Adin Hill

Latest On Laurent Brossoit

September 5, 2022 at 3:30 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

When the Vegas Golden Knights acquired Adin Hill late last month via trade, it raised some questions about how long goalie Laurent Brossoit would be out to start the season after having surgery.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments added to that uncertainty today. While he did say Brossoit was healing well from his surgery, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Brossoit would return just weeks into the season or closer to the end of the calendar year instead. However, he did still reaffirm that Brossoit is tracking to be a healthy member of the Golden Knights this season.

Brossoit had a tough 2021-22 campaign, as did much of the Golden Knights team, but he’ll need to rebound in his second season in Vegas in the season-long absence of Robin Lehner. Brossoit does have some of the pressure taken off him with Hill’s acquisition, but the’s still the most experienced of Vegas’ now trio of NHL goalies.

In the meantime, Vegas hopes that Thompson’s strong end to the 2021-22 season, nearly miraculously getting them back into the playoffs despite anemic offensive play, carries over through training camp into the start of this season. They’ll also hope for Hill’s strong start to last season before going down with injury repeats itself as well.

Brossoit is entering the second season of a two-year deal worth $2.325MM per season. He finished last year with a 10-9-3 record in 24 games, just the second time in his career that he’s played more than 20 games in a season. He struggled statistically with a .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average, both worse than his career average numbers.

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Adin Hill

August 29, 2022 at 6:55 pm CDT | by John Gilroy 19 Comments

The Vegas Golden Knights announced that they have acquired goalie Adin Hill from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick. The deal seemingly solves the issue of San Jose’s goalie trio while giving Vegas another legitimate NHL goaltender in the absence of Robin Lehner this season.

As Vegas tries to shake off missing the playoffs for the first time in team history, there was a clear need for some change and to re-allocate their salary. Most notably, the team re-signed forward Reilly Smith, acquired the contract of defenseman Shea Weber, who they’ll place on LTIR, signed forward Phil Kessel, and dealt forward Max Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, the plan became problematic when it was revealed that star goalie Robin Lehner would have surgery and miss the entire 2022-23 season.

After losing Lehner, and before making the trade, Vegas did have two goalies with NHL experience in that of Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson, however neither had been a regular starter in the NHL. Brossoit had played parts of eight NHL seasons, but had never played more than 24 games in a season, those 24 coming in 2021-22. Certainly not a bad goalie by any stretch, Brossoit’s career .905 save-percentage and 2.84 goals-against average realistically may not have been numbers the Golden Knights trusted the bulk of their season in net with. Thompson brings with him just 20 games of NHL experience, but was a key piece in helping Vegas make a push for the playoffs with a remarkable final few weeks in net. His .914 save-percentage and 2.66 goals-against average could be sustainable as a full-time goalie for Vegas, but given his limited experience, might not be the solution to their immediate need for a starter. A fairly interesting consideration, knowing what we do now, was that only a few days ago, Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon stated that the team would be running with a tandem of Brossoit and Thompson in net, if possible. Between all three goalies, only Thompson is waivers exempt.

Hill, similarly to Brossoit, has never been a starting goaltender in the NHL, however he does have more intriguing numbers. For his career, Hill carries a .908 save-percentage and 2.74 goals-against average, with a similar .906 and 2.68 in 2021-22, where he played 25 games, a career-high. Also of note, Hill spent his career with the Arizona Coyotes prior to being dealt to the Sharks last offseason, two teams that have struggled to an extent. With Vegas, who is generally a competitive, defensively sound team, Hill could very well see his numbers improve.

The trade seems to be good value for Vegas, giving up a fourth round pick for Hill, who was dealt just a year ago with a seventh-round selection in exchange for young goalie Josef Korenar and a second-round pick. The two packages for Hill, book-ending what was arguably the best year of his career, may not be a great look for San Jose, however the team’s tricky situation with three goaltenders meant that they would likely be forced to trade one for less than what they would want, lose one to waivers eventually, or run the always unpopular three-goalie system. Now for 2022-23, it appears San Jose will run a tandem of James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen in net, at least to start. Also worth considering, after trading promising defenseman Jacob Middleton to get Kahkonen and believing they could get a semi-substantial return for Reimer, neither seemed like a candidate to be traded for any less than San Jose believed they were worth.

