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Patrik Allvin

West Notes: McDonagh, Guenther, Gustavsson

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Amid their up-and-down season on and off the ice thus far, eight points out of a playoff spot coming into today, unable to extend Bo Horvat, and listing only Elias Pettersson as “untouchable,” it appears the Vancouver Canucks need to start setting their eyes on the future. Part of that future is likely with Pettersson, as well as Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko, and the recently-extended J.T. Miller, but will also come with their young prospects. One of those prospects, who has yet to sign with the team, is Northeastern University forward Aidan McDonagh.

The 23-year-old is finishing up his fourth season in the NCAA where he has 13 goals and 14 assists in just 20 games and is over a point-per-game during his four years. A 2019 seventh-round pick of the Canucks, Vancouver’s rights with McDonagh expire on August 15th. According to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin was in Boston this weekend to meet with McDonagh. Per Dhaliwal, that meeting went very well, with Allvin laying out his plan for the player should he choose to sign. Despite the positive meeting, there is still no indication of how likely McDonagh is to sign with the team that drafted him.

  • After scoring the golden-goal for Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors, Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther immediately rejoined his team, flying back to Arizona on Friday, less than 24 hours after the biggest goal of his life to-date. Given the whirlwind few days for Guenther and having been away form his NHL team for a few weeks, many would understand if the winger didn’t play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, that won’t be the case says PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, who reports that Guenther will play at home Sunday. Guenther, 19, had been one of a few key difference-makers for Canada at this year’s tournament, and has been off to a nice start to his NHL career too, recording 11 points in 21 games prior to joining Team Canada.
  • Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who last played Wednesday and has been out with a non-COVID illness since, is expected to start this evening’s game at home against the St. Louis Blues, says The Athletic’s Joe Smith. Gustavsson’s illness had apparently been enough that he couldn’t simply back-up for Marc-Andre Fleury, but the team had to instead recall netminder Zane McIntyre on an emergency basis Friday morning. The Wild play at home this evening before a two game midweek road trip to New York City and Long Island.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Phillip Di Giuseppe

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Nov 30: With Mikheyev fully back in the fold, Vancouver returned Di Giuseppe to Abbotsford Wednesday night, per the team.

Nov 29: After opting to waive him over a month ago, the Vancouver Canucks are bringing forward Phillip Di Giuseppe back up to the NHL. General manager Patrik Allvin announced his recall from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks Tuesday night.

Di Giuseppe comes to the NHL to potentially relieve Ilya Mikheyev, who could miss tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals with an illness. Both Di Giuseppe and Mikheyev were on the ice for warmups ahead of the game.

Now 29, Di Giuseppe is in his second year with the Canucks organization. He’s yet to score a goal this season in Abbotsford but does have five assists through seven games after approaching a point-per-game pace last season.

He has 201 games of NHL experience split between Carolina, Nashville, and the New York Rangers, and his a capable fourth-line plug-in when required.

As he has not spent more than 30 days on an NHL roster since clearing, Di Giuseppe will not require waivers again when the team opts to return him to Abbotsford.

Afternoon Notes: Crosby, Allvin, O’Reilly

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to extensions this summer, they committed themselves to a “win-now” short-term competitive plan, focusing the energy and resources of their franchise into squeezing one last Stanley Cup victory out of their three franchise pillars. The face of the franchise, Sidney Crosby, has three years remaining on his current contract, and as things currently stand he’s not thinking beyond that point.

In an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek for their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Crosby was asked about his playing future and whether he’d like to play into his forties as Zdeno Chara has. Crosby responded that he wouldn’t, and added on that he’s “thinking about [the] three more years” remaining on his contract before considering the next step for his career. At 35 years old, Crosby isn’t “Sid the Kid” anymore, but he did score 84 points in 69 games last year and remains an elite player. But based on these comments, the Penguins will need to consider that Crosby may not be playing for the entirety of Malkin or Letang’s new extensions.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has been a busy man this summer, signing major contracts with J.T. Miller, Ilya Mikheyev, and Andrei Kuzmenko. And despite the fact that training camps are close, he may not be done. In a conversation with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Allvin stated that the team would still be looking to add to its current group of players, saying that there is enough “cap space, and roster spots, and contract slots” to be able to facilitate an addition. (subscription link) We’re certainly late into the offseason free agent market, but with the preseason waiver wire set to be active and a few free agents still remaining, it’s possible that the Canucks get a new face or two into the mix before they open their 2022-23 campaign.
  • The St. Louis Blues have signed some major extensions recently, specifically with their two top young players: Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. While the Blues are undoubtedly better off having signed those deals, they could come with a cost. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the byproduct of these extensions is that the team could find it difficult to match the sort of offer captain Ryan O’Reilly could receive on the open market. Since both O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will be unrestricted free agents next summer, the Blues seem to have made retaining their two franchise pillars a more difficult task with their recent moves.

