Training Camp Cuts: 10/08/21
Just a few more days remain until the start of the regular season, meaning teams will be cutting down to the final roster soon. As always, we’ll keep track of all the cuts from around the league right here.
Anaheim Ducks (via press release)
D Olen Zellweger (to Everett, WHL)
G Lukas Dostal (to San Diego, AHL)
Arizona Coyotes (via press release)
F Bokondji Imama (to Tucson, AHL)
G Josef Korenar (to Tucson, AHL)
Boston Bruins (via Matt Porter, Boston Globe)
F Steven Fogarty (to Providence, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Providence, AHL)
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Brandon Davidson (to Rochester, AHL)*
Chicago Blackhawks (via press release)
F Colton Dach (to Kelowna, WHL)
D Nolan Allen (to Prince Albert, AHL)
F Evan Barratt (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dmitri Osipov (to Rockford, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via press release)
F Shane Bowers (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Artem Anisimov (released from PTO)
Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)
F Fredrik Karlstrom (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via press release)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Ryan Murphy (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Adam Brubacher (released from PTO)
Minnesota Wild (via team Twitter)
F Kyle Rau (to Iowa, AHL)
G Andrew Hammond (to Iowa, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via press release)
F A.J. Greer (to Utica, AHL)
D Nikita Okhotiuk (to Utica, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (to Utica, AHL)*
F Mark Jankowski (released from PTO)
Pittsburgh Penguins (via press release)
F Kasper Bjorkqvist (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Filip Hallander (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Nathan Legare (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Sam Poulin (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Louis Domingue (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning (via press release)
F Simon Ryfors (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Amir Miftakhov (to Orlando, ECHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via press release)
G Michael Dipietro (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F Sheldon Dries (to Abbotsford, AHL)*
*Pending waivers
This page will be updated throughout the day
Germany, Switzerland, Russia Announce Members Of 2022 Olympic Team
The first three members of each participating Olympic hockey nation are being announced this week, with top names like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Victor Hedman already locked in to compete for their respective countries. Today, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark and Russia all revealed the first three names on their roster sheet.
For Germany, it comes as no surprise that Leon Draisaitl leads the way. The Edmonton Oilers superstar is one of the most dangerous playmakers in the world, winning the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2020. He’ll be joined by Philipp Grubauer, who gives the German squad an elite goaltending option for the tournament.
The third member is an interesting choice though, as Moritz Seider, the Detroit Red Wings prospect who has yet to even make his NHL debut, has already locked in his spot at the Games. The 20-year-old defenseman was the sixth-overall pick in 2019 and has is expected to make an impact for the Red Wings in short order.
Switzerland has a trio of impressive NHL talents, starting with Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi. The 31-year-old defenseman won the Norris Trophy in 2020 and has helped his small country take home two silver medals at the World Championship. In fact, in 2013 when Switzerland came in second, Josi was named tournament MVP. Josi will be joined by Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks and Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, two established NHL forwards that have represented Switzerland on several occasions in the past.
The Slovaks may now have quite the same star power, but there’s still plenty of NHL experience announced today. Andrej Sekera, Erik Cernak and Jaroslav Halak will all be donning their nation’s colors next year, bringing the building blocks of a strong defensive unit. Cernak, 24, has developed into an extremely valuable and versatile player for the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning two Stanley Cup championships in his first three years of NHL action.
Latvia and Denmark, who don’t usually have much of a chance at a medal actually have some NHL talent of their own to announce today. Rudolfs Balcers, Zemgus Girgensons and Kristians Rubins will take part for Latvia, while Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nikolaj Ehlers and Alexander True make up a great start for the Danes.
It’s Russia that will draw the most attention today though, as the three players announced have all been considered among the best in the world at some point. Alex Ovechkin, a player who is chasing down history by attempting to catch and break Wayne Gretzky‘s NHL goal record, Nikita Kucherov, the 2019 Hart Trophy winner and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the most recent Conn Smythe recipient, make up a trio that’s hard to match. Russia, who will be competing as the “Russian Olympic Committee” is the reigning Olympic champion after taking home the award (then as the Olympic Athletes from Russia) in 2018 when the NHL did not participate.
