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Alan Quine

Minor Transactions: 08/18/22

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While Nazem Kadri has certainly stolen the spotlight today, there will be a handful of smaller moves that are also worth recognizing. As always, we’ll keep track of those notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Ontario Reign have signed Alan Quine to a one-year AHL contract, bringing over the former NHL forward after he spent last season with the Henderson Silver Knights. Quine, 29, last played in the NHL in 2019-20 and has 106 regular season games to his name.
  • One of the players that saw his exclusive draft rights expire this week, Brandon Kruse, has found a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies. The 2018 fifth-round pick failed to ink an entry-level deal with the Vegas Golden Knights by the deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.
  • Nikita Popugaev, who once announced his retirement from hockey to pursue life as a social media influencer, has signed with HK Sochi in the KHL. A fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2017, his NHL rights are still technically owned by them and will be indefinitely.
  • Logan Day is headed from Lehigh Valley to the Hershey Bears, signing a one-year AHL deal with the latter. The undrafted defenseman had 19 points in 72 games for the Phantoms last season.
  • Lehigh Valley, meanwhile, has re-signed Charlie Gerard to another AHL contract, bringing back the undrafted forward for another year. In 55 games last season, Gerard had six goals and 12 points.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Alan Quine Signs AHL Contract

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Alan Quine may be known more for his scoring prowess in the AHL than for anything else, but the veteran forward has played on an NHL contract in each of his nine pro seasons. That streak will come to an end this year, as Quine has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights, the team announced.

Quine, 28, played exclusively in the minors this past season while under contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the first time he had gone without an NHL appearance since 2014-15. A perennial depth asset, apart from one 61-game season with the New York Islanders, Quine is a prototypical “AAAA” player, to steal a baseball term. He possesses the skill to produce in a major way in the AHL, with a career mark of .84 points per game in 285 games, but it doesn’t translate to the NHL. Quine has just ten goals and 28 points to his credit in over 100 career NHL games for a career mark of .26 points per game, over three times less than his AHL pace. All but ten of these points also came in his one season as an NHL regular, meaning his spot starts ever since have produced few results. Quine also lacks the defensive ability to contribute in a bottom-six role, further limiting his use. The result is an offensive depth option whose lack of actual production over the years has progressively limited his opportunity to the point that he is now in the AHL full-time.

With that said, Quine’s days as an impact player are far from over. Quine spent all but seven AHL games on the Oilers taxi squad last season and never saw one game; he is surely ready to get back to work. Playing on an AHL contract, without wasting time as an NHL scratch or taxi squad member, will allow the veteran forward to focus solely on his play in the minors and helping to develop his teammates. Filling a leadership vacuum in Henderson, who saw Danny O’Regan and Dylan Sikura depart this off-season, Quine will take on a top role for the Silver Knights and will very likely return to scoring at better than a point-per-game pace. Who knows, perhaps Quine may even do enough to get another NHL look next summer. The opportunity is there to show that he is still a talented offensive asset that could bring value to an NHL club.

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While the Calgary Flames have one or two key restricted free agents to deal with, they may have quite a few questions that will need answering among their unrestricted free-agent defensemen.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Andrew Mangiapane – Throughout his career, Mangiapane has done everything right and only continues to get better. A former sixth-round pick in 2015, he worked his way into permanent role in 2018-19 and solidified himself as a top-six forward this year and it showed, posting career highs in his second full season, scoring 17 goals and 32 points. He added another three goals in 10 playoff games this year. The 24-year-old is likely to get a raise after making $800K on his now-expiring entry-level deal. He has proven his value as a key future forward on this team.

F Mark Jankowski – There was a lot of hope for Jankowski, the team’s first-round pick from 2012, but his third season in the NHL was a bit disappointing. In fact, after his rookie campaign in 2017-18 in which the 26-year-old tallied 17 goals, he has seen a continual decline, posting 15 goals in 2018-19 and followed that up with just five goals this year and has seen his playing time continue to drop as he played just 11:06 of ATOI. And at 6-foot-4 and a bottom-line player, he doesn’t play much of a physical game with just 80 recorded hits over three full seasons. However, the team has to decide whether he is worth the $1.75MM qualifying offer to retain his rights.

