AHL Shuffle: 11/29/21
It’s a new week in the NHL and four games kick things off this evening. That includes the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens battling while headlines swirl around each franchise, and the Pittsburgh Penguins taking the ice for the first time since announcing an approved sale. As those teams and others prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling right here.
Atlantic Division
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Matt Kiersted and Aleksi Heponiemi, as Aleksander Barkov continues to work on his recovery. The Panthers captain was at practice but skating with the extras, which also included Heponiemi. Now 22, Heponiemi has played just nine games at the NHL level but has 11 points in 18 games for the Charlotte Checkers this season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Gabriel Fortier from the AHL, as Mathieu Joseph deals with an injury. Fortier, 21, has yet to make his NHL debut but has 11 points in 17 games for the Syracuse Crunch this season. The 2018 second-round pick was a strong performer in junior and has been in the system for years, making his AHL debut back in the 2018-19 season.
- Following a California road trip, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have at least one well-rested skater when they take on Colorado on Wednesday. The team has announced that Joey Anderson has been recalled from the AHL Marlies with Kirill Semyonov heading the other way.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers have sent Connor Bunnaman and Max Willman back to the AHL, with the team off until Wednesday. Philadelphia is plummeting in the standings, losing six in a row and dropping to seventh in the Metro. The group is 2-6-2 in their last ten and now has a -12 goal differential.
- With a pair of starting defenders entering COVID Protocol earlier today, the Carolina Hurricanes have called in reinforcements. Maxime Lajoie and Jalen Chatfield have been recalled to the NHL from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the ‘Canes announced. The duo has 80 NHL games between them, but neither has suited up for Carolina yet. One or both could get their first opportunity in the team’s next game.
Central Division
- The Colorado Avalanche have activated Martin Kaut from injured reserve, loaning him to the AHL in the process. Kaut has played a handful of games at both levels this season but will get his feet back underneath him in the minor leagues.
- With Philipp Kurashev struggling to get going in his sophomore season, the Chicago Blackhawks have opted to send him to the AHL for the time being. Coming up from the Rockford IceHogs is a familiar name – or at least a familiar last name. Rookie Josiah Slavin, younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes star defenseman Jaccob Slavin, has earned his first NHL recall after leaving Colorado College last year. Slavin leads the IceHogs in plus/minus by a wide margin and is a top-five scorer as well.
Pacific Division
- Benoit-Olivier Groulx has been added back to the San Diego Gulls roster for the time being, with the Anaheim Ducks off until tomorrow. Groulx, 21, has three points in 16 games during his rookie NHL season but has been bounced back and forth on off-days.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Pesce, DeAngelo, McKegg Added To COVID Protocol
The Carolina Hurricanes have lost another two defensemen, as both Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo have been added to the COVID protocol. The two will remain in Raleigh while the rest of the team travels to Dallas, suggesting they won’t be available tomorrow night at the very least. If the pair has tested positive–which the Hurricanes did not confirm–and have experienced any symptoms, they will be held out for a minimum of ten days.
The New York Rangers also have an unavailable player, as Greg McKegg will not skate today after entering the protocol. Like the Hurricanes, the Rangers have not confirmed whether or not McKegg tested positive for coronavirus, only that he will miss today’s practice with a COVID-related absence.
Ethan Bear had already been unavailable for the Hurricanes after entering the protocol a week ago, meaning a huge swathe of the team’s defense corps is now out of the lineup. The Hurricanes had been using Brendan Smith more than they likely expected, but now will also likely have to make some additional recalls. Like with the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators, who have all faced severe outbreaks this season, the Hurricanes aren’t likely to receive any help from the league in terms of postponements unless things get much worse.
Already the Hurricanes had been faltering a bit of late, losing the Metropolitan Division lead after a 6-3-1 run. If they want to catch the Washington Capitals (who have played two more games) in the coming days, they’ll have to do it with a defense group that isn’t quite as established. Pesce logs more ice time than anyone not named Jaccob Slavin, while DeAngelo has been one of the best point-producing defensemen in the league this season with 19 in 20 games.
