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Central Notes: Rantanen, Wood, Krug, Niederreiter, Levis

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It appears as if the Avalanche will get their top winger back in the lineup for a key divisional matchup on Saturday against Winnipeg.  NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Rantanen is listed as probable for that contest after missing the last week while being in concussion protocol.  The 27-year-old is within striking distance of setting a new career-high in points as he has 102 through 77 games so far; he had 105 in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, Boulding added that winger Miles Wood is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s contest.  The 28-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last week.  In his first season with Colorado after inking a six-year, $15MM contract in free agency, Wood has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games while averaging a little under 14 minutes a night.

More from the Central:

  • Blues defenseman Torey Krug left Wednesday’s game versus Chicago with an undisclosed injury and it caused him to miss tonight’s game against Carolina at a minimum.  Per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link), he’s listed as out day-to-day and the team will assess on Saturday if he’ll be available to suit up on Sunday.  The 33-year-old has put up 39 points through 77 games and with St. Louis still battling for the final playoff spot, they’d certainly like to have the veteran back as soon as possible.
  • Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will miss his fifth straight game on Saturday as he works his way back from a cut, notes team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer in his first full season with Winnipeg, collecting 18 goals and 15 assists through 75 games.  Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that they’re just being cautious with Niederreiter and that they’re planning on him suiting up on Tuesday.
  • Still with the Jets, their AHL affiliate announced that they’ve signed Connor Levis to an ATO deal. The 19-year-old center was a seventh-round pick last year (210th overall).  Levis split this season between WHL Kamloops and Vancouver, tallying 21 goals and 34 assists in 55 games while adding three assists in five playoff contests.  With the Giants now eliminated, Levis is now free to finish the season in the minors.

Coyotes, NHL Have Made “Significant Progress” On Salt Lake City Relocation

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Friday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan both report that Coyotes players were informed today that relocation to Salt Lake City is indeed happening.  Morgan suggests an official announcement could come on April 17, the date of Arizona’s final home game.

Wednesday: The Coyotes, in conjunction with the NHL, have made “significant progress” today on an agreement to relocate the team to Salt Lake City and sell the club to Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. The league reportedly sent a memo to its Board of Governors today after a report from Seravalli this morning said the NHL was preparing a contingency plan for a Coyotes relocation, including two distinct schedule matrices. A relocation is not final, but reports indicate the tide is turning that way.

Neither the Coyotes nor the league, which have routinely been quick to respond to developments in their arena saga as they become public, has commented on today’s reports. Subsequent reporting from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski says the NHL would act as an intermediary between Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and Ryan Smith’s SEG in a sale, purchasing the club from Meruelo for $1B before selling to SEG at an increased $1.3B. The $300MM difference would be split among the league’s other 31 owners as a relocation fee, less than half of the $650MM fee Seattle Kraken ownership paid for an expansion franchise in 2021.

Seravalli says that Coyotes players have possibly “been informed that something of a ’verbal’ agreement is in place to relocate to Salt Lake City,” but has “received pushback on that characterization of talks.” Wyshynski reports that the team has not formally informed its players of any sale agreement and that they’re following relocation developments through social media. Regardless, an official announcement on relocation is likely to come before the end of the month, per Kaplan and Wyshynski.

There is no indication that a Salt Lake City relocation would end Meruelo’s bid for a plot of land in north Phoenix that’s set to be awarded at a public auction on June 27. Kaplan, Seravalli and Wyshynski all report that “Meruelo would be first in line to purchase an NHL expansion team should the league decide to return to Arizona,” a decision that would be contingent on a suitably located arena to avoid the attendance issues that plagued the team when they operated out of Gila River Arena in Glendale from 2003 to 2022. Meruelo could also retain the branding and naming rights to the Coyotes franchise as part of this transaction, per Seravalli, which could be applied to an expansion franchise after the north Phoenix plot is developed.

Upon relocating to Salt Lake, the franchise formerly known as the Coyotes would play 2024-25 out of the Delta Center, which is shared with the Jazz. However, much like the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the Islanders played from 2014 to 2020, the arena isn’t optimized for hockey. It has significant sightline issues at either end of the rink.

