Vegas Golden Knights Sign Joe Fleming
The Vegas Golden Knights have made an addition to their prospect pool, signing defenseman Joe Fleming to a three-year entry-level deal, per a team announcement.
Fleming attended the Golden Knights’ development camp in July and had been at the team’s training camp until Tuesday when he was cut from the training camp roster.
Fleming’s performance in both development camp and training camp has seemingly impressed Golden Knights management enough for Fleming to earn this entry-level deal. Fleming will play the 2022-23 season in the QMJHL with the Sherbrooke Phoenix and spent last season playing at the USHL level for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. There, the 19-year-old blueliner scored 16 points in 60 games and spent a whopping 202 minutes in the penalty box.
Those penalty minutes are a bit of a tell as to Fleming’s play style, as well as why he is an appealing prospect to the Golden Knights management. Fleming stands six feet tall and weighs over 200 pounds, and uses that size to play a bruising physical game. He’s a handful for opposing players to deal with whenever they’re on the ice against him, and he’ll bring that imposing style to Sherbrooke.
One element to this signing that is notable is the similarities between Fleming and Montreal Canadiens prospect Arber Xhekaj. Fleming, like Xhekaj, is an undrafted blueliner who plays a physical, bruising style. As Xhekaj continues to get attention (and notoriety) this preseason for his “throwback” style of play, it’s possible that other teams could look to try to find their own versions of Xhekaj, which could be a factor at play with this signing.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported yesterday on Sportsnet’s broadcast of the Canadiens’ loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs that “a number” of NHL clubs share the attitude that they wish they had found and signed Xhekaj before the Canadiens did. So, with that in mind, it could be that this signing of Fleming signals a coming trend of teams looking to acquire the sort of physical, “throwback” defenseman that had gone out of style in recent years.
Evening Notes: Knight, Chychrun, Clark
The Florida Panthers recently re-signed goalie Spencer Knight to a three-year contract with a $4.5MM AAV. The contract raised some eyebrows due to its cost, as Knight’s extension will be more expensive than the recent Jake Oettinger deal, despite the fact that Oettinger seems to have firmly established himself as a quality starting netminder while Knight had an up-and-down 2021-22. Now that a few days have passed since the signing, though, we have some more context on why the Panthers felt comfortable taking a leap of faith with their extremely talented (but still relatively unproven) young netminder.
As Pierre LeBrun reported on TSN’s Insider Trading, the Panthers were “legitimately worried” about the possibility of another team offer sheeting Knight next summer, when he would have been a restricted free agent. The Panthers, who are paying starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky $10MM AAV through the 2025-26 season, may not have been in a strong enough cap position to retain Knight at what his offer sheet may have cost. So, rather than risk losing the goalie they seem to firmly believe is their long-term future in net, the Panthers decided to sign Knight to this expensive bridge contract in order to ensure he remains in Sunrise for the foreseeable future.
Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:
- In another piece of information reported on today’s Insider Trading segment, TSN’s Darren Dreger shed some more light on the current situation with Jakob Chychrun and the Arizona Coyotes. Chychrun recently spoke on his desire to be traded to a contending team, and Dreger has reported that leaguewide trade interest in Chychrun is “intensifying.” Dreger specifically names the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Columbus Blue Jackets as suitors for Chychrun, and notes that the Coyotes are apparently more willing to “take on a contract or contracts” in order to facilitate a deal. Given the issues the above-listed teams are facing with the flat salary cap, it seems that the biggest barrier to a Chychrun deal will be the complicated cap situation of the involved teams rather than the trade compensation package that will need to be agreed upon.
- The Montreal Canadiens have re-shaped the look of their organization under Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes’ new management, both on and off the ice. With the season about to begin, the Canadiens have made another off-ice move. In an interview on former NHLer Chris Nilan‘s Raw Knuckles podcast, Gorton said that the team would be “bringing on” former New York Rangers executive Gordie Clark. Before his contract was not renewed this summer, Clark had been working for the Rangers for two decades and will bring experience and leadership to this still-growing Canadiens front office.
Snapshots: Marner, Hischier, Doty
The Toronto Maple Leafs are battling some early injuries on their blueline, and it seems that their current situation has led the team to embrace some more unconventional strategies to fill out their defense. As relayed by Sports Illustrated’s David Alter, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said that the team is currently exploring different ways to utilize forward Mitch Marner on defense in certain situations. Keefe specifically cited a late-game situation where the team is down a goal as an example of the sort of situation where it could be appropriate to deploy Marner on the blueline.
