Jets Sign Parker Ford
The Jets have dipped into college free agency, announcing the signing of forward Parker Ford to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $925K and will begin next season. Ford has also agreed to an ATO deal with Manitoba of the AHL and will finish up this season at the minor league level.
The 22-year-old recently wrapped up his four-year college career at Providence. His offensive numbers in the last two seasons were nearly identical; he posted 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 games this year after putting up 13 goals and 14 helpers in 38 contests in 2021-22. Over his career with the Friars, Ford had 94 points in 131 contests, putting up a higher point per game average at the NCAA level (0.71) than his time in the USHL (0.62). He was Providence’s captain this season and finished as a Hockey East Third Team All-Star.
Winnipeg has already moved three of its draft picks for the upcoming draft and had a three-year stretch between 2019 and 2021 where they made no more than five selections in a single draft. Accordingly, their prospect pool has been thinned out so it makes sense for the Jets to look to fill some of those gaps in college free agency. At 5’9, Ford is a bit undersized but can play both center and the wing, bringing them some positional versatility.
Kraken Assign Joey Daccord To AHL
While he fared well in a pair of games on a recall earlier this week, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they have returned goaltender Joey Daccord to Coachella Valley of the AHL. The assignment was needed with Philipp Grubauer returning from an illness to make the start against Nashville today.
The 26-year-old picked up a victory on Tuesday in Dallas while allowing only one goal in a shootout loss to Nashville on Thursday, allowing Seattle to maintain a one-point advantage on Winnipeg for the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. However, to keep Daccord up, they would have had to use one of their two remaining regular recalls and they’ve decided that’s not the best strategy at this time, especially with AHL Coachella Valley being in a close battle for the top spot in the AHL.
Daccord has spent the bulk of the year with the Firebirds and has fared quite well, posting a 2.43 GAA along with a .915 SV% in 34 games so far this season. He’ll once again partner with backup Chris Driedger who is working his way back after tearing his ACL at the World Championship last season.
Metropolitan Notes: Jarry, Lindgren, Milano
It has been a rough season on the injury front for Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry who is dealing with his fifth injury within the last year. Accordingly, Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posits that Pittsburgh should look to move on from the netminder instead of meeting a reported asking price of $36MM over six years to extend him, a price that might be too risky for someone who has struggled to stay in the lineup with consistency. Jarry has had a bit of a rough season but has still managed an above-average .908 SV% in 40 starts. Fortunately, he shouldn’t be out much longer as he was a full participant in their game-day skate although Casey DeSmith is expected to get the start tonight against Washington.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Rangers were hesitant to put Ryan Lindgren on LTIR when he was injured last month. He returned to the lineup only to re-aggravate his shoulder injury. Accordingly, Mollie Walker of the New York Post wonders if New York might be better off doing so now. A retroactive placement would keep him eligible to return for the playoffs while giving him ample time to ensure he’s fully ready to return. Additionally, such a move would clear up their short-term cap difficulties, eliminating the possibility of them needing to play shorthanded for a game to become eligible for a cap-exempt recall.
- Capitals winger Sonny Milano will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has had a nice first season with Washington, picking up 11 goals and 21 assists in 58 games, a nice return on a league minimum contract. He has already signed a three-year extension that begins next season with a $1.9MM AAV.
Kings Sign Cole Krygier To Entry-Level Deal
It has been a busy week for defenseman Cole Krygier. Earlier this week, his rights were acquired by Los Angeles from Florida in exchange for future considerations with the blueliner signing an AHL tryout soon after. Now, he has put pen to paper on another contract as the Kings announced that they’ve signed Krygier to a two-year, entry-level deal. The contract begins next season and carries an AAV of $837,500.
The 22-year-old was initially a seventh-round pick by the Panthers back in 2018 (201st overall). He recently wrapped up a five-year college career with Michigan State, saving his best performance for last as Krygier had ten goals and six assists in 38 games with the Spartans while serving as an alternate captain. He had 20 goals and 21 assists over his college career, spanning 160 contests.
By moving his rights earlier in the week, it was clear that Florida decided that they weren’t intending to sign Krygier, the son of long-time NHL winger Todd Krygier, and were likely to let him go in free agency in mid-August. Instead, the Kings decided that he was worthy of signing and were able to jump the queue to get him without parting with a tangible asset going the other way as his rights were moved for future considerations. Since the deal begins next season, he’ll be limited to play with AHL Ontario for the stretch run.
