East Notes: Dobson, Lee, Pageau, Hedman, Glendening, Motte, Ekblad
Islanders star defender Noah Dobson is expected to be available for Game 1 against the Hurricanes tomorrow, head coach Patrick Roy told Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Dobson, 24, missed the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury he sustained last week against the Canadiens. They were his first games missed in an otherwise illustrious season, setting career-highs with 60 assists and 70 points in 79 games, taking over true number-one duties and averaging over 24 minutes per game. He may not earn a Norris Trophy nomination, but he’s likely to get a handful of votes. He was limited to two assists in six games in last year’s first-round series against Carolina, something he’ll need to build upon for the Isles to have a chance at a major upset.
Additionally, captain Anders Lee was back at practice today after missing the final game of the regular season for the birth of his third child, Gross relays, a good sign for his availability tomorrow. It was a difficult regular season for the 33-year-old, who hit the 20-goal mark for the eighth time but had his overall point production drop considerably to 37 in 81 games. He still managed extremely positive possession impacts, though, posting a positive relative CF% for the 11th straight season with a +9.8 expected rating. He averaged 15:34 per game, his lowest in seven years.
Less likely for tomorrow is center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who wasn’t at practice today and is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Roy said (via Gross). The 31-year-old exited Wednesday’s game against the Penguins midway through the first period after falling awkwardly, although no injury was apparent on the play (video link). Like Lee, the normally consistent centerman has had a down year offensively, posting his lowest point total in a full season (11 goals, 33 points in 82 GP) in over five years. His 15:55 per game average is his lowest since 2015, although he’s still managed to be a force in the faceoff dot with a 55.4 FOW%. Additionally, his defensive impacts have cratered in continued shutdown usage, posting a career-worst 41.6 CF% and -11.9 expected rating at even strength.
Over in the Atlantic:
- Star Lightning blue-liner Victor Hedman was back at practice today after missing Wednesday’s win over the Maple Leafs due to illness, per Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley. It’s a good sign for his availability in Game 1 against the Panthers on Sunday. On the flip side, they may be without depth forwards Luke Glendening and Tyler Motte, who head coach Jon Cooper said were questionable with undisclosed and lower-body injuries, respectively. Hedman’s absence was brief, only missing one contest, as was Glendening’s, although he skated just under four minutes in their penultimate regular-season game against the Sabres earlier in the week. Motte has been sidelined for three games with a lower-body injury he sustained against the Senators last week. If both are unable to go, Mitchell Chaffee and Austin Watson will make their Lightning playoff debuts while winger Conor Sheary shifts to center their fourth line.
- On the Panthers’ end, defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be ready to suit up in Game 1 after sitting out with an undisclosed injury, head coach Paul Maurice said (per the team’s Jameson Olive). The 28-year-old has been banged up for most of the season, missing Florida’s last six games and all but five post-trade deadline games with injuries. Eligible to sign an extension this summer, he’s coming off the worst offensive showing of his 10-year career with four goals and 18 points in 51 games. His 20:52 average ice time is also a career low.
Ivan Prosvetov Linked To KHL
After losing his backup spot midseason, it appears Avalanche goalie Ivan Prosvetov‘s days in the NHL are over. He’s set to sign a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League upon reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, reports Pavel Panyshev of Championat.
Prosvetov hadn’t played an NHL game since February, when he was placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to AHL Colorado. While he’s two years away from standard UFA eligibility, he qualifies for a Group 6 exemption this summer because he’ll be 25 on June 30th and has played fewer than 28 NHL games while simultaneously completing at least three professional seasons. He was likely to receive interest in the open market after posting a .922 SV% in 20 AHL games, but he’s reportedly opting to return to his native Moscow instead.