Florida Panthers Extend Aleksander Barkov
The news that every Florida Panthers fan has been waiting for is about to happen. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team has signed a long-term extension with Aleksander Barkov, their star center, inking a new eight-year contract that will kick in for the 2022-23 season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $10MM according to Friedman, with the majority of the money coming in the form of signing bonuses. PuckPedia reports that the deal will have a no-move clause for the first six years, and a 16-team no-trade clause in the final two. The modified no-trade clause Barkov had for this season has also been converted to a full no-move. The contract has now been officially announced, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has the full breakdown:
- 2022-23: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $1.0MM salary + $10.6MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $1.0MM salary + $9.0MM signing bonus
- 2027-28: $1.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
- 2028-29: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus
- 2029-30: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus
Panthers GM Bill Zito released a statement on the deal:
Over his past eight years in South Florida, Sasha has demonstrated his leadership, character and elite playmaking ability, cementing himself as one of the best all-around players in hockey. He has earned the respect of the hockey community through work ethic and a team-first attitude. Most importantly, he is a tremendous person, athlete and friend and we are thrilled to secure Sasha as our leader on and off the ice for the next eight years.
Barkov, 26, will carry just a $5.9MM cap hit this season on the last year of a deal that turned into one of the biggest bargains in the NHL. Signed in 2016 just a few months into his third NHL season, the six-year, $35.4MM contract was an absolute steal for the Panthers, who watched their young phenom turn from a lanky, inconsistent presence to a powerful two-way force. In 2018-19 Barkov recorded a career-high of 35 goals and 96 points, but the 6’3″ 215-lbs center is much more than his offensive numbers.
The reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov has been nominated as one of the best defensive forwards in the league every year since his sophomore season, finishing in the top-6 four times. His faceoff numbers have improved dramatically in the last few seasons and he took home the Lady Byng Trophy in 2019 as a nod to his minuscule penalty totals. Through 529 games, with an average of 20 minutes a night, Barkov has recorded just 98 penalty minutes.
There’s no way the team was going to let him get anywhere near unrestricted free agency if they could help it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of risk in a deal like this. Barkov likely could have secured even more on the open market, but that $10MM cap hit will tie him for 11th in the entire NHL moving forward–a tie with teammate Sergei Bobrovsky, whose free agent deal has certainly not worked out. With both of those in the fold, the Panthers become just the fourth team in the NHL with at least two players earning in excess of $10MM. The Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs (who have three), have had well-documented salary cap crunches that have cost them depth over the years because of the big money deals at the top.
That cap crunch will be real for the Panthers, who also have $7.5MM Aaron Ekblad and $6.5MM Sam Reinhart to fit in. The team now has more than $77.8MM committed to just 16 players for next season, not leaving them a ton of room to fill out the rest of their roster.
Still, if there was ever a player to spend on, it’s Barkov. Not only does he represent the best skater Florida has seen in quite some time (or perhaps ever), he also only turned 26 a month ago. An eight-year term always buys out years that could see a decline in production, but at least the Panthers aren’t going into his late-thirties with this new extension.
This is also a new comparable for other top centers around the league, including Nathan MacKinnon who has just two years left on his current deal. There’s no telling just how high the Colorado Avalanche will have to go with their franchise player, given his offensive numbers the last several years are even more impressive than Barkov’s. It’s also one of the first big dominoes for next year’s free agent market, which currently includes high-end names like Mika Zibanejad, Johnny Gaudreau, and Filip Forsberg. The former in particular will be looking at Barkov’s deal, though there is plenty of time for each of them to reach new extensions before free agency even approaches.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Islanders-Devils Preseason Game Canceled Due To Power Outage
Tonight’s preseason game between the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils won’t take place, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross. A partial power outage at Prudential Center in Newark prevented the game from taking place.
