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Brett Connolly

Sami Niku, Brett Connolly Clear Waivers

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Jan 27: Both players have cleared waivers according to James Mirtle of The Athletic, meaning they can be sent to the minor leagues.

Jan 26: The Montreal Canadiens have placed Sami Niku on waivers, as they continue to get players back from injury on the back end. This is actually the second time Niku has been on waivers this season, though the first was in training camp with the Winnipeg Jets when he agreed to a contract termination in order to pursue a different opportunity.

While it’s easy to wonder why anyone would target a defenseman from a team that sits 31st in goals against, Niku actually may draw some interest on the wire. The 25-year-old defenseman has shown he can dominate at the minor league level, including posting a 16-goal, 54-point season in 2017-18, and has generated 16 points in 67 career NHL games. Still, his size and defensive ability raise enough questions that it’s hard to envision him stepping into a regular role on a contender at this point, meaning he might end up in the minor leagues once again.

He isn’t alone, though, as Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Brett Connolly has also been placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks. Connolly cleared waivers in October and was assigned to the minor leagues, where he has spent a good chunk of the season. Now, he’s spent enough time on the NHL roster that he needed waivers again in order to be sent down.

The thing hurting Connolly’s chances at NHL playing time right now is his contract, which carries a $3.5MM cap hit through 2022-23. While he likely could catch on somewhere if he had a more reasonable price tag, there’s little chance that someone would agree to take that contract off waivers. Should he clear, the Blackhawks will be able to once again bury $1.125MM of his cap hit in the minor leagues.

Blackhawks Notes: Khaira, Stillman, Connolly

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Per the Daily Herald’s John Dietz, the Chicago Blackhawks moved forward Jujhar Khaira to injured reserve today. He has a lower back injury, and the move is retroactive to January 17. Khaira can come off injured reserve as soon as the 27th,  meaning the soonest he can return is January 28th at home against Colorado. He has just three goals in 27 games during his first season with Chicago.

More from the Blackhawks today, all per Dietz:

  • Defenseman Riley Stillman was also moved to injured reserve today, dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained last night against Minnesota. The soonest he can return is February 1st, meaning he’ll miss at least the team’s next five games. In his absence, Caleb Jones should see playing time with more consistency. Stillman has a respectable 10 points in 28 games.
  • The team also assigned forward Brett Connolly to the active roster, bringing him up from the taxi squad. He should play in his fifth game of the season tonight, drawing in on the fourth line alongside Sam Lafferty and Ryan Carpenter. Connolly was suspended earlier in the season for interfering with Dallas forward Tanner Kero.

COVID Notes: Halak, Sabres, Connolly, Sheary, Oilers, Stutzle, Sillinger

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The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been placed into COVID protocol.  The veteran was set to get the start for today’s game against Carolina but instead, that will go to Thatcher Demko with Spencer Martin coming up from the taxi squad.  Halak has made just eight appearances this season and has a $1.25MM bonus pending when he gets to his tenth.  He’ll now have to wait a little longer to get that bonus, one that has recently landed himself in trade speculation as well.

More COVID news from around the NHL:

  • Sabres winger Tage Thompson and center Peyton Krebs have both cleared COVID protocol, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Thompson will suit up tonight in Detroit while they will take it a little slower with Krebs and re-assess his status on Sunday.
  • Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly has entered COVID protocol, relays John Dietz of the Daily Herald (Twitter link). The veteran has only played in four games with Chicago this season and has spent most of the year in the minors.  Defenseman Ian Mitchell was recalled from AHL Rockford just a day after being sent down.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger Conor Sheary has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old has impressed in his second season in Washington, notching ten goals and nine assists in 31 games, good for third on the team in goals.
  • The Oilers have taken wingers Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson plus defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of COVID protocol, mentions Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels (Twitter link). With those activations, Edmonton – who last played on January 5th – will be able to dress 18 skaters against Ottawa tonight.
  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have removed winger Tim Stutzle from COVID protocol. The just-turned 20-year-old has had a bit of a quieter sophomore season than expected, collecting five goals and ten assists in 29 games.
  • The Blue Jackets have placed center Cole Sillinger in COVID protocol, per a team release.  The rookie has held down a regular spot in the lineup with Columbus this season, notching 13 points in 35 games.  Liam Foudy has been recalled from the taxi squad to take Sillinger’s place on the roster.