Latest On Bo Horvat’s Extension Negotiations

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With J.T. Miller now signed long-term, questions in Vancouver have now turned to the future of Bo Horvat. General manager Patrik Allvin touched on negotiations with his captain at today’s media availability:

Bo is our captain. We respect and we like Bo. We’re communicating with his camp, and we’ll see if there is a deal to be made here. 

There was no hint of frustration from Allvin – in fact, it seemed more as though Horvat’s talks had been pushed to the back burner while they dealt with Miller, and that they would now get into them. Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the situation on Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast, with the former explaining that the last he had heard was “not much going on there.” Both hosts believe that an extension will be done at some point.

Horvat, 27, has one year left on his current contract and carries a $5.5MM cap hit for the 2022-23 season, after which he will become an unrestricted free agent. The ninth overall pick in 2013 is coming off a career-best 31-goal season (in just 70 games) and has been the team’s most consistent offensive producer with five 20+ goal seasons in his eight-year career.

How the Canucks fit Horvat into the picture is another story. As we examined recently the Canucks cap situation isn’t excellent, with Tyler Myers’ $6MM hit still on the books through 2023-24 and Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s $7.26MM through 2026-27, but there should be enough flexibility to add in a raise for Horvat if the team decides to do that. If they do, the question will then become how can the Canucks surround that core with enough talent to really compete in the next few years, given they are likely going to face some pain at the end of these long-term deals.

Even though a late-season surge put them extremely close to a playoff spot, the team still lost 42 games (including overtime and shootout), not exactly the number a contender can point to as a reason to spend. If they do decide to keep Horvat long-term, there is plenty of risk to the way that Allvin and president Jim Rutherford are operating. Being “stuck in the middle” – meaning good enough to avoid the top few draft slots but not good enough to really challenge for the Stanley Cup – is something that teams try to avoid at all costs. The team already has six players signed through at least 2025-26, with only Hughes under the age of 26.

Vancouver Canucks Announce Hockey Ops Changes

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced several changes to the hockey operations department, as general manager Patrik Allvin continues to overhaul the front office. Ryan Johnson has been promoted to assistant to the general manager, but retains his status as GM of the Abbotsford Canucks. Scott Young will now be director of player personnel, while Frank Golden has joined as a college free agent scout.

The big addition that will grab headlines is Dale Tallon, who is joining the organization as a senior advisor and professional scout. Notably, he is returning to where it all began, as Tallon was the Canucks’ very first draft selection, second overall in 1970. The 71-year-old executive has several decades of experience in high-leverage front office roles, including most recently as general manager of the Florida Panthers.

Johnson, who continues to rise up the organizational depth chart, has been praised at length by Allvin and team president Jim Rutherford at every chance for his work with the AHL squad and other duties. A clear candidate to become an NHL general manager at some point in the future, he’ll take on this new role that works “closely with Allvin on all hockey-related matters.”

Young is coming over from the Penguins, where he worked with Allvin and Rutherford previously as the director of player development. He has extensive international experience, having played in three Olympics and coached in the past two for Team USA. Young also hoisted the Stanley Cup twice during his long playing career, which spanned more than 1,100 games at the NHL level.

The organization continues to expand and change the front office, as they look to turn the page on the last group and start a new chapter of Canucks success.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Filip Johansson

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The Vancouver Canucks have nabbed one of the more interesting European free agents on the market this offseason. The team today announced the signing of defenseman Filip Johansson, a first-round pick of the Minnesota Wild, to a two-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms are unavailable at this time.

