Top Blues Prospect Scott Perunovich Leaves Game With Injury
Defenseman Scott Perunovich is one of the very best prospects the St. Louis Blues have in their system – if he stays healthy. Injuries have been a serious concern for him in the past, and they may be unfortunately continuing now. The Blues announced that Perunovich left tonight’s preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury and will not return.
Perunovich took a hit along the boards from Blackhawks forward Michal Teply, causing his arm/wrist area to make awkward contact with the glass.
St. Louis’ 45th overall pick in 2018, Perunovich missed the entire 2020-21 season with an injury after a spectacular junior season with the University of Minnesota Duluth. In 2019-20, he registered an assist per game and finished the year with 40 points in 34 games. Despite the missed season, Perunovich didn’t seem to miss a step in 2021-22, scoring 22 points in just 17 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and registering six assists in his first 19 NHL games with the Blues. He now has just played those 36 games combined over the last two seasons, and the 24-year-old is losing precious development time.
Perunovich figured to challenge for a top-four role with the Blues this season, especially with veteran Marco Scandella on the injured list. Hopefully, Perunovich’s injury isn’t long-term and he’s able to rebound and get back to health before the regular season begins.
Jacob Melanson Suspended Two Games
7:03 pm: As announced by NHL Player Safety, Melanson has been suspended for two games for his illegal check to the head against Hamblin. In the video explanation for the decision, the Department provided the following justification:
This is an illegal check to the head. It is important to note that both elements of the illegal check to the head rule are satisfied on this hit. First, the head is the main point of contact; as Melanson’s shoulder makes contact with the head of Hamblin, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the force of this hit. Second, the head contact on this hit is avoidable. Melanson chooses an angle of approach that cuts across the front of Hamblin’s body, missing his core and picking the head. If Melanson wants to deliver this hit, he must stay low and choose an angle that leads to a full-body check through the shoulder or chest, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.
Melanson will serve the suspension in the next two consecutive games that he is eligible to participate for Seattle.
11:05 am: There is a chance that Jacob Melanson is suspended for an NHL game before he even makes his debut. The young winger will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers prospect James Hamblin.
Should he earn a suspension that stretches into the regular season, there is a way around it. The team could essentially keep him on the roster for an extra few days before sending him back to junior, though with the waiver crunch the Kraken are already going to experience, that may not be an option. Otherwise, the suspension would be waiting for Melanson whenever he does make it back to the NHL.
Of course, it also might just keep him out of preseason action, and not carry over to the regular season, given it happened so early in the exhibition schedule.
Melanson, a fifth-round pick of the Kraken in 2021, is known for his physicality and for going over the line at times. Earlier this year he was given a four-game suspension in the QMJHL for taking a run at an opponent, extending his leg to contact knee-on-knee. He also racked up 85 penalty minutes in his 54 games, though his game did prove effective. The young forward also registered 35 goals, breaking out offensively and becoming an interesting NHL prospect.
For now, he’ll have to wait to see what punishment is coming down from the league. If he ever does make the NHL, he’ll be under a watchful eye, as a preseason suspension will be taken into account in any further supplementary discipline decisions.
NHL Reportedly Notifying Teams Of “Sharp” Salary Cap Increase
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL has been informing and preparing teams for a sharp salary cap increase over the next three seasons. If it holds true, it’s a landmark point financially in the league’s post-COVID operations and continued growth.
According to Friedman’s reporting, the salary cap will still increase its projected $1MM incremental climb in 2023-24, setting next year’s cap at $83.5MM. However, while original projections labelled a big salary cap jump coming in the 2025 offseason, later reporting, now fortified by Friedman’s report, signifies that a notable jump will likely come a year earlier. The 2024-25 salary cap will be reportedly set around the $87.5-$88MM mark, while the 2025-26 salary cap would be set around $92MM.
The roughly $4MM salary cap Upper Limit increase per season is much more in line with the league’s pre-COVID growth, if not more. The cap rose anywhere between $2MM and $4MM per season between 2015-16 and 2019-20, but now with two additional teams bringing in revenue, it makes sense that the figures would climb a bit more dramatically.