Other RFAs: F Justin Kirkland, D Oliver Kylington, D Andrew Nielsen, G Tyler Parsons.

10.2(c) Players: F Glenn Gawdin, G Nick Schneider (ineligible for arbitration or an offer sheet)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Travis Hamonic – The Flames gave up quite a bit to bring in the defensive-minded Hamonic back in 2017. While not particularly much of an offensive player, the 30-year-old blueliner is quite a defensive player and was second on the team in ATOI this season at 21:11. Of course, the team was without his services in the playoffs as he opted out due to COVID-19 and family concerns. His daughter has had a significant battle with a life-threatening respiratory virus in the past while Hamonic has a new baby boy as well. However, the blueliner also was dealing with an upper-body injury for a large chunk of the regular season as well. Will the team bring him back? He was quite an affordable commodity at $3.86MM for the last few years, but undoubtedly will be looking for a raise and how many years is Calgary willing to offer to someone who is already 30 years old? With a team as cash-strapped as Calgary, Hamonic may be too pricey to keep.

D Erik Gustafsson – With five unrestricted free-agent defensemen, the team is likely to have to make some tough decisions in the near future. The Flames picked up Gustafsson for just a third-round pick at the trade deadline, which looked like a steal when Hamonic opted out of the playoffs. The team was expecting to lean on the once-high scoring defenseman. Instead, Gustafsson got just third-pairing minutes and wasn’t a big contributor down the stretch, suggesting the team may move on from him. While the 28-year-old’s price tag likely has dropped since posting a 17-goal, 60-point season back in 2018-19 and then following that up with a six-goal, 29-point season this year, a reunion would seem less likely considering the team has limited means as it is.

D T.J. Brodie – A constant trade-rumor candidate last summer, Brodie has found a way to remain with the team and produce quality minutes and may be the best option for Calgary if they were able to re-sign just one starter in the offseason. While his minutes have declined significantly since 2014-15, he still can put of solid defensive numbers and potentially provide solid play for less than the cost of either Hamonic or Gustafsson. He is capable of playing either side of the ice and plays a game that might suggest he could play deeper into his career than other defensemen.

G Cam Talbot – The Calgary Flames added Talbot to their roster as a veteran backup for young David Rittich and instead, Talbot walked away with the starting job, playing in all 10 of the team’s playoff games with Rittich getting just 16:35 of ice time in the final game before they were eliminated by Dallas (he gave up three goals on six shots). Talbot, who posted solid numbers this year, with a 2.63 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 26 regular season games, put up even better numbers in those 10 playoff games, including a 2.42 GAA and a .924 save percentage. The 33-year-old UFA made it clear he is looking for a starting job, but is Calgary willing to give up on Rittich just yet? And are they willing to pay up to keep Talbot, who could have quite a few suitors after his impressive season?

Other UFAs: F Austin Czarnik, D Derek Forbort, F Byron Froese, G Jon Gillies, F Ryan Lomberg, F Alan Quine, F Tobias Rieder, F Zac Rinaldo, F Buddy Robinson, D Michael Stone, D Rinat Valiev.

Projected Cap Space

The Flames only have about $16MM in available cap space and plenty of players they need to sign, including at least one or two defensemen and a starting/tandem goaltender. That doesn’t leave much money left for the team to spend on potential free agents unless the Flames find a way to move out some salary or some key players. Of course, with several rumors spreading about the availability of Johnny Gaudreau, it could be an interesting offseason for the Calgary Flames.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 11/17/19