Per Gross, the contest has been cancelled and won’t be made up, ending New Jersey’s preseason prematurely. Their focus now turns to their season opener at home on October 15th against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Islanders, on the other hand, have one exhibition match remaining. They have a tilt scheduled for Saturday against the New York Rangers to be played in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
It’s a tough break for New Jersey, who was expecting to give multiple players just one more audition tonight. The team still has 33 players on their training camp roster, needing to cut ten more before opening night.
Jimmy Vesey, Mark Jankowski, Frederik Gauthier, and Tyler Wotherspoon remain with the Devils on professional tryout contracts. The team will now need to make a snap evaluation on whether to offer contracts to any one of them, if at all.
The team will also need to decide what to do with young forwards Alexander Holtz and Dawson Mercer, who’ve both impressed at camp. They both stand chances of making the team, fighting with other forwards like Marian Studenic and Tyce Thompson for the final spots on the roster.
The Athletic’s Arthur Staple was first to report a possible cancellation.
Jonathan Drouin Out With Non-COVID-Related Illness
The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Jonathan Drouin will miss tonight’s preseason tilt against the Ottawa Senators, citing a non-COVID-related illness as the reason for the late scratch.
While the team hasn’t given any further information on Drouin’s health, a preseason absence from a guaranteed roster player usually isn’t too much to worry about. With Montreal already entering the season with a depleted roster, the full health of their players is of utmost priority right now, so Drouin’s absence can best be predicted as precautionary.
However, if Drouin does miss any period of time, it could be yet another challenge for the team at the beginning of the season. Montreal starts the season with three games in four nights against the Maple Leafs, Sabres, and Rangers. They’re currently without Carey Price, Shea Weber, Paul Byron, Mike Hoffman, and Joel Edmundson to begin the year, with all players expected to be out for varying lengths of time.
Drouin returns to the team in 2021-22 after taking a leave of absence at the end of last year, missing the entire playoffs as well. He’s struggled with injuries over the past two seasons, tallying just nine goals and 38 points in 71 games. Expected to fit into the team’s top-nine forward group this season, his return is greatly anticipated for a team looking to return to the playoffs this season.
Blake Coleman Suspended For One Preseason, One Regular Season Game
5:36 pm: The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Coleman will be suspended for one preseason and regular-season game. He’ll miss Calgary’s season opener on the road in Edmonton on October 16th, but will be back for their home opener on October 18th against the Anaheim Ducks.
12:03 pm: The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do, as Blake Coleman will have a hearing today following his hit on Jansen Harkins last night. The Calgary Flames forward hit Harkins while he was already down on his knees, driving his head into the boards. Coleman was issued a boarding penalty and then later in the game received a misconduct along with Harkins when the two came together again.
Because Harkins did not suffer a major injury on the play and Coleman does not have a history of suspension at the NHL level, the penalty here should not be excessive. Still, the hearing implies that the Flames will be without his services for at least the final preseason game tomorrow night, if not the first game of the regular season as well.
This actually isn’t the first incident of Coleman checking from behind. In the NCAA tournament in 2015, Coleman was given a suspension after receiving his third misconduct of the season. The first two were for checking from behind, while the third was for delivering a check to the head. The 29-year-old forward has made a living playing a hard, physical game and often coming right up to the line, and this time appears to have stepped over it. He’ll have to face the consequences, with a decision expected later today.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 10/07/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Minor Transactions: 10/07/21
While training camps are still being pared down, a few teams around the league are also making recalls and assignments to fill out rosters for preseason action. These are players who likely aren’t going to make the opening day roster, but are receiving another chance to show what they can do in exhibition action.
- Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins recalled Jonathan Gruden, Valtteri Puustinen, Niclas Almari, and Taylor Fedun from the AHL and will have them in the lineup tonight in their preseason match. All four are expected to be sent back down in the coming days. Fedun, the only one of the group that needs to clear waivers to be sent down, did so on October 2.