Kaplan and Wyshynski say that “NHL leadership has made it clear to Smith they would need hockey-specific renovations for the Delta Center to be a permanent NHL home,” something Smith has agreed to carry out. Utah lawmakers have also approved the construction of a new downtown venue in advance of the 2034 Winter Olympics, which will be optimized for use by both the Jazz and an NHL team. However, it still needs to be approved by Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

Over the past few months, Smith has been relatively open about his desire to acquire an NHL franchise, including submitting a formal request to initiate an expansion process. Speaking over the All-Star break, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that “the Utah expression of interest has been the most aggressive” among prospective new markets.

This looks to be the first relocation the NHL has had in over a decade. The most recent was in 2011, when the Atlanta Thrashers were abruptly sold to True North Sports and Entertainment and became the second iteration of the Winnipeg Jets. The first relocated to Phoenix in 1996 to become the Coyotes in search of more optimal financial conditions.

While financial instability and ownership concerns have continued to plague the Coyotes franchise, the NHL’s presence in the market has been an undeniable positive, helping develop Phoenix into an area with multiple elite youth hockey programs and spurring the growth of the sport in the southwest United States.

The Coyotes were initially a consistent playoff team after arriving in the desert, but they’ve made the postseason only four times since moving out of downtown Phoenix to Glendale. Three of them came consecutively between 2010 and 2012, culminating in a Western Conference Final loss to the Kings, the eventual Stanley Cup champion. It was the only time the Jets/Coyotes franchise had reached the “final four” rounds since being absorbed from the collapse of the WHA in 1979.

For the past two seasons, the franchise has played out of the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. Meant as a temporary move after the City of Glendale opted not to renew its lease agreement in 2022, Meruelo planned to build an arena and entertainment district within Tempe city limits near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The proposal required a public vote to pass, however. A May 2023 referendum failed to green-light the project, leaving them back at square one.

The Yotes’ now-likely departure comes as their on-ice performance was beginning to improve after a years-long rebuild. They ended up far south of the playoff demarcation line but had a strong start to the season and were hovering around a playoff position well into December.

They’ve gotten strong offensive production from their current core of Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli and Nick Schmaltz yet again, high-end goaltending from breakout performer Connor Ingram, and have high-end prospects on the way, led by winger Dylan Guenther. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked their prospect pool as the ninth-best in the league in February.

Maple Leafs To Sign Cade Webber

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Cade Webber’s college season came to an end on Thursday when Boston University was eliminated by Denver in the Frozen Four semi-finals.  However, his 2023-24 campaign hasn’t come to an end just yet as Joe Smith of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner will be signing an entry-level deal with Toronto and joining the team for its upcoming road trip.

The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Carolina back in 2019, going 99th overall.  However, he informed the team earlier in the season that he was leaning toward not signing with them and would test free agency in mid-August.  That resulted in them flipping him to the Maple Leafs back in March in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Webber is a throwback defensive defenseman; he scored just once in his four-year collegiate career and had just six assists this season.  He led the NCAA in blocks with 137 this year, 35 ahead of second place and at 6’6, has the size and reach to be disruptive and effective in the defensive zone.

Since Webber was on Toronto’s reserve list at the trade deadline, he is eligible to play for them in the playoffs.  However, with their defensive depth, it seems rather unlikely that he would.  Instead, he’ll likely serve as a Black Ace and burn the first of what will be a two-year, entry-level deal in the process.

At the moment, Toronto has just $547K in cap space, per CapFriendly.  While the terms of Webber’s deal aren’t known yet, it can’t be lower than $775K so they’ll have to make a roster move to free up the cap room to add him.  The easiest path to do that would be to paper winger Nicholas Robertson back to AHL Toronto for the final few days of the regular season, then recall him for the postseason.

Macklin Celebrini Wins Hobey Baker Award

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While Thursday night was a disappointing one for Macklin Celebrini as his Boston University team was eliminated in the Frozen Four semi-finals, Friday was a better one for the 17-year-old.  After being named the NCAA’s top rookie earlier in the day, it was also announced (Twitter link) that he won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.

Celebrini is considered the consensus number one selection for the upcoming draft in June and is coming off a dominant freshman campaign with the Terriers.  He played in 38 games this season, recording 32 goals and 32 assists, good for third in NCAA scoring.  Those numbers are impressive for anyone let alone a player who was the youngest in Division I as Celebrini was.

An all-around offensive threat, Celebrini was a franchise center for Boston University this season and profiles as one in the NHL.  While he told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link) that he’s not against coming back for a sophomore year, that would certainly be a surprising outcome.  Instead, it’s expected that he’ll be suiting up for whoever selects him with the top pick two and a half months from now.

