Colorado Avalanche Recall Oskar Olausson
The Colorado Avalanche, still not comfortable with their NHL depth, have recalled 2021 first-round pick Oskar Olausson from the minor leagues. Jayson Megna is coming back up as well after he, Anton Blidh, and Andreas Englund were assigned yesterday.
Olausson, 20, comes up following a win by the Avalanche on Monday that saw them ice their fourth line for just a handful of shifts. Megna played 5:25, Dryden Hunt 5:41, and Blidh saw the ice for just 4:16. Even Martin Kaut was under ten minutes in the match despite it going to a shootout, putting huge pressure on the top players. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen played nearly 30 minutes, while even Evan Rodrigues broke the 24-minute mark thanks to huge powerplay time.
With Englund staying down, it likely means that Samuel Girard will return to the lineup tonight, giving the team another defenseman to rely on. Cale Makar played more than 32 minutes on Monday, while Englund saw just 11.
While they are winning, and now sit second in the Central, this isn’t how the Avalanche likely want to operate for long. They need to be able to find a mix of players that can take some heat off the top names, or risk burning them out in the early part of the year. Olausson, who has barely any professional experience under his belt, will get the next chance to show what he can do.
In 16 games with the Colorado Eagles, the young forward has eight points.
Carolina Hurricanes Extend Pyotr Kochetkov
The Carolina Hurricanes may just have found their goaltender of the future. The team has announced a four-year extension for Pyotr Kochetkov that will keep him under contract through 2026-27. The deal carries an average annual value of $2MM, and will take him to unrestricted free agency. General manager Don Waddell released a statement:
Pyotr has been extremely solid for both Carolina and Chicago since coming to North America last season. We believe he has a bright future in our crease, and we’re excited to watch him as he continues to grow as a person and player.
Kochetkov, 23, was a second-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2019 (36th overall) and experienced great success as a young player in the KHL before coming to North America. In his first full year on this side of the pond, he posted a .921 save percentage in 15 games for the Chicago Wolves and then helped them to a Calder Cup championship, going 5-1 in the playoffs with a .950. He formed an almost unbeatable tandem with veteran netminder Alex Lyon, winning a title with the Wolves in just his first season here.
He also made his NHL debut last year, and ended up playing for the Hurricanes in the playoffs when Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta went down. Injuries to those goaltenders are common occurrences, and Kochetkov has been forced into NHL duty again this year. More prepared this time around, he has a .914 save percentage in four appearances, allowing just eight goals on 93 shots.
With Raanta and Andersen both scheduled for unrestricted free agency in the summer, locking up Kochetkov now means the team will have at least one goaltender they trust in the mix. Whether they bring back one of the veterans to pair with him is unclear at this point, especially as Andersen deals with another rather mysterious injury.
If he can show the ability to perform at a high level in the NHL, a $2MM cap hit will look like an incredible bargain for a team that is poised to compete for the Stanley Cup. It likely leaves the team room to pair him with another capable netminder, though there are some big extensions coming down the pipe for Carolina. Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, Brett Pesce, and Teuvo Teravainen all need new contracts by the 2024-25 season, meaning funds could be tight down the road. A $2MM deal essentially ensures that Kochetkov will be on the roster – what role he plays is still to be determined.
New Jersey Devils Begin Jesper Bratt Negotiations
It’ll be 14 straight for the New Jersey Devils if they can pull off a win tonight, and all things are good in the organization. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier have blossomed into star centers, Dougie Hamilton is back to being an elite offensive defenseman, and Vitek Vanecek is giving the team a stable presence in net. Above all of those performances, though, might be that of Jesper Bratt.
The 24-year-old sixth-round pick is establishing himself firmly as one of the most dynamic offensive players in the league, with 24 points in his first 19 games. That follows a 73-point campaign that seemed to be overlooked by many, thanks to the overall failures of the team. Bratt leads the Devils in scoring and has set himself up for one heck of a restricted free agent negotiation this summer.
