Dmitry Zavgorodniy Assigned To KHL
After assigning Yan Kuznetsov to the CHL a few days ago, the Calgary Flames have found some extra playing time for another one of their prospects. Dmitry Zavgorodniy has been assigned to HC Sochi in the KHL, which will hopefully give him a bit of a bigger opportunity.
Zavgorodniy, 21, was a seventh-round pick of the Flames in 2018 and signed his entry-level contract a year later. That deal, which slid forward one season, will expire after the 2022-23 campaign. He spent most of last season with the Stockton Heat, scoring four points in 29 games, but has been held scoreless in six appearances for the AHL squad this year.
The most recent of those appearances was weeks ago, as he fell out of the regular rotation even for the bottom six. He’ll now head overseas, but remain under contract with the Flames. A very strong junior player, Zavgorodniy had 29 goals and 67 points in 40 games for the Rimouski Oceanic in 2019-20.
AHL Shuffle: 12/06/21
Six games are on the schedule this evening, including new coaches leading benches in Philadelphia and Vancouver. Mike Yeo will coach his first game as Flyers interim head coach this evening against the Colorado Avalanche, while Bruce Boudreau takes over the Canucks bench against the Los Angeles Kings. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling:
Atlantic Division
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Olli Juolevi from the AHL, after the young defenseman went down on a conditioning loan earlier this month. Juolevi hasn’t played in the NHL yet this season.
- Jack Ahcan and John Moore have been recalled by the Boston Bruins, who are dealing with several non-COVID illnesses in their group. Moore, who has more than 500 games of NHL experience, has played just 31 games with the Bruins since the start of the 2019-20 season. Oskar Steen has been sent back down to Providence to make room.
- The Buffalo Sabres have brought Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen back up, following Malcolm Subban‘s injury the other night. The team is hopeful that Subban’s injury isn’t significant and according to John Vogl of The Athletic, the team is using one of the two goaltender exemptions they’re allowed this season to bring Luukkonen up. That would allow them to carry 24 players on the roster for a short period of time (48 hours).
Metropolitan Division
- Perhaps Yeo prefers Max Willman to Connor Bunnaman, because the Flyers have swapped the two today. Willman has been recalled to the NHL roster, while Bunnaman is on his way back to the AHL.
Central Division
- The Nashville Predators have recalled Ben Harpur and Matt Luff from the AHL, giving them a pair of new bodies as they hit the road for a four-game trip. Harpur is coming off a conditioning loan, as he’s played just four games for the Predators this season.
Pacific Division
- The Vancouver Canucks, now led by interim GM Stan Smyl, have recalled Travis Hamonic from the AHL. Hamonic hasn’t played since November 21 as he missed the team’s last road trip due to vaccination status and then curiously was not recalled for Saturday’s home game. The team has previously announced that by the next time they go on the road, Hamonic will be able to travel with the team.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Connor McDavid Avoids Suspension
According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the Department of Player Safety is not expected to issue any supplementary discipline to Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for his hit on Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe last night. McDavid was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the play.
McDavid, who is not exactly known for his physical play, has actually received supplementary discipline in the past. In 2019 he was suspended two games for his elbow on Nick Leddy and last season he was fined for a similar hit on Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
This time he won’t miss any games, which is an important outcome for the Oilers after the team has dropped two straight. They were beaten 5-1 by the Kings last night and lost 4-3 to the last place Seattle Kraken last Friday. While they’re still firmly in a playoff position, the team couldn’t afford to lose McDavid for any length of time.
Goalie Notes: Lehner, Bishop, Rask
Jacob Markstrom is a likely candidate for the starting goaltender position for Sweden at the upcoming Olympics, but another promising option was Robin Lehner. That isn’t the case anymore, as Lehner tweeted last night that he will not be attending the Olympics.