The 2018 fourth-round pick of the Coyotes changed organizations early this season when Colorado claimed him off waivers in October. With Pavel Francouz sidelined with a groin injury that forced his retirement, it marked his first shot at a full-time backup gig after four seasons in minor-league roles in Arizona. He made eight starts and three relief appearances in limited action across the first few months of the campaign, both career-highs. He didn’t manage to move the needle much, though, recording a .895 SV% and 3.16 GAA with a 4-3-1 record. They weren’t awful numbers, but not enough to keep him in the majors ahead of higher-ceiling (and younger) prospect Justus Annunen, who’s since secured a roster spot alongside Alexandar Georgiev entering postseason play.
Prosvetov spent most of his junior career in North America, last suiting up in league play in Russia at the U-17 level eight years ago. He’ll likely be the starter for CSKA, filling the role vacated by Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov when the Russian side terminated his contract a few weeks back. A three-year deal would keep him in the country’s capital through 2026-27.
Pavel Francouz Confirms Retirement
Avalanche netminder Pavel Francouz confirmed his retirement in an interview with ČT Sport on Friday. GM Chris MacFarland told reporters last month that retirement was overwhelmingly likely for the veteran backup due to groin and knee injuries that held him out of the 2023-24 season entirely and marred most of 2022-23. The Czechia native played in parts of four seasons with the Avs.
Francouz played the majority of his professional career overseas, making his top-level debut with his hometown team HC Plzeň in the Czech Extraliga back in 2008-09. He didn’t latch on as a starter until 2012-13 with HC Litvínov, where he remained for three seasons. He was named the best goalie in the Extraliga in two of those campaigns, compiling a .928 SV% and 14 shutouts in 140 games. He was even better in postseason play with Litvínov, putting up a .949 SV%, 1.57 GAA, and six shutouts in 26 games and ending his run with a league championship in 2015.
He then moved to the brighter lights of the Kontinental Hockey League, signing a three-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Francouz spent another three seasons with the Russian side, earning Best Goaltender and First All-Team honors in the 2017-18 campaign with an impeccable .946 SV%, 1.80 GAA and five shutouts in 35 appearances. He was also the starter for Czechia at the 2018 Winter Olympics, putting up a .905 SV% in six games, but failed to medal.
After six seasons of solidifying his resume as one of the top goalies in Europe, Francouz finally earned his first NHL deal – a one-year, one-way pact with the Avs for the 2018-19 season worth $690K. He spent most of the season on assignment to AHL Colorado, only making two NHL appearances in relief, but won the backup job behind Philipp Grubauer heading into 2019-20. He immediately positioned himself as one of the best backups in the league, posting a .923 SV% in 30 starts and four relief appearances and earning some year-end All-Star consideration. Lower-body injuries unfortunately reared their head immediately, costing him all of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Upon his return, he again excelled in a backup role behind Darcy Kuemper, making 21 regular-season and seven playoff appearances as the Avs won the Stanley Cup.
Unfortunately, he would never fully rebound from those lower-body injuries. They limited him to 16 starts in 2022-23 and cost him all of the current season, forcing his retirement at age 33.
Francouz concludes his brief but solid NHL career with a .919 SV%, 2.49 GAA and four shutouts in 64 starts and nine relief appearances. He compiled a 44-21-6 record for Colorado and saved 25 goals above average across his four major league campaigns. PHR congratulates Francouz on a spectacular international career and his solid NHL run and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.
Islanders Sign Alex Jefferies, Henrik Tikkanen To Entry-Level Deals
The Islanders have inked left wing Alex Jefferies and goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to two-year entry-level contracts, per a team release. The deals begin in the 2024-25 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
A fourth-round pick by the Isles in 2020, Jefferies spent the last four seasons in collegiate hockey with Merrimack. He leaves the program as its highest-scoring player of the decade thus far, posting 41 goals, 56 assists, 97 points and a -1 rating in 105 games played. Jefferies signed an ATO with AHL Bridgeport to finish the season last month, faring well with three goals and three assists in 10 games on a bottom-feeder club. The baby Isles still have two games left on their regular-season schedule.
