West Notes: Anhorn, James, Mangiapane, Danault
The Jets have displayed interest in top college free agent defenseman Dylan Anhorn, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports. The Canadian blue-liner has displayed mutual interest in returning north of the border after spending five years in the American collegiate system with Union and St. Cloud State. Anhorn, 25, was one of many who had their 2020-21 season lost due to the COVID pandemic, permitting him to play a fifth year of NCAA puck this season. Serving as St. Cloud’s captain, the left-shot defender led the team with 27 assists and a +14 rating and totaled 33 points in 38 games. He’s been a veritable force in college ever since making the jump from the BCHL in 2019, tallying 36 points and a +2 rating in 66 games with Union before transferring to St. Cloud in 2022. He erupted for over a point per game there last season but had his campaign stunted by injuries, limited to 23 games. The 6’0″, 190-lb Calgary native was St. Cloud’s nominee for this year’s Hobey Baker Award and won an NCHC championship with the school in 2023.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Blackhawks forward prospect Dominic James will return to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for his senior season in 2024-25, per Scott Powers of The Athletic. The alternate captain of the Bulldogs had his season end all the way back in October after just two games, recording one assist before undergoing season-ending surgery to address an upper-body injury. Chicago had considered offering him an entry-level contract, per Powers, but a jump to the professional ranks would have been difficult after such a lengthy period away from the ice. James, 21, went undrafted twice before Chicago took a flyer on him in the sixth round of the 2022 draft after a banner freshman season with the Bulldogs. Finishing with six goals and 18 points in 39 games, James helped them capture the NCHC championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was also named to the U.S. national junior team, representing his country at the 2022 World Juniors with an assist in five games.
- Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane could return tomorrow against the Jets after a three-game absence, head coach Ryan Huska told Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. The 27-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury against the Blackhawks on March 26, causing his third, fourth and fifth absences of the season. It’s been another season of solid middle-six production for the diminutive winger, tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 38 points in 69 games. He’s averaging 16:06 per game, down from last season’s career-high of 16:49.
- Kings center Phillip Danault will again be a game-time decision with an upper-body injury tonight in a crucial game against the Kraken, interim head coach Jim Hiller told Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Their playoff chances could drop south of 90% with a loss, per MoneyPuck, opening a small window for the Blues and Wild to make miracle late-season runs into playoff position. Danault was also listed as a game-time decision for Monday’s 4-3 loss to Winnipeg but did not play. Their top shutdown center hasn’t played since March 28 against the Oilers and has now missed two contests.
Pacific Notes: Pohlkamp, Mangiapane, Andersson, Fleury
In an update from Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, San Jose Sharks’ prospect Eric Pohlkamp has entered the transfer portal after only one season at Bemidji State University. The Sharks originally drafted Pohlkamp with the 132nd overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Despite being a late-round pick, Pohlkamp has turned into something of a diamond in the rough for the Sharks organization. Scoring 11 goals and 24 points in 32 games for Bemidji State this season, Pohlkamp also registered one goal and three points for Team USA en route to a gold medal in this year’s IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.
As for his potential landing spot, Max Miller of The Hockey News is reporting that Pohlkamp will be deciding between two different options. North Dakota University, who recently had their season ended by the University of Michigan this past weekend, and Denver University, who are about to play Boston University in the Frozen Four, are both vying for Pohlkamp’s services.
Other Pacific notes:
- In some positive news on the injury front for the Calgary Flames, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet reports that forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Rasmus Andersson returned to practice for the team earlier this morning. Earlier this week, Andersson had originally missed practice due to taking a maintenance day, while Mangiapane has missed the team’s last two games due to an undisclosed injury.
- For the fourth time this season, defenseman Cale Fleury has been reassigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds, as the Seattle Kraken announced the transaction earlier today. Unfortunately, Fleury has still not been able to register a game for the Kraken this season but has managed to score six goals and 32 points over 50 games for the Firebirds across the year.
Injury Updates: Milano, Chabot, Nylander, Mangiapane
The Capitals will welcome back winger Sonny Milano to the lineup tonight against Boston, notes Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. He had missed the last two games due to an upper-body injury sustained back on Sunday. The 27-year-old has reached the double-digit goal mark for the third straight year as he has 13 in just 39 games, buoyed by a 31.7 shooting percentage that is nearly double his career average. Washington has clawed its way back into a playoff spot in recent weeks and are holding down the final Wild Card spot although they are just one point behind Philadelphia for the final spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Senators won’t have Thomas Chabot in the lineup tonight for the second straight game with a lower-body injury but he shouldn’t be out much longer. TSN’s John Lu relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner is expected to return next week, either on Tuesday or Thursday. The 27-year-old has had an injury-riddled season, being limited to just 44 games so far. He has done well in those, however, collecting 28 points while logging 23:31 per night.