Brad Marchand To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety still has Brendan Lemieux to deal with tomorrow, but will focus on Brad Marchand today. The Boston Bruins forward will have a hearing today for slew-footing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Oliver-Ekman Larsson.
The incident occurred partway through the first period of last night’s game and Marchand did not receive a penalty on the play. Ekman-Larsson also did not suffer a serious injury, going on to play more than 24 minutes in the game.
This is not the first slew foot to draw the attention of the DoPS this season, in fact, it appears as though this season is going to be ruled by the offense given how often it has been in the headlines so far. P.K. Subban has been involved in several incidents (which were notably referred to as trips, not slew foots), while Ryan Hartman earned a $4,250 fine recently. Kevin Labanc is the only one to have earned a suspension for a slew foot this season, drawing a one-game ban for his incident earlier this month.
In Labanc’s video explanation, the league used the following language to explain the suspension:
What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the speed the players are traveling, and their proximity to the boards.
Ekman-Larsson also collided with the boards after the Marchand incident, though the pair weren’t traveling at an exceptional speed. It will be interesting to see if the league decides on a fine or suspension in this case.
Fenway Sports Group Approves Purchase Of Pittsburgh Penguins
Nov: 29: After receiving unanimous approval from the FSG board earlier this month, the team has officially announced the agreement, which is still subject to approval from the NHL’s board of governors. In today’s release, it confirms that Lemieux and Burkle will remain part of the ownership group, and that management–from CEO David Morehouse all the way to head coach Mike Sullivan–will be maintained as is. The sale is expected to go through before the end of the year.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the sale is expected to be worth around $900MM.
Nov 16: The Pittsburgh Penguins majority owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux are in talks to sell the team to Fenway Sports Group, the company that owns Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC, according to Cara Lombardo and Laine Higgins of the Wall Street Journal. Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Lemieux will likely retain a minority stake and will continue to be involved in the hockey operations.
It’s been more than two decades since Lemieux and Burkle effectively saved the Penguins, taking control of the team in 1999 after converting more than $32MM in deferred salary into equity. While it has certainly not been a smooth ride since then–the Penguins have been close to selling or relocating several times over the years, including a notorious saga with Jim Balsillie in 2006–Lemieux has held the team together, helped orchestrate a rebuild, and eventually brought multiple Stanley Cup victories to the club as an executive.
Forbes estimates the Penguins value at $650MM, the same price that the Seattle Kraken recently paid as an expansion fee. Sportico meanwhile valued them at $845MM recently, ranking them 15th in the NHL. The details of this sale are not public, but the report suggests that the deal could be finalized by the end of the week. It would also need to be approved by the NHL.
Fenway Sports Group was formed in 2001–then called New England Sports Ventures–when John Henry, among other investors, took control of the Red Sox. In 2010 the company purchased Liverpool FC, and they also own other smaller sporting ventures and venues. Henry has previous experience in sports ownership and was involved in an expansion bid for a Florida-based team that eventually went to another group and became the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Of note, the NHL has a standard agreement in place that prevents new owners from relocating a franchise for seven years.
Five Key Stories: 11/22/21 – 11/28/21
The final full week of November got off to a quiet start but there was plenty of notable news towards the end of the week which are highlighted in our key stories.
Big Money On Waivers: The Senators haven’t been pleased with what they’re received from Matt Murray since he became their starting goalie last year and with him being off to a tough start this season, they opted to waive him to give him some time in the minors to try to get back on track. With two years left after this at $6.25MM, he cleared as expected, enabling him to be sent to Belleville. One day later, Sharks winger Evander Kane finds himself on the wire as well. His suspension to start the season for providing a fake vaccination card is up but amid speculation that San Jose would like to move on from the 30-year-old, he’ll start his season in the AHL assuming he clears on Monday. With the team being willing to retain on his $7MM AAV, it’s quite unlikely he’ll be claimed.