The 22-year-old is unlikely to contend for a roster spot next season, but back-to-back point-per-game campaigns at Merrimack suggest he could receive an NHL call-up before his ELC expires in 2026. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked him as the sixth-best prospect in the Islanders’ league-worst pool earlier this year, praising his quick release, skating ability, and overall offensive IQ.
Tikkanen, 23, was selected three rounds after Jefferies in 2020. The 6’7″ netminder came to North America before last season, signing a minor-league contract with Bridgeport. He didn’t suit up for the top-level affiliate in 2022-23, though, spending the entire season on assignment to ECHL Worcester, where he had a .914 SV%, 3.02 GAA and two shutouts in 38 appearances. It was the same story last summer – Bridgeport re-upped him but sent him to Worcester to begin the campaign. He got off to a mediocre start there but was recalled to Bridgeport in late December, where he broke out with a .927 SV% and 2.17 GAA in 16 showings behind the worst team in the AHL.
Bridgeport sent him back to the ECHL last month, where his overall numbers on the season have actually been quite disappointing (.892 SV%, 3.22 GAA in 20 GP). The Isles are hoping Tikkanen’s ceiling is more reflective of the form he flashed with Bridgeport mid-season. With an NHL contract in hand, he joins the organization’s top goalie prospect Tristan Lennox and underwhelming farmhand Jakub Skarek as recall options behind Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov next season. Veteran Bridgeport netminder Kenneth Appleby was signed to an NHL contract this season but is a pending UFA.
AHL Shuffle: 4/19/24
Half the league has played their last games for the 2023-24 campaign, while the other half is gearing up for postseason action starting tomorrow. Either way, squads are making roster adjustments today, whether it’s assigning players back to the minors after their NHL seasons came to a close or recalling reinforcements for their playoff runs. We’ll keep track of all of today’s moves here:
- The Bruins have recalled center John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei from AHL Providence. Both will be available for tomorrow’s Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against the Maple Leafs. The pair of youngsters were assigned to the minors throughout the last week for playing time down the stretch after spending most of the campaign on the NHL roster. They’ll likely be scratches for tomorrow’s contest, but after combining for 93 games played in the regular season, head coach Jim Montgomery won’t hesitate to plug them into the playoff lineup.
- The Flames have assigned forwards Matthew Coronato and Adam Klapka, defenseman Ilya Solovyov, and goaltender Dustin Wolf to AHL Calgary. The NHL club’s regular season came to an end last night in a 5-1 win over the Sharks, a game all four players involved in today’s transaction played in. Wolf, one of the league’s top goaltending prospects, ended his season on a high note with 16 saves on 17 shots after putting up underwhelming numbers down the stretch for the Flames. All four will play major roles for the Wranglers over the next couple of weeks, at the very least, as they’ve clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- The Capitals have recalled goaltender Mitchell Gibson from ECHL South Carolina. The 24-year-old, who has no NHL experience, is in his first full season of pro hockey after spending the last four seasons in collegiate hockey at Harvard. He’ll serve as a Black Ace and emergency backup as their first-round matchup against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers gets underway. A fourth-round pick of the Caps back in 2018, he has a .899 SV%, 2.56 GAA, three shutouts, and a 22-14-3 record in 42 appearances with South Carolina this year, as well as a .915 SV% and a perfect record in two showings with AHL Hershey.
- In a similar move, the Predators have brought up netminder Gustavs Grigals from ECHL Atlanta. Undrafted, the Latvian had spent the season in the Nashville organization on a minor-league contract before receiving a two-way deal from the Preds on deadline day. The 25-year-old was excellent last year for UMass-Lowell after transferring from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, posting a .924 SV% in 24 games and earning Hockey East Third All-Star Team honors. He’s adjusted decently well to the pro ranks, posting a .900 SV% and three shutouts behind a defensively challenged Atlanta squad in 34 appearances with an 11-19-0 record.
