Chicago Blackhawks Sign Gavin Hayes
The Chicago Blackhawks have signed forward prospect Gavin Hayes to a three-year, entry-level contract through 2025-26 with a cap hit of $896,667, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis.
Hayes, who’s still just 18 years old, is having a spectacular post-draft season with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds. The left winger finished second on the team in scoring during the regular season, posting 41 goals and 81 points in 66 games. His season could be coming to an end soon, though, as Flint has gone down 2-0 in its first-round playoff series against the Saginaw Spirit, losing by a combined score of 11-2.
Drafted 66th overall in 2022, Hayes is a skilled puck handler with a goal-scoring ability that appears translatable to the professional ranks. He’s a nice secondary addition to a quickly-growing pool of Blackhawks prospects and projects as a middle-six scoring winger.
Hayes, in all likelihood, will be returned to juniors next season, sliding the beginning of his entry-level contract to 2024-25 (or 2025-26, if he’s returned to juniors for two straight seasons).
Mason Shaw Out For Season With Torn ACL
The Minnesota Wild announced Monday that forward Mason Shaw will miss the rest of the 2022-23 season, including playoffs, with a torn ACL in his right knee. The injury occurred early in Saturday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights and ends the season of one of the most well-liked players in the Minnesota room.
As The Athletic’s Joe Smith notes, this is extremely concerning news for Shaw long-term. This is the second time he’s torn his ACL in that knee and the fourth time overall. Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin does expect Shaw to resume his NHL career, but the Wild will obviously be extremely cautious in returning him to game action next season. Shaw will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
The injury ends Shaw’s first season as a full-time NHLer, where he had recorded seven goals and 10 assists in 57 games as an important secondary piece in the bottom six. The 24-year-old was Minnesota’s 97th overall selection in the 2017 NHL Draft.
The impact of Shaw’s absence is buoyed by the impeding health of Gustav Nyquist, but it still means more responsibility will be required of other fourth-liners, such as Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar for the time being.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Ronnie Attard
With the season winding down, the Philadelphia Flyers are giving another NHL look to one of their better defense prospects. The team recalled Ronnie Attard from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Monday, per a team tweet.
In his first full professional season, the 24-year-old Attard has taken on a big role in the minors and responded well. The 2019 third-round pick out of Western Michigan University has 30 points in 64 games with Lehigh Valley in 2022-23, leading the team’s defense, and his +9 rating is second among Phantoms defenders.
After signing his entry-level contract late last season, Attard played in 15 games down the stretch for the Flyers, recording two goals and two assists. His NHL appearances on this recall will be his first since then.
With Rasmus Ristolainen sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury, there’s increased opportunity for Attard to get into the lineup. He could play in a second-pairing role alongside Travis Sanheim, a spot currently held by seldom-used veteran Justin Braun, who has just two assists in 47 games this year.
Nashville Predators Recall John Leonard
The Nashville Predators disclosed Monday that the team has recalled forward John Leonard from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals. With a road-home back-to-back upcoming over the next two days, recalling Leonard gives the team a 13th healthy forward on the roster should an unforeseen injury occur.
Leonard is the most experienced recall option among forwards still waiver exempt. The 24-year-old winger has accumulated 62 games of NHL experience over the past three seasons, with four coming in Nashville this season. He has one point, his first goal as a Predator, coming in a March 2 game against the Florida Panthers.
This is Leonard’s third recall of the season after he was recalled twice in three days on an emergency basis in the first week of March. Acquired along with a third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks last summer in exchange for the rights to Luke Kunin, Leonard has 14 goals and 38 points in 61 games in the AHL this year.
A pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Leonard could be a candidate to not receive a qualifying offer and head to unrestricted free agency in July. The 2018 sixth-round pick has seen a step back from last season’s offensive production in the minors, and with his NHL opportunities diminished, the Predators may opt not to retain his services.
Sean Monahan, Alex Belzile Out For Season
Injury news continues to pile up for the Montreal Canadiens, who announced Monday that forwards Alex Belzile (link) and Sean Monahan (link) have been shut down for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
Belzile’s campaign comes to an end after sustaining a fractured leg in Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The minor-league veteran had played in every game for Montreal since being recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on February 9, a testament to how injuries have ravaged Montreal’s forward depth this year. He finishes the season with career highs in points and games played, recording 14 in 31. The 31-year-old also scored 26 points in 31 games with Laval, where he served as captain. He’s slated for unrestricted free agency in July.