Lemieux In Trouble: Kings winger Brendan Lemieux has already been suspended twice in his young career and it looks quite likely that a third is on the horizon. After he received a match penalty (which carries an automatic suspension pending a hearing) for biting Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, the league offered Lemieux an ‘in-person’ hearing (which is currently conducted through Zoom). That gives them the ability to suspend him for more than five games. That’s notable considering the longest biting suspension has been three games. The time for the hearing has not yet been set.
Front Office Shakeup: The front office for the Canadiens looks a lot different all of a sudden. After assistant GM Scott Mellanby resigned on Saturday, the Canadiens then fired GM Marc Bergevin and assistant GM Trevor Timmins who had been in charge of their amateur scouting. Montreal made the playoffs in six of the nine years that Bergevin was at the helm while they made it to the Stanley Cup Final this past summer. However, the two sides were unable to agree on a new contract in the offseason and with the team off to a tough start this season, ownership decided a new direction was needed. The executive tasked with shaping that new direction is Jeff Gorton. The former Rangers GM has been added as VP of Hockey Operations and will play a key role in their search for a new general manager.
More Postponements: The Islanders are the second team to have games affected by a COVID outbreak as the league postponed their games through November 30th which means at least two games will need to be rescheduled. New York currently has eight players in COVID protocol as well as three off-ice personnel. Ottawa had three games postponed earlier this month due to their own outbreak which triggered an ability for the NHL to opt out of playing in the upcoming Olympics.
Leave Of Absence For Wilson: Sharks GM Doug Wilson is taking a temporary leave of absence from the team for non-COVID medical reasons. The recent Hall of Fame inductee has reportedly been dealing with a persistent cough for the last three months. Assistant GM Joe Will will take over as interim GM in Wilson’s absence. Everyone here at PHR extends their best to Wilson as we hope to see him back on the job as soon as possible.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Klingberg, Forsberg, Johnson
The Hurricanes have inquired about the availability of Stars defenseman John Klingberg, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (video link). The 29-year-old is in the final year of his contract and a report earlier in the season suggested that he was seeking a max-term eight-year extension worth over $60MM, a price tag that Dallas clearly hasn’t been willing to meet yet. He’s off to a quiet start to his season with no goals and seven assists in 15 games although his track record suggests he’ll turn things around offensively. The fit in Carolina is interesting as they’re already using LTIR and don’t have the cap space to take on Klingberg’s $4.25MM AAV; they’d need Dallas to retain or to send close to matching money the other way. They already have a strong back end and Klingberg would certainly give them a big boost but it’s the type of trade that is more plausible closer to the trade deadline than this early in the season.
Elsewhere around the Central:
- The Predators will soon have a decision to make on pending UFA winger Filip Forsberg. Do they re-sign him and keep trying to win with their current core or go in a different direction to shake things up? Adam Vingan of The Athletic makes the case (subscription link) that Nashville should take the latter option over running the risk of being saddled with another high-priced contract on a core that already has over $46MM in commitments for 2024-25. Considering that core probably isn’t good enough to contend, moving on from Forsberg – likely making him a rental trade at the deadline – would be another critical step in GM David Poile’s shakeup, one that saw Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis head elsewhere this past summer.
- The Blackhawks were hoping to have center Tyler Johnson back soon but it doesn’t appear as if that will be the case. Interim head coach Derek King told reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the veteran isn’t as far along in his recovery as they hoped from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for the last week and a half. Johnson is in his first season with Chicago after being acquired from Tampa Bay but has been limited to just eight games so far due to injuries while he has just a goal and two assists when he has been in the lineup.