Marc-Andre Fleury Added To COVID Protocol

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Collin Delia from the AHL after Marc-Andre Fleury entered the COVID protocol. The team has also activated Calvin de Haan from the protocol while moving Brett Connolly to the taxi squad.

Chicago is set to resume their season on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, but it appears as though Fleury will not be available to them. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has been good of late, raising his season save percentage to .913 in the process. Though he’s 9-10-1 overall, Fleury went 4-1-1 in December and helped the Blackhawks climb out of the league basement.

Delia meanwhile has played in just nine games this season, all at the AHL level. The 27-year-old undrafted netminder once looked like he might be part of the future in Chicago, but has regressed in recent seasons and has just a .907 for the Rockford IceHogs this year. Still a capable fill-in, it remains to be seen how the Blackhawks navigate the goaltending position with Fleury out. Kevin Lankinen figures to get the start on Wednesday should the game proceed as planned.

Brett Connolly Suspended Four Games

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The verdict is in for Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly.  The Department of Player Safety announced (video link) that they have issued him a four-game suspension for his interference incident on Stars winger Tanner Kero on Saturday.

In the video, it was noted that Connolly tried to argue that it was more of a collision than an intentional body check.  However, while the league acknowledged that it wasn’t a full-force collision, it was still a suspendable offense:

It is important to note that Kero was never in possession of the puck on this play and therefore is not eligible to be checked in any manner.  Fully aware of Kero’s presence and, with a substantial amount of time to change his path, avoid the contact entirely, move toward the wall to seal off the boards, or do more to minimize the impact on Kero, Connolly braces himself for impact and skates directly through his opponent.  And because Kero is never close to being in possession of the puck, he is in no way braced for contact, making him substantially more vulnerable. 

In the ruling, the league also acknowledged Kero’s injury as a factor but also that Connolly had no prior history of any fines or suspensions.  He will forfeit $70K in salary as a result of the suspension which, as always, goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Blackhawks’ Brett Connolly To Face Player Safety Hearing

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It was a scary scene in Dallas on Saturday night as forward Tanner Kero had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher early in the first period following a vicious collision along the boards. Kero was unconscious when he left the ice, surrounded by the entire Stars roster, but fortunately the team announced shortly thereafter that he was “conscious, alert, and responsive.” Kero was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation and treatment. There has been no further update from the team.

The guilty party in the incident was Blackhawks forward Brett Connolly. The physical winger hit Kero along the boards as the puck was being cleared out of the Stars’ defensive zone. Though the puck was near Kero, he did not have a reasonable opportunity to play it. Connolly’s check was unexpected and blindsided Kero (video). Connolly received a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct as a result.

However, that may not be the end of his discipline. The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Connolly will face a hearing today to further evaluate the play in question. While Connolly did already serve essentially a full-game suspension, having been handed a game misconduct just a few minutes into the contest, there is reason to believe that an actual suspension could still be coming. The severity of Kero’s injury could be taken into account, as could the optics of the interference call – hitting a defenseless player. The counter argument is that Connolly has no history with Player Safety. A decision should arrive later today.

Chicago Blackhawks Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Chicago Blackhawks will roll out a new look forward corps when they next take the ice on Monday. The team has announced that rookie Reese Johnson has been placed on injured reserve while fellow rookie Mike Hardman has been reassigned to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. Taking their place on the roster will be veteran Brett Connolly and another rookie, Mackenzie Entwistle.

The news on Johnson is a disappointing development for the Blackhawks. It may not show on the scoresheet, but the 23-year-old has been playing well of late, even in his limited role. The team reports that Johnson suffered a fractured right clavicle on Saturday and is out indefinitely. Johnson will undergo further evaluation on Monday, after which the Blackhawks hope to have a more timeline for his return this season.

In the meantime, the Blackhawks could do far worse than bringing in the experienced Connolly. Acquired from the Florida Panthers last season, Connolly played in ten games with Chicago down the stretch but failed to make the team in training camp this year and was buried in the AHL. He has made the most of his time in Rockford, currently second on the team in scoring with 11 points in 16 games. While Connolly may not be the 20-goal threat he once was, the physical winger can still contribute in Chicago.