Monahan’s groin surgery shows he sustained a separate injury on top of the foot injury that had kept him out of the lineup since December 5. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that Monahan’s groin surgery happened “sometime in the last few days,” and his recovery timeline is six to eight weeks. He’s expected to fully recover in time for training camp next season.
Also set for free agency this offseason, Monahan was productive in the early goings of the season, showing flashes of top-six upside once again. With 17 points in 25 games, he’ll find a home in the NHL again next season, whether with Montreal or somewhere else. Injury concerns remain, though, likely limiting his earning potential on any new contract.
St. Louis Blues Recall Vadim Zherenko Under Emergency Conditions
The St. Louis Blues recalled netminder Vadim Zherenko under emergency conditions from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on Monday, the team said in a release. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that backup Thomas Greiss is injured, necessitating the recall of a goalie from the minors.
This is the first recall of Zherenko’s career. Drafted 208th overall in 2019, it’s a rapid rise to relevance for a player picked less than 10 spots away from the end of the draft.
However, the 22-year-old has earned a brief NHL look with his play this season. Zherenko has been a more-than-capable backup in Springfield to Joel Hofer, who earned a long look at the NHL level last month. In 24 games with Springfield, Zherenko has a record of 10-8-3, a .918 save percentage, and a 2.96 goals-against average. This is his first season in North America after a development path through Russia and Finland post-draft.
With Springfield’s season in crunch time on the verge of clinching a Calder Cup playoff berth, the Blues likely opted to leave Hofer in the minors to continue to gain meaningful experience in stretch run games.
Dallas Stars Recall Thomas Harley
As announced by the team Monday morning, the Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Thomas Harley from the Texas Stars of the AHL.
Harley’s first recall of the season comes with just a few weeks left, much later into the year than most Stars fans were expecting. The 21-year-old played in 34 games with Dallas last season but saw limited ice time and limited production (one goal, three assists).
Extended time in the minors has seemed to be the right choice for Harley’s development, though. His defensive game has shown significant strides this season, and he’s added 10 goals and 34 points in 66 games to lead the team’s defense corps in goals.
Selected 18th overall in 2019, Harley will continue to push for more NHL looks over the next few seasons. With only depth veteran Joel Hanley slated for free agency this offseason, though, a significant full-time chance may not come until 2024-25. That’s likely fine with Dallas, who seems content to let Harley grow at his own pace into the capable top-four defender they expect.
With a three-game homestand on tap for the Stars, Harley could make his 2022-23 NHL season debut sometime this week.
Boston Bruins Extend ECHL Affiliation Agreement
The Boston Bruins announced via a team release Monday morning that the team has signed a two-year extension of their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. The move locks in some organizational stability and will make Maine the team’s longest-tenured ECHL affiliate since a five-year partnership with the Atlanta Gladiators from 2015 to 2020.
While it’s a rare occurrence nowadays for NHL teams to send skaters multiple levels down to the ECHL, it remains a viable and well-tracked development path for netminders to get heavy workloads as they graduate from junior or college programs. The Bruins currently have one prospect under NHL contract assigned to Maine: 23-year-old netminder Michael DiPietro, acquired from Vancouver earlier this season.
It’s also an impactful choice for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, who make transactions with the ECHL much more regularly. The newly-minted general manager of Providence, Evan Gold, gave a statement on the extension:
We are thrilled to extend our affiliation agreement with the Maine Mariners. The collaboration between Boston, Providence and Maine has been instrumental in helping our prospects improve not only their hockey skillsets on the ice, but also their work ethic and approach to becoming professionals off the ice. We are excited to continue to partner with the Mariners’ coaching staff and front office as we strive to provide the best development opportunities for our players.
For Boston, the extension keeps its entire professional development system locked within New England, with its minor-league affiliates nearby.
The affiliation agreement, previously set to expire after this season, will now last through the 2024-25 campaign.
Five Key Stories: 3/27/23 – 4/2/23
The month of March has come to an end and, as usual, college signings were plentiful throughout the NHL. Some of those moves are included in our key stories.