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Most of the NHL is at rest today after the huge number of Saturday games, meaning just four teams are in action. The Buffalo Sabres travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks, while the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights get reacquainted in Sin City. As teams prepare for the next week of action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Noah Gregor has been returned to the AHL after playing in ten games for the San Jose Sharks. The 21-year old center failed to register his first NHL point but at least got his feet wet and saw what would be required of him at the next level.
  • Former NHL goaltender Justin Pogge has found a new home for this season, signing a one-year deal with Sodertalje SK in Sweden’s second league. The 33-year old netminder has spent the last several seasons overseas after a North American career that saw him quickly turn from top prospect to AHL afterthought. In seven career NHL games, Pogge posted an .844 save percentage and 4.36 goals against average.
  • Miikka Salomaki has been assigned to the minor leagues by the Nashville Predators after five games with the team. The 26-year old was recalled on October 19th, meaning he’s close to needing waivers again. Sending him to the AHL now leaves the Predators with some extra roster flexibility.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned three players to their AHL affiliate, according to the AHL transactions page. The website reports that the Bruins have sent forwards Paul Carey and Trent Frederic and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to Providence. Carey played Saturday in their shootout loss to Washington, receiving 6:22 of playing time. Frederic played back-to-back games Friday and Saturday, but was held scoreless, while Vaakanainen played in three games, playing 19:19 on Saturday.
  • The Athletic’s Darren Haynes reports that the Calgary Flames have recalled forward Dillon Dube from the Stockton Heat of the AHL. Dube, who has dominated in the AHL, but struggled last year in his first taste of NHL action, was brought in to spark the team, which has been struggling with offense recently. Dube has four goals and 13 points in 13 games with the Heat. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis adds that forward Alan Quine was sent to Stockton in a corresponding move.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have assigned forwards Brandon Pirri and Nicolas Roy to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Pirri cleared waivers and has already been reported to have been sent to Chicago, while Roy has been up and down multiple times this year as a fourth-line option for Vegas. The 22-year-old has fared well in six games, posting a goal and three points.
  • The Dallas Stars announced they have re-assigned center Rhett Gardner to the Texas Stars of the AHL. The 23-year-old had appeared in eight games for Dallas but failed to register a point. He had eight shots on goal over that span. With no game until Tuesday, it could just be a paper transaction to save some cap space.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have assigned defenseman Joe Hicketts to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Hicketts has appeared in five games for the Red Wings, which included picking up his first point of the season Saturday in their shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned defenseman Colton White to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. White was recalled Friday by the team but served as an emergency defenseman for Saturday’s game against Montreal.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled forward Eetu Luostarinen from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, according to a Checkers’ release. The 21-year-old Luostarinen was recalled 10 days ago, and appeared in three games for the Hurricanes, registering one assist, before being returned to Charlotte. The 2017 second-round pick has looked good in the AHL with five goals and eight points in 12 games.
  • After being sent back to the minors following Saturday’s game, the Canadiens announced that they’ve recalled winger Charles Hudon from AHL Laval.  He played less than eight minutes yesterday in his season debut but with Paul Byron and Jonathan Drouin both injured, Montreal was down to just 11 healthy forwards.
  • The Rangers have decided to give Lias Andersson some more playing time as they’ve assigned him to Hartford of the AHL per a team release.  The seventh pick in 2017 has just one assist in 17 games this season while playing less than ten minutes per night.  Winger Tim Gettinger has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Austin Czarnik Placed On LTIR

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Saturday: Head coach Bill Peters told reporters including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg that Czarnik’s injury is a significant one.  He pegs a potential return timeline around Christmas which means that Czarnik would be out for two months.

Friday: The Calgary Flames have placed Austin Czarnik on long-term injured reserve after he suffered a lower-body injury last night against the Florida Panthers. That means Czarnik will have to miss at least 10 games or 24 days. The team has recalled Alan Quine from the AHL’s Stockton Heat in the meantime.

It is unfortunate timing for Czarnik, who had points in three straight games and had carved out a bigger role for himself in Calgary. The 26-year old forward played in 54 games for the Flames last season after signing a two-year, $2.5MM deal in free agency, but was obviously hoping to be a more integral part of the team this time around.

The Flames are in a delicate dance with the cap ceiling, but moving Czarnik to long-term injured reserve will actually give them a little more flexibility—at least for now.

Minor Transactions: 10/22/19

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The NHL has a wild Tuesday night on tap with ten games on the schedule, including the Anaheim Ducks traveling to Nashville to prove they’re not just an early-season mirage. The Ducks are off to a 6-3 record to start the year, while the Predators, considered by many to be a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference, have recorded a more pedestrian 4-3-1 record through their first eight games. As teams prepare for all the action tonight, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves around the hockey world.