The sharper nature of the increase also looks a lot of recently signed long-term extensions look a lot smarter. Take Nathan MacKinnon‘s eight-year extension, for example. While his $12.6MM cap hit will be worth roughly 15% of the team’s total cap space in 2023-24, that percentage will drop to around 13.7% in a $92MM-cap world for 2025-26. The percentage will only continue to decrease from that point onward.
Now, extend that $4MM-per-season growth over the life of MacKinnon’s contract. The salary cap would be $112MM in 2030-31, the final year of his deal, where the contract would be worth just 11.25% of the team’s total cap. That’s equivalent to a roughly $9.25MM cap hit in 2022-23.
Suffice it to say, it’s great news for both teams and players if the reported projections indeed hold true.
Minor Transactions: 09/27/22
There’s a busy slate of preseason games on the table tonight, with 22 out of the league’s 32 teams getting into game action. And, as training camp cuts begin to come in fast and furious, leagues outside the NHL begin to get a better idea of their rosters for the upcoming season as well. Keep up with today’s action on the minor transactions wire right here.
- The AHL expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds have added some depth to fill out their roster, completing their core of players on NHL contracts from the Seattle Kraken. The team added 23-year-old forward Jeremy McKenna, who registered one assist in 16 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last year. 26-year-old Tristen Mullin, also a forward, joins after spending the last season-and-a-quarter with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. On defense, the team signed Jake McLaughlin, who got into 13 games with the Milwaukee Admirals last year, generating three assists. They also added former Carolina Hurricanes draft pick, Callum Booth, in goal for some depth there.
This page will be updated throughout the day…
John Tavares Suffers Oblique Strain
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain for the next three weeks, as John Tavares has been ruled out that long with an oblique strain suffered on the weekend, according to Lance Hornby of Postmedia.
A three-week absence essentially ends Tavares’ training camp and likely rules him out for the first few regular season matches, as the Maple Leafs are set to open up their schedule on October 12, just 15 days from now. While it isn’t a huge chunk of the season, Tavares is now 32 and missing training camp will only put him behind the competition upon his return. Toronto was hoping for a big season out of their captain, who is still one of the league’s highest-paid players well into the seven-year deal he signed in 2018.
At the time, the gamble the Maple Leafs made was that the salary cap would continue to go up, making Tavares’ $11MM cap hit a little more palatable. Because of the COVID shutdown and a flat salary cap, the veteran center remains the fifth-highest cap hit in the league, now into the fifth year of the deal. Though he is still an outstanding player – who scored 76 points in 79 games last season – many have argued that his contract has limited the success of the Maple Leafs in recent years, arguing that depth would be more beneficial for an Auston Matthews-led roster.
Whichever side of that debate a Maple Leafs fan comes down on, losing Tavares for the next few weeks certainly isn’t ideal. The team will have to find a different player to fill the second-line center role for the time being.
Pavel Mintyukov Sent To OHL
There won’t be a surprise NHL appearance by the tenth overall pick this year, as the Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavel Mintyukov back to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. His entry-level contract will slide forward, meaning he is now signed through 2025-26 at a minimum.
Mintyukov, 18, actually should be entering his third season with the Spirit, after agreeing to come to North America in 2020. Unfortunately, the year that would have been his rookie season in the OHL was canceled, due to the league’s COVID restrictions. That lost development certainly didn’t slow the Russian defenseman down. Mintykov exploded onto the junior scene with 17 goals and 62 points in 67 games, flying up draft boards and finding himself creeping into the top ten.
While there has been concern about selecting Russian players because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Mintyukov has shown a clear desire to play in North America. Not only had he come over to play in the OHL but he signed his entry-level contract with the Ducks just a few days after being selected. Returning to the Spirit for another season should allow the team to have at least a bit of oversight on his development, even though they won’t be directly coaching him.