Celebrini beat out two other forwards who were finalists for the award, Boston College’s Cutter Gauthier, who Anaheim acquired in a midseason swap, and the University of North Dakota’s Jackson Blake, who signed his entry-level deal with Carolina earlier this week.

Celebrini is the fourth player from Boston University to win this award, joining Jack Eichel (2015), Matt Gilroy (2009) and Chris Drury (1998).

Pacific Notes: McDavid, Desharnais, Pietrangelo, Gibson, Stalock

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Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will miss his second straight contest with a lower-body injury tonight when they take on the Coyotes, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton. “I won’t go tonight. We will see about tomorrow. We are going day-by-day,” McDavid said.

Per Gregor, the lower-body ailment had been nagging McDavid for some time but was aggravated in last Saturday’s contest against the Flames, in which he played over 20 minutes and registered two assists. The Edmonton captain isn’t worried about it lingering for much longer, however, and his availability for the playoffs currently isn’t in question. His absence didn’t stop the Oilers from rattling off their seventh straight win on Wednesday in a 5-1 dismantling of the Golden Knights. He needs one more assist this season to reach 100 and would be the first player to do so since Wayne Gretzky in 1991.

Sticking with the Oilers, their front office has tabled contract talks with pending UFA defenseman Vincent Desharnais through the postseason, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports. They’d been in discussions for the past while, per Rishaug, as Edmonton looks to keep around their breakout depth shutdown force. He’s late to the party for full-time NHL roles at age 27 but has become a regular this season with a goal, 10 assists, and a +5 rating in 73 contests while averaging 15:31 per game. He hasn’t been tasked with too much responsibility but has controlled possession well, logging a 54.7 xGF% at even strength. He’s nearing completion of a two-year, two-way contract and is almost certainly looking at a one-way deal next season, regardless of whether he stays in Edmonton.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Golden Knights star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t resumed skating as he deals with a lengthy illness and will likely be out for at least two more games, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). He’s yet to be cleared to practice by the team’s medical staff. Pietrangelo missed six games with an illness in late March and returned to the lineup against the Wild on the 30th but exited again after two appearances. He hasn’t been with the team in over a week, last skating in an April 2 contest against the Canucks. Vegas will continue to roll with Nicolas Hague playing his offside on their top pairing, with the newly-extended Noah Hanifin in his absence.
  • The Ducks have reassigned netminder Alex Stalock to AHL San Diego. Starter John Gibson is set to return from an upper-body injury tonight against the Flames. The latter is expected to make his first start since March 30 against the Oilers, head coach Greg Cronin said. Gibson backed up Lukáš Dostál in two contests before sustaining the injury outside of game action, forcing Stalock’s recall last week. The 36-year-old farmhand didn’t play, with Dostál making five straight starts. Stalock’s been recalled on multiple instances this season but hasn’t seen any NHL ice, with either Dostál or Gibson leading the way in the other’s absence. He’s struggled heavily in the minors this season, posting a .889 SV% in 13 games. A pending UFA, Stalock could be heading toward retirement this summer.

Bruins Assign Mason Lohrei To Minors

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The Bruins announced Friday that blue-liner Mason Lohrei has been assigned to AHL Providence. He’ll get some game action in the minors starting tonight after being scratched in nine of Boston’s last 11 games.

A second-round pick in 2020, the 23-year-old Lohrei still holds the title of the best defense prospect in the organization. He made his NHL debut in November, and early returns suggest he’s well on his way to becoming a regular on the Bruins’ blue line. Through 41 games, the Louisiana native has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) with a -2 rating while averaging 16:57 per game. The Bruins’ possession metrics have been worse than you’d think, given their 107 points, and Lohrei’s individual ones are a tad below average, with a 46.3 CF% and a 49.1 xGF% at even strength. There’s room for improvement, but rookie defenders rarely dominate shot attempts or possession quality.

Lohrei has played spot duty on special teams, averaging around 30 seconds per game on both the power play and penalty kill. His power-play impact has been impressive, although he does have a goal and two assists with the man advantage. He has shone through on the penalty kill, posting a relative CF% of 10.7 and doing well in limiting shot attempts compared to his teammates. That’s a promising early sign of his ability to deal with increased minutes on the PK as he develops.