  • Griffin Reinhart has signed a one-year deal with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL according to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. While that certainly wouldn’t have been included in the minor notes a few years ago when Reinhart was a top prospect, he can no longer be considered one. Selected fourth overall in 2012, the 25-year old defenseman has played just 37 games at the NHL level, not many of them very well. He recorded 16 points in 75 games for the Chicago Wolves last season and had skated with the Belleville Senators this year on a professional tryout.
  • The Calgary Flames have flipped Oliver Kylington and Alan Quine again, recalling the former while assigning the latter to the minor leagues. The Flames are expected to welcome back Andrew Mangiapane tonight, meaning they didn’t have room for the extra forward.
  • After placing Jonathan Ericsson on waivers, the Detroit Red Wings made a few other transactions. Evgeny Svechnikov has been recalled, while Alex Biega was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Adam Erne has also been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to October 18th.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent Rhett Gardner and Joel Hanley back to the minor leagues, though that is likely more to do with banking cap space than anything else. The Stars do not play again until Thursday, and a recall can be expected before then unless Roman Polak and Blake Comeau are both ready to return.

Trade Rumors: Pysyk, Goligoski, Flames

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The Florida Panthers did not enter this past off-season with all that much space under the salary cap ceiling, yet still went and handed out over $20MM in AAV to Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. As a result, the team has just $788K in cap leeway and no way to alleviate that pressure without making a move. Seeing as defenseman Mark Pysyk heard his name on the rumor mill last season, when the Panthers had ample cap space, the pressure on him has increased tenfold to prove that he is a valuable contributor to the team and not just $2.73MM in wasted space. Pysyk, an impending unrestricted free agent at year’s end, likes Florida and would like to stay with the team. However, he’ll find it hard to make his case that he should stick around when he is not on the ice. As The Athletic’s George Richards writes, Pysyk has found himself in a unfamiliar spot through the team’s first two games as a healthy scratch. New head coach Joel Quenneville opted to go with MacKenzie Weegar and Josh Brown as his bottom pair to begin the year, leaving Pysyk in the press box. Fortunately for Pysyk, he’s expected back in the lineup on Tuesday according to Quenneville. “He was always in consideration. He has some experience, gives us some versatility on the back end and can play both sides,” the veteran coach remarked. Yet, the trick is that even if Pysyk plays well in his return to the lineup, it doesn’t guarantee his safety from a trade. With his contract expiring, the 27-year-old is an expendable asset, especially for a team that hopes to contend for a playoff spot and could be eyeing cap space to make a trade addition of their own on the blue line later this season. If Pysyk is playing well and drawing attention from other teams, he could very well be on his way out of town. The two-way defender has heard those rumors before though, and all he can do is continue to focus on brining his best to the Panthers’ lineup whenever he’s active in hopes of proving he’s worth more as a long-term fit than as a cap dump.

  • Optimism was high to begin the season in Arizona and Coyotes GM John Chayka isn’t about to overreact to an 0-2 start to the year. However, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan admits that one valuable member of the team could become expendable if the team’s struggled do continue. The status quo has changed for Alex Goligoski, as the veteran defenseman’s No-Movement Clause expired last season and has been replaced with a Modified No-Trade Clause of a mere eight-team no-trade list. Morgan is adamant that the team has shown no desire to move Goligoski to this point, but at 34 years old and with only one year remaining on his contract beyond this season, Goligoski could be more valuable to a contender than to Arizona, especially if this season proves to be yet another step in the rebuilding process rather than the much-awaited jump to contender status. With a field of 22 possible suitors, there would surely be interest in the reliable puck-moving defender, even with his $5.475MM cap hit. The Coyotes hope it doesn’t come to that, but Goligoski will be a name to keep an eye on later this year if Arizona’s season begins to slip away.
  • It’s not strange for a team to be painfully close to the salary cap this season, and the Calgary Flames are just one of many teams who will have to manipulate the cap constantly this season to maintain what little flexibility they have. However, an easier solution would be to trade a high-salary player and Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg writes for SB Nation that the team is actively looking to make a “financially-motivated trade”. The name that has come up in trade conversation for more than a year now is back in the rumor mill already: Michael Frolik. Steinberg notes that Frolik has not looked great through the team’s first two games and his $4.3MM cap hit isn’t earning him the benefit of the doubt. Steinberg believes that the Flames should not hesitate to move Frolik if the opportunity arises, as he feels the likes of Andrew Mangiapane, Tobias Rieder, Austin Czarnik, and Alan Quine could easily make up for Frolik’s absence. If there isn’t a market for Frolik, Steinberg adds that the team could consider moving Mark Jankowski as well. The 25-year-old center is not as much of a salary cap stinger, but Steinberg writes that the drop-off in salary between he and Quine is a larger gap than the drop-off in talent, believing the AHL veteran to be more than capable of taking over for Jankowski. With solid depth to make up for potential trade casualties, the Flames could make a move sooner rather than later and work on banking cap space for later in the year, as the team was criticized for not adding more at the deadline last year ahead of their short-lived playoff run.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/01/19

