Kirill Ustimenko Signs Entry-Level Contract
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltending prospect Kirill Ustimenko to his three-year entry-level contract according to agent Dan Milstein.
It’s been a long time since the Flyers could claim to have some of the best goaltending depth in the league, but amazingly that statement may become true in the next few years. 20-year old Carter Hart has already staked his claim to the starting role in the NHL, while 22-year old Felix Sandstrom posted another great season in the SHL. Ustimenko, another 20-year old this time from Russia, has been one of the MHL’s best goaltenders for several years.
Originally selected in the third round in 2017, Ustimenko has posted three consecutive dominant years with the MHL Dynamo St. Petersburg team in Russia. With save percentages of .938, .929 and .927, he has developed into a legitimate goaltending prospect that is ready to make the leap to North America. While he may not be ready to compete at the NHL level just yet, there’s good reason to believe he and Sandstrom could form an excellent duo in the AHL.
The question will be where they each land however, as the Flyers still have Alex Lyon under contract for another season. Perhaps he’ll move up to the NHL with Brian Elliott and Cam Talbot both on expiring deals, but the team may want to bring in a veteran option to help out Hart and take some of the pressure off the young goaltender. In that case, there may simply be too many talented goaltenders to go around for the Flyers in the minor leagues, something they haven’t been able to say for quite some time.
Central Notes: Berube, Modano, Trouba
Just a little more than 24 hours ago, St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award along with Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper and the New York Islanders’ Barry Trotz, an honor which goes to the best NHL coach. Strangely enough though, Berube isn’t the team’s permanent coach. Berube was brought in to replace the fired Mike Yeo on Nov. 20, but was handed the interim tag, a role he still has despite leading the franchise to an impressive run that got them into the postseason and through the first round of the playoffs.
Tom Timmermann and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonder why the franchise hasn’t removed Berube’s interim tag and named him the team’s permanent coach. He’s definitely earned that. Regardless, Berube isn’t too worried about it:
Honestly, I’m not even focused on that. I’m focused on the playoffs. That’s the honest truth. I have nothing to say about it. It’s a great honor for sure to be in the conversation with those other coaches. I’ve said that all along, it’s an organizational thing. Doug (Armstrong)’s done a great job of putting the players together and my coaching staff – obviously a great coaching staff – they’ve done a great job with these guys and the players.
- Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Minnesota Wild are close to bringing former local star Mike Modano to the organization in a front-office role. The Hall of Famer and franchise face played his first five seasons with the Minnesota North Stars before moving with the franchise to Dallas, where he played the next 16 seasons, but is now ready to move his family back to Minnesota where he will likely start on the business side in an ambassador-type of position. However, Russo adds that he will also likely have more of a hockey ops role down the road as well.
- Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press suggests that the Winnipeg Jets need to act quickly and trade off defenseman Jacob Trouba before the team loses him in a year for nothing. Trouba, who has shown a reluctance to sign a long-term extension, will be a restricted free agent for the final time this off-season. If he opts to sign a one-year deal, he could be an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season. McIntyre suggests the team needs to swap Trouba for a young, inexpensive defender, suggesting several teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers, as a trade partner. If they can make that trade quickly enough, it could give the Jets the opportunity to bring back Tyler Myers, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, with the money they saved from moving Trouba.
2019 Calder Memorial Trophy Finalists Announced
The finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given each year to the most proficient first-year player in the NHL, have been announced. The three rookies are Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal was the 2018 winner of the award.
While it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Canucks’ Pettersson would walk away with the award early in the season, the young Swede has gotten some good competition from Binnington as well as fellow Swede Dahlin. However, Pettersson remains the front runner. The 20-year-old came over from Sweden this year and immediately posted 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, making the loss of both Henrik and Daniel Sedin, who retired a season ago, less noticeable. What’s interesting is that Pettersson was initially pegged to play the wing for a season as he transitioned to North American hockey. Instead, within a week or two of training camp the team announced he would play center immediately and fared extremely well at that. Despite the impressive numbers, the other two candidates have a legitimate chance at the award, as much of Pettersson’s production was concentrated in the first half of the season. He tallied 23 goals and 45 points in the first 40 games of the season, but struggled more in the second half, totaling just five goals and 21 points in his final 31 games.