- Blue Jackets winger Alexander Nylander is expected to return to the lineup against his former team, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had missed the last two games after taking an elbow to the head. Columbus picked Nylander up in a change-of-scenery swap that sent Emil Bemstrom to Pittsburgh last month and it’s safe to say the deal has worked out well for Nylander and the Blue Jackets as he has eight goals and three assists through 15 games with his new team.
- Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane won’t play tonight and is likely to miss Tuesday’s contest as well, mentions Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The 27-year-old is dealing with an undisclosed injury that also kept him out of the lineup on Thursday. He remains listed as day-to-day. Two years removed from a 35-goal season, Mangiapane has managed just 30 since then, only 13 of which have come in 69 games so far in 2023-24.
Snapshots: Oilers, Andrew Mangiapane, Canucks
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun recently shared that the Edmonton Oilers could be interested in moving their 2024 First Round pick if it means getting their season back on track. TSN’s Darren Dreger added that Edmonton could be looking for a blockbuster deal that would allow them to address multiple needs at once – a deal that would almost certainly require a high-value pick.
This news isn’t surprising. Edmonton currently holds a 2-8-1 record, recording the fifth-fewest goals scored and the third-most goals allowed through the early season. They’re getting little scoring from their depth, with three different forwards appearing in all of the team’s 11 games and failing to score more than one point. And, most notably, they’ve received some of the worst goaltending in the league, with both Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell carrying save percentages below .875. This led the Oilers to waive Campbell on Tuesday, assigning him to the AHL and recalling minor-league veteran Calvin Pickard. It’s been a disaster to start the season, but dangling a First Round pick in a draft as lucrative as 2024 could be enough to turn the tide.
Other
- Andrew Mangiapane is set to return from suspension. The forward received a one-game booking for a cross-checking on Seattle’s Jared McCann. Mangiapane has seven points through 11 games this season, tied for second on the Flames in scoring. Calgary recorded a 4-2 win in the game that Mangiapane sat out.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger shared on the latest Insider Trading that the Vancouver Canucks are reportedly looking for a right-shot defenseman; a position that Dreger notes is much sought after this season. Dreger didn’t expand on any potential targets for Vancouver, although it’s notable that the team had previously made Conor Garland available to other teams. Garland’s $4.95MM cap hit makes him a tougher piece to bargain with but he is still a former 20-goal and 50-point scoring winger. That could be enough to pry away a middle-of-the-pack defender from a team in need. Still, with right defense in such high demand, it will be interesting to see what Vancouver has to add to make a trade work.
Andrew Mangiapane Receives One-Game Suspension
6:00 PM: The verdict is in and Mangiapane has been assessed a one-game suspension. In the video, it’s noted that the league accepted Mangiapane’s contention that he wasn’t intending to drive McCann’s head into the ice and acknowledged that the Flames forward didn’t use his full extension of arms or body weight. However, he was deemed to have full body control, resulting in the decision to suspend him. This is the first suspension of his career and he will forfeit just over $30K in salary.
12:05 PM: The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced that Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane will have a hearing today for cross-checking forward Jared McCann in last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken.
The incident in question occurred at a chaotic moment during yesterday’s 6-3 Flames victory, wherein Mangiapane and other Flames players were making a push in the offensive zone, trying to get a goal past a scrambling Seattle netminder.
Mangiapane fired a backhander towards an open net that was promptly blocked by McCann, who as part of his block slid towards Mangiapane. The puck appeared to stay with McCann after the block, and, in his search for the puck under McCann, Mangiapane delivered a cross-check to the head/neck area of McCann.
McCann immediately recoiled, a whistle was blown, and Mangiapane was assessed a match penalty with a standard 15 penalty minutes added to his record. Now, Mangiapane is facing supplemental discipline by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and could end up missing games for the Flames.
Any Mangiapane suspension would be a major blow to the Flames, who count on the 27-year-old as one of their more consistent scorers. Mangiapane currently ranks second on the Flames with seven points in 11 games, and losing him for any amount of time would make it even more difficult for the team to climb out of the 3-7-1 hole it has found itself in to start the season.