Drafted 24th overall in 2018 by Minnesota, the now-22-year-old’s development in the SHL had stalled over the past few seasons, leading the Wild to the decision to not offer Johansson an entry-level contract as his exclusive signing rights expired on June 1. The 6′ 1″, 176 lb defenseman’s best hockey came in the 2022 postseason, notching five goals and two assists in just nine games with Frölunda HC.

Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin evidently disagrees with the Wild’s assessment of the player, saying in the team’s release that Johansson “plays a solid defensive game and has shown consistent improvement over the past three seasons.” Allvin also noted that the team will loan Johansson back to Frölunda for the 2022-23 season, meaning Canucks fans won’t get a chance to see their new prospect on North American ice just yet. However, Johansson will attend Canucks development camp next month.

Johansson joins a Canucks prospect pool on defense that lacks much to be truly excited about other than Jack Rathbone and Jett Woo, and he’ll become a giant wild card for the organization. If Johansson can regain his development and reach the defensive ceiling he had when the Wild drafted him, it’ll be a gamble worth taking for the Canucks. If not, Vancouver gave up no assets to obtain the player other than a contract slot. It’s a solid bet from Allvin and the Canucks organization to take a chance on the Swedish defenseman.

Snapshots: Boudreau, Amirov, Rask

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After an impressive run with the Vancouver Canucks since taking over as Head Coach on December 5th, Bruce Boudreau’s future with the Vancouver Canucks is still uncertain. As discussed earlier in the week, Canucks’ GM Patrik Allvin would not commit to keeping Boudreau behind the bench after this season, looking to further evaluate. On the 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night in Canada yesterday evening, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shined some light on what he believes the contract situation looks like and what could happen with Boudreau this summer.

Friedman believes Boudreau’s contract contains multiple options, one for the club and one for him. If Vancouver chose not to exercise Boudreau’s option, Friedman believes the Canucks would have to buyout Boudreau in some form. In addition, Boudreau may have an option not to stay, even if Vancouver chooses to keep him, but in that scenario, he would not be compensated. Debating whether or not to keep Boudreau may seem surprising, after the veteran coach has lead the team to a 24-13-7 record since taking over, however it is worth considering that Boudreau was not Allvin’s pick for head coach, as he was hired nearly two months after Boudreau. If the organization wishes to have Allvin’s vision be the future of the franchise, they may have to trust his preference for a head coach.

  • Also from 32 Thoughts, Friedman discussed Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect Rodion Amirov, who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. Friedman confirms that Amirov finished six weeks of chemotherapy and has four more weeks until his next round. In the meantime, Amirov has been in the gym five days per week and on the ice three times per week in a space rented by the Maple Leafs in Germany. Although Amirov is not out of the woods yet, seeing the young forward continuing to stay in shape and work on his development even in the toughest of times is certainly encouraging in many ways.
  • After a comeback attempt fell short, legendary Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask announced his retirement from playing back on February 9th. It appears though that Rask’s days with the Bruins are far from over, as he has accepted a role within the organization and is considering a possible venture into coaching in the long-term, writes The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. For now, Rask’s role will primarily consist of networking with sponsors, spending time with them at and away from the rink.

Vancouver Canucks Interested In Andrei Kuzmenko

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When Patrik Allvin took over as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, he promised that they would be looking at college and international free agents in order to beef up the depth of the organization. That’s what he’d learned in Pittsburgh, after all, where the Penguins routinely signed undrafted talent from the college ranks to try and squeeze out some inexpensive NHL minutes.

A promise is a promise, and the Canucks have already started to show interest in a player from overseas. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that the Canucks are one of the teams to have contacted the representatives of Andrei Kuzmenko. The 26-year-old forward has been chased by NHL teams for years, going back to 2018 after his breakout KHL season. Instead of coming over then, he has spent the last four seasons with the powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg program, growing as an offensive force in the process.

This season, Kuzmenko scored 53 points in 45 games, good for second overall in league scoring behind short-time NHLer Vadim Shipachyov. The difference is that while Shipachyov and third-place Corban Knight both played more than 20 minutes a game, the SKA star averaged under 17. With the KHL season complete and the league moving directly into the playoffs, there is still work to be done for Kuzmenko. St. Petersburg went 31-11-6 on the season and locked up first place in the KHL western conference, meaning they’re set to chase a long postseason run and a chance at the Gagarin Cup. He won’t be available to sign until after that run finishes if he comes over at all.