Avs Sign Three: One team that was particularly active on the college free agent front was Colorado. They made a trio of moves, signing winger Jason Polin to a one-year deal, defenseman Sam Malinski to a two-year contract, and center Ondrej Pavel to a two-year pact. Polin was the leading goal-getter in the NCAA this season, scoring 30 goals in 39 games with Western Michigan which drew him considerable interest on the open market. Malinski also had interest from multiple teams after a four-year stint at Cornell where he finished strong with 26 points in 34 contests. Meanwhile, Pavel had a bit of a down year at Minnesota State University, seeing his production dip to just 15 points after putting up 22 in his sophomore year. The Avalanche have moved several draft picks and these signings are a chance to replenish their prospect pool.
Livingstone To Nashville: This year’s college free agent class isn’t the strongest but one player that stood out was defenseman Jake Livingstone. He received interest from numerous teams and ultimately chose to sign with Nashville who allowed him to burn his one-year, entry-level contract this season, paving the way for him to potentially play down the stretch. The 23-year-old had a standout campaign with Minnesota State, picking up 35 points in 39 games, putting him tied for third among NCAA blueliners in scoring. Because it’s a one-year deal that was signed late in the season, Livingstone is actually carrying a cap hit of over $2MM down the stretch for the Predators. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and won’t be capped by the entry-level system at that time.
Four For Chytil: Rangers center Filip Chytil has had a breakout season and was rewarded for his efforts as the team signed him to a four-year contract extension that carries a cap hit of $4.4375MM. The deal, which begins next season, does not carry any sort of trade protection and gives New York an extra two years of team control. Chytil entered this season having put up two straight 22-point seasons after two straight 23-point campaigns. However, his output has nearly doubled in 2022-23 as he entered play Sunday with 22 goals and 21 assists in 68 games despite still averaging less than 14 minutes a night. If this is the beginning of Chytil being able to take on a bigger role offensively, this deal could become a team-friendly contract fairly quickly.
Hobey Baker Finalists: Still with college hockey, the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award were revealed. They are Michigan center Adam Fantilli (draft-eligible), Minnesota winger Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs), and Minnesota center Logan Cooley (Coyotes). Fantilli leads all NCAA scorers this season with 64 points in just 35 games in his freshman year and is widely expected to go second overall at the draft in June. Knies, meanwhile, had a strong sophomore campaign with 41 points in 38 games and there’s a strong likelihood that he’ll be foregoing the rest of his college eligibility to turn pro with Toronto once the Frozen Four comes to an end next week. As for Cooley, the third-overall pick last year is second in scoring this season with 57 points in 37 games in what has been a dominant freshman year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him sign with Arizona before too long as well.
Knyzhov Rewarded: It has been a tough couple of years for Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov. He missed all of last season with a groin injury, then suffered a torn Achilles while training for this season. However, he was able to return to San Jose’s lineup last month and has gotten into nine games so far. He was rewarded for his efforts to get back with a two-year extension that begins next season and carries a $1.25MM AAV. It’s a move that carries a bit of risk for San Jose given Knyzhov’s history but he was a regular on their back end back in 2020-21 and if he can once again lock down a full-time spot, he should be able to live up to the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
PHR Mailbag: Larkin, Flyers, Blues, Penguins, Maple Leafs, Bedard, Goalies
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include a discussion of the potential rebuild coming in Philadelphia, possible changes for Pittsburgh next season, and whether we’ll see a goalie ever go first overall again. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
HockeyBoz: Do you think the Red Wings will look to ADD a bona fide #1 center? I think Yzerman OVER-PAID big time on Larkin as he is NOT a #1 center and can not drive a team as all the homers here in Detroit think. He is the best player on an average at best team. They need goal-scorers!
I don’t expect them to be adding a middleman that’s better than Dylan Larkin in the near future. The simple reason for that is this – I don’t think there will be any that are available. Detroit isn’t in a position to be trying to go all-in here; they’re a few steps away from that. The slow, steady build is clearly what they’re planning to do and with that, they can get away with the status quo with Larkin on the top line for a little while yet.
As for him being overpaid, I’m not sure I agree with that. We saw what Bo Horvat got from the Islanders at $8.5MM. His teammate Mathew Barzal checks in next year at $9.1MM. Roope Hintz is at $8.45MM with similar numbers this season to Larkin. Relative to market value at least, Larkin seems to fit in pretty close to where he should be on that scale.
Now, if you want to make the case that spending that type of money on a 1B type of center isn’t ideal, that’s fair. But with a dearth of free agents available, Larkin would have been the best center on the market this summer. Could they really afford to lose him? How much of a step back would that be to their timeline? Those are factors that I imagine Yzerman took into consideration when they handed out this deal.