On the salary cap front, the deal puts Vegas $10.24MM over the cap ceiling, but with the ability to put Weber ($7.86MM) and Lehner ($5MM) on LTIR, they will effectively have $2.62MM with which to work now. If they do wind up with Nolan Patrick ($1.2MM) on LTIR, that would increase to $3.82MM. Either number would seem comfortable, however the team does still need to re-sign current RFA defenseman Nicolas Hague, who could eat up most, if not all, of the lower number.

Examining Trade Options For San Jose’s Goalie Surplus

August 28, 2022 at 6:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 22 Comments

Generally speaking, extra depth is rarely a bad thing to have. That extra impact forward, carrying more than four top-four defensemen, these are often elements of successful teams. But that same argument doesn’t apply to goaltending as almost all of the time, carrying three is seen as less than ideal and teams will often move their extra option before too long.

San Jose is presently an exception to that idea as they’re carrying three NHL goaltenders in Kaapo Kahkonen, Adin Hill, and James Reimer. All three are on short-term deals (Reimer and Hill have one year left and Kahkonen two) and all three make between $2.1MM and $2.75MM. At least from a contract standpoint, they’re more or less interchangeable.

But Kahkonen was brought in from Minnesota at the trade deadline and then given the two-year deal so it stands to reason that they don’t want to move him. That leaves the 26-year-old Hill and the 34-year-old Reimer as their two trade options with the latter only making $75K more than the former. The Sharks might prefer to keep the younger Hill but his trade value might be better depending on who shows interest.

With that in mind, let’s examine some of the teams that might be interested in adding one of San Jose’s netminders even with most of the goalie movement being done for the summer.

Arizona

The Coyotes know they don’t have their backup goalie on the roster yet. Karel Vejmelka is unproven as a starter so adding a second netminder that could play close to half the games wouldn’t hurt. Yes, they’re a team with an eye on the future but they can still try to lose competitively. Would they trade for Hill after moving him to San Jose just over a year ago or would they prefer Reimer? If not one of them, they’ll be watching the waiver wire in October.

Minnesota

There isn’t a true opening with Marc-Andre Fleury as the starter and Filip Gustavsson as the backup but Gustavsson is coming off a tough 2021-22 campaign with Ottawa. Playing Fleury heavy minutes would carry some risk so while Gustavsson is the backup of the future, GM Bill Guerin might want to assess if they’d be better off with a more reliable second option even if it forces them to turn around and carry three goalies with Gustavsson now being waiver-eligible.

Philadelphia

Back in May, it looked like the Flyers had their goalie situation figured out as they were able to sign highly-touted prospect Ivan Fedotov to partner up with Carter Hart. However, the netminder is now serving in the Russian military which will take him out of the equation. Felix Sandstrom is likely next in line but has just five career NHL appearances under his belt. Philadelphia is looking for more short-term success so adding a more proven backup is something GM Chuck Fletcher will likely be looking into.

Vegas

Following the season-ending hip surgery for Robin Lehner, GM Kelly McCrimmon came out and said his intention is to go with Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit as their tandem. Thompson has shown promise but his NHL experience is limited while Brossoit has been hit and miss in his career. If things don’t go well early on, they could look to turn to San Jose for a chance at an upgrade.

Washington

This might seem a little odd considering that they just signed Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup. But Lindgren’s cap hit is right at the line of being fully buriable in the minors if a better option presents itself. Their LTIR situation with Nicklas Backstrom gives them some extra flexibility to add a short-term deal so if they trust Reimer or Hill over a goalie that has just 29 games of NHL experience and finished up the AHL playoffs as the backup, GM Brian MacLellan will likely check in on what that upgrade would cost.

Winnipeg

They added David Rittich as a low-cost backup early in free agency, handing him a one-year, $900K contract. That can be fully buried in the minors if a better option presents itself. The Jets still have considerable cap space at their disposal and are a team with an eye on winning in the present so if they aren’t able to add at other positions, turning around and upgrading Connor Hellebuyck’s backup would be a reasonable backup plan.