With how well he did last season, there is a good chance that Mintyukov dominates the league this year and sets himself up to compete for a spot with the Ducks a year from now. At that point, he also may be eligible for AHL action, depending on how his OHL status was determined. As an import player, if the NHL lists him as “on loan” to the CHL during his draft year, he will qualify for the AHL even before the age of 20, as others such as Filip Zadina and Rasmus Sandin have in the past. One factor likely not in his favor is that he did not play professional games before joining the Spirit, only suiting up in the Russian MHL (junior equivalent).
2023 Trade Deadline Set For March 3
The trade deadline festivities have a date. Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets reports that this season’s deadline will be on March 3, 2023 at 3 pm ET. That’s a Friday, meaning it might be quite the celebration for some hockey fans and a day of remembrance for others. It is also nearly three weeks earlier than this year’s deadline, which was late due to the Olympic break that was built into the schedule. Things are finally getting back to normal on the NHL calendar.
March 3 seems to be a fitting date after 33 trades were completed on deadline day this year, including some huge names switching teams. Marc-Andre Fleury, Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell, Artturi Lehkonen, and Nick Leddy were all on the move but have decided to stick around with their new teams. Others like Max Domi and Andrew Copp found new homes after failing to help their clubs reach the Stanley Cup.
The day is always a fun mix of excitement and disappointment, and this season should be no different. With players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Max Pacioretty, James van Riemsdyk, John Klingberg, David Pastrnak, Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Damon Severson, MacKenzie Weegar, and Bo Horvat all still on expiring contracts, there could be some serious fireworks as the deadline approaches. While some of these will be extended, and others kept for Cup runs, there will likely be a handful of big names on the market.
So hockey fans can circle this date on their calendar as one that could be as important as any other this year, both for contending and rebuilding clubs. With the season right around the corner, it will come quicker than you think.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/27/22
Another day, another round of cuts for NHL teams across the league. The preseason is chugging along and the regular season is right around the corner, meaning prospects and tryouts will start to be sent home. Here are today’s cuts:
Anaheim Ducks (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic)
F Sasha Pastujov (to Guelph, OHL)
F Connor Hvidston (to Swift Current, WHL)
D Pavel Mintyukov (to Saginaw, OHL)
D Tristan Luneau (to Gatineau, QMJHL)
Dallas Stars (via team release)
F Francesco Arcuri (to Kingston, OHL)
F Justin Ertel (to North Bay, OHL)
F Conner Roulette (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Matthew Seminoff (to Kamloops, WHL)
D Jacob Holmes (to Sudbury, OHL)
D Christian Kyrou (to Erie, OHL)
F Logan Morrison (released from ATO)
D Jacob Murray (released from ATO)
Edmonton Oilers (via team release)
F Reid Schaefer (to Seattle, WHL)
D Max Wanner (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
Minnesota Wild (via team release)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Iowa, AHL)
F Ty Ronning (to Iowa, AHL)
F Mike O’Leary (to Iowa, AHL)
D Turner Ottenbreit (to Iowa, AHL)
D Benjamin Finklestein (to Iowa, AHL)
G C.J. Motte (to Iowa, AHL)
Nashville Predators (via team release)
D Jack Matier (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Graham Sward (to Spokane, WHL)
New York Rangers (via team release)
F Adam Sykora (to HK Nitra, Slovakia)
Vegas Golden Knights (via Jesse Granger, The Athletic)
F Colt Conrad (to Henderson, AHL)
F Daniel D’Amato (to Henderson, AHL)
F Connor Ford (to Henderson, AHL)
F Patrick Guay (to Henderson, AHL)
F Marcus Kallionkieli (to Henderson, AHL)
D Kyle Marino (to Henderson, AHL)
F Lynden McCallum (to Henderson, AHL)
F Mason Primeau (to Henderson, AHL)
F Alex Swetlikoff (to Henderson, AHL)
D Connor Corcoran (to Henderson, AHL)
D Peter DiLiberatore (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jordan Papirny (to Henderson, AHL)
G Isaiah Saville (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jordan Gustafson (to Seattle, WHL)
F Ben Hemmerling (to Everett, WHL)
F Matyas Sapovaliv (to Saginaw, OHL)
D Artur Cholach (to Barrie, OHL)
D Joe Fleming (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
G Jesper Vikman (to Vancouver, WHL)
D William Riedell (released from PTO)
Winnipeg Jets (via team release)
F Danny Zhilkin (to Guelph, OHL)
D Dmitry Kuzmin (to Flint, OHL)
G Domenic DiVincentiis (to North Bay, OHL)
This page will be updated throughout the day
Florida Panthers Extend Spencer Knight
The Florida Panthers have locked up their future in net, signing Spencer Knight to a three-year extension. The deal kicks in for the 2023-24 season and will carry an average annual value of $4.5MM. Panthers general manager Bill Zito released a statement:
Spencer is a phenomenal goaltender, as well as an exceptional athlete and person. He has thrived in his professional career, dedicating himself to his training through his first two seasons with our organization. With this extension, we are excited about the present and future of Panthers goaltending.