Blackhawks Sign Paul Ludwinski
The Blackhawks have put pen to paper with prospect Paul Ludwinski, announcing that they’ve signed the forward to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal begins next season and carries a cap hit of $931,667.
The 18-year-old was a second-round pick by Chicago last year (39th overall) and has had a bit of a tough year with OHL Kingston. Injuries have limited Ludwinski to just 47 games this season and his output has dipped to just nine goals and 25 assists, good for a tie for fifth on the Frontenacs in scoring. Kingston is going to come up just short of reaching the playoffs this season which means after this weekend, Ludwinski will be permitted to join AHL Rockford for the stretch run in the minors.
However, while he’ll likely make his pro debut in the next few games, Ludwinski won’t be permitted to start next season in the AHL. At his age, his options at the start of next season will be either Chicago or Kingston with the latter being the probable outcome. Accordingly, his contract would be eligible for a slide next year which means this entry-level agreement is likely to run through the 2026-27 campaign.
Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen And Trey Fix-Wolansky
While the Blue Jackets picked up an overtime victory on Friday, it came at a cost with both defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) and winger Mathieu Olivier (lower body) exiting with injuries. Accordingly, they announced a pair of recalls from the minors as they have brought up defenseman Jake Christiansen and winger Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis.
Christiansen has suited up in 18 games with the Blue Jackets so far this season. In that stretch, he has a pair of assists while averaging roughly a block and a hit per contest while logging just shy of 14 minutes a night. However, despite not being particularly productive in Columbus, the 23-year-old has done well offensively with the Monsters, collecting eight goals and 21 assists in 43 games to help him earn this recall.
As for Fix-Wolansky, the 23-year-old has appeared in four games with Columbus this season. He has been held off the scoresheet in those contests while averaging just under ten minutes a night. However, Fix-Wolansky has been one of the top scorers in the minors this season, picking up 26 goals and 51 assists in 53 games with the Monsters, numbers that put him in fourth league-wide in points. With the injuries that Columbus has, he might have a chance of playing a little higher in the lineup this time around.
As both of these recalls are designated as emergency ones, they will not count against the post-deadline limit of four per team. However, as soon as Gudbranson or Olivier (or anyone else currently injured at their positions return), they will have to be returned to the AHL or converted to a regular recall at that time which would then count against the limit of four.
Alex Galchenyuk Assigned To AHL
Following their victory over Arizona on Friday, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forward Alex Galchenyuk back to AHL Colorado.
The 29-year-old was brought up on an emergency recall after Artturi Lehkonen suffered a broken finger but Galchenyuk wasn’t exactly productive during that stretch. In the six games he played, he didn’t record a point while averaging less than six minutes per contest. For the season, Galchenyuk has played in ten games with the Avs, putting up zeros across the board offensively.
To his credit, Galchenyuk has been much more productive in the minors, tallying 15 goals and 18 assists in 33 games with the Eagles. His time with them has been the longest minor league stint of his career as prior to this season, he had played in all of six career AHL contests.
With Lehkonen and Evan Rodrigues (concussion protocol) both out of the lineup, the Avs will need to make a recall prior to Sunday’s game. It could be Galchenyuk again but with his performance being underwhelming thus far, they might look to give someone else an opportunity to make an impression.
Flyers Injury Notes: Deslauriers, Tippett, Couturier, Konecny
Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic is reporting that Nicolas Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t attend today’s optional practice. Deslauriers didn’t play in the Flyers 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild last night and is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury. Deslauriers was supposed to be re-evaluated today, but no word yet if he will dress in Philadelphia’s game tomorrow evening against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 32-year-old Deslauriers has five goals and six assists in 70 games this season while playing just over ten minutes a night on the fourth line. His signing last summer was one of the more baffling moves that any team made as the Flyers elected to give a four-year contract with a modified no trade clause to a player that has never been able to score or remain in the lineup.
In other Flyers injury news:
- Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia is reporting that Owen Tippett has been banged up this week and didn’t attend Flyers practice today. Tippett left practice earlier in the week, and when asked about it coach John Tortorella said Tippett was “Not serious, nicked up.” Tippett has taken massive strides this season for the Flyers after coming over from the Florida Panthers in last year’s Claude Giroux trade. Tippett has a career high 39 points in 66 games and has looked every bit the top-6 winger the Flyers hoped they were getting when they dealt their former captain.