Canucks Receiving Strong Trade Interest In Bo Horvat
It has been a tough couple of years in Vancouver. They underwhelmed considerably last season and after adding some key pieces over the summer including Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and Jaroslav Halak, there was an expectation that they’d be back in playoff contention. That hasn’t happened as the Canucks have limped to a 6-13-2 record and are already fading from the postseason picture.
As is often the case with teams in this situation, trade speculation is sure to follow. In a recent interview on Sportsnet 650 (audio link), Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic reported that Vancouver is fielding plenty of trade calls but at this time, the bulk of those calls have been focused on one player – Bo Horvat.
The 26-year-old has been with Vancouver for his entire career after being drafted ninth overall back in 2013. He is in his third season as their captain and after he signed a long-term contract in 2017 following his entry-level deal, it felt like he was going to be a part of their plans for the long run. Along the way, he went from being deployed primarily as a checker into becoming a strong two-way center for the Canucks.
However, that contract is only a year and a half away from ending and with things certainly not looking great for Vancouver, it’s certainly reasonable to speculate as to whether or not Horvat would be willing to sign another long-term pact, particularly if they shift gears and look towards a rebuild. Clearly, several general managers around the league seem to have that idea with Horvat driving a lot of the trade inquiries at this stretch.
While Horvat is off to a bit of a slow start offensively this season with six goals and five assists through the first 21 games, he’s still the type of player that could command a sizable return. He still often receives the toughest checking assignments and is quite strong at the faceoff dot, elements that contending teams always covet while a change of scenery could certainly get him going offensively again as well.
Horvat carries a $5.5MM AAV this season and next which is certainly below market value for a player of his caliber. He also doesn’t have any trade protection which will make it a bit easier to facilitate a trade.
While Vancouver would understandably like to keep Horvat in the fold, he’s also arguably their best trade chip as none of their rentals – headlined by Halak and winger Tyler Motte – wouldn’t come close to yielding the type of return that Horvat would. If they do decide to rebuild, Horvat is the type of player that should bring back a minimum of a first-round pick and a top prospect plus likely some other pieces as well.
The future was supposed to be now in terms of Vancouver’s playoff prospects but that’s looking less and less likely. As a result, the Canucks may soon need to make some decisions about key veterans and with the type of interest Horvat appears to be generating, he could very well be a strong candidate to be traded if they indeed start looking towards the future.
Injury Notes: Zuccarello, Joseph, Kase
Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello was absent from Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with an upper-body injury. While the Wild were able to take the game with a 4-2 win, Zuccarello’s great performance so far this season (16 points in 16 games) means they’ll want him back as soon as possible. Head coach Dean Evason said after the game that Zuccarello’s got a “nasty injury” on his bottom hand. Zuccarello will try to practice during the Wild’s optional skate tomorrow, but Evason offers no guarantees.
More injury news from around the league:
- Mathieu Joseph of the Tampa Bay Lightning sustained an injury and did not return to today’s game against Minnesota. Joseph had been playing in the team’s top six along with Alex Killorn and Anthony Cirelli and had seven points in 19 games. It’s a tough blow to a team that’s already missing Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point up front. It’s unknown if Joseph will miss how much, if any, time.
- Ondrej Kase isn’t returning for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, but head coach Sheldon Keefe assures that his absence is more precautionary in nature. An upper-body injury to Kase is concerning considering his concussion history, but Keefe said today “There’s no clarity on that right now. But that has not been designated as the case.” Kase’s been working out on his own without practicing with the team.
Minor Transactions: 11/28/21
It was a busy day for waiver and front office news, but the litany of transactions doesn’t stop at the NHL level. There have been a variety of transactions today at lower levels of North American hockey. We’ll keep track of those here:
- The AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins have brought in forward Matt Berry on a professional tryout contract from the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, per a team release. The 29-year-old ECHL veteran and Michigan State alumnus didn’t play in 2020-21 due to COVID, but has absolutely lit up the ECHL with nine goals and 15 assists through just 15 games with Toledo this season. Undrafted, the Canton, Michigan, native now gets a chance to impress in the Red Wings organization.
