Yan Kuznetsov Loaned To CHL
It’s not that often that you see a player go from the NCAA to the AHL to the CHL, but that’s exactly what’s about to happen for Yan Kuznetsov. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to the Saint John Seadogs of the QMJHL after 12 games with the Stockton Heat this season.
Kuznetsov, 19, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft after his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, and he returned in 2020-21 for his sophomore season. After the college campaign ended, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flames and suited up six times down the stretch for Stockton. The 6’4″ defenseman has failed to register a single point in 18 games for the Heat overall and will now get to test himself at the junior level, something that will only help develop his overall game.
Notably, he’ll be available for Russia at the World Juniors again, which would be his second time at the tournament, and also will likely play in the Memorial Cup given it is set to be hosted in Saint John this season. A trade could potentially change that obviously, but Kuznetsov will spend the rest of the year in the CHL competing against players his age.
Selected 22nd overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft, this was always a possibility for the big defenseman. Saint John picked him after he already made his AHL debut, meaning they had an inkling he could end up back in junior at some point. He’s joining a team that is currently 12-8-3 on the year and in eighth place in the QMJHL standings, but still has big expectations. He’s also going to be joining fellow Calgary draft picks Jeremie Poirier and Ryan Francis, the latter of whom also made his AHL debut with the Heat last season before he returned to Saint John.
Kirill Semyonov Clears Unconditional Waivers
Dec 2: Semyonov has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated. Yesterday, Maple Leafs’ head coach Sheldon Keefe explained that the forward expressed a desire to return to the KHL on the way back from the team’s latest road trip.
Dec 1: The Kirill Semyonov experiment in Toronto is coming to an end, as the Russian forward has been placed on unconditional waivers. Semyonov will see his contract terminated, making him a free agent that can sign with a new NHL team or return to the KHL.
Semyonov, 27, signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs this season, expecting to be in the mix for the bottom-six after a long, successful career in the KHL. The undrafted forward hit a career-high of 46 points in 62 games during the 2019-20 season and won a Gagarin Cup championship in 2021. When he arrived it seemed to be going well, with a strong showing in the preseason for Toronto. Still, he ended up in the minors to start the year, where he played nine games and put up nine points.
Recently, Semyonov had been recalled to the main roster but with the addition of veteran forward Kyle Clifford, even the spare roster spot was going to be difficult to secure. Now, after being sent down yesterday in favor of Joey Anderson, Semyonov is on waivers and will leave the organization entirely.
It will be interesting to see whether he tries to catch on with another NHL team at some point, or if Semyonov’s NHL story ends after just three games. He failed to score a point in any of those and will leave the Maple Leafs still waiting for his first NHL goal. When terminated, the contract will come completely off the books for Toronto.
Buffalo Sabres Acquire Malcolm Subban
The Buffalo Sabres have struggled to find consistent netminding all year, and now appear to be throwing another name into the ring. The Sabres have acquired Malcolm Subban from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.
Subban, 27, is certainly not a guaranteed upgrade to the goaltending the Sabres have at the moment. A first-round pick from 2012, the veteran netminder has just 82 games of NHL experience to this point most of that coming with the Vegas Golden Knights as the team’s original backup. Subban posted a .901 save percentage in those 63 appearances with Vegas, but has a .899 overall for his career. Last season, he played in 16 games for the Blackhawks and posted a .900, but was pushed down the depth chart once again when they acquired Marc-Andre Fleury in the offseason.
After clearing waivers at the start of the year, Subban was sent to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL where he has appeared in three games. While his numbers there certainly don’t paint a pretty picture, this move will allow the Sabres to leave Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, still the team’s top goaltending prospect, in the minor leagues while Subban helps the NHL squad.
Currently, the team was going with a tandem of Dustin Tokarski and Aaron Dell, as Craig Anderson continues to deal with an injury. Those two have combined for an .894 on the season so far, not exactly what the team is looking for as they try to support their young roster. It’s not that the Sabres are really trying to contend for the playoffs as they start another rebuild, but it’s difficult to develop any talent when they’re losing every night. The team is 3-6-1 in their last ten and plummeting down the standings, thanks in part to goaltending that has allowed the fifth-most goals against in the league.