In a perfect world, I think Detroit’s goal is to draft and develop a center that could one day supplant Larkin on the top line, pushing the captain down to the second trio. But finding one from outside the organization is going to be tough as those players just aren’t available all that often.
Black Ace57: I know I ask this almost every time, but after Chuck being fired and what people at the top have said are the Flyers finally going to do the proper rebuild they need?
When it comes to the rebuild, I’m a lot more confident of it happening now than I was prior to the trade deadline. Notwithstanding the odd timing of Chuck Fletcher’s firing (if you’re letting him go a week after the deadline, why not make the move before then to let Briere show what he could do?), the intended separation of duties into two positions should ease them into a rebuilding direction.
First-time general managers don’t often come in with win-now expectations and I suspect that trend will continue as, like many, I figure Briere will have the interim tag lifted and the new president will work with Briere to chart a new direction.
As for whether it’s a proper rebuild, I suppose that depends on your definition of the word proper. Does that mean a five-year, burn-it-to-the-ground strategy? I don’t think that’s their intention. Instead, a shorter-term process that churns out some of their veterans and brings in some picks and prospects to add to their current young core is where I think they’ll lean.
DonnieBaseBallHOFer: Say the Flyers remove the interim tag from Briere, and name you Pres. of Ops…following Torts’ comments that subtraction is needed before addition, who are you keeping/cutting amongst these:
Keepers: Couturier, Laughton, Konecny, Tippett, Ersson, Frost, Foerster, Noah Cates, York, Seeler
Available for the right Deal: Frost, Hart, Provorov, Farabee, Ristolainen, DeAngelo
Time to Move on: JVR, Hayes, Bellows, Braun
On the Fence: Sanheim, Atkinson
Obvious caveat that some of these contracts are going to be hard to move…
Well, hiring me is one way to mess up the rebuild but I’ll play along. I’ll leave the pending UFAs off my list as they’re almost certainly moving on already.
Keepers: Tippett, Frost, Foerster, York, Hart, Cates
Available For Right Deal: Laughton, Konecny, Ersson, Seeler, Ersson, Farabee, Sanheim, Provorov
Looking To Move: Hayes, Atkinson, Couturier, Ristolainen, DeAngelo, Sandstrom, Bellows (likely non-tender)
Some quick rationale on some of the revised placements. I’m not sold that Samuel Ersson is their goalie of the future. He has done decently in limited action but I’m not moving on from Carter Hart to anoint Ersson their new starter if it’s up to me. 24 isn’t too old for a rebuild, especially since goalies tend to hit their primes a little later than skaters. I’m looking to extend him and if it winds up being a longer rebuild than planned, look at moving him then.
Travis Konecny only has two years left on his deal and if it’s an extended rebuild, is he part of the future plans? If someone wants to pay up for the contract which is a below-market one, that’s going to be a pretty valuable return. That return likely fits my timeline better than an extended Konecny two years from now.
The other big change from my list is Sean Couturier. Nothing against him but that was a bad contract the day it was signed. He still has some time left as a legitimate top-six middleman, assuming he’s back to full health next season. I’d be looking to get out of that contract while he still has some short-term utility to a team before it becomes a deal that they’ll have to pay a high price to get out of down the road.
On the back end, Travis Sanheim’s extension basically locks him in as part of the plans for now. Ivan Provorov would be the likelier of the two to move as he’s basically in the same spot as Konecny. Anthony DeAngelo isn’t going to be part of their long-term plans for a rebuild and Rasmus Ristolainen is a contract they’d probably like to get out of but he’ll probably stick around for a while.
Gmm8811: So far, I like what Army has done with acquiring assets and the pickups of Vrana and Kapanen. I still believe he has to clear some cap space. Do you think Krug is the one to go assuming he’d waive his NMC? Would Parayko? Both? Binnington has become more of liability and is a head case. I’ve heard he would only waive in order to go to Toronto, but that doesn’t seem a likely option.
Let’s look at the cap situation first. Per CapFriendly, they have $76.8MM committed to 18 players for next season, leaving $6.7MM in room to sign four or five players. There aren’t many prominent pending free agents; I’d put Alexey Toropchenko as their best RFA and Thomas Greiss as their best UFA. So, do they have to clear money? Probably not, especially if they’re looking at taking a step back for a year. There’s enough cap room in there to bring up Joel Hofer as the backup, re-sign Toropchenko, add/promote a few players making around $1MM, and call it a day.