- The Los Angeles Kings brought up a whole list of players for their game last night but sent them all back to the Ontario Reign today. Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Samuel Fagemo, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Alex Turcotte, Jordan Spence and Jacob Ingham have all been loaned back to the AHL, where they’ll start the year. Many of these names will be the first call-ups should the Kings run into more injury trouble, after Quinton Byfield was ruled out for the next while with a fractured ankle. In fact, with the Kings in particular, some of these top prospects could be up rather soon as the team works out the final roster touches. (UPDATE: Kaliyev is already back up with the team.)
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled eight players from the AHL for their game tomorrow, bringing Tyler Angle, Joshua Dunne, Brendan Gaunce, Carson Meyer, Tyler Sikura, Gavin Bayreuther, Tristan Mullin, and Justin Scott back up. The latter two, who are on AHL contracts, needed to be signed to professional tryouts that will only last a few days.
- Jacob LeGuerrier has signed an AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs, after playing four games with the Laval Rocket last year. The 20-year-old defenseman was a fifth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2019 but failed to ink an entry-level deal. He’ll get a new chance in Rockford to show what he can do.
This page will be updated with further transactions as they are reported
San Jose Sharks Claim Jonah Gadjovich
The San Jose Sharks have decided to claim Jonah Gadjovich off waivers, taking him away from the Vancouver Canucks according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was the only player out of the 30 on waivers yesterday to be claimed.
Gadjovich, 22, was a second-round pick in 2017, selected 55th overall by the Canucks. The 6’2″ winger is a true power forward that can use his size effectively around the net, though his skating ability is still questionable at the NHL level and has held him back to this point. He received just one game with the Canucks last season, his NHL debut, and managed to rack up 17 minutes in penalties after instigating a fight with Calgary Flames’ Connor Mackey following an illegal hit.
Though there are concerns over whether he can truly become an impact player at the NHL level, he certainly was one for the Utica Comets last season. In 19 games at the AHL level he scored 15 goals, using that huge frame effectively in front of the net. He added just three assists to that total, indicating his offensive limitations, but for a bottom-six player, you could certainly do worse.
In San Jose, he could very well get a chance to fill a full-time role as the Sharks’ fourth line is not set in stone. The team is moving on without Evander Kane for the time being, meaning minutes have been opened up on the left wing. That’s exactly where Gadjovich could push for playing time, especially given his size. Alexander Barabanov, who is also in the mix for a bottom-six role, was absent from practice again today as he deals with a nagging injury.
29 Players Clear Waivers
Oct 7: The San Jose Sharks have claimed Gadjovich, but the other 29 players have all cleared, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Oct 6: It’s time for teams to pare down their training camp rosters to the last few battles, meaning waivers will be full for the next several days. Today, the list is 30 names long.
Alexander Volkov (ANA)
Steven Fogarty (BOS)
Aaron Dell (BUF)
Jimmy Schuldt (BUF)
Stefan Matteau (COL)
Roland McKeown (COL)
Kiefer Sherwood (COL)
Dylan Sikura (COL)
Michael Pezzetta (MTL)
Andy Andreoff (NYI)
Ken Appleby (NYI)
Cole Bardreau (NYI)
Austin Czarnik (NYI)
Grant Hutton (NYI)
Otto Koivula (NYI)
Paul Ladue (NYI)
Dmytro Timashov (NYI)
Mitchell Vande Sompel (NYI)
Parker Wotherspoon (NYI)
Connor Bunnaman (PHI)
Adam Clendening (PHI)
Gerald Mayhew (PHI)
German Rubtsov (PHI)
Kole Lind (SEA)
Max McCormick (SEA)
Joey Anderson (TOR)
Carl Dahlstrom (TOR)
Brennan Menell (TOR)
Brett Seney (TOR)
Jonah Gadjovich (VAN)
There are quite a few players who could be claimed today, including quite a few depth forwards. One interesting name is Dell, who appears to have lost the battle in Buffalo for playing time to Dustin Tokarski and Craig Anderson. Dell was waived at the end of training camp last season as well, only to be claimed and stuck on the taxi squad for the majority of the season. The 32-year-old posted an .857 in seven NHL appearances and is likely headed for the minor leagues this time around.