It’s also a great opportunity for Subban, if only to show that he can be an NHL backup again at this point in his career. His two-year contract will expire at the end of the season, at which point he’ll be looking for a new job. Given that the deal is a one-way contract, he was still earning his $950K salary in the minor leagues. The Blackhawks can cross that off the books now that he’s with Buffalo, even if they aren’t really getting anything of value in return.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report a deal was being worked out.
More to come…
Jordan Binnington Placed In COVID Protocol
The St. Louis Blues’ battle with COVID continues, as this time their starting goaltender has entered the protocol. Jordan Binnington is now unavailable to the team and the Blues have recalled Charlie Lindgren to take his place on the roster, but unfortunately, they don’t have the cap space to use him tonight. The team will have to use an emergency goalie for one game–similar to what the Toronto Maple Leafs did earlier this season–and then add Lindgren under the emergency recall rules for Friday. Kyle Konin, a 23-year-old netminder who last played at Grand Valley State University, will be the backup tonight.
Binnington joins Tyler Bozak, who was placed in the protocol a few days ago. This isn’t the first time the Blues have been without key players though, and as things are currently going around the league, appears it likely won’t be the last. St. Louis confirmed that Binnington has tested positive, meaning if he experiences any symptoms, he’ll be held out for a minimum of ten days.
That means tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Blues will likely have Ville Husso in net, who dealt with his own stint in the COVID protocol earlier this season. The team is also scheduled to play the Florida Panthers on Saturday before traveling home, something that Binnington won’t be able to do if he’s stuck in quarantine. He’ll have to stay behind and re-join the team down the line, potentially after he misses the next five or six games.
AHL Shuffle: 12/02/21
Ten games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including the return of the New York Islanders after their short postponement. They will take on the San Jose Sharks at UBS Arena and are expected to have their captain in the lineup for his first home game in the new rink. It’s going to be a long climb back to playoff contention for the Islanders, but six fewer games played than several of their rivals, there is at least still a chance. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Kyle Criscuolo and Dan Renouf back to the AHL, as the team has a few days off between games. The Red Wings will welcome in the Islanders on Saturday, but for now, can move a couple of names off the books to clear room and save money.
Metropolitan Division
- Now that they have several players returning from the COVID protocol, the Islanders have returned Thomas Hickey, Richard Panik and Paul Ladue to the AHL. All three have cleared waivers already this season and are expected to spend most of the year in the minors.
Central Division
Pacific Division
This page will be updated throughout the day
Brendan Gallagher, Sami Niku Placed In COVID Protocol
The Montreal Canadiens have lost a pair of players, this time to the league’s COVID protocol. Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku have both been placed in it and will be unavailable to the team in the immediate future.
The Canadiens have not confirmed whether or not either one has actually tested positive, but if they did and are experiencing any symptoms, they’ll be held out for a minimum of ten days. This comes just as the team is trying to reset the narrative of their season under a new boss, following the firing of Marc Bergevin and hiring of Jeff Gorton as the new front office chief. Instead of a change, the team lost to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night, keeping them at just six wins for the season.
This evening, Montreal is set to take on the Colorado Avalanche, a team that will be fuming after giving up eight goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It looks like the Canadiens will be without Gallagher and Niku, not the ideal situation for the rest of the group.
East Notes: Flyers, WHL Trade, Sabres
After a summer that featured plenty of roster turnover, the results haven’t been much different for the Flyers in the early going this season. They missed the playoffs last season and sit seventh in the Metropolitan early on this year which has them out of the postseason mix for the time being. Despite that, GM Chuck Fletcher was preaching patience at a recent press conference (video link):
I’d really like to see what we have before we start making changes. I don’t feel I’ve been able to see that to this point in time. We’re always looking, I’m talking to teams every day. If there are ways to make us better, we’ll look at it. But right now, if you just look at how we played the first 10 games versus the last 10 games, clearly one segment was way better than the other.
So we’ve shown the ability to play better than how we are right now. That’s the most important thing, we’ve got to get back, we’ve got to get playing better. Then from there, we’ll get a sense of what we really are and then we can make those decisions.
Philadelphia has battled some injury trouble early on (including in tonight’s game with Joel Farabee leaving early) which hasn’t helped their cause and that’s clearly a point of optimism for Fletcher that as their players return, they could get back on track. However, if that doesn’t happen over the next couple of months or so, they could be a team to keep an eye on before the March 21st trade deadline.
More from the East:
- A notable trade occurred in the WHL today when Canadiens prospect blueliner Kaiden Guhle was dealt to Edmonton. The 2020 first-round was acquired for a package of four draft picks including two first-rounders plus two players, headlined by 2021 Senators fourth-round selection Carson Latimer.