Binnington didn’t make his first start this year until Jan. 7, but he made it count, posting a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers and leading a struggling Blues team to the playoffs with a 24-5-1 record with a 1.89 GAA and a .927 save percentage. The 25-year-old netminder was not even considered the team’s top goalie prospect at the start of the season, as he was behind Ville Husso in San Antonio of the AHL, but a strong start to the season with the Rampage and his immediate success with St. Louis give the goaltender a good chance at challenging for the Calder.
Dahlin comes from a much more conventional place, as he was the 2018 No. 1 overall pick and immediately steadied a struggling Buffalo defense this season. He had one of the best seasons for an 18-year-old defensemen ever, as he posted nine goals and 44 points, second most in the NHL history for his age and position. Only his former coach, Phil Housley, did better as an 18-year-old defender, as Housley put up 57 points back in the 1982-83 season. Dahlin also played the second-most minutes among NHL rookies, averaging 21:09, behind Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who many felt deserved to be among the top three in this race. Dahlin is the first Buffalo Sabres player to be a finalist for the award since Tyler Myers was nominated in 2009-10.
Snapshots: Messier, Granato, Blake
Ahead of Game Seven between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, this year’s finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award were announced by NBC Sports, including ‘Canes captain and “Mr. Game Seven” himself, Justin Williams. Williams joins Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and Nashville Predators forward and former Philadelphia Flyers fan favorite Wayne Simmonds as the three players being considered for the honor. An award unlike any other in sports, these finalists are determined by input from fans, team officials, and league executive alike, but the winner is ultimately determined by Mark Messier himself. Messier, considered one of the best leaders in league history, chooses the candidate “who best exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice”. The list of past winners of the award, dating back to its origins in 2007, include some of the most recognizable leaders in the game, many of whom remain active, such as Sidney Crosby, Zdeno Chara, Jonathan Toews, and Shea Weber. Williams, Giordano, and Simmonds are all great candidates to join their ranks.
- The Chicago Blackhawks and assistant coach Don Granato have “mutually agreed” to part ways. Granato was hired by Joel Quenneville in 2017, but does not appear to have been a fit for Jeremy Colliton‘s staff. The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus writes that Granato specifically worked with younger players as a go-between for Quenneville, but that role was redundant under the younger Colliton. Granato has been coaching since the early 90’s and should be able to find a new gig in no time. In fact, he very likely has an open invitation to return to the University of Wisconsin to coach under brother Tony Granato with a Badgers squad that has their eye on a National Championship next season.
- Speaking of the college ranks, the University of North Dakota received an intriguing commitment today in the form of a legacy player. 15-year-old Jackson Blake, son of long-time NHLer and former Fighting Sioux standout Jason Blake, announced that he would be following in his father’s footsteps by joining the program – in 2022. Blake currently plays for powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s and finished the season in second on the U-15 team in per-game scoring with 24 points in 27 games. As one would imagine about a young teenager, Blake is still small at 5’5″; however if he reaches or exceed’s his dad’s 5’10” frame, Blake should be more than capable of making an impact at the college level down the road.
Jay O’Brien Leaving Providence College
Wednesday: Not so fast, apparently. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to O’Brien, who confirmed he is leaving Providence but denied that he’s heading to the BCHL. The young forward has not yet decided where he will play next season.
Tuesday: It was a frustrating season for Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jay O’Brien, who struggled through injury during his freshman year at Providence College. It now seems as though he’ll be playing in a new league, as Jeff Cox of the New England Hockey Journal reports that O’Brien is in the transfer portal and is expected to play in the BCHL next season. O’Brien would be ruled out of NCAA play in 2019-20 if he transferred to a new school.
O’Brien, 19, recorded just two goals and five points in 25 games for Providence, not exactly the season he was expecting after the Flyers selected him 19th overall last June. While that was a bit higher than many expected—Bob McKenzie of TSN for instance had O’Brien 34th in his final rankings—it’s not like he was a completely off-the-board pick. The offensive forward had dominated the high school level, but was relatively unproven given his lack of playing time with the USNTDP. He did make the cut as a member of Team USA at the most recent World Juniors, but failed to record a single point in seven games.
Cox reports that O’Brien will likely play for the Penticton Vees, a legendary BCHL program that has recently produced NHL players like Ryan Johansen, Troy Stecher, Tyson Jost, Dante Fabbro, and has a history that includes names like Paul Kariya, Duncan Keith and Brett Hull.
