even if whoever takes over for GM Ron Hextall doesn’t want to have Carter back, there is no benefit to buying him out as he’s on a 35-plus contract while the veteran also has a full no-move clause.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Still with Pittsburgh, winger Rickard Rakell has declined an invitation to play at the upcoming World Championship, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). The 29-year-old had a bounce-back year with 28 goals and 32 assists but is dealing with some minor health issues. Meanwhile, winger Jake Guentzel will suit up for the United States in the event. The 28-year-old was third on the Penguins in scoring this season with 36 goals and 37 assists.
- Capitals center Nic Dowd told reporters including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he was playing through a couple of injuries and a decision about whether he’ll need surgery will be made within the next couple of weeks. Despite playing through the injuries at the end, the 32-year-old had a career year this season, setting new benchmarks in goals (13) and points (25) despite missing 17 games due to other injuries. Dowd has two years left on his contract with a $1.3MM AAV.
- Although their farm team has been eliminated from playoff contention, the Islanders don’t intend to have a full taxi squad for the playoffs, head coach Lane Lambert told Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Teams often carry extra skaters that can be slotted in if need be in either games or practices while it’s typically beneficial for them to continue to work under the eye of team trainers. For the time being at least, New York will opt to go without a full group of reserves although it wouldn’t be surprising to see a handful of players be brought up as insurance.
Maple Leafs Recall Wayne Simmonds
Now that the regular season has come to an end, there are no more salary cap restrictions in the NHL. Accordingly, the Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have once again recalled winger Wayne Simmonds from AHL Toronto.
The 34-year-old was sent down a total of seven times this season although he never did suit up for the Marlies; he has never suited up for a game in the minors in his career. The reason behind those frequent demotions was largely salary cap-related but with that no longer in play and roster restrictions being lifted after the trade deadline, Simmonds should be up for the duration of Toronto’s playoff run.
It has been a tough season for Simmonds overall who was limited to just 18 games with the Maple Leafs in between the demotions, a career low. His playing time also dipped to the lowest of his career as he logged just 7:27, dropping for the sixth season in a row.
At this point, it’s difficult to see them putting Simmonds into their lineup when their series against Tampa Bay begins next week but with AHL Toronto potentially primed for a long playoff run of their own after winning the North Division, the Maple Leafs won’t have many spare forwards on their roster when the series starts. Accordingly, if there are some injuries, Simmonds could have a chance to see some action as the first round progresses.
Blue Jackets Assign Six Players To AHL
Following the conclusion of their regular season last night, the Blue Jackets wasted little time making some roster moves. Following that contest, they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defensemen Samuel Knazko, Stanislav Svozil, and Billy Sweezey along with forwards Tyler Angle, Joona Luoto, and Mikael Pyyhtia to AHL Cleveland.
Knazko made his professional debut in North America this season and has suited up in 49 games with the Monsters this season, picking up a goal and 20 assists. He got into two contests with Columbus this month, averaging a little under 16 minutes per night of playing time.
Svozil spent most of this season with Regina of the WHL where he had a very productive season, picking up 11 goals and 67 assists in 56 games; his 78 points were the third-highest in the league. He actually has yet to play in the AHL but also has suited up twice for Columbus, recording an assist in his debut on Thursday while logging over 20 minutes a night.
As for Sweezey, he has had a bit more experience in Columbus, suiting up in nine games for them this season, picking up an assist along with 39 hits and 20 blocked shots in his first taste of NHL action. He has 11 assists in 55 contests in the minors this year.
Angle is nothing if not consistent. He has 11 goals with Cleveland this season, matching his output from 2020-21 and 2021-22 in the process. He also now has his first NHL tally in the books after scoring on Friday against Buffalo.
Luoto has been back and forth between the two clubs in recent weeks. He got into seven games with the Blue Jackets this year in his first NHL action since the 2019-20 campaign with Winnipeg while he has collected 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 games with the Monsters.
Lastly, Pyyhtia spent the bulk of the year playing in Finland with TPS Turku of the SM-liiga before being assigned to Cleveland last month. He has played in six games with the Monsters so far, scoring three times while he picked up an assist in his two games with Columbus.
All six players will have an opportunity to play in two more games this weekend as the Monsters wrap up their season. However, with none of them available to play for Cleveland last night, they lost to Utica, eliminating them from playoff contention.