While such an idea might seem extremely unorthodox or even desperate to some, but there is at least some precedent for these tryouts in the NHL. Legendary coach Scotty Bowman briefly experimented with using Hall of Fame forwards such as Sergei Fedorov and Bob Gainey on the blueline during his coaching career. Marner, a winger who has a well-regarded defensive game, could potentially carry on that tradition if the Maple Leafs’ poor injury luck continues.
Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:
- As relayed by Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com, New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff told the media that the team will be without captain Nico Hischier as he recovers from a hamstring strain. Hischier was pulled out of Monday’s preseason contest against the Montreal Canadiens due to what the team called cramping, and now it seems the injury is a bit more significant than it originally had seemed to be. Ruff said that Hischier will be re-evaluated in ten days, and at that point the full picture of Hischier’s health will likely be a lot more clear.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Los Angeles Kings forward Jacob Doty will have a hearing tomorrow related to interference he committed on San Jose Sharks forward Jeffrey Viel in last night’s 3-1 preseason Sharks victory. While Doty is playing in Kings preseason games and attending camp, he is undoubtedly a depth piece for Los Angeles. Doty had just three points in 41 AHL games last season to go along with 89 penalty minutes, so while this disciplinary hearing is an unfortunate development it’s unlikely to have any major impact on where Doty is playing this season.
Minor Transactions: 09/29/22
Training camps are fully underway, and we are now at the point where there are preseason games every night. As training camp rosters are cut down, there is a ripple effect of that player movement that can impact teams in minor or foreign leagues whose seasons may already be underway. We’ll keep track of all the minor league/overseas league transactions here.
- The Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, announced today that they’ve re-signed forward Michael Mersch to a one-year AHL contract extension. Mersch, an AHL veteran scorer, is the Americans’ captain and one of their top players. The 29-year-old had the most productive season of his career in 2021-22, scoring 26 goals and 54 points, and now he receives a contract extension as a reward for his efforts.
- The Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, announced the signings of four players today: forwards Luke Stevens, Nick Pastujov, Pascal Laberge, and Hugo Roy. All three spent most of last season in the ECHL, and were signed to one-year contracts. Some might remember Laberge as a top prospect from the 2016 draft, where he went 36th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers, while others might know Pastujov as the brother of Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov. All four forwards will head to Coachella Valley to compete for a lineup spot in coach Dan Bylsma’s team.
- The ECHL’s Allen Americans announced the signing of forward Colton Hargrove, a 2012 seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins. Hargrove was a quality middle-of-the-lineup AHL player from 2015-2019 before he left to play overseas in Austria. Hargrove did not play hockey during the 2021-22 season and will resume his professional career with the Americans, a sort of “hometown” club for the Dallas, Texas native.
Latest On MacKenzie Weegar
There’s certainly no doubt over whether MacKenzie Weegar wants to stay in Calgary. The Flames’ newcomer has made it very clear that he wants to sign an extension, and soon.
In Eric Francis’ new piece for Sportsnet, Weegar’s agent (and uncle) Matthew Ebbs explains that while they will be open to some discussions during the season, they would much prefer getting something done before it starts. Weegar “doesn’t want to be dealing with [it] in the media room” according to Ebbs, who notes how his client doesn’t want to be a distraction.
The 28-year-old Weegar is in the final season of a three-year, $9.75MM contract he signed in 2020, and is arguably one of the biggest bargains in the league. After scoring 44 points in 80 games last season, while averaging more than 23 minutes a night, he is likely looking for a substantial raise on the $3.25MM cap hit he’ll carry this year. An unrestricted free agent next summer, the Flames also have an incentive to get a contract done as soon as possible. Calgary witnessed exactly what can happen when you wait, watching Johnny Gaudreau leave them to test the open market.
Interestingly, while the Flames don’t have much extra cap space for the 2023-24 season, they are about to gain a huge amount of flexibility the year after. That’s when the salary cap is expected to take a sharp upward turn, and Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, and Oliver Kylington are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Though some of those names will be extended, others could be flipped for future assets and cap space, in order to facilitate new contracts for Weegar and fellow newcomer Jonathan Huberdeau, who signed an eight-year, $84MM extension soon after arriving in Calgary.
That flexibility starts to disappear with every new contract, however, meaning that signing Weegar will likely close the door on at least one of those expiring veterans. The Calgary front office is trying to navigate the loss of two 100-point players in one summer without having to need to rebuild the core, and every financial decision will have drastic ramifications on the rest. While Weegar wants it done as soon as possible, it’s a delicate dance for the Flames over the next 24 months.
Alex Galchenyuk Released From PTO
Sep 29: It’s now clear why Galchenyuk had such an early exit. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar explained to Baugh that the veteran forward suffered an injury and will miss a “significant amount of time, ” but that he actually liked how he had been performing at camp. In fact, the team may get back in touch with Galchenyuk once he’s healthy again.