The Flyers could also sign O’Brien and bring him into the organization, but if they don’t wish to do that at this point they will still retain his exclusive negotiating rights. They will hold these until June 1st, 2022 even if he leaves school early.
Flyers To Talk With Scott Gordon Soon About Going Back To Lehigh Valley
With Philadelphia hiring Alain Vigneault as their new head coach last week, that has left former interim bench boss Scott Gordon’s future with the team in question. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall that he plans to speak to Gordon in the coming days about potentially reprising his old role as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley.
After the season, Gordon indicated that his stint with the Flyers – one that was relatively successful as the team posted a .529 points percentage during his tenure – rekindled his interest in being a head coach at the NHL level. His first stint with the Islanders from 2008 to 2010 did not go well so he admitted to not giving much thought to getting another shot. However, with a few vacancies available, it’s quite possible that Gordon could find himself in the mix for another NHL opportunity if he decides to try to land one of those positions.
Philadelphia Flyers Hire Alain Vigneault
The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Alain Vigneault as their new head coach, signing him to a multi-year contract. Vigneault is currently set to coach Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship but will be behind the bench for the Flyers in 2019-20. GM Chuck Fletcher released a statement about the hiring:
We are extremely excited to have Alain join this franchise and lead our team behind the bench for many years to come. He brings a tremendous amount of success over an extended period of time that will prove valuable to our team to take the next steps in returning the winning culture to the Philadelphia Flyers organization.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Vigneault’s deal is worth $25MM over five years, making him one of the more expensive head coaches in the league. That may seem like a big commitment given Vigneault didn’t coach anywhere this season after being fired by the New York Rangers last year, but he does have an extensive resume of success. The 57-year old coach comes to Philadelphia with a career 648-435-35-98 regular season record which puts him 12th all-time in terms of wins. He was awarded the Jack Adams trophy as the league’s top bench boss in 2007, but unfortunately has failed to carry much of that success over to the postseason.
Vigneault actually has a losing record in 139 career playoff games and was defeated both times his team reached the Stanley Cup Final. Still, he should bring some stability to an organization that has used four coaches since the beginning of the 2013-14 season and failed to reach the playoffs in four of the past seven years. Scott Gordon, who took over after the team decided to fire Dave Hakstol earlier this season, ended up with a 25-22-4 record but will not be retained as the team’s head coach.
The Flyers are not in the process of a rebuild despite their solid farm system, and expect to compete for the playoffs again next season. Captain Claude Giroux is now 31 and has just three years remaining on his current contract, while other players like Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk are also closing in on their thirties. With young Carter Hart expected to take over the full-time starting goaltending duties and other young prospects ready to make the jump to the NHL, the time is now for the Flyers to contend. The hiring of Vigneault is just another sign that they’re willing to spend to get there, though only time will tell if he can finally take that next step and lead his team to a championship.
Snapshots: Hedman, Ferland, Hamilton, McKenna, Simmonds
It looks like the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without another key player Sunday. Already without the suspended Nikita Kucherov, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that star defenseman Victor Hedman will miss Game 3 with an unknown injury.
Head coach Jon Cooper said earlier today that Hedman would be a game-time decision, but now Braydon Coburn is on the ice, taking Hedman’s place. Hedman has been playing injured in the first two games of the playoffs.
- There won’t be any supplementary discipline from Saturday’s Game 2 between the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes despite a number of controversial hits. Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that neither Micheal Ferland or Dougie Hamilton will receive any attention from the Department of Player Safety, according to News & Observer’s Luke DeCock. Ferland gave a big hit to Washington’s Nic Dowd, but the angle looks like Ferland hit through Dowd’s body and did not aim for the head. Hamilton’s elbow to Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov was also heavily criticized, but it wasn’t believed that the elbow had enough force for supplementary discipline.
- Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Mike McKenna sent out a tweet Sunday, saying he would have a “humongous big announcement” coming on Monday. While there no confirmation what it is about, speculation has risen that McKenna might be ready to announce his retirement. AHLcom’s Tony Androckitis wrote that the 36-year-old McKenna was leaning towards ending his career Saturday night after the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ended their AHL season. “I’m pragmatically saying I’m not sure,” said McKenna. “It’s going to take an awful lot to convince me to play again I think. In terms of what I need to have happen for my family, more so than me.” McKenna, who could be considered an AHL-lifer, made 11 NHL appearances this season — 10 with Ottawa and another one with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s made 35 NHL appearances over the course of his career.