Obviously, not all of these teams are going to make a move between the pipes in the coming weeks so the options for GM Mike Grier are going to be limited. If he wants to get top value – the asking price for Reimer is believed to be a second-round pick – he might have to wait until the season starts to see if injuries force someone’s hand. Otherwise, it will be a limited market for whichever one he decides to move. Surplus quality depth at most positions is usually a good thing and could yield a strong return in a trade but for goaltenders, it’s just not the case.

San Jose Sharks Sign Luke Kunin, Kaapo Kahkonen

July 18, 2022 at 3:24 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 4 Comments

The San Jose Sharks have signed Luke Kunin to a two-year contract, according to PuckPedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.75MM. Kunin was eligible for salary arbitration this summer but chose not to file. Sharks general manager Mike Grier also announced Monday afternoon that the team has signed goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to a two-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the deal carries a cap hit of $2.75MM.

Kunin, 24, was acquired from the Nashville Predators this offseason in exchange for John Leonard (who also signed today) and a third-round pick. The young forward has changed his game in recent years to lean into his physicality, and after racking up a whopping 223 in 2021-22, he offers something new to the San Jose bottom six.

There’s also a bit of offensive skill in the 2016 first-round pick, who has double-digit goals in each of his last three seasons, all of them coming at even-strength or while short-handed. That kind of scoring upside will come in handy as the Sharks start to tear apart the old core and rebuild it under new general manager Mike Grier.

Notably, it will leave Kunin as a restricted free agent at its expiry, giving the Sharks a chance to re-assess whether he can be a long-term solution. He will once again be up for arbitration at that point.

Kahkonen excelled after San Jose acquired him at the Trade Deadline from the Minnesota Wild. The 2020 AHL Goalie of the Year had just a 2-6-1 record, but that was no fault of his own, posting a more-than-respectable .916 save percentage in 11 games played (10 starts). Kahkonen has a career .908 save percentage through 65 NHL games, 54 of which came with the Wild. He’ll join a crowded crease in San Jose next year that also includes James Reimer and Adin Hill.

The 25-year-old Finn will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when his new contract expires.

Sharks Notes: Meier, Couture, Hill, Karlsson

April 30, 2022 at 8:03 pm CDT | by John Gilroy 2 Comments

Recently, Corey Masisak of The Athletic had a chance to sit down with many of the San Jose Sharks players to tie up loose ends on their status heading into yet another offseason without a playoff berth for the Sharks. In talking to Masisak, forward Timo Meier said that he hasn’t thought about a contract extension yet, but that it was something he would think about over the summer (link). For now, Meier says, his primary focus is on the upcoming World Championships, where he will represent Switzerland. The Sharks’ star has one more year remaining on a four-year, $24MM contract, which will leave him as a RFA heading into the 2023 offseason.

Meier signed his last contract after a stellar 30 goal, 36 assist, and 78 game campaign in 2018-19, the last of his entry-level contract. After that, Meier failed to reach the same level of production until this year, when the forward had 35 goals and 41 assists in 77 games. With the bounce-back, Meier could expect not only to receive a similar AAV on his next contract, but could even be due a raise. If he chooses to hold-off on an extension, and can continue the production into next season, he would surely be due a significant raise. One notable question heading into these negotiations will be whether Meier chooses to pursue a bridge deal that will take him straight into UFA status, or if he would prefer a long-term extension at or close to the eight-year maximum.