Sep 28: After joining them fewer than ten days ago, Alex Galchenyuk is no longer with the Colorado Avalanche. Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that his professional tryout with the team is over and that Jacob MacDonald has taken his locker with the main group.
This does not necessarily mean bad news for Galchenyuk. He could have signed a contract with another team, in the NHL or abroad, and will continue his career there. If it does mean he was simply released, however, it isn’t a great sign for what will come next.
The third-overall pick in 2012, Galchenyuk was once a rising star in the league, scoring 30 goals during the 2015-16 season for the Montreal Canadiens. Things have gone steadily downhill since then, with the enigmatic forward bouncing around the league and failing to capitalize on great opportunities.
Stops with the Arizona Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Toronto Maple Leafs have all been rather unsuccessful, and now a chance to join the defending Stanley Cup champions appears to have vanished. At 28, this likely isn’t the end of his hockey journey but it certainly seems like Galchenyuk will never again be an impact player in the NHL. If he hasn’t already signed a contract somewhere else, he may need to broaden his search to overseas or the minor leagues to continue playing hockey at a high level.
Blues Notes: Chychrun, Perunovich, Toropchenko
Ever since Jakob Chychrun made it clear that he wants a chance to play for a winning team, speculation has run rampant around the St. Louis Blues. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet touched on it during the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, noting that the Blues are “around” on Chychrun. That led to a number of other reports downplaying the link between the two teams, including Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest, who tweets that there has not been “any serious dialogue” with St. Louis and Arizona regarding Chychrun.
The 24-year-old defenseman is eventually going to be moved somewhere but it doesn’t seem to be the Blues – at least right now.
- Of course, a recent injury only fed the flames. Scott Perunovich was taken out of a preseason game recently and the discussion around him is certainly not encouraging. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that Perunovich is still being evaluated but that he feels bad for the young defenseman, and explained that “now he has to wait.”
- In some better injury news, Alexey Toropchenko appears to be ahead of schedule in his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. Strickland tweets out that Toropchenko is not ruling out playing on opening night and notes that it “won’t be long” until he’s in the lineup. The 23-year-old forward had two goals in 28 regular season games for the Blues last year and played in 12 playoff matches.
Waivers: 09/29/22
Waivers will officially open today, meaning teams around the league can start cutting eligible players with the purpose of sending them to minor league clubs. While the full list will come out at 2 pm ET, some have already started announcing their initial placements. You can see all of the day’s cuts here, but we’ll also keep track of just the waiver portion in this post.
Arizona Coyotes
F Michael Carcone
F Jean-Sebastien Dea
Colorado Avalanche
F Charles Hudon
F Spencer Smallman
D Andreas Englund
D Brad Hunt
D Joshua Jacobs
G Jonas Johansson
Los Angeles Kings
New York Islanders
F Richard Panik
G Kenneth Appleby
New York Rangers
This page will be updated throughout the day
Ilya Mikheyev Out Week-To-Week
Sep 29: After initial fears that he may have suffered a torn ACL, it looks as though Mikheyev avoided serious injury altogether. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that he had two opinions and could resume skating as soon as tomorrow.
Sep 27: One of the big free agent signings for the Vancouver Canucks is in danger of missing the start of the season, as Ilya Mikheyev is out “week-to-week” according to head coach Bruce Boudreau. Mikheyev suffered a lower-body injury in his preseason debut with the team on Sunday.
Signed to a four-year, $19MM contract in the offseason after a 21-goal campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mikheyev has been one of the impressive players at Canucks camp, with J.T. Miller referring to the Russian’s speed as “humbling.” The 27-year-old forward has had some pretty unfortunate injury luck in his short NHL career so far, including a sliced wrist and a broken thumb.
That has limited him to just 146 regular season games in three years, though it was his production in those matches and his versatile profile that made him such an appealing target in free agency. With 21 goals in just 53 games last season, he is the kind of perfect secondary scoring option that teams crave. His speed, length, and puck protection make him a great option on the penalty kill, and he can often create offense without the help of teammates.
Still, at some point, he’s going to need to be able to put together a full campaign, especially now that he is carrying a cap hit of $4.75MM. The Canucks need him to be everything he was last season and more if they are going to get their money’s worth, especially given he will play this season at 28 and the final season of this contract at 31. The hope was that they were buying his best years – a weeks-long injury isn’t a great start.