With a $5.45MM qualifying offer, arbitration rights, and potentially back-to-back 70+ point seasons, there’s a lot of leverage in the young Swede’s camp. The Devils, for their part, are clear about their intentions – they want Bratt locked up long-term. Speaking with The Fourth Period, general manager Tom Fitzgerald indicated that talks between the Devils front office and Bratt’s agent have now started and that there has been no change to what they’re looking for.
Discussions conveniently have started. You know, with a hello to his agent, actually it was (Monday) night we sat together just to go through some things and what we’ll get going. I just don’t want this to be a distraction to the player. You know, as we go along, we know how we feel about him. And we want to tie him up long-term. We hope the feeling’s mutual.
Fitzgerald did hold up the Boston Bruins as a template, however, noting how there needs to be “enough money to go around” if you want to build a championship team. The Devils already have long-term commitments with Hughes, Hischier, and Hamilton, but none of them are outrageously priced. The Selke candidate and team captain Hischier has a $7.25MM cap hit through 2026-27, arguably one of the better value deals in the league right now. Hughes is only slightly ahead at $8MM, and Hamilton – despite being an unrestricted free agent when the team signed him – is at $9MM.
The team does have other core pieces like John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler signed long-term, but Fitzgerald isn’t lying when he says there are plenty of other players that need money too. The Devils only have three regular forwards signed for next season: Hughes, Hischier, and Dawson Mercer, still on his entry-level contract. Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, Jesper Boqvist, Nathan Bastian, and Fabian Zetterlund are all arbitration-eligible restricted free agents, meaning there’s a lot of work to do for Fitzgerald and his staff to keep this group together.
Bratt is the key to all of it at this point, and the one that will likely draw much of the front office focus throughout the year. Whatever amount he comes in at will drastically affect the other negotiations and force the Devils into some tough decisions on pending UFAs like Tomas Tatar, Miles Wood, Erik Haula, Damon Severson, and Ryan Graves – all good players in their own right.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Chicago Blackhawks
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Who are the Blackhawks thankful for?
Sure, Kane’s production (14 points in 18 games, a 64-point pace) so far this year isn’t quite where it was last year. But looking at the bigger picture, the person the Blackhawks should undoubtedly be most thankful for is Kane. Why? Because the Blackhawks have been upfront with their team’s direction, and Kane has been and will continue to be extremely helpful in getting GM Kyle Davidson where he wants his franchise to go.
Davidson is made it no secret, the Blackhawks are rebuilding. They are engaged in a relentless pursuit of as many future assets as possible and have begun building a formidable war chest of draft picks and prospects. Kane currently represents their most significant contributor toward building that stockpile this season.
First and foremost, Kane is the team’s most attractive free agent. While his no-move protection and Blackhawks’ desire to do right by their franchise icon may limit the trade return the team receives in any Kane deal, Kane is still likely to be the most sought-after player at next year’s trade deadline. If Kane is traded, the Blackhawks will still net major assets in return, the type of assets the team craves as they build toward future contention.
Additionally, Kane’s play is elevating the team’s pursuit of future assets in other ways. This summer, the Blackhawks signed Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to identical one-year, $3MM deals. The implied intention of these deals was to give Domi and Athanasiou, two skilled offensive players, a wide-open environment to score as much as possible and turn themselves into attractive flippable assets at the trade deadline.
As Kane’s center and left winger, respectively, Domi and Athanasiou have produced well (12 points for Domi and eight for Athanasiou) and have firmly placed themselves in the mix of forwards set to be dealt next year. If the Blackhawks receive more for Domi than the Blue Jackets received last year, Domi being able to ride shotgun next to Kane, one of the game’s biggest stars, will be one of the reasons why.
So while Kane may not be able to bring one more Stanley Cup to Chicago, his potential parting gift to the franchise is still shaping up to be a valuable one.
What are the Blackhawks thankful for?
The strength of the 2023 draft class.