Pacific Notes: Pettersson, Mangiapane, Hickey
Canucks center Elias Pettersson is now eligible for a contract extension since he has entered the final season of his three-year, $22.05MM deal, one that carries a qualifying offer next summer of $8.82MM. Speaking with Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma, former Vancouver assistant GM Chris Gear (who used to handle negotiations for Vancouver) pegged a rough range of a new deal for Pettersson between $9.5MM and $10.25MM. The 24-year-old hit career highs across the board last season with 39 goals, 63 assists, and 102 points, finishing tenth in league scoring so his value is certainly at its peak. Speculatively, if that’s the approximate range that a contract for Pettersson would be at this point, Vancouver might need to go close to the top mark to get him to put pen to paper on it a year early as another 100-point showing next season could push that price tag even higher.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- In an interview with Ryan Dittrick of the Flames’ team site, winger Andrew Mangiapane indicated that there are no more restrictions as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, paving the way for him to be fully ready for training camp in the fall. The 27-year-old is coming off a down year offensively; after putting up 35 goals in 2021-22, he managed just 17 last season despite an increase in playing time. Both sides are certainly hoping that the nagging shoulder trouble played a significant role in that sizable drop in production.
- The Golden Knights AHL affiliate in Henderson announced the signing of defenseman Brandon Hickey to a one-year deal. The 27-year-old was originally drafted by Calgary back in 2014 but declined to sign with them or Arizona who acquired his rights three years later. However, Hickey agreed to sign with Buffalo a year later but failed to advance past the AHL level, eventually being non-tendered. Since then, Hickey has split time between the AHL and ECHL; he got into 17 games on a tryout last season with the Silver Knights, collecting a goal and an assist.
Snapshots: Flames Arena, Mangiapane, Bussi, Senators
The long wait is over for an announcement of a new arena for the Flames as the City of Calgary announced that they have come to an agreement on a new arena and events center. The agreement will be funded between the city ($537MM), the Province of Alberta ($300MM towards supportive infrastructure), and Flames ownership ($356MM) over the next three years. Don Braid of the Calgary Herald notes that this agreement also covers the demolition of the Saddledome, the oldest arena in the NHL which turns 40 in October. There is no projected timeline yet for when the new arena will be operational. Given the scope of the project, it will almost certainly take a while.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Still with the Flames, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Andrew Mangiapane has undergone successful shoulder surgery and will be ready for training camp. The 27-year-old wasn’t able to repeat his 35-goal performance from last season, slipping down to 17 tallies while chipping in with 26 assists to finish eighth on the team in scoring. He has two years left on his deal which carries a $5.8MM AAV so Calgary will certainly be hoping that the surgery will help Mangiapane reclaim his scoring touch.
- The Bruins announced that they’ve re-assigned goaltender Brandon Bussi to AHL Providence. The 24-year-old was recalled last week on an emergency basis but didn’t see any game action, instead serving as their emergency netminder. However, with Providence’s playoff series getting underway on Friday, Boston has sent him back down to get him ready for that series. Bussi had a 2.40 GAA and a .924 SV% in 32 AHL contests this season.
- Things have largely been quiet lately when it comes to the sale of the Senators but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that it looks like final offers will be required by mid-May. At that time, the seven groups will have had to submit paperwork outlining proof of financing. Expectations are that the club will sell for at least $800MM based on the strong interest in the franchise.
Training Camp Notes: Stone, Biakabutuka, Mangiapane
Injury troubles plagued the Vegas Golden Knights last season, something they can ill-afford a repeat of in 2022-23. There’s some good news on that front regarding one of their star players, though, as right wing Mark Stone skated in a contact jersey today for the first time during training camp.
The Golden Knights will count on Stone to have a rebound year as their captain, especially with their offensive depth thinning. The 2021 Selke Trophy finalist and 2019 runner-up played in just 37 games due to injury last season, registering nine goals, 21 assists, and 30 points. Hopefully, the serious back injuries that plagued him last season don’t become a long-term issue for the 30-year-old.
- Somewhat of a rarity these days, a player attending camp on an amateur tryout might do well enough to earn a contract within the organization. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the Red Wings have been impressed with defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka, with head coach Derek Lalonde complimenting his skating and compete level. The 20-year-old is set to return to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders next season but could receive an NHL entry-level contract from Detroit or receive an AHL offer from the Grand Rapids Griffins when his season is over.