Hurricanes Sign Dominick Fensore
Dominick Fensore’s senior year at Boston University was certainly a strong one. He was rewarded for his efforts late on Friday when the Hurricanes announced that they’d signed the defenseman to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins next season so Fensore will not be eligible to suit up for Carolina in their upcoming playoff run. GM Don Waddell released the following statement:
Domenick is a skilled, playmaking defenseman. He captained a BU team that was among the best in college hockey this season, and we’re excited for him to take the next steps in his development.
The contract pays $832.5K at the NHL in each season with a $70K minor league salary while Fensore receives a signing bonus of $185K spread out evenly over the two years, creating an AAV of $925K.
Fensore posted his second straight 31-point season in 2022-23, finishing tied for fifth on the Terriers in scoring and second among defensemen. Boston University made the Frozen Four earlier this month before falling to number-one-ranked Minnesota in the semifinals.
The 21-year-old, a third-round pick back in 2019 (90th overall) is on the smaller side at 5’7 but has clearly shown an ability to produce at the college level. He’ll now get his chance next season to see if he can become an impact point producer in the pros in the minors although, with AHL Chicago dropping Carolina as their affiliate for next season, it remains to be seen where Fensore will be eventually suiting up.
Buffalo Sabres Re-Assign Lukas Rousek
Saturday: While Rousek is no longer the all-time leader in points per game after being held off the scoresheet on Friday against Columbus, his season isn’t over yet as the Sabres announced that he has been re-assigned to Rochester.
Thursday: The Buffalo Sabres have recalled the NHL’s all-time leader in points per game. That’s right, Lukas Rousek is back in the big leagues, after scoring two points in his debut last month.
Rousek, who will turn 24 next week, was a sixth-round pick of the Sabres in 2019 and is finishing his first full season in North America. Through 68 games with the Rochester Americans, he has 15 goals and 55 points to lead the club.
While his presence will be required for Rochester’s upcoming playoff run, another taste of the NHL is on tap for now. The Sabres will play the Ottawa Senators this evening in their final home game before heading to Columbus for the regular season finale tomorrow night.
Though they came up short of the postseason, Buffalo can be pretty happy with their performance this year. Several players set new career highs and will finish just a few points out of the race. With a prospect pipeline filled with explosive young talent, there are better times ahead for the Sabres.
Rousek, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, now has a chance to show he wants to be part of that bright future and deserves more NHL playing time in 2023-24.
Blue Jackets Fire Brad Larsen
Another coaching vacancy in the NHL has been opened up as the Blue Jackets announced that they have fired head coach Brad Larsen. Additionally, they will not be renewing the contract of goaltender coach Manny Legace. GM Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement:
This season has been extremely disappointing and the responsibility for that lies with all of us. These decisions were difficult and not made lightly given our respect for both Brad and Manny as coaches and people. Brad has been part of our organization for more than a decade, and we are extremely thankful for his hard work and many contributions – both on and off the ice – during that time. We wish nothing but the best for Brad and his family in the future.
While Larsen hadn’t been the head coach for long (just two years), he had been with the organization for close to a decade. Prior to being promoted to the top job in 2021-22, he had served as an assistant under former bench bosses Todd Richards and John Tortorella.
When Larsen took over the top job, it looked like Columbus was embarking on a bit of a rebuild. But the Blue Jackets got off to a hot start last season and while they eventually missed the playoffs, there was some optimism that they could turn things around a little quicker than expected. That resulted in a surprisingly aggressive summer last year, one that saw them land winger Johnny Gaudreau in free agency in an effort to bolster their attack. In doing so, expectations were heightened for 2022-23.
However, things didn’t go as planned. Not even close, in fact. Instead, the team set a franchise record with 563 man-games lost to injury, many of which were to some of their key performers. That played a big role in their offensive production dropping sharply by 50 goals in total, moving them from 14th in that category a year ago to 30th this season. Meanwhile, with several key blueliners missing (including Zach Werenski who was limited to just 13 appearances), the defense struggled mightily as well, putting extra pressure on the goaltending which also had some challenges with starter Elvis Merzlikins having a year to forget, posting a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% which played a big role in Legace’s deal not being renewed.
The end result was a 25-47-9 record, putting the Blue Jackets last in the Eastern Conference while bringing Larsen’s record as head coach to 62-86-16, good for a points percentage of just .427, paving the way for this change to be made.
Columbus now joins Anaheim and Washington as teams that will be looking for a new bench boss for next season. After a 2022 summer that saw them try to accelerate their rebuild, Kekalainen will need to decide if that’s the path they want to continue to go down or if they’ll take a step back once again. Which direction they intend to go should influence if they look for another first-time bench boss to lead them through the rebuild or if their preference will be a veteran bench boss with more of a proven record of short-term success.