Lehner, who has been very open about his struggles with mental health over the years, notes that this is a decision that puts that health ahead of his desire to compete for his country in what he calls a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” The uncertainty around what would happen if an athlete tests positive for COVID-19 while in China is part of why he made the decision.
- The Dallas Stars are expected to send Ben Bishop to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint this week, according to Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News. Bishop hasn’t played since the 2020 bubble playoffs, but is finally getting close to being healthy enough to play again. The 35-year-old netminder is still signed through 2022-23 and carries a $4.92MM cap hit. He’ll become the fourth NHL-level goaltender for the Stars once he’s cleared to return to action, joining Anton Khudobin (who has been on the trade block in recent weeks), Braden Holtby, and Jake Oettinger.
- There was a pretty impressive emergency backup goaltender at Boston Bruins practice today, as Tuukka Rask joined his former teammates despite still not having an NHL contract. Rask is still working his way back from offseason surgery, and has previously expressed that he would only return to the NHL for the Bruins. For now, he remains unsigned, but that could change at some point in the near future if he shows he’s healthy enough to help the team.
Neal Pionk, Jason Spezza To Have Hearings With Department Of Player Safety
After what Auston Matthews aptly called a “gong show” last night in the third period of the Toronto Maple Leafs-Winnipeg Jets game, several players are receiving supplementary discipline. Jason Spezza has been offered an in-person (via Zoom) hearing for kneeing Neal Pionk, opening him up to a suspension of more than five games. Spezza has accepted and will meet with the DoPS tomorrow. Pionk will also have a hearing (not an in-person one) for his knee on Rasmus Sandin, which started the festivities. Wayne Simmonds, who was involved in several altercations, has been fined $2,250 for his cross-check on Jansen Harkins.
Things kicked off with Pionk’s hit on Sandin, which went unpenalized by the on-ice officials. The Maple Leafs, incensed by the hit that took out their young defender–Sandin left the game immediately and did not return–had several responses, including Spezza’s targeted hit on Pionk while he was in a vulnerable position.
With the in-person hearing offered, Spezza could be facing a suspension of more than five games. That would open him up for an appeal process as well which would be presided over by a neutral arbitrator. Pionk meanwhile can only receive a maximum of five games, though that is unlikely given the precedent for dangerous kneeing incidents.
Simmonds escapes suspension, as his incidents were penalized by the on-ice officials and did not rise to the level of further supplementary discipline. His fine in this case is the maximum allowable under the CBA.
Garnet Hathaway, Marc Staal Enter COVID Protocol
The Washington Capitals have lost a third player, as Garnet Hathaway finds himself in the league’s COVID protocol. The 30-year-old forward is expected to be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Hathaway joins Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nic Dowd in the protocol and on the sidelines as the team prepares for action. In Saturday’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, Hathaway played more than 16 minutes, something that is becoming routine lately as the Capitals deal with injuries and illnesses. With seven goals in 25 games, he’s also off to the best start of his career and could quickly eclipse the 11 goal total that stands as his career-high.
The team has not confirmed whether or not Hathaway has tested positive for coronavirus, but if he has and is experiencing any symptoms, he’ll be away from the club for a minimum of ten days. Hopefully, this outbreak stops there and the Capitals don’t lose any other players in the near future.
The Detroit Red Wings have also announced a player absence, indicating that Marc Staal has been added to the COVID protocol. Staal played nearly 19 minutes on Saturday against the New York Islanders and has actually been a relatively solid contributor for the Red Wings this season. His absence–which has not been confirmed as a positive test–would open the door for Danny DeKeyser‘s return to the lineup after exiting the protocol in recent days.
Should Staal miss ten days after a positive test, he’d be out for the team’s next five games at least.
Philadelphia Flyers Fire Alain Vigneault
The Vancouver Canucks aren’t the only ones making a coaching change. Alain Vigneault has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Vigneault is under contract through the 2023-24 season and is one of the highest-paid coaches in the league with a $5MM salary. Assistant coach Michel Therrien has also been relieved of his duties. Mike Yeo will take over as interim head coach for the time being.