- Olivia Reiner of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny were both present at Flyers practice today and wearing regular contact jerseys. Couturier hasn’t played in over a year after having two back surgeries in less than nine months. The 30-year-old center has had a long road to get back and while it is encouraging to see him practicing with the team once again, it is unknown if he returns to game action in what has been a lost season for the club. Konecny on the other hand has been out since suffering an upper body injury in late February in a game against the Calgary Flames. Konecny had been having a stellar season with 54 points in 52 games before he was put on injured reserve. It was a bounce back season for the 26-year-old after struggling to score in the two seasons previous. Should Konecny return to the lineup soon, he will likely eclipse the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career.
Injury Notes: Chychrun, Zadina, Tanev, Stone
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Jakob Chychrun of the Ottawa Senators is doubtful to play Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Ottawa head coach DJ Smith was quoted by TSN’s Claire Hanna as saying that Chychrun, “tugged something there a little bit, we’ll see how he reacts to treatment here.”
Chychrun left Ottawa’s 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday after taking a hit in the third period. He was in obvious discomfort as he skated to the Senators bench before heading down the runway to the locker room. Smith said after the game that he didn’t believe it was an injury, but rather that it was cramping.
Since coming over to Ottawa in the March 1st trade, Chychrun has two goals and three assists in 12 games while averaging 21 minutes of ice time a game. Ottawa can ill afford to lose their prized trade deadline acquisition as they are running out of runway with just ten games left in the season. Ottawa sits five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and will be in tough tomorrow as they do battle with the Devils in New Jersey.
Other injury notes from around the NHL:
- The Detroit Red Wings announced today that Filip Zadina is day-to-day with a lower body injury and will not be available for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Zadina also missed over three months earlier this season with a lower body injury after blocking a shot in early November against the New York Islanders. It’s been a tough season for the former Halifax Moosehead, he has struggled to stay on the ice, and when he has played, he has been largely ineffective with just seven points in 30 games. The 23-year-old had a career year last season with 24 points in 74 games but has yet to live up to the expectations the Red Wings had for him when they took him sixth overall in 2018.
- Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg is reporting that Chris Tanev didn’t practice with the Calgary Flames this morning after missing their previous two games with a lower body injury. The 33-year-old Toronto native has 13 points in 61 games this season and has averaged over 20 minutes a night in ice time. Calgary is a long shot to make the post season with just nine games remaining on the schedule. They sit six points back of Winnipeg for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference and would need to leapfrog Nashville who have 12 games remaining. Calgary can ill afford to lose Tanev’s defensive prowess as they battle down to the wire.
- In a bit of good news for Calgary, injured defenseman Michael Stone has started skating on his own. Stone has missed the Flames last 17 games with a lower body injury that he suffered in late February. Stone has five goals and five assists in 46 games this season while averaging just over 13 minutes a night in ice time. He is hardly an option to replace Tanev should his injury be long term, but Stone could offer some additional depth for the Flames as they head into the final pivotal weeks of the season.
Cutter Gauthier Returning To NCAA For Sophomore Season
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that Philadelphia Flyers 2022 fifth overall pick Cutter Gauthier is headed back to Boston College for his sophomore season. Friedman tweeted that he doesn’t view this move as a surprise for the young forward, given that this is likely the best scenario for his development.
Gauthier returns to a club where he played mostly center last season on his way to 16 goals and 21 assists in 31 games. His 37 points were good enough to lead the Eagles in scoring and earn him a Hockey East Third Team All-Star selection.
Gauthier was a very coveted prospect at last year’s draft, and it is easy to see why. He is a center who can skate with good size standing 6’2″ and weighing 194 pounds. He is seen by scouts as a player that plays with a lot of pace who can burn defenders with a wide assortment of offensive tools. While his work with the puck is impressive, his work away from the puck is also quite good. He is seen as a player who is dangerous along the boards and can disrupt cycles and win puck battles.
Gauthier was born in Sweden when his father Sean Gauthier was playing goalie in the Swedish Elite League. However, he grew up playing hockey in the United States after his family moved back to North America. He has represented Team USA internationally on many occasions including the 2022 Under-18 World Championships where he had nine points in six games to help the Americans win a silver medal.