- The Blackhawks have assigned forward prospect Lukas Reichel to AHL Rockford to finish his season. Chicago expected the 21-year-old to take a major step forward in his development this season and supplant himself as a top-six fixture for the future along with Connor Bedard, but it didn’t work out that way. The 2020 first-round pick was arguably among the worst players in the league this season, limited to five goals and 16 points in 65 games with a -29 rating despite seeing second-line looks for much of the season. His average ice time dipped to almost 14 minutes per game by the end of the campaign, however.
- The Jets have assigned forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Parker Ford, Brad Lambert, and goaltender Collin Delia to AHL Manitoba. Winnipeg recalled the foursome yesterday to provide reinforcements for yesterday’s regular-season finale against the Canucks. Chibrikov and Lambert made their NHL debuts, with the former notching his first NHL goal in the process. Delia backed up Laurent Brossoit while Jennings Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck was given the night off entirely, while Ford was a healthy scratch. Delia was again recalled under emergency conditions later Friday, suggesting he’ll be available as a Black Ace/emergency backup for Game 1 against the Avalanche on Sunday.
- The Coyotes have made likely the final group of transactions in franchise history, returning forwards Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, Aku Raty, and defensemen Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok to AHL Tucson. The sale of the team’s hockey operations to Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors yesterday, rendering the Coyotes franchise inactive and establishing a new franchise in Utah. The five youngsters will finish the season in the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Roadrunners. Some of these players, likely Guenther and Doan at a minimum, will travel to Salt Lake City and will be a part of that team’s opening-night squad next season. The others may remain in Tucson, which is expected to serve as the Utah franchise’s minor-league affiliate.
- The Oilers have assigned defenseman Philip Broberg and winger Adam Erne to AHL Bakersfield. The pair were recalled earlier in the week to allow the Oilers to rest stars like Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard before kicking off their first-round playoff series against the Kings in a few days. They’ll return to playoff-bound Bakersfield for now but will be among the first in line for recalls if necessary.
- The Kings have assigned forward Alex Turcotte to AHL Ontario. He’d spent most of the last week in the minors on an LTI conditioning loan, but was activated off LTIR and reinstated to the NHL roster on Tuesday. He didn’t play in the Kings’ final game of the regular season last night, though. The 23-year-old presumably won’t be in their Game 1 lineup against the Oilers and will report for playoff action with the Reign.
- The Islanders have summoned goaltender Jakub Skarek from AHL Bridgeport, per the league’s media site. The 23-year-old comes up to serve as the extra/reserve netminder as the Islanders begin their first-round series with Bridgeport eliminated from playoff contention. The 2018 third-round pick has again struggled in the third-string spot, posting a .888 SV% and 7-22-6 record in 36 appearances for the AHL Isles this year. He was passed over for recalls earlier in the regular season in favor of veteran Kenneth Appleby.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Art Ross, Richard, Jennings Trophy Winners Confirmed
With the last day of the regular season schedule behind us, the three major stat-based award winners for the 2023-24 season are set in stone. Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov has won his second career Art Ross Trophy as the overall scoring champion, while Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews takes home his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy after setting the salary cap era goal-scoring record. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck clinched his first William M. Jennings Trophy as well, with Winnipeg allowing the fewest goals against in the league.
Kucherov’s season was a franchise-defining performance in every sense offensively. With a Lightning-record 144 points (44 goals, 100 assists) in 81 games, Kucherov finished four points clear of Avalanche pivot Nathan MacKinnon. He joins Martin St. Louis as the only Tampa player to win the Art Ross multiple times and becomes the fourth active player to do so, alongside Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Connor McDavid.
The 30-year-old Russian contributed to exactly half of the Lightning’s 288 total goals and will be the favorite in what’s expected to be an extremely tight Hart Trophy race with Crosby, MacKinnon, Matthews and McDavid all as potential challengers. He’s the 12th player all-time to register points on at least 50 percent of his team’s scoring within a single season.
Kucherov capped off his regular season Wednesday in Toronto by becoming the fifth player in league history to put up 100 assists in a single season, joining McDavid, who’d only done it two days before. He registered a point 68 of his 81 appearances, including 41 multi-point games, 23 three-point efforts, and eight games with at least four points.