Vigneault, 60, was hired by the Flyers in 2019 after a few years away from the game, and had the team playing incredibly well in his first season behind the bench. Philadelphia posted a 41-21-7 record through the first 69 games of the 2019-20 season before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the NHL. When the Flyers returned for the bubble playoffs things didn’t look quite as good, but they still reached game seven of the second round against the New York Islanders after dispatching the Montreal Canadiens. Since that 4-0 defeat against the Islanders, in which they generated just 16 shots despite having won both game five and game six in overtime to extend the series, the Flyers haven’t looked the same.
The team posted a 25-23-8 record in 2020-21, missing the playoffs entirely by finishing sixth in the East Division. The Flyers were the only team in the entire NHL to allow more than 200 goals against in the shortened season, routinely seeing big, crooked numbers put up against them. Combine that with the fact that they scored only 163 and even those 25 wins seem like an unlikely total.
This year, things haven’t been much better. Philadelphia has lost eight in a row, are 1-7-2 in their last ten and were just embarrassed on home ice last night. A 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Carter Hart getting pulled after five goals on 15 shots was the dagger, in this case, as Vigneault will not get another chance to break the streak and turn things around.
He will be paid handsomely though, as relieving a coach of their duties in the NHL does not break their contract. He’ll be paid by the Flyers for the next two and a half years unless another team buys out part of the contract in order to hire him for their own team. The obvious speculation would land on a return to the Montreal Canadiens, who not only have leaned toward French-speaking head coaches but also now have an extra connection to Vigneault through the executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, who worked with him (and fired him) in New York.
Yeo, who takes over as interim head coach, will be on his third stint leading a bench in the NHL. His first was with the Minnesota Wild under now-Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher, where he made the playoffs in three of five seasons. He then took over in St. Louis but was let go before two full years had even played out, with Craig Berube taking his place and leading the Blues to a Stanley Cup championship. Overall, his record as a head coach in the NHL sits at 246-181-55.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to break the news.
Five Key Stories: 11/29/21 – 12/5/21
The end of November brought forth some notable news around the NHL which is highlighted in our key stories of the week.
Five For Biting: Kings winger Brendan Lemieux was hit with a record-setting suspension, receiving a five-game ban for biting Senators winger Brady Tkachuk. The previous high for a suspension for biting was three games. The league’s ruling was limited to the initial occurrence although they acknowledged that there was circumstantial evidence that it may have occurred more than once. Lemieux has sat the first two games of the suspension and won’t be eligible to return until Saturday against Minnesota.
Khudobin Available: With Dallas having a capable tandem between the pipes in veteran Braden Holtby and youngster Jake Oettinger plus Ben Bishop working his way back towards returning, Anton Khudobin appears to be the odd one out as he has reportedly been made available. It was only two seasons ago that the 35-year-old led the league in save percentage at .930, albeit in only 30 games but since then, his performance has gone in the wrong direction. Through his first seven appearances this season, Khudobin has a 3.73 GAA with a save percentage of just .873 which certainly won’t help his trade value. He’s in the second season of a three-year deal with an AAV of $3.33MM which won’t be easy for many teams to take on without offsetting money the other way. Of course, the Stars need to clear the full contract to get closer to being able to afford to activate Bishop so it may take a while for a trade to materialize.
Hughes Extension: On the ice, it hasn’t been a fun season for Devils center Jack Hughes. A shoulder injury has limited him to just five games so far although he was able to return to the lineup on November 30th. Of course, the bigger news for him and New Jersey on that day is that the 20-year-old signed an eight-year, $64MM contract extension. The first overall pick in 2019 has just 56 career points in 122 games so there is definitely some risk on the part of the Devils. However, if he progresses into the top-line center as they believe he will, it’s a contract that should be a team-friendly one by its conclusion. The deal buys out his first four seasons of UFA eligibility and those years also carry a 10-team no-trade clause.