Given the team will also be without Brock Boeser after he underwent hand surgery, there will be plenty of minutes up for grabs in Vancouver.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/29/22
With the regular season just 12 days away, waivers will open today. That means players who require waivers to be sent to the minor leagues or loaned elsewhere can officially be placed on them, likely leading to quite a few training camp cuts today. The waiver priority will be set by last year’s standings, for the time being, meaning the Montreal Canadiens have the first crack at anyone exposed. Here are today’s cuts:
Anaheim Ducks (via team release)
F Nathan Gaucher (to Quebec, QMJHL)
F Sean Tschigerl (to Calgary, WHL)
D Olen Zellweger (to Everett, WHL)
D Tyson Hinds (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
G Gage Alexander (to Swift Current, WHL)
Arizona Coyotes (via team release)
F Adam Cracknell (released from PTO, assigned to Tucson, AHL)
F Liam Kirk (to Tucson, AHL)
F Ryan McGregor (to Tucson, AHL)
F Nathan Smith (to Tucson, AHL)
F Colin Theisen (to Tucson, AHL)
F Reece Vitelli (to Tucson, AHL)
F Julian Lutz (to Munich, DEL)
D Lukas Klok (to Tucson, AHL)
D Ronald Knot (to Tucson, AHL)
D Noah Laaouan (to Tucson, AHL)
D Maksymilian Szuber (to Munich, DEL)
D Jeremy Langlois (to Cape Breton, QMJHL)
G David Tendeck (to Tucson, AHL)
G Christopher Gibson (released from PTO)
Chicago Blackhawks (via team release)
F Gavin Hayes (to Flint, OHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via team release)
F Oskar Olausson (to Colorado, AHL)
F Alex Beaucage (to Colorado, AHL)
F Jean-Luc Foudy (to Colorado, AHL)
F Sampo Ranta (to Colorado, AHL)
D Keaton Middleton (to Colorado, AHL)
D Mitchell Vande Sompel (to Colorado, AHL)
G Justus Annunen (to Colorado, AHL)
F Charles Hudon (placed on waivers)
F Spencer Smallman (placed on waivers)
D Andreas Englund (placed on waivers)
D Brad Hunt (placed on waivers)
D Joshua Jacobs (placed on waivers)
G Jonas Johansson (placed on waivers)
Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release)
F Ben Boyd (to Saint Mary’s University, USports)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to Mississauga, OHL)
F Mikael Pyyhtia (to TPS, Liiga)
F Martin Rysavy (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
D Denton Mateychuk (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
D Stanislav Svozil (to Regina, WHL)
F Liam Hawel (released from PTO)
F Samuel Huo (released from ATO)
F Evan Vierling (released from ATO)
Dallas Stars (via team release)
D Artem Grushnikov (to Hamilton, OHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team release)
F Ivan Ivan (released from ATO)
F Jake Uberti (released from ATO)
F Riley Piercey (released from ATO)
Edmonton Oilers (via team release)
F Matvey Petrov (to North Bay, OHL)
F Tyler Tullio (to Bakersfield, AHL)
G Ryan Fanti (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Dino Kambeitz (released from PTO)
F Filip Engaras (released from ATO)
D Yann Kaldis (released from PTO)
D Darien Kielb (released from PTO)
Nashville Predators (via team release)
F Zachary L’Heureux (to Halifax, OHL)
New York Islanders (via team release)
G Tristan Lennox (to Saginaw, OHL)
F Collin Adams (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Erik Brown (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Blade Jenkins (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jeff Kubiak (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Daylan Kuefler (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Jimmy Lambert (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Kyle MacLean (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Matthew Maggio (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Reece Newkirk (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Chris Terry (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Trevor Cosgrove (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Ryan MacKinnon (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Connor McCarthy (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Vincent Sevigny (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Henrik Tikkanen (to Bridgeport, AHL)
New York Rangers (via team release)
F Easton Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
F Christiano Digiacinto (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tanner Fritz (to Hartford, AHL)
F Zach Jordan (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryder Korczak (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Lohin (to Hartford, AHL)
F Matt Rempe (to Hartford, AHL)
F Austin Rueschhoff (to Hartford, AHL)
F Bobby Trivigno (to Hartford, AHL)
F Alex Whelan (to Hartford, AHL)
D Zach Giuttari (to Hartford, AHL)
D Louka Henault (to Hartford, AHL)
D Blake Hillman (to Hartford, AHL)
D Luke Martin (to Hartford, AHL)
D Matthew Robertson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Hunter Skinner (to Hartford, AHL)
G Talyn Boyko (to Hartford, AHL)
G Parker Gahagen (to Hartford, AHL)
G Dylan Garand (to Hartford, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers
F Antoine Roussel (released from PTO)
F Theo Rochette (released from ATO)
This page will be updated throughout the day.