- According to the ECHL’s transactions page, the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack recalled defenseman Jeff Taylor from the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen on Sunday. Taylor, originally a seventh-round draft choice by the Penguins in 2014, has failed to replicate the success he had in his first full professional season in 2017-18 after graduating from Union College. However, he’s had a hot start with eight points in 10 games for Jacksonville this season and will now look to try his luck again at the AHL level.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Montreal Canadiens Fire Marc Bergevin And Others, Hire Jeff Gorton
The Montreal Canadiens have made another front-office change following Scott Mellanby‘s resignation yesterday. Per the team, they’ve fired general manager Marc Bergevin as well as assistant GM Trevor Timmins and senior VP of public affairs Paul Wilson.
Bergevin’s been the GM and executive VP of hockey operations for the Canadiens since 2012-13. Under his term, the team made the playoffs six out of nine seasons.
Timmins was named assistant GM in 2017 but had been with the organization in various capacities since 2002.
Jeff Gorton has been hired as executive vice president of hockey operations. Bergevin is expected to be replaced by another French-speaking general manager, as the release states. Gorton will oversee operations on a day-to-day basis while the search for a new general manager continues.
Gorton, 53, was the GM in New York from 2015-2021 and had previously worked with the Rangers and Boston Bruins in several different roles, including scout, director of scouting, director of player personnel, and assistant general manager. His multiple decades in NHL front offices have now led him to one of the most coveted positions in the NHL, but also one with some of the highest pressures.
The Canadiens, the league’s most historic franchise with 23 Stanley Cup championships, made it all the way back to the finals last season but were unable to capture their first title since 1993. Just months later and the organization has collapsed, losing 17 of its first 23 games and owning the league’s second-worst goal differential. The absences of Phillip Danault, Shea Weber, and Carey Price from last year’s playoff team have been catastrophic, with almost no one playing up to their potential on an already underwhelming roster.
Yet, this move comes a day after the Canadiens won their sixth game of the season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3. It needed a 47-save performance from Jake Allen to do it though, and three of the goals were of the empty-net variety, meaning the final score was not indicative of how the game played out. Still, Gorton walks into a fan base that has at least been temporarily subdued, despite some season-long failure.
One of the decisions that Gorton will have to make in this newly announced position is on the future of head coach Dominique Ducharme, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier this summer. Ducharme now has a 21-31-9 record in the regular season as head coach of the Canadiens, a dreadful number that is only partially masked by his playoff success. Yes, he is the coach that led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Finals (though even then, he was replaced for a short period by assistant Luke Richardson), but there have been clear signs that Ducharme either does not know how to properly deploy the roster he has or that the roster is unwilling to accept that deployment.
Mellanby, meanwhile, left the organization after initially believing he would be the next general manager of the team. Marc-Antoine Godin of The Athletic examines the way that team president Geoff Molson handled the situation, including “deep talks” with Mellanby to become Bergevin’s successor. When things pivoted to a president of hockey operations and Gorton, Mellanby’s “trust was broken” according to Godin. That means Gorton will not only need to replace Bergevin but also Mellanby’s position of assistant GM.
The focus of incoming front office members will be interesting, as it is unclear whether the Canadiens brass believes the team to still be in a contending window. There are talented youngsters like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Alexander Romanov, but also too many bloated contracts for players that have not shown an ability to be true difference-makers. The roster should be better than 6-15-2, but it was always going to be a challenge to make the playoffs after some of the key offseason departures.
Poor play from several previously reliable defensive options–including Jeff Petry and newcomer David Savard–may have to be at the top of the list of concerns for the Canadiens. The team got through the playoffs with stingy defense and timely counterattacks, neither of which appear likely on any given night this season. With several long-term deals on the books, including more than $70MM committed to 2023-24 (though that’s counting Shea Weber‘s LTIR-bound deal), there is a lot of work to do for a new front office.