DeBrusk Wants Out: Off to another tough start with Boston, winger Jake DeBrusk is hoping a change of scenery could get him going and he has asked for a trade. The 25-year-old scored 62 goals in his first three NHL seasons which earned him a two-year, $7.35MM deal that carries a $4.85MM qualifying offer this summer. However, since then, he has scored nine times in 61 games which has resulted in him dropping down the depth chart, putting him in danger of being non-tendered in the process. Despite his struggles, there has been considerable interest so the Bruins will have some options. That said, his cap hit will make it tough to make a move happen without them retaining or taking a contract back. The holiday roster freeze begins on December 20th so there is some time for GM Don Sweeney to try to get a move done before the holidays.
Changes In Vancouver: The Canucks have cleaned house, firing head coach Travis Green, assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner, general manager Jim Benning and assistant general manager John Weisbrod. Bruce Boudreau will take over behind the bench, while Stan Smyl will serve as interim GM. Boudreau has coached nearly 1,000 career NHL games with the most recent coming with Minnesota in the 2019-20 season and will be tasked with getting Vancouver back on track in a season where they have struggled considerably early on. He will receive a two-year deal that matches the length of Green’s contract. He departs the Canucks after parts of five seasons behind the bench with a 133-147-34 record and one playoff appearance. Benning meanwhile had been with the team since 2014 and had made the playoffs just twice in his eight years at the helm. Things have gone considerably downhill since the 2020 bubble, with the team finding themselves near the bottom of the league standings this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Vancouver Canucks Fire Jim Benning
The changes in Vancouver weren’t limited to just the coaches as GM Jim Benning and assistant GM John Weisbrod have also been relieved of their duties. Stan Smyl will serve as interim general manager and be joined by Abbotsford Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson who will serve as interim assistant general manager for Vancouver. Owner Francesco Aquilini released a long statement, which in part reads:
These are difficult decisions, but we believed we would have a competitive group this year. As a result, I’m extremely disappointed in how the team has performed so far. I’m making these changes because we want to build a team that competes for championships and it’s time for new leadership to help take us there.
Our search for new leadership is underway. In the interim, Stan Smyl will lead our Hockey Operations team with the strong support of Ryan Johnson, Chris Gear, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Doug Jarvis and others on the team to ensure day-to-day continuity. Stan has been a very loyal and committed member of our Hockey Operations Senior Management structure for many years and is someone whose experience and leadership we value greatly.
Benning joined the Canucks back in 2014 after serving as an assistant GM with Boston for seven seasons. Over his tenure with Vancouver, they’ve only reached the playoffs twice, winning just one round which came back in his first season. His initial coaching hire in Willie Desjardins only last three seasons while Travis Green made it into his fifth year before being ousted today.
Benning has made several questionable decisions on the contract front over his tenure. Loui Eriksson received a six-year, $36MM contract back in 2016 which has not worked out well; he has scored just 38 times in 274 games since then. Tyler Myers received a five-year, $30MM contract in 2019 to bolster Vancouver’s back end and that move hasn’t gone as well as they hoped.
His penchant for handing out bigger contracts to bottom-six role players also proved costly as Antoine Roussel, Brandon Sutter, Jay Beagle, and Micheal Ferland all received deals well above market value and provided middling returns at best.
Benning also missed on two of his three highest picks as well. While he got Elias Pettersson fifth overall in 2018, he whiffed on selecting Olli Juolevi fifth overall a year earlier while Jake Virtanen never lived up to the hype of his six-overall selection in 2014. Fortunately for Vancouver, Benning’s other two top-10 picks have shown some promise; Quinn Hughes is already one of the more dominant offensive blueliners in the league while Vasily Podkolzin hasn’t looked out of place in his rookie season.