I don’t think the right question around Torey Krug is whether he’d waive his trade protection. The question is will anyone want him? It has not been a good year for him, to put it nicely. With four years left on his deal at $6.5MM and declining production, he’s not exactly going to be in demand; St. Louis would likely need to pay down the contract and incentivize a team to take him on. That isn’t to say his value can’t improve and he’ll have trade value down the road but right now, he doesn’t.
As for Colton Parayko, the long injury history would scare me off if I was a GM, as would a $6.5MM cap hit through 2029-30. But his combination of size and skill is hard to come by so there would be some interest. But unless St. Louis is planning on going through an extended rebuild, I don’t think GM Doug Armstrong will be actively looking to move him. If this is a quick turnaround, he’ll be part of their future plans.
Then there’s Jordan Binnington. The on-ice antics certainly aren’t helping things but the on-ice performance is hurting him even more. He’s making $6MM for four more years and has a save percentage that doesn’t crack the top 40 among qualifying netminders. Forget the other things and just look at his performance, it’s not going to have anyone wanting to trade for him. He might want to play for his hometown team although that’s straight-up speculation at this point. But, like Krug, Binnington is going to have to be a lot better next season to have a chance of moving.
bapthemailman: What will the Penguins roster look like next year?
I expect the core will mostly stay in place. With their long-time veterans locked up, I don’t think they’re heading for any sort of rebuild. However, there will be some changes.
To me, Tristan Jarry is a legitimate starting goalie in the NHL. However, his propensity for injuries is going to make it awfully difficult to commit a long-term contract at starter money this summer. I expect them to take a look at the trade market in June and I wouldn’t be shocked if their opening night starter is someone that currently isn’t in their organization. That’s one change.
On the back end, I could see the team moving on from Brian Dumoulin. While Ty Smith plays a completely different style, Dumoulin’s departure would open up a full-time spot for Smith who should be an important part of their future. Having spent the bulk of this season in the minors, Smith’s next contract shouldn’t be more than $1.5MM which would give Pittsburgh a chance to shift some spending elsewhere. If Dmitry Kulikov is willing to sign for close to what the Penguins are covering on his deal ($1.15MM), I think they’d happily do that in the hopes of having to avoid trying to trade for more depth at the deadline next season.
Up front, I think they’ll take a run at extending Jason Zucker, albeit at a price tag that’s lower than his current $5.5MM AAV. If they can’t re-sign him, they’ll have space to look for another forward. I could see them focusing on a center. Yes, Mikael Granlund, their big deadline acquisition, can play down the middle but he’s much better off on the wing. Adding someone to that third line that can take some pressure (and playing time) away from Jeff Carter would be nice. Off the top of my head, someone like Lars Eller would fit that bill.
I don’t expect the Penguins to have a lot of cap space heading into next season as I believe they will be looking to keep this team in the playoff mix. There could be a few changes among the veterans in an effort to try to shake things up but for the most part, there should be a lot of familiarity with this group heading into 2023-24.
Grocery Stick: How is Toronto looking if they don’t give a new contract to their GM this offseason? Selling off hugely for a new start? Or will they still try to find a way to be a contender next season?
In this scenario, I believe the Maple Leafs would have several quality executives trying to land that job while saying that they have a plan to win now without blowing up that core group. There is simply too much talent on Toronto for someone to turn around and say that it’s time to blow it all up.
Could there be a coaching change if Tampa Bay ousts them in the first round again? Sure, it’s possible. Is it even possible that whoever is running the team – Kyle Dubas or someone else – decides to move one of their core four players? Yep. Extension talks with Auston Matthews and William Nylander (which can happen this summer) will give them an idea about the potential ability (or inability) to keep this group together with those discussions potentially shaping their plans this summer. But even at that, that’s one piece being traded for another key piece, not a drastic change.
The other reason I can’t see them beginning a full-scale rebuild is this – they don’t have many of their own draft picks. If you’re going to rebuild and finish low in the standings, you lose the benefit of doing so by not having those selections. Toronto’s 2025 first-round pick has limited protection and they don’t have a second-rounder until 2027. The last thing they’d want is them struggling and other teams reaping the benefits.
I think Toronto can win with this core group even with their previous playoff performances. I’m sure many others around the league do as well. Whoever is in charge next season is likely to have that same mindset.