He’s played well enough that Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery likely won’t have any qualms about inserting Lohrei into the playoff lineup if injuries force Boston’s blue-line depth to step up. He’ll have the option to make postseason appearances for Providence, too, which has clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He has one year left on his entry-level contract with a $925K cap hit and will be an RFA in 2025.

Kraken Reassign Shane Wright, Logan Morrison, Ryan Winterton

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The Kraken reassigned forwards Shane Wright, Logan Morrison and Ryan Winterton to AHL Coachella Valley this afternoon, per a team announcement. No corresponding transactions are anticipated for Seattle, which has been eliminated from playoff contention and has four games remaining on its regular season schedule. The three youngsters will now gear up for the Calder Cup Playoffs with one of the top teams in the minors after getting NHL trials down the stretch.

Wright’s two-week showing was easily his best so far in the NHL. The 2022 fourth-overall pick skated in five games, exploding for four goals and an assist while averaging 15:47 per game, the longest leash head coach Dave Hakstol has given him thus far. All four goals came at even strength, too – his assist was his only power-play point. It was his first stint in the majors since a three-game showing in November, during which he averaged less than 10 minutes per game and was held without a point.

It was surely a confidence booster for the 20-year-old, who was viewed as the consensus first-overall selection in 2022 for a number of years but has had a somewhat rocky development path since the COVID-19 pandemic. After doing well in Coachella Valley with 20 goals and 43 points in 56 games this season, he’ll throw his hat in the ring for a spot on the opening night roster next season.

Morrison and Winterton were on the Kraken roster for a tad longer, recalled together six days before Wright on March 25. It was Morrison’s first NHL recall and Winterton’s second. Morrison played more sparingly than his counterpart but was given a larger role when in the lineup, averaging 13:08 in four appearances. He was a healthy scratch in four of the Kraken’s last five games, though, and failed to record a point, posting a -1 rating and winning 14 of his 31 draws (45.2%).

The 21-year-old undrafted free agent signing has done quite well in Coachella Valley in his first professional season, ranking seventh on the team in scoring with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 60 games with a +12 rating. Both he and Winterton will likely report back to the minors to begin 2024-25 but should be in line for more call-ups throughout the year.

Winterton has totaled nine appearances across both of his recalls this season but has yet to record his first NHL point. He logged a -1 rating, four blocks, and 10 hits while averaging 9:20 per game. His 21 goals in 55 games for Coachella Valley are third on the team. All three players will see their entry-level contracts expire simultaneously in 2026.

Canadiens Sign Lane Hutson To Entry-Level Deal

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2:49 p.m.: Hutson’s ELC carries the maximum $950K cap hit, per PuckPedia. The full breakdown is as follows:

2023-24: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus
2024-25: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $750K Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses
2025-26: $885K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $850K Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses

In a follow-up note, PuckPedia added that the maximum amount of ’A’ cumulative bonuses Hutson can earn on the contract is $1.15MM over the two seasons.

1:26 p.m.: The Canadiens have signed top defense prospect Lane Hutson to an entry-level contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Friday.

The 20-year-old’s sophomore season at Boston University ended yesterday when the Terriers were eliminated in the semifinals of the NCAA national championship, upset 2-1 in overtime by Denver. Hutson won’t make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Senators but could suit up in their two remaining contests against the Red Wings, says Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.

Montreal confirmed it’s a three-year deal beginning immediately for Hutson, meaning he’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2026. They didn’t disclose financial terms.

Hutson, a left-shot, landed first in the Canadiens prospect pool in Scott Wheeler’s 2024 rankings for The Athletic, continuing a meteoric rise in the diminutive defender’s stock. Many public scouts viewed him as a potential first-round selection in the 2022 draft but slipped all the way to Montreal at 62nd overall, late in the second round, with many clubs scared off by his 5’8″ frame. He’s now listed at 5’10” and 161 lbs nearly two years later.

It’s been an exemplary two years for Hutson at BU. Serving as an alternate captain this season, he led all NCAA blue-liners in scoring with 49 points, tied with 2024 draft-eligible Zeev Buium, who’s now moving on to the national championship game tomorrow with Denver. His 1.29 points per game were solely in first place, making him a Hobey Baker Award nominee for the top collegiate player for a second straight season.