Forward Logan Couture says he does not plan to play at the World Championships in order to rest (link). Further, the Sharks’ captain said he is not entertaining any offers to play elsewhere and has not made that request himself, and in fact, he would prefer to finish his career with the Sharks. While his team has fallen on tough times and has entered a mini-rebuild, Couture’s career might seem to mirror one of down-state rival Dustin Brown, who saw plenty of success with the Kings early in his career, then endured a rebuild with the Kings, and has now announced his retirement following this season, but not before seeing his team through their first playoff series since 2017-18. Couture, who just turned 33, has had a storied run with San Jose and could very well prefer to see things through with the organization, with hopes of leading the team to a Stanley Cup down the road. Either way, Couture is signed for $8MM per season through 2026-27 with a modified no-trade clause.
Goaltender Adin Hill, who dealt with injuries this season, does not expect to need surgery on his lingering lower-body injury (link). Instead, Hill said, the plan is to rest and rehab the injury to resolve it, and he expects to be ready for training camp. The goaltender was originally injured in a January 22nd loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but came back on March 12th, where he appeared to re-aggravate the injury, and has not played since. Hill did manage a strong season when healthy though, recording a .906 save-percentage and 2.66 goals-against average in 25 games.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson declined to share what exactly the injury was that has kept him out of the lineup the final two weeks of the season, but did make clear that the injury was relatively minor and mentioned that had the Sharks been in contention, it may have even been something he would play through (link). The veteran has struggled with injury this season, missing nearly two months between January and March and last playing on April 14th. In other positive news regarding the injury, Karlsson did say he was unsure if he would be playing in the World Championships, however the fact that he is considering it in some capacity also goes to show the relative scope of the injury. In 50 games this season, the 31-year-old had 10 goals and 25 assists.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Ducks, Flames, Oilers

March 16, 2022 at 6:52 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Sharks goaltender Adin Hill returned to the lineup on Saturday and recorded a 29-save shutout over Los Angeles. However, it appears he hasn’t fully recovered from the lower-body injury that kept him out for 15 games as Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the netminder has suffered a setback and will be out for at least a week. The team isn’t considering shutting him down for the season at this point and surgery isn’t on the table at this time so fortunately for San Jose, it would appear the setback is a minor one. James Reimer and Zachary Sawchenko will serve as the goalie tandem for the Sharks for the time being.

West Notes: Sharks, Kylington, Bowey, Drysdale

March 12, 2022 at 7:11 pm CDT | by John Gilroy 4 Comments

The San Jose Sharks announced that they have activated goaltender Adin Hill off of IR today. In a corresponding move, goaltender Alex Stalock has been assigned to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. Additionally, forward Ryan Dzingel, who cleared waivers, has been assigned to the Barracuda as well.

Hill last played on January 22nd when he was injured in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stalock had been brought in through a March 2nd trade with the Edmonton Oilers, but had only played in one game for the Sharks, where he gave up six goals to the Nashville Predators in a losing effort. For Dzingel, it’s has been a strange few weeks, having been traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 19th and immediately placed on waivers, then claimed by the Sharks. Dzingel played in six games for the Sharks, scoring a goal, before being placed on waivers yesterday, and clearing today.

The Calgary Flames announced that defenseman Oliver Kylington is day-to-day and would not play in today’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. Kylington has been enjoying a breakout season with Calgary, recording 25 points in 56 games for the Pacific Division leading Calgary Flames. Instead of Kylington, defenseman Michael Stone has drawn into Calgary’s lineup, his first game since December 5th, and only his third game this season.
The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have assigned defenseman Madison Bowey to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. Bowey only played in two games with Vancouver after being recalled on February 21st, but has been having a solid season for Abbotsford, providing 16 points in 33 games.
Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register reported that Jamie Drysdale’s absence from the Anaheim Ducks’ lineup tonight is due to a healthy scratch and not an injury. Drysdale is expected to be a future cornerstone defenseman for the Ducks, however he has struggled recently, registering a plus/minus of -7 over his last two games. With Josh Manson returning to the lineup, replacing forward Sam Steel on the roster, a defenseman was likely to come out of the lineup.

Snapshots: Sharks Goalies, Coyotes, Langhamer, Lindberg

March 11, 2022 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Sharks are set to get some much-needed good news on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays that Adin Hill is likely to start tomorrow against Los Angeles. He has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury and had posted a 2.78 GAA along with a .901 SV% in 24 games.