This was mentioned in the Thankful For piece on the Arizona Coyotes, but it’s applicable to the Blackhawks as well. As a team expecting to be among the NHL’s worst by the end of this season, the Blackhawks are likely to have their pick from the cream of the crop at the 2023 NHL draft. And luckily for them, this draft is shaping up to be quite the harvest of talent.
The Blackhawks will likely have a strong chance to land potential franchise-altering talent Connor Bedard, and even if they miss out on the big prize, Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, and Leo Carlsson would each be quite the consolation prize.
But beyond just the top-end, the Blackhawks’ many trades and their trades to come have put them in a position to have quite a few more draft picks at this draft than their originally-allotted seven selections.
The depth of this draft is as highly-regarded as its top-end, and the Blackhawks have placed themselves in a premier position to infuse their farm system with some major talent. While the losses to come this season will hurt, the quality of this upcoming draft class is definitely something to be thankful for.
What would the Blackhawks be even more thankful for?
Elite play from Seth Jones.
If Kane is indeed traded at any point this season, he will pass the torch as the Blackhawks’ most important player to Jones. The 28-year-old blueliner is on a major $9.5MM AAV deal that will expire in the summer of 2030 and is in a position to be the linchpin of Chicago’s defense for the rest of the decade.
The Blackhawks would be even more thankful this holiday season, then, if Jones could return and display the sort of form he showed during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jones wasn’t bad last season, scoring 51 points in 78 games in an all-situations, minutes-eating role, but he wasn’t the sort of elite, top-ten defenseman his salary pays him to be.
This year, Jones has gotten off to a slower offensive start with four points in eight games, but his minutes have remained heavy, as he’s averaging over 25 minutes per night.
Having turned 28 last month, Jones might not wish to remain in Chicago for the rest of his peak years while the team rebuilds. But for what it’s worth, Jones has not communicated any sort of clear desire to be moved. And since he has a full no-movement clause and a hefty salary, the Jones-Chicago partnership is likely here to stay.
So, with that in mind, having Jones return to the lineup and put forth a dominant season on both ends of the ice would be an extremely welcome development for both the player and team, and it would be something Blackhawks fans could definitely be thankful for.
What should be on the Blackhawks’ holiday wish list?
Other teams interested in acquiring the Blackhawks’ veterans.
We’ve already covered the fact that the Blackhawks are likely to shop Domi and Athanasiou this season, but the potential names the Blackhawks could move doesn’t end there. Veterans such as Jack Johnson, Connor Murphy, Jujhar Khaira, Colin Blackwell, Sam Lafferty, and Jason Dickinson could be of interest to other clubs, especially so in the cases of certain players off to hot starts, such as Lafferty and Dickinson.
What the Blackhawks should have on their wishlist, then, is a robust market of other teams interested in bidding on and eventually acquiring their players. While the success of Chicago’s rebuild is unlikely to be singularly determined by their ability to extract as much as they possibly can from another team in exchange for their middle-of-the-lineup players, one just needs to take a short look to the East to see how other teams have jump-started their rebuilds through savvy deadline deals.
The New York Rangers, for example, took an in-decline Rick Nash and got a first-round pick and Ryan Lindgren, among other pieces, for him. Even as recently as last season, the Montreal Canadiens were able to pry a second-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Brett Kulak, and that second-rounder became Lane Hutson, who is currently terrorizing Hockey East defenders as a Boston University Terrier.
The Blackhawks have enough veteran players to add a glut of draft picks or prospects to their organization, so with that in mind the Blackhawks should definitely have heavy trade interest in their players on their 2022-23 holiday wishlist.
Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
West Notes: Horvat, Meier, Kane
During a difficult start to their season, one of the few bright spots on the Vancouver Canucks’ roster has been the play of captain Bo Horvat. Horvat currently ranks second in the NHL with 15 goals, and has 21 points in 19 games. But while his hot start is good news for Horvat and Canucks fans, it may be giving Vancouver’s management team some headaches. That’s because Horvat is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the better he plays, the larger the contract he’ll be able to receive this summer gets. And while they are undoubtedly thrilled from an on-ice perspective that Horvat is playing well, his hot start may complicate his future in Vancouver. As team president Jim Rutherford has said that the Canucks’ priority will be gaining long-term financial flexibility, not losing it, many have wondered if Horvat is pricing himself out of Vancouver’s long-term plans.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that communication between Horvat’s representation and the Canucks have been “scarce,” and that there is a belief that contract talks between the two parties “broke off before training camp and have not resumed.” Since the going rate for productive top-six centermen is $7MM per year at the absolute minimum (with upwards of $8MM being the more realistic number) it’s fair to wonder if the Canucks have the desire to extend Horvat rather than deal him to a contender for a major compensation package.
For some other notes regarding Western Conference players:
- San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier isn’t a pending unrestricted free agent, but his expensive qualifying offer (he’s making $10MM this season on just a $6MM cap hit) and the current state of the Sharks (7-11-3, 25th in the NHL) leads one to believe that his time in San Jose could be coming to an end. Seravalli writes that it’s “unlikely” that the Sharks commit to a long-term pact with Meier, meaning a trade could be the most likely outcome for his future in teal. According to Seravalli, Meier’s “starting value on the [trade] market is considerably less than the Alex DeBrincat deal last summer,” the deal that netted the Blackhawks three draft picks, including the seventh-overall selection.
- Legendary forward Patrick Kane could be the most sought-after name on this spring’s trade market, and it appears that the process of working towards trading him is set to begin soon. Per Seravalli, the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to “begin an initial conversation with Kane to gauge his interest in a trade.” Kane has full no-move protection, meaning he controls much of this trade process. Kane has been a Blackhawk for his entire career, so it’s certainly possible that being traded isn’t something he’ll allow. But if he wants to chase another Stanley Cup, remaining a Blackhawk won’t get him there.
Minor Transactions: 11/22/22
It’s a relatively quiet day on the NHL schedule with just four teams set to go to battle tonight. The Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the division rival Buffalo Sabres as the Sabres look to end their eight-game losing streak. Then, the Los Angeles Kings will host the New York Rangers as each team looks to build momentum and chase the teams above them in the standings. As the NHL readies for these contests, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their roster. We’ll keep track of all those moves here.
- Alex Grant, a former Anaheim Duck and Arizona Coyote, is switching KHL teams. Kazakh club Barys Astana has announced that Grant has been moved to the team from his current KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg. Grant represented Canada at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and has six points in 16 KHL games this season.
- Veteran minor-league defenseman Robert Hamilton is headed overseas. The 28-year-old blueliner has signed a two-year deal with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk and will leave his current team, the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, in order to play there. Hamilton bounced between the AHL and ECHL levels after ending his collegiate career at the University of Vermont, and in recent years had established himself firmly as an AHL-caliber player. Now, he’ll continue his career in Russia.
- Maxim Chudinov, a veteran KHL defenseman with nearly 600 games of experience, is changing clubs. The 32-year-old has left Ak Bars Kazan to sign a deal for the rest of the season with Spartak Moscow. Chudinov, a 2010 seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins, has played in seven games for Ak Bars Kazan and has registered one assist.
- After scoring 18 goals and 38 points last season for IK Oskarshamn, Kim Rosdahl signed with another SHL club, Rogle BK. His time in Rogle hasn’t gone as planned, though, and with just three points in 17 games Rosdahl is headed elsewhere. The Malmo Redhawks have announced his signing to a two-year deal, meaning Rosdahl will head back to Malmo, which is his hometown and where he developed as a junior player.
- Another winger who has been off to a tough start this season is changing clubs. Per a team announcement, 25-year-old forward Jordan Kaplan is headed from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals to the Reading Royals. Kaplan has just one assist in 11 ECHL games so far this year but had 11 goals and 32 points in 65 games for the Adirondack Thunder last year.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Dallas Stars Recall Fredrik Karlstrom
After returning forward Matej Blumel to the AHL earlier today, the Dallas Stars have found the player who will take his place on their roster. The team has announced the recall of forward Fredrik Karlstrom from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.