Matthews, who takes home his third goal-scoring title in four years in a rather dominant fashion, is not to be ignored. His 69 goals in 81 games were a Maple Leafs record and the most in a single season since Penguins star Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. He was 12 goals ahead of second-place Panthers winger Sam Reinhart. He became the second player in the modern era to record hat tricks in each of his first two games. His 18 multi-goal performances were the most since the Sabres’ Alexander Mogilny in the early ’90s.
Hellebuyck gets to add to his trophy chest ahead of his seven-year, $59.5MM extension kicking in next season. The Jets were the only team to allow fewer than 200 goals, and the three-time Vezina finalist is mostly responsible, posting a .921 SV%, five shutouts and a league-leading 33.1 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. He was a wide margin ahead of Canucks starter Thatcher Demko in that category, who had 22.0 GSAx, while Panthers backup Anthony Stolarz managed to work his way into the top three with 20.1 GSAx despite making only 27 appearances. As he was the only Jets netminder to play more than 25 games, he’s the first sole recipient of the award since the Kings’ Jonathan Quick in 2018. The 30-year-old held opponents to three or fewer goals in 50 of his 60 appearances.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Penguins, Sidney Crosby To Discuss Extension This Summer
With the Penguins missing the playoffs for the second straight year and the team potentially heading for some sort of reset, some have wondered if they could consider parting with franchise icon Sidney Crosby. However, speaking with reporters today including Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the captain certainly isn’t thinking like that, indicating that he expects to have talks about a contract extension this summer.
It will be the first time in quite a while that Crosby will be discussing a new deal. He’s about to enter the final year of a 12-year agreement signed back in 2012. That contract, with a term and a back-diving structure that is now illegal throughout the league, carries an $8.7MM AAV, the price tag he has had every year since the 2008-09 campaign.
In some ways, not a lot has changed over those years. Crosby has produced over a point per game in each of his 19 NHL campaigns, routinely leading the Penguins in scoring. Even this season, Crosby had the third-highest goal total of his career (42) along with his highest point total (94) since the 2018-19 campaign. Suffice it to say, those are impressive numbers, especially for a 36-year-old.
Many players Crosby’s age use their performance as a barometer for when the time might be right to hang up the skates but that isn’t necessarily the case for the captain:
I’ve always just gone year to year, and that’s always served me well as far as how I evaluate my game and that sort of thing. There’s always a lot of factors, but I think that’s separate from talking contracts and, at my age and things like that, there’ll be a lot of factors. But as far as just evaluating my game, I don’t look any differently at how much longer I can play based off that.
Crosby can’t sign his next contract until July 1st as players must be in the final year of their existing deal before becoming extension-eligible. While the Penguins certainly need to start to make their core younger, they’d be taking a big step back if they can’t reach a new deal with him. That said, given how smoothly talks have gone in the past, it definitely wouldn’t be surprising if an agreement wasn’t in place at some point in the summer.
Seamus Casey Undecided On Turning Pro
This is the time of year when many college players will elect to forego the remainder of their college eligibility and sign their first professional contract. Plenty have done so already, some of which have already made their NHL debuts. One player who hasn’t made a decision at this time is Devils prospect Seamus Casey. Speaking with reporters today during his end-of-season press conference (video link), GM Tom Fitzgerald indicated that Casey hasn’t made a firm decision yet on his future but believes he might be inclined to sign with New Jersey:
If I was a betting man, I would say he’s probably leaning toward turning pro but with that being said, we talked to him right before the National Championship weekend, he wasn’t sure, there wasn’t any pressure from us. To me, if you forfeit the rest of your college career, you need to be more than two feet in the water. You have to jump right in and you have to really want this. Any hesitations, then it may not work. So we’re going to give him all the time he needs.