As for the swap in rookies, Entwistle has done more with his opportunity than Hardman this season. Though a top college free agent who got off to a hot start to his pro career last year with three points in eight NHL games, Hardman has only managed two assists in 19 games with the Blackhawks so far this season. In contrast, Entwistle has three points in 12 games, including a pair of goals.

Brett Connolly Assigned To AHL

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The Chicago Blackhawks have opened up a bit of cap space by assigning veteran forward Brett Connolly to the AHL today according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. The move comes after Connolly cleared waivers earlier today and will mean $1.125MM ($375K + the league minimum of $750K) of his $3.5MM cap hit will come off the books.

That still means the Blackhawks now have a cap penalty of $2.375MM for a player not even on their roster, obviously not an ideal situation for a team pushing the upper limit. Chicago has some flexibility thanks to Andrew Shaw’s LTIR status, but that means they will not accrue additional cap space through the season for a potential deadline acquisition.

For Connolly, it’s hard to imagine how quickly things have declined. In 2018 he was a Stanley Cup champion with the Washington Capitals, playing a key role for the team and scoring six goals in the postseason. The next season he would score a career-high 22 goals with the Capitals, setting him up for a nice payday in free agency. It came from the Florida Panthers, who gave him $14MM over four years on July 1, 2019. With that in hand, he got off to a nice start in Sunrise, scoring 19 goals and 33 points in 69 games before the season was shut down.

This year though was a completely different story. Connolly had just two goals and four points in 21 games with the Panthers before a deadline deal took him to Chicago. The Blackhawks took on his entire salary while also getting Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom in the deal, but Connolly couldn’t find his way down the stretch. He scored one goal and two points in ten games for Chicago, and now finds himself assigned to the AHL.

Connolly is still only 29, but with another year on his deal after this one, it will be hard to trade him without sweetening the pot for a rebuilding team. Teams like the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres who are flirting with the cap floor (pending a Jack Eichel trade for the latter) seem like ideal fits, but it’s not clear at all if they are interested at this point.

14 Players Clear Waivers

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Oct 6: All 14 players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Oct 5: Training camp continues to move along and every day brings more cuts. Many of those sent to the minor leagues need to clear waivers, and Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star tweets out today’s full list of 14.

Buddy Robinson (ANA)
Bokondji Imama (ARI)
Cameron Hughes (BOS)
Joona Koppanen (BOS)
Tyler Lewington (BOS)
Ryan MacInnis (BUF)
Sean Malone (BUF)
Ethan Prow (BUF)
Brett Connolly (CHI)
Joseph Gambardella (NJD)
Michael Hutchinson (TOR)
Brian Pinho (WSH)
Michael Sgarbossa (WSH)
Mike Vecchione (WSH)

The big name today is Connolly, who carries a $3.5MM cap hit this year and next. The 29-year-old scored just three goals and six points in 31 games split between the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks last season, a far cry from the consistent 15-20 goals he had recorded each of the previous four years. A team with extra cap space could certainly take the chance of him rebounding to those numbers, or if he clears, the Blackhawks could send him to the minor leagues. If they did, $1.125MM of his cap hit would be buried.

West Notes: Patrick, Connolly, O’Connor

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After a tough season with the Flyers, it seemed a trade was all but inevitable for Nolan Patrick and one eventually came to fruition as he was flipped to Vegas as part of the three-team deal that saw Cody Glass head to Nashville in return.  Speaking with Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun, the 22-year-old acknowledged that a fresh start was probably the best thing for him.  Last season, the 2017 second-overall pick returned from missing an entire year due to migraines but managed just four goals and five assists in 52 games.  The Golden Knights still need to sign Patrick who is a restricted free agent but it’s hard to see him getting much more than his qualifying offer of just under $918K.  He should get an opportunity to play a regular role in their bottom six next season and a more consistent performance will be needed for him to have a shot at being an impact player.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • While he’s only two seasons removed from a 46-point campaign, Brett Connolly has seen his stock dip sharply since then to the point where Florida paid the Blackhawks to take on his contract. Now, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times observes, the 29-year-old