Karlstrom, 24, made his NHL debut last season after spending his entire career developing in his native Sweden. The six-foot-three forward had 16 goals and 29 points in 65 AHL games last season and had 25 points in 51 games in his final season in the SHL.
This year, the 2016 third-round pick has been in the AHL, and has four goals and one assist in 15 games. With Blumel now in the minors, it’s possible that the left-handed forward takes Blumel’s spot as the left winger Wyatt Johnston line.
Karlstrom brings a more defensive flavor to that line than the offensively-focused Blumel and should be able to offer more value along the boards as well, at the cost of some skill and some flash.
Karlstrom is making $750k against the cap this season and will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the year.
Buffalo Sabres Re-Assign Riley Sheahan
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that veteran center Riley Sheahan has been re-assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
The move comes after the team announced yesterday that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson would be returning to the lineup for tonight’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens.
For the Sabres to be able to activate Samuelsson, they needed to clear a roster spot, so the team has chosen to send Sheahan down.
Sheahan, 30, has been a priority call-up for the Sabres this season, functioning as a depth center on their NHL roster and a veteran presence in Rochester. In six AHL games this year Sheahan has three points, and in two NHL games, Sheahan has yet to make his mark on the score sheet.
Sheahan is a veteran of over 600 NHL games and should be expected to occupy this role as the Sabres’ top veteran depth center for the rest of this season. Playing on a $950k cap hit, Sheahan will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Pittsburgh Penguins Promote Ty Hennes
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a slight change to their coaching staff, promoting Ty Hennes to the role of assistant coach after serving for the last few years as a skating and skills coach. General manager Ron Hextall explained:
Promoting Ty to an assistant coach was one of our top priorities heading into the season, as he is widely regarded as one of the best skills coaches in the NHL. Ty brings a unique skill set to our coaching staff and has gradually taken on more responsibility over the years as his role has evolved. He has been a big part of our team and will continue to be so moving forward.
Hennes, 43, had already been behind the bench with the rest of the coaching staff for the last few seasons, and works with players on specific skills and injury rehab between games. The 5’9″ former Boston College forward has even released some of his expertise on YouTube through the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, hosting a series of instructional videos for young hockey players.
In 2020, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiled Hennes, and quoted several then-Penguins players. Jared McCann, for instance, raved about their work together, saying that “he knows the game so well” and calling him “one of the best” skill coaches he’s ever seen.
Now, he joins Mike Vellucci as an assistant under head coach Mike Sullivan and associate coach Todd Reirden to form quite an experienced staff. Hennes will likely remain focused on the skills work that he’s been involved in for the last several years, though a promotion does suggest a further increase of responsibility in the future.
Ottawa Senators Recall Lassi Thomson; Looking For Additional Defensemen
After another brutal loss that saw the Ottawa Senators give up five goals to the San Jose Sharks, the team has made a swap on defense. Jacob Larsson has been returned to the AHL, while prospect Lassi Thomson is on his way to join the club on their road trip.
Thomson, 22, was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and played 16 games for the Senators last season. His time in the AHL has been productive, including ten points in 15 games this season. While he may not be the complete solution for Ottawa, there is more help coming.
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia tweets that the hope is Thomas Chabot can play tomorrow, while general manager Pierre Dorion has spoken to 10-15 teams about potential defensive additions. There hasn’t been a fit yet, and as losses pile up, it gets harder and harder to justify a big move. The Senators are now 6-11-1 on the year and sit dead last in the Atlantic Division, even behind the Buffalo Sabres who have lost eight in a row.
Larsson, during his short time with the club, didn’t impress. The 25-year-old averaged fewer than 13 minutes of ice time over his three appearances and was not totally trusted by the coaching staff. While Jake Sanderson, Erik Brannstrom, and Artem Zub were all logging more than 22 minutes last night, Larsson played just 14:40 and was the only defenseman to not see a second on the penalty kill.
The team goes into Vegas to take on the Golden Knights tomorrow, before heading back to California for matchups with the Ducks and Kings over the weekend.