Meanwhile, James Reimer has resumed on-ice workouts and could be cleared to return at some point next week from his own lower-body injury sustained at the beginning of the month. Since then, the Sharks have gone with veteran Alex Stalock and prospect Zachary Sawchenko who picked up his first career NHL victory on Thursday.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that he anticipates the team making one or two small deals by the trade deadline. Arizona has made it known that they’re willing to utilize their cap space to yield other assets as they’ve done several times already over the past year but they’re trying to space out their draft picks. To that end, Armstrong indicated that they’ve nearly accumulated enough picks for 2024 and will soon be starting to work on adding more selections for the 2025 draft.
Still with Arizona, Coyotes goaltender Marek Langhamer has signed a one-year extension with Ilves, the Finnish team announced. The Coyotes still hold the rights to the 27-year-old when they tendered him a qualifying offer that went unaccepted in 2018. Those rights will expire in July and with this deal, it’s clear that Arizona will be losing him in a few months.
Penguins prospect goaltender Filip Lindberg is out for the rest of the season, notes Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 23-year-old was drafted by Minnesota but signed with Pittsburgh after three stellar seasons at UMass (Amherst). However, he suffered an ankle injury in November in just his seventh professional game and it appears it’s significant enough that he won’t return for the stretch run.

Goalie Notes: Holtby, Hill, Varlamov

February 21, 2022 at 6:02 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 2 Comments

Two of the four new names on Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff’s trade targets ranking are goaltenders, namely Braden Holtby of the Dallas Stars and Anton Forsberg of the Ottawa Senators. Holtby has had a nice bounce-back campaign in Dallas after being bought out by the Canucks last summer. In his 21 starts this season Holtby has a .912 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average, strong improvement from his .889/3.67 marks in Vancouver. But his future in Dallas is clouded by the emergence of 23-year-old first-round-pick Jake Oettinger. (As well as the looming presence of Anton Khudobin, the goalie who led the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, in the AHL.) In an interview with Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic, Stars General Manager Jim Nill noted that Oettinger has “settled in” with the Stars, and LeBrun also ponders the possibility of Dallas dealing a goaltender.

The Senators’ Forsberg joins Holtby on the list, in large part thanks to the resurgence of Matt Murray. As Murray has shined, Forsberg and his .916 save percentage in 21 starts for the club have become more expendable. Given the Senators’ status as a likely seller come the trade deadline, Seravalli calls Forsberg “perfect trade fodder” for GM Pierre Dorion. Like Holtby, Forsberg is also a pending unrestricted free agent.

Adin Hill has not played since a late January tilt versus the Lightning, and his absence looks set to continue. The San Jose Sharks announced that Hill has been placed on injured reserve as he continues his recovery from a lower body injury. As the Sharks sit second-to-last in the Pacific Division standings, Hill’s lack of recovery and placement on IR have to be seen as an unfortunate setback to add to his underwhelming first season in San Jose.
As the Sharks battle Hill’s continued absence, the Islanders get one of their absent netminders back into the fold. The team announced that Semyon Varlamov has been activated from the COVID-19 non-roster list. Varlamov has a .916 save percentage in his 13 starts this season and figures to give the Islanders a boost as they attempt to build momentum in their long-shot chase for a playoff spot.

Adin Hill Enters COVID Protocol; Brent Burns Exits

December 27, 2021 at 2:29 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

For the San Jose Sharks, things are set to resume tomorrow night against the Arizona Coyotes. They are expected to have Brent Burns back in the lineup for that game, keeping his games played streak intact after he exited the COVID protocol today. It wasn’t all good news though, as Adin Hill has been added to the protocol, forcing the club to recall Zachary Sawchenko to serve as the backup goaltender. Nicholas Merkley has also been recalled to the taxi squad.

Hill joins Jonathan Dahlen and Tomas Hertl, who remain in the protocol for the time being but should be eligible to return soon. They both entered on December 21 and have been experiencing only mild symptoms.

Burns’ return is an important one, given his role on the team, but Hill’s absence is going to put even more pressure on James Reimer. The veteran netminder is having a career year with a .936 save percentage through 16 appearances but hasn’t logged more than 36 in a single season since 2017-18. Even then, Reimer has never really been a workhorse, never playing more than 43 games in a single year. Hill won’t be able to give him a break anytime soon, and Sawchenko certainly doesn’t appear ready for NHL action.

The 23-year-old undrafted netminder has an .859 save percentage in nine appearances for the San Jose Barracuda this season. Alexei Melnichuk would likely be the preferred recall, but he is also currently in the protocol along with several other Barracuda players.

Load More Posts

Headlines