He put up quite similar totals in his freshman campaign, earning him Hockey East All-Star credits in both seasons. His 48 points in 39 games in 2022-23 broke Hall-of-Famer Brian Leetch’s records for the most points by a U-19 defenseman in an NCAA season. The Illinois-born defender has also suited up for Team USA in each of the last two World Junior Championships, winning bronze in 2023 and gold in 2024 while totaling a goal and nine assists across 14 tournament games.

Some concerns remain about his undersized frame and his lack of ability to box out NHL forwards in front of his own net, likely dampening his long-term value only slightly. He’s still a possession monster and an incredibly high-volume shooter with excellent agility and playmaking skills, and he has first-pair upside if partnered with a larger, defensively intelligent blue-liner. Even if he can’t handle those minutes at even strength, he’s a slam dunk to quarterback the Habs’ top power play unit in the near future.

Hutson will likely remain in the NHL next season but will need to unseat other young Montreal defenders like Justin Barron, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, or the older Johnathan Kovacevic for a roster spot. All are either signed for next season or otherwise under team control.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Predators Recall Troy Grosenick

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The Predators recalled Troy Grosenick from AHL Milwaukee on Friday, per a team announcement. He’ll back up Kevin Lankinen tonight against the Blackhawks, allowing starter Juuse Saros to take a rest and avoid injury risk with three games left until the playoffs.

Grosenick, 34, has been one of the AHL’s premier goalies for most of the last decade. However, his success has never brought him close to a full-time NHL role. He’s only made four career top-level starts—two in 2014-15 with the Sharks and two in 2020-21 with the Kings.

The former Union College standout’s professional career began in 2013, inking an entry-level deal in San Jose as an undrafted free agent. He’s since bounced around on two-way deals with the Kings, Predators, Bruins, and Flyers. He returned to the Preds organization last summer on a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$175K) to mentor top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, his second contractual stint with the club after signing a one-year deal for the 2019-20 season.

That wasn’t his only previous campaign in Milwaukee, however. The Sharks loaned him there for a decent chunk of his time with the club, resulting in him playing 86 games with the Admirals between 2018 and 2020.

His return to Milwaukee has been solid but not overly triumphant. An injury kept him out for most of last season in the Flyers organization, limiting him to six appearances with Lehigh Valley. He’s failed to return to his former routine showings above a .920 SV%, posting a .907 mark and two shutouts with a 17-7-1 record in 28 games for Milwaukee this year. He’s only two years removed from a career-best campaign in the Bruins organization with AHL Providence when he led the league in GAA (2.00) and SV% (.933) in 30 appearances and earned a Second All-Star Team nod.

A pending UFA, Grosenick could make a fifth NHL start down the stretch if the Preds decide to let Saros rest for the remainder of the regular season. Entering tonight, Saros had started 11 of Nashville’s 15 games since the deadline. They’ve clinched a playoff spot and are guaranteed one of the two wild-card berths in the West.

Golden Knights Reassign Brendan Brisson

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April 12: Brisson was returned to AHL Henderson on Friday with Stephenson rejoining the team for tonight’s match against the Wild. He logged 11:52 in Wednesday’s loss to the Oilers and put up zeros across the board.

April 9: The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Brendan Brisson from the minor leagues. Brisson will serve as a fill-in option for Chandler Stephenson, who left the team’s trip to Edmonton for the expected birth of his child, per Sin Bin Vegas (Twitter link). Stephenson’s absence would qualify this recall for an emergency loan, preserving Vegas’ few remaining recalls this season.

This move marks Brisson’s eighth call-up of the season after he was sent down on Monday, giving Vegas the cap space needed to activate Tomas Hertl off of injured reserve. Brisson made his NHL debut on January 15th and has since totaled 14 games in the Vegas lineup, scoring two goals and eight points. He’s managed the production while serving in a third-line role, averaging just under 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time each game. And while he’s bounced between the major and minor leagues, the former first-round pick has most recently played in the NHL, recording an assist in Vegas’ Friday night loss to the Arizona Coyotes. The game was Brisson’s reward for recording eight points across his last eight AHL games, including three nights of two or more points. The scoring brought him up to 17 goals and 36 points in 50 AHL games – an impressive mark for the first-year pro.

Stephenson’s absence would likely open the door for Hertl to take on a full role in the offense, with Brisson slotting into the team’s bottom six. Hertl recorded an assist in his Vegas debut and will need to stay productive as the Golden Knights look to claw their way back into the top three of the Pacific Division.

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