Snapshots: Bowness, Kings Staff Updates, Bieksa
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that head coach Rick Bowness has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of the test, Bowness will not be able to coach tonight’s season-opening game against the New York Rangers, and assistant coach Scott Arniel will assume head coaching duties in the interim during Bowness’ absence.
This news isn’t ideal for Bowness and the Jets, although it’s thankfully not a regular occurrence in the NHL as it used to be, nor is it the sort of development that could threaten to derail a season, as some COVID positives have been in the past. The Jets will afford Bowness the time he needs to get back to full health while Arniel takes the reins in the interim. Arniel, 60, was an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals for four seasons before joining Bowness’ staff this summer, and he has six years of head coaching experience on his resume split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:
- The Los Angeles Kings announced updates to their hockey operations staff last night. Per the announcement, Nelson Emerson has been promoted to the position of Assistant General Manager, while Glen Murray has been promoted to Senior Director of Player Personnel. As Zach Dooley of L.A. Kings Insider writes, both executives have been “key right-hand men” for GM Rob Blake, meaning their promotions could be a response to the Kings’ encouraging 2021-22 season.
- Former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa signed a ceremonial one-day contract with the Vancouver Canucks yesterday in order to retire with the team he spent most of his 808-game NHL career with. Bieksa, 41, is best remembered from his playing days as a hard-nosed, physical defenseman, and he is now most visible as a studio analyst on Sportsnet’s NHL broadcasts.
Montreal Canadiens Sign William Trudeau
The Montreal Canadiens have inked one of their prospects to a entry-level deal today, signing defenseman William Trudeau to a three-year contract. Per the team announcement, the contract carries a $857K AAV, and an $80K minors salary.
Trudeau was a fourth-round pick of the Canadiens at the 2021 draft, getting selected just outside the top 100 at 113. Trudeau has spent the past three seasons with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders and has really stepped up his overall game in the past two seasons.
In his draft year, Trudeau scored 31 points in 40 games, and this past season he had a healthy 44 points in 68 games to go along with 11 points in 14 playoff games as the Islanders went on a run to the QMJHL Finals.
Now 20, Trudeau will have the chance to get his first taste of professional action with the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Trudeau will join a Rocket blueline that’s looking a bit crowded, as he’ll be competing for prime ice time with Canadiens prospects such as Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder, as well as veterans such as Madison Bowey and Otto Leskinen.
But with yesterday’s news that prospect Gianni Fairbrother would be out for the season with a knee injury, perhaps Trudeau’s path to a bigger role as an AHL rookie has gotten a bit clearer.
Ondrej Kase Being Evaluated For Possible Concussion
Carolina Hurricanes forward Ondrej Kase is returning to Raleigh to be evaluated for a possible concussion, according to team reporter Walt Ruff. While an injury like this may not always make headlines, in the case of Kase, there is a long history of head injuries to consider.
In April, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Kase was dealing with a concussion that had held him out for weeks. He suffered the injury on March 19, and didn’t return during the regular season. He would make it back in the playoffs, suiting up in early May against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but struggled to live up to his previous level of play and was quickly moved down the lineup.
That was not his first concussion. James Mirtle of The Athletic detailed the long history Kase has with head and neck injuries, which began in just his third game in North America, while playing for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. When that story was written, before the Maple Leafs incident and this one with the Hurricanes, the number of concussions that Kase had experienced was unknown but “plausibly into the double digits.”
After the Maple Leafs decided not to issue him a qualifying offer this summer, he ended up with the Hurricanes on a one-year, $1.5MM contract. The 26-year-old has shown an excellent ability to play strong two-way hockey whenever healthy – the problem is that he has struggled to stay in the lineup for years now. In his debut for Carolina, he played just 11 minutes and failed to register a point. If he does have another concussion, it is completely unclear how long it will keep him out.
Winnipeg Jets Activate Mason Appleton
As expected, the Winnipeg Jets have activated Mason Appleton in time for tonight’s season-opener. Dominic Toninato cleared waivers earlier today, and will likely be sent down once Axel Jonsson-Fjallby is activated from the non-roster list.
Appleton, 26, has had an interesting few years. After experiencing something of a breakout campaign in 2020-21, scoring 12 goals and 25 points in 56 games, he was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. Eight months later, the Jets were able to get him back, sending a fourth-round pick to the Kraken after he played 49 games in Seattle.
Now, he figures to start on the third line with Morgan Barron and Adam Lowry, a big group that should be effective for the Jets. With just 21 points last season, there’s plenty of room for growth this time around as long as Appleton can stay healthy.
The Jets kick things off against the New York Rangers, a team that is already 2-0 on the year.
Dominic Toninato Clears Waivers
Oct 14: Toninato has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.
Oct 13: The Winnipeg Jets are sending another player to the minor leagues ahead of opening night, placing Dominic Toninato on waivers for the purpose of reassignment. Toninato appeared to have won a job on the roster for the start of the year but that has apparently changed over the last few days.
The reason might be a combination of two things. Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet tweets that Mason Appleton could be activated ahead of tomorrow night’s game, while team reporter Mitchell Clinton adds that Axel Jonsson-Fjallby will be practicing with the group today. Jonsson-Fjallby was claimed off waivers from the Washington Capitals on Monday and was designated as a non-roster player this week.
With those two joining the group, there needed to be someone sent down, and Toninato is the odd man out. The 28-year-old forward played in 77 games for the Jets last season, scoring seven goals and 14 points. That was by far the most games of his career, having reached a previous high of 46 in 20219-20 with the Florida Panthers.
The bottom-six forward doesn’t offer much scoring upside, and will likely have no issue clearing waivers. Of course, that would have been even more likely before the games started and teams began suffering injuries. If cleared, he will be stashed in the minor leagues with the Manitoba Moose but could be the Jets first call-up, depending on how the season goes.