It isn’t just the Canucks after Kuzmenko. Plenty of NHL teams have shown interest to this point, including the Chicago Blackhawks according to a report from a few days ago.

Of course, Vancouver could have an ace up its sleeve. Vasily Podkolzin, the tenth-overall pick from 2019, was a teammate of Kuzmenko for several years before coming to North America this season. Perhaps Allvin will be able to begin his task of adding depth to the organization by reuniting the two, though a decision still isn’t expected for a while.

“No Urgency” For Canucks As Deadline Approaches

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When the Vancouver Canucks started the season poorly, costing Jim Benning and Travis Green their jobs, players all across their roster started being included in trade speculation. J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and others were all in the news as potential deadline deals, with the rumor mill expecting a clean sweep of the Vancouver roster. The new president of hockey operations is here to tell you that may not happen.

Jim Rutherford spoke with Scott Burnside of Daily Faceoff and explained how because none of those players are pending unrestricted free agents, the team doesn’t feel any pressure to make moves before this year’s deadline.

Well, we’re in a position that we don’t have to feel any pressure this year because we don’t have top players where they’re going to be UFAs. So there’s no urgency here to make those kinds of decisions. Our decisions will be made step by step as to what we think is best for the franchise now and in the future.

While that’s technically true, it is a bit disingenuous, to say the least. Boeser is a restricted free agent this summer and is owed a qualifying offer that far outpaces his 2021-22 production. Miller has just one more year before unrestricted free agency, meaning his trade value will likely decrease substantially if the Canucks wait until the summer to deal him. Horvat too is a UFA after next season, and though his name isn’t brought up as often because of his role as captain, a decision will have to be made sooner or later on his future in Vancouver.

So perhaps there is no risk of slow-playing these assets because they aren’t walking in the summer, but there is also a very real chance that they would be costing themselves value by holding on through the deadline. Of course, that value loss has to be weighed against the rest of this season, one in which the Canucks are not actually out of the running in the Western Conference yet. The team has performed better under Bruce Boudreau and sits just five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the final wildcard spot. With Edmonton and Dallas–the two teams between them–not really inspiring much confidence as Stanley Cup contenders, there’s always a chance a late-season run could catapult the Canucks into the playoff picture.

For a new management group taking over, any time you have to gather information is extremely important. After March 21, the offers disappear for a while, with no guarantee they are back on the table in the summer. Patrik Allvin and his new staff have just over four weeks to make decisions that could change the direction of the franchise. No pressure.

Vancouver Canucks Hires Cammi Granato As Assistant GM

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Feb 10: The Canucks have made it official, adding Granato to the front office as AGM. Rutherford released a lengthy statement explaining the hire:

Cammi is a tremendous leader and has earned the respect of the hockey world. She has a great mind for the game and experience and influence at all levels. In her role, Cammi will oversee our player development department and our amateur and pro scouting department. Cammi’s input will also be included in all areas of hockey operations as we leverage the diverse opinions and experience of our new leadership group to build a winning team.

Feb 9: Jim Rutherford and the Vancouver Canucks are about to make another game-changing addition to the front office. After naming Patrik Allvin as GM, making him the first Swedish-born GM in the NHL and just the second European GM in the league, and adding Emilie Castonguay as the first female Assistant GM in league history, the Canucks are adding the second female AGM and a Hockey Hall of Famer to boot. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Cammi Granato is expected to be named Assistant GM in Vancouver with an announcement anticipated in the coming days.

Granato, 50, is no stranger to NHL hockey operations. She is currently a scout for the nearby Seattle Kraken and has been since the team was announced back in 2019. Granato’s husband, Ray Ferraro, played 18 years and over 1,200 games in the league, while brother Tony Granato played and coached in the league and brother Don Granato is the current head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.

Of course, Granato has plenty of playing experience of her own to draw upon as well. The decorated American forward appeared in two Olympics and nine World Championships, taking home two gold medals and nine silver medals. Granato also starred for Providence College and played two seasons of professional women’s hockey. A talented skater and scorer, Granato’s knowledge of the game will be put to good use in the new-look Vancouver front office.

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