- NHL.com’s Robby Stanley reports that Brian Boyle remains “ill” and is day-to-day for Monday’s Game 3 matchup with the Dallas Stars. Boyle missed Game 2 with the flu. The scribe adds that there still isn’t an update on the status of Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds left Saturday’s game after taking a puck to the knee. A update is expected on Monday.
Flyers To Interview Alain Vigneault For Their Head Coaching Position
One name that hasn’t come up too frequently in the various head coaching searches around the league is veteran bench boss Alain Vigneault. However, he appears to be on the radar for at least one team as the Flyers have asked for (and been granted) permission from the Rangers to speak to Vigneault, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Philadelphia had to seek permission as Vigneault has one year left on his existing deal with New York and actually will see his pay increase from $4MM to $4.25MM for the 2019-20 season. The Flyers would likely need to assume at least a significant portion of that if they ultimately pick him to take over from interim head coach Scott Gordon.
The 57-year-old would certainly be a step in the opposite direction compared to their recent hires as their last two full-time head coaches (Dave Hakstol and Craig Berube) were both in that role for the first time. That wouldn’t be the case for Vigneault who has 1,216 career games behind an NHL bench with the Canadiens, Canucks, and the Rangers with his teams posting a 648-435-133 record in that span. He’s reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, once with Vancouver in 2010-11 and again with New York in 2013-14.
Vigneault was not behind an NHL bench at all this season after David Quinn took over for him with New York. However, he will lead Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships so if he’s deemed to be GM Chuck Fletcher’s preference, it wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to get a deal done before his duties with Canada get underway in the not-too-distant future.
Prospect Notes: Ginning, Luukkonen, Michaud
The Philadelphia Flyers have had a near-annual influx of talented young defensemen join the team over the last few years, but they’ll have to wait a little bit longer for one of their next promising blue liners to make the jump. Adam Ginning, the Flyers’ 2018 second-round pick, has re-signed with his Swedish Hockey League club for another year. Linkoping HC announced today that Ginning had inked a one-year contract extension to stay with the organization that has groomed him since he was 13 years old. Now 19, Ginning just finished his first full season in the SHL and did not look out of place playing against older and more experienced competition. At 6’4″ and 205 lbs., Ginning plays a physical and technically sound defensive game and projects to be a shutdown defender in the NHL one day. Some more time in the SHL certainly won’t hurt his development, but Philadelphia is definitely hopeful that he will join the system sooner rather than later to begin working with their coaches and adjusting to the North American style of play.
- The Buffalo Sabres will get a closer look at one of their top prospects ahead of schedule, as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has joined the AHL’s Rochester Americans on an amateur tryout basis, the team announced. Luukkonen is likely to make his North American pro debut in the near future to cap off what has been a big season for the talented netminder. Luukkonen, a second-round pick of the Sabres in 2017, made the jump overseas this year to play for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and made an immediate impact. The 6’5″ keeper was a brick wall in net, leading the league in wins and shutouts and finishing in the top three in save percentage and goals against average. Luukkonen was arguably the best goalie in the OHL this year, but that wasn’t even the highlight of the campaign. Luukkonen also led Finland to a gold medal finish at the World Junior Championships earlier this year, posting a .932 save percentage and 1.80 GAA along the way. The Sabres hope that the next stop on Luukkonen’s path of dominance is the AHL and soon after the NHL.
- One name that won’t be playing in the pros, in North America or Europe, for at least another year is NCAA forward Westin Michaud. Michaud, 23, just wrapped up his senior season at Colorado College, in which he finished second on the team with 30 points in 41 games. Competing in the ultra-competitive National Collegiate Hockey Conference against several elite programs, Michaud still managed to take major steps forward in each of the past three seasons and at least one rival school took notice. With a year of NCAA eligibility remaining after sitting as a freshman, Michaud has decided to spurn pro offers for now and leave Colorado College behind him to transfer to the University of North Dakota for a graduate year with the national powerhouse. The experienced center will likely slot into a top-six position with North Dakota and could be in for yet another jump in production. Joining an already-strong roster that also has an impressive recruiting class incoming, Michaud makes the Fighting Hawks a dangerous contender next season.