Linus Sandin Clears Unconditional Waivers
Oct: 14: Sandin has cleared waivers, had his contract terminated, and is now eligible to sign overseas.
Oct 13: The Philadelphia Flyers placed Linus Sandin on waivers two weeks ago, when it was clear he wouldn’t be making the team. After passing through unclaimed, he was assigned to the minor leagues. Now, his stint in the AHL will come to an end, as the Flyers have placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination according to Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic.
This will make Sandin an unrestricted free agent and allow him to sign somewhere else, a move that is usually followed by a contract overseas. The 26-year-old forward has just one NHL game under his belt and failed to register a point.
It would certainly make sense for the undrafted Sandin to return home. He was a strong contributor in the SHL before coming to North America, scoring 19 goals and 36 points in his final full season with HV71. The older brother of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin, Linus was good-not-great in his time in the minor leagues.
It is somewhat interesting that the Swedish forward has chosen this route, given he was the one to agree to a two-way contract in May. The deal included a minor league guarantee of $285K, meaning he at least must have known there was a chance he would end up back in the AHL. Should he clear, it would be highly unlikely that he finds another contract in the NHL this year, as you can’t get much more affordable than his league-minimum deal.
Chicago Blackhawks Activate Jason Dickinson
After being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last night, Jason Dickinson finally has his visa issues sorted out, as the Chicago Blackhawks activated the veteran forward today, sending Buddy Robinson to the AHL to make room.
Dickinson, 27, came in a deal that saw the Canucks give up a second-round pick to get his salary off the books, an asset the Blackhawks will happily take in their scorched-earth rebuild. Signed to a three-year, $7.95MM ($2.65MM AAV) contract in 2021, Dickinson lasted just 62 games with the Canucks before being shipped out of town.
A first-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2013, the 6’2″ center has never really paid off on his early promise of offensive potential. He has never had more than nine goals in a single season and had just 11 total points last year for the Canucks.
It won’t be surprising to see him eclipse those numbers with the Blackhawks this season, given how much opportunity there likely is for depth players to play a lot, but it’s hard to imagine him being much more than a bottom-six defensive contributor on a contending team.
His current cap hit makes that sort of untenable for most contending clubs, but there is the possibility that the Blackhawks can flip him down the line by retaining some of the remaining salary.
For now, he’ll join a group that is winless through the first two games of the season.
Edmonton Oilers Hire Duncan Keith
After announcing his retirement just a few months ago, Duncan Keith is back in the Edmonton Oilers organization. The team has announced several hires, including Keith into a player development role. Milan Tichy will now serve as director of amateur European scouting, Warren Rychel and Jason Pietrzykowski have been added as pro scouts, Jeff Salajko is coming in as a goaltending scout, and Christian Vermette will join as an amateur scout.
This hire was always expected after the legendary defenseman called it quits after just one season with the Oilers. The 17-year veteran helped the club overcome some playoff demons and reach the Conference Finals but couldn’t do enough to help them overcome the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
Keith had 21 points in 64 games during his final season, taking his career totals to 1,256 games and 646 points. Those numbers go along with three Stanley Cup championships, two Norris Trophy honors as the league’s best defenseman, and the 2015 Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
One of the best defensemen of his generation, Keith will now move into a front office role where he can begin the next chapter of his hockey career.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Jackson Cates
As Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic suggested a couple of days ago, Ronnie Attard‘s days on the Philadelphia Flyers roster were numbered (for now). The young defenseman has been loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this morning, with the team recalling forward Jackson Cates in his place.
Attard, 23, did not play in the team’s season-opening win against the New Jersey Devils, with young Egor Zamula getting the start in his place. If Attard isn’t going to play, he might as well go to the AHL to continue his development and polish his game. That’s not something he’s familiar with, after going right from the college ranks into the NHL lineup last season.
There’s plenty of time for the Western Michigan alum to make it back to the NHL on a more regular basis, and you will likely see Attard back up if the team suffers any additional injuries on the back end. With Rasmus Ristolainen only out day-to-day, even Zamula’s time with the big club might be numbered.
Cates meanwhile will join his brother Noah Cates who played more than 19 minutes last night, seeing time on both the powerplay and penalty kill. The older of the two, Jackson played in 11 games with the Flyers last season and scored his first NHL goal. The two showed incredible chemistry in the preseason (as one might expect) and were one of the leading storylines.
Unfortunately, the recall of Cates might also suggest some more negative consequences from last night’s game. Owen Tippett left after just four minutes of ice time with an upper-body injury, and Cam Atkinson didn’t dress at all. The recall will give the team some extra forward depth in case they need it tomorrow when they welcome in the Vancouver Canucks.
Cody Eakin Signs In Switzerland
After being released from his professional tryout with the Calgary Flames, it didn’t take long for Cody Eakin to find work. The veteran forward has signed a one-year deal with the SCL Tigers in Switzerland, where he will compete in the National League.
This is Eakin’s first European sojourn, and potentially a sign that his NHL career is coming to an end. The 31-year-old played 69 games for the Buffalo Sabres last season but wasn’t able to find a contract this year. In his career, Eakin has more than 700 regular season games under his belt, including a 22-goal campaign with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19.
That offense has been nowhere to be found ever since, with just 12 goals over the last three seasons combined. A valuable defensive center, it’s been a while now since you could call him a two-way presence since his contributions in the opponent’s end have disappeared.
Perhaps a year playing in Switzerland will rejuvenate his career, but at this point, it might just be that his time in the NHL has passed. It’s been a pretty successful hockey career all told, with championships in the WHL and AHL to go along with a World Championship gold medal from 2015. In 701 regular season games, Eakin scored 256 points.