A three-year extension means Knight’s contract status now lines up with Sergei Bobrovsky, with both expiring after the 2025-26 season. While the team will have to carry a combined $14.5MM cap hit those three years, Knight will still be an RFA in the summer of 2026, meaning a long-term extension can still be worked out with the money that Bobrovsky was earning.
For this year, the 21-year-old netminder is still in the final season of his entry-level contract, despite already being a regular at the NHL level. The 13th overall pick from 2019 played in 32 games for the Panthers last season, registering a .908 save percentage. He also got into 11 games with the Charlotte Checkers to stay fresh, posting a .905 in the AHL.
Incredibly composed in net, Knight is basically the prototype for the modern NHL goaltender. Big and agile with strong positioning, there are few goaltending prospects better. While his results do leave a little bit of room for improvement, the Panthers obviously believe he is the real deal, signing him to a rather expensive bridge deal. He comes in ahead of Jake Oettinger (3 years, $4.0MM AAV), and Carter Hart (3 years, $3.979MM AAV), two other young goaltenders with big expectations.
It will be interesting to see how much Knight starts to take over in Florida, and whether the Panthers will ever consider moving on from Bobrovsky. While he holds a full no-movement clause at the moment, that will change to a 16-team no-trade list in the summer of 2024. It would obviously be difficult to move his massive contract but one thing in the Panthers’ favor is the financial structure. Bobrovsky will have earned $57.5MM of the $70MM deal by the end of 2023-24.
Regardless, locking up Knight at this point was important if they plan on giving him more responsibility this season. A breakout campaign would send his price skyrocketing, and potentially take a bridge deal off the table. Locking him in now is a bit risky, as it assumes he will continue to progress, but there aren’t many goaltenders that would be a better bet.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports
Evening Notes: PWHPA, Hischier, Hodgson
There’s some exciting news coming on the women’s hockey front. In an interview with The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy, Canadian National Team captain Marie Philip-Poulin confirmed that the current touring structure for PWHPA games will turn into a league for the 2023-24 season, bringing two professional women’s leagues back into the fold for the first time since the CWHL and NWHL were both active.
The PWHPA Dream Gap Tour is the main pool of talent that Canada and the United States select for their national teams. They’ve effectively been limited to playing exhibition games without a league structure governing competition, although that shouldn’t diminish the level of talent and competition on display. A league structure should bring more financial stability and a better plan for growing the women’s game in North America.
- New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier left the team’s in-progress preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens at the first intermission. The team reports that Hischier’s absence is simply due to cramping and that he won’t return to the game for precautionary reasons. Hischier registered a shot on goal and played 6:24 in the first period, his preseason debut.
- Philadelphia Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi tabs winger Hayden Hodgson as a candidate to crack the Flyers’ roster out of camp this year. Hodgson made waves in the Flyers organization this season after a breakout year in AHL Lehigh Valley, earning an NHL contract near the end of the season and a six-game call-up, where he registered three points. Hodgson hadn’t even played in the AHL since 2017-18, spending every season since then entirely in the ECHL (and partly in Slovakia).