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Even with the season starting tomorrow, teams still have some final cuts to make today. Rosters have to be cap compliant by the end of the day. though with so much talent on waivers there might still be some last-minute moves. We’ll keep track of those right here. Keep checking back throughout the day for updates.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

D Ilya Lyubushkin (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Curtis Lazar (to Rochester, AHL)
F Scott Wilson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Nelson (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Alan Quine (to Stockton, AHL)
F Zac Rinaldo (to Stockton, AHL)
F Dillon Dube (to Stockton, AHL)
D Andrew MacDonald (released from PTO)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

F Clark Bishop (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Brian Gibbons (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Gustav Forsling (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Anton Forsberg (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Max McCormick (placed on injured/non-roster)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk (placed on injured/non-roster)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

G Collin Delia (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kirby Dach (placed on injured/non-roster)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Andrew Peeke (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Liam Foudy (placed on injured/non-roster)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Jayson Megna (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kevin Connauton (to Colorado, AHL)
D Calle Rosen (to Colorado, AHL)
D Ian Cole (placed on injured/non-roster)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Jared McIsaac (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Chase Pearson (placed on injured/non-roster)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Ryan Poehling (to Laval, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Miikka Salomaki (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Matt Tennyson (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Spokane, WHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

D John Marino (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Casey DeSmith (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Nicolas Roy (to Chicago, AHL)
D Nicolas Hague (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
D Christian Djoos (to Hershey, AHL)
D Michal Kempny (placed on injured/non-roster)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

D Sami Niku (to Manitoba, AHL)

Waivers: 09/30/19

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Today is the last day to use waivers in order to get a roster cap compliant for the start of the regular season, so we will see a lot of players available for selection.

Anaheim Ducks

F Daniel Sprong
F Sam Carrick

Boston Bruins

F Peter Cehlarik

Buffalo Sabres

F Remi Elie
F Curtis Lazar
F Scott Wilson
D Casey Nelson

Calgary Flames

F Alan Quine

Carolina Hurricanes

F Clark Bishop
D Gustav Forsling
G Anton Forsberg

Chicago Blackhawks

D Carl Dahlstrom

Colorado Avalanche

F Jayson Megna

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Marko Dano

Edmonton Oilers

F Sam Gagner
D Brandon Manning

Minnesota Wild

F J.T. Brown

Nashville Predators

F Miikka Salomaki
D Steven Santini

New Jersey Devils

D Matt Tennyson

New York Islanders

F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Tanner Fritz
D Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers

F Boo Nieves

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Casey DeSmith

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Luke Schenn

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Kenny Agostino
F Nic Petan
F Garrett Wilson
D Kevin Gravel

Vancouver Canucks

F Sven Baertschi
F Nikolay Goldobin
D Alex Biega

Winnipeg Jets

F J.C. Lipon
D Nelson Nogier
G Eric Comrie

Washington Capitals

F Liam O’Brien
F Michael Sgarbossa
D Christian Djoos

Flames Re-Sign Alan Quine

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The Flames have agreed to terms with center Alan Quine, announcing that they have re-signed the restricted free agent to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Quine split last season between Calgary and their AHL affiliate in Stockton.  At the minor league level, he was among the league leaders in points per game as he picked up 52 points in just 41 games.  While he wasn’t as prolific of a scorer with the Flames, he chipped in relatively well in the NHL with three goals and two helpers in 13 contests.

Between Calgary and the Islanders (who non-tendered him back in 2018), the 26-year-old has 97 games of NHL experience under his belt with nine goals and 18 assists.  He’s likely to be in a similar role next season as he was in 2018-19 where he’s initially ticketed to start in the minors but should serve as one of the first recalls if someone is injured up front.  Quine will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next offseason.

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