The 20-year-old was a second-round pick by the Devils back in 2022 (46th overall) and recently wrapped up his sophomore year at Michigan. It was certainly a strong one as Casey had seven goals and 38 assists in 40 games, good for third-most among NCAA blueliners behind draft-eligible Zeev Buium and Lane Hutson. Casey also took part in the World Juniors for the second straight year, collecting six assists in as many contests.
If Casey decides to stay in college, he’ll be remaining with a team that will be missing some key pieces as Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, and Dylan Duke have all elected to turn pro. That said, the core isn’t entirely gone as Rutger McGroarty is still there while undrafted forward T.J. Hughes – one of their top scorers this season – still has two years of eligibility remaining.
On the other hand, if Casey turns pro now, there might not be a spot for him on New Jersey’s roster to start next season. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec are two players on their entry-level deals on the back end already while they’ll also be welcoming back Dougie Hamilton from injury. Accordingly, if the choice is between playing in the AHL or staying in college, Casey could determine it’s better to do the latter.
With the deadline for registering a contract that burns a year this season now having passed earlier today, there’s no rush for Casey to make a decision, especially since New Jersey’s AHL team is in tough to make the playoffs. Accordingly, it may take a while yet before the blueliner decides on his future.
Brad Malone To Retire After The Season
Veteran winger Brad Malone is in his 13th professional season and it will be his last. AHL Bakersfield announced that this will be his final year and that the Oilers farmhand will be retiring at the conclusion of the upcoming postseason.
The 34-year-old was originally drafted by Colorado, going 105th overall back in 2007 but didn’t turn pro until the 2011-12 campaign. Malone spent parts of three seasons with the Avs before signing on for two years in Carolina, followed by one with Washington.
In 2017, Malone joined Edmonton in free agency and has stuck with that organization ever since; he’s on his fourth contract with the team. He has spent most of his time with the Condors during that time but did get into 41 games with the Oilers, ten of which came last season. This year, the veteran has 17 points through 48 contests in the minors with two games left on their regular season schedule.
All told, Malone will wrap up his career with 217 appearances at the top level where he had 32 points. He also has suited up in 551 AHL contests so far, tallying 290 points, a quality career for a player selected in the middle of the draft. Now, he’ll look to go out on a high note with a strong postseason run with the Condors having already sewn up a spot in the Pacific Division.
Longtime Devils Scout Glen Dirk Passes Away At Age 85
Legendary New Jersey Devils scout Glen Dirk has passed away at age 85 (Web link). Dirk dedicated much of his life to scouting, serving over 40 years in scout roles between the WHL and NHL. He’s most well known for being the scout to recommend Scott Niedermayer to the New Jersey Devils ahead of their third-overall selection of him in 1991. That recommendation earned Dirk a role with the Devils three years later, and he’s served with the team ever since – even filling out an amateur scouting role this season.
Success followed Dirk wherever he went. He played a key role in building a Kamloops Blazers squad that would win both the 1992 and 1994 Memorial Cup. His championship-winning traditions quickly transferred to the NHL, with Dirk’s first season with the Devils being their 1995 Stanley Cup-winning season. He’d go on to play a role in the 2000 and 2003 Cup wins, as well as the 2001 and 2012 runner-up seasons.
Dirk was attributed with much more than just the Nidermayer find, serving as an advocate for Scott Gomez in 1998 and recruiting Travis Zajac during his BCHL years. In fact, it was Dirk’s guidance that allowed the Devils to so confidently draft out of Western Canada in the early-2000’s. Those decisions would ultimately land them Gomez, Zajac, Deryk Engelland, and plenty more impactful NHL talent.
Dirk was a native of Loon Lake, Saskatchewan, and became an icon of hockey in Western Canada. He served a total of 29 seasons with the Devils, in addition to roles with the Washington Capitals, Kamloops Blazers, the Regina Pats, and the Spokane Chiefs. He is survived in legacy by the many scouts he mentored, and in kin by his two daughters and their families. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to the Dirk family and the New Jersey Devils fanbase.