This past summer, he took a big swing on the trade front, acquiring Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland from Arizona for a package involving a first-round pick while also offloading Eriksson, Roussel, and Beagle’s contracts. However, Ekman-Larsson is signed through 2026-27 and even with the Coyotes retaining part of that deal, the Canucks are still stuck with a $7.26MM cap charge while Garland received a five-year, $25MM pact, one that at least looks decent so far.
As a result, Vancouver will continue to be battling the salary cap for the foreseeable future. They have over $70MM in commitments already for next season per CapFriendly with Brock Boeser owed a $7.5MM qualifying offer this summer. Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller are UFAs in 2024 while Pettersson will once again need a new contract in 2025 so more big-ticket signings will be on the horizon over the coming years while the new GM looks to try to improve the existing core at the same time.
As for Weisbrod, he also joined the Canucks in 2014 and previously had worked with Dallas, Boston, and Calgary. Prior to those stints, he had been the GM of the NBA’s Orlando Magic before resigning in his second year to join the Stars. Vancouver has one other assistant GM on their staff in Chris Gear who also serves as their chief legal officer.
Aquilini, Smyl, and Boudreau will each meet with the media on Monday afternoon.
The firings were first reported by Irfaan Gafaar of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).
Vancouver Canucks Fire Travis Green, Hire Bruce Boudreau
12:45am: The Canucks have officially announced the change, relieving Green and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner of their duties. Boudreau has been installed as head coach and he’ll be joined by new assistant coach Scott Walker.
7:10pm: It appears another coaching change is on the horizon in the NHL. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Canucks are expected to hire Bruce Boudreau as their new head coach which suggests that Travis Green‘s time behind Vancouver’s bench is set to come to an end. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that no move to replace GM Jim Benning has been made at this time.
This season certainly hasn’t gone as well as Vancouver had hoped. After making a big splash to add defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and winger Conor Garland from Arizona while shoring up their backup goalie position with the signing of Jaroslav Halak. Benning’s hope was that those additions, coupled with continued development from their young core, would be enough to get them back into playoff contention. Instead, they sit at the bottom of the Pacific Division with 18 points in 22 games, tied with Chicago for the second-fewest points in the Western Conference.
Several key Vancouver forwards have scuffled offensively this season, highlighted by Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson both sitting at four goals, hardly the ideal output for two of their top forwards. This is where Boudreau’s reported hiring could pay dividends as his teams have typically been higher scoring and his system could jumpstart Vancouver’s attack. At least, that’s what the team is hoping for. Of course, their defense corps still isn’t the strongest even with Ekman-Larsson in the fold and getting more out of that group will also be high on Boudreau’s priority list.
Boudreau is no stranger to being behind an NHL bench as he sits just 16 regular season games shy of 1,000 for his coaching career which includes stints in Washington, Anaheim, and Minnesota, putting him 29th in NHL history in that regard. His .635 points percentage sits seventh all-time among those who have coached at least 200 games. The 66-year-old last coached in the 2019-20 season although he was set to be on Canada’s staff as an assistant coach for some upcoming international tournaments later this month.
Green will become the second coach to be fired this season and third departure overall (the others being Jeremy Colliton and Joel Quenneville who resigned from Florida). He was in his fifth season behind the bench and had a 133-147-34 record along with only one playoff appearance in 2020 where they fell in the second round to Vegas. He signed a two-year contract extension back in May but won’t be making it to the end of that deal. Meanwhile, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre notes (Twitter link) that Boudreau will receive the same term which means he’ll be under contract with the Canucks through 2022-23.
Boudreau will be joined by Scott Walker as an assistant coach, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). This would be Walker’s second stint with the Canucks having worked with them for three seasons in player development before moving onto Arizona. The veteran of over 800 NHL games as a player is currently the President of Hockey Operations for Guelph of the OHL and was expected to coach alongside Boudreau as an assistant in those upcoming international tournaments for Canada.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.