- Calgary Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane was a full participant in camp today after missing the first four days of group skates with what the team called a “minor lower-body injury.” He made his return to scrimmages skating on a line with newcomer Nazem Kadri, a role he’s likely to reprise in the regular season as well. Mangiapane is coming off a career-high 35 goals and 55 points.
2022 Arbitration Tracker
The dates for the upcoming arbitration hearings have been set, with the first one scheduled for July 27. Hearings will continue through August 11 this year, with that being the busiest day of the schedule. It is important to note that the CBA agreement in 2020 changed the rules for arbitration so that once a hearing begins, teams are no longer allowed to negotiate with the player in question.
The full schedule is:
July 27
Isac Lundestrom (Anaheim Ducks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.8MM AAV
July 29
Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 1 year, $3.0MM
July 30
Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Settled: 2 years, $3.2MM AAV
Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 1 year, $750K AAV (two-way contract)
August 1
Mathieu Joseph (Ottawa Senators) – Settled: 3 years, $2.95MM AAV
Steven Lorentz (San Jose Sharks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.05MM AAV
August 2
Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators) – Awarded: 2 years, $1.7MM AAV
August 3
Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $5.45MM AAV
August 5
Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 3 years, $5.8MM AAV
August 6
Miles Wood (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $3.2MM AAV
August 7
Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 2 years, $3.1MM AAV
August 8
Ethan Bear (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $2.2MM
Lawson Crouse (Arizona Coyotes) – Settled: 5 years, $4.3MM AAV
Zack MacEwen (Philadelphia Flyers) – Settled: 1 year, $925K
August 9
Maxime Lajoie (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $750K (two-way contract)
August 10
Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights) – Settled: 3 years, $1.4MM AAV
Oliver Kylington (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 2 years, $2.5MM AAV
August 11
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets) – Settled: 3 years, $2.167MM AAV
Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken) – Settled: 1 year, $1.4MM AAV
Tyce Thompson (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 2 years, $762.5K AAV (partial two-way)
Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) – Settled: 8 years, $9.5MM AAV
Jake Walman (Detroit Red Wings) – Settled: 1 year, $1.05MM
Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins) – Settled: 1 year, $3.5MM
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Andrew Mangiapane
August 3: PuckPedia reports that Mangiapane is paid his $5.8MM cap hit evenly across each of the three seasons, but he’ll receive a $4.8MM salary and $1MM signing bonus in year one of the contract. The rest of the deal is paid in full in base salary.
CapFriendly reports that Mangiapane’s deal carries an eight-team no-trade list for the final two seasons it runs.
August 2: The Calgary Flames were up to some late-evening business, announcing that they have re-signed forward Andrew Mangiapane to a three-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported the contract carries a $5.8MM AAV, bringing the total value to $17.4MM. The forward’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for this Friday, August 5th. By avoiding arbitration, Calgary now has access to the second buyout window, which will likely begin on Saturday, says Ryan Pike of Flames Nation. According to CapFriendly, the Flames are now left with just over $1.26MM in available cap space.
By signing Mangiapane, Calgary is effectively buying out two years of unrestricted free agency, the 26-year-old set to hit the open market next summer. After having star forward Johnny Gaudreau leave via free agency and Matthew Tkachuk announce that he would not re-sign in Calgary after next season, forcing a trade, having some certainty with one of their other key forwards and goal scorers is surely a relief for the Flames. Although the signing leaves them with very little cap space, it completes all pending arbitration cases, meaning their offseason work is likely complete.
For the player, this signing gives Mangiapane a large raise over his previous $2.425MM cap hit that he had over the past two seasons at a reasonably fair rate in the market. As CapFriendly cites, Mangiapane’s comparable players include Jakub Vrana ($5.25MM AAV over three years), Anthony Mantha ($5.7MM over four years), and Pavel Buchnevich ($5.8MM over four years). Prior to the 2021-22 season, Mangiapane had made a career as a solid secondary scoring option, tallying as many as 18 goals in a season, coming in 56 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. This year, however, Mangiapane broke out in a big way, scoring 35 goals to go with 20 assists.
In addition to scoring, Mangiapane brings durability and stability to the Flames lineup, having not missed a game in either of the previous two seasons, as well as 68 of their 70 games in 2019-20. Finally, with the departures of Gaudreau and Tkachuk, Mangiapane does figure to see additional opportunities offensively and on the powerplay along with newly-acquired superstar Jonathan Huberdeau, which could stand to increase his value and production going forward.