- The Sabres are about to get some help from the infirmary as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News relays that center Casey Mittelstadt will return on Thursday against Florida after being injured in the season-opener versus Montreal. Blueliner Jacob Bryson will also return after missing Monday’s contest with a nagging injury. Meanwhile, winger Alex Tuch skated in a non-contact sweater at practice as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery while goaltender Craig Anderson also accompanied the team on their road trip although there remains no timetable for a return from his upper-body injury that has kept him out for a month.
Free Agent Henry Rybinski Receiving Interest
Generally, the market for free agent junior players isn’t typically strong. Sure, the odd late-bloomer might make it through but more often than not, the more prominent free agents come from the college ranks. However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column, one CHL free agent that is generating interest is winger Henry Rybinski.
The 20-year-old was actually drafted by Florida back in the fifth round in 2019 (136th overall) but wasn’t signed by June 1st. Now that he’s too old to be drafted again, he can sign as a free agent.
Rybinski is off to a strong start in his final season with WHL Seattle, notching four goals and 11 assists in 13 games with the Thunderbirds. That’s a similar level of production to last season when he had seven goals and 21 helpers in 23 contests which wasn’t enough to get Florida to sign him.
What works in Rybinski’s favor is that Seattle has several quality draft-eligible players; they had four ranked in NHL Central Scouting’s Players to Watch headlined by defenseman Kevin Korchinski who is viewed as a possible first-round pick. That will keep scouts coming to watch the Thunderbirds play and keep Rybinski on the radar as a result.
While some players that sign contracts now have their deals sign a year, that wouldn’t be the case for Rybinski as he’s too old for that option. Meanwhile, if a team wants to sign him and ensure that they have him for three full years in their system, they’ll have to wait until future contracts (beginning the following season) can be signed on March 1st.
Red Wings Place Tyler Bertuzzi In COVID Protocol
The Red Wings will be without one of their top forwards for tonight’s contest against the Kraken as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Bertuzzi has been placed in COVID protocol.
Bertuzzi is now the only remaining NHL player to decline the COVID vaccination which has prevented him from crossing the border to play road games in Canada this season. Despite that, he’s off to the best start of his career with nine goals and nine assists in 20 games, good for third on Detroit in scoring. That will obviously be put on hold again with him being added to the list of those in the protocol.
As is always important to note when a team places a player into protocol, it doesn’t mean that it’s a confirmed positive test. However, if it does turn out that he has tested positive, then Bertuzzi will be out for at least ten days. Detroit, who is carrying a full 23-player roster, would be eligible to designate him as non-roster status, allowing them to bring someone up from AHL Grand Rapids to take Bertuzzi’s place. With this announcement coming just before puck drop, that won’t be an option tonight but since they’re off until Saturday after this one, they’ll be able to add someone in time for their next game.
Brent Seabrook Joins Vancouver Giants As Assistant Coach
The playing career of Brent Seabrook is over, despite three years remaining on his contract. The veteran defenseman has been on long-term injured reserve for two seasons now and is not expected to ever play in the NHL again. That doesn’t mean he won’t be around the rink though, as Seabrook has accepted a position with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL as a volunteer/interim assistant coach. He’ll be behind the bench for the team helping while Michael Dyck is serving as an assistant with Canada’s World Junior team.
Seabrook, 36, is certainly experienced enough to help out a junior coaching staff, given his 1,114 regular season games in the NHL. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, he also suited up 123 times for the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs. A core piece of those championship clubs, Seabrook was a perfect complement to the smooth-skating Duncan Keith, adding some real power and physicality to the lineup every night. Even when they weren’t playing together, Keith calmly patrolled on one pairing while Seabrook punished attackers on another.
He recorded more than 2,000 blocked shots throughout his career, along with more than 2,100 hits, things that eventually took their toll on his body. After multiple surgeries that helped his quality of life, he won’t be back on the ice in the NHL. His deal, which extends through the 2023-24 season, was actually traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in July as part of the deal that brought Tyler Johnson to Chicago.
While Seabrook didn’t play for the Giants in junior, he’s from Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver. Giving a little back to your hometown club while Dyck, as Seabrook puts it, “goes for gold” makes sense for such a respected veteran. Perhaps this will even be the start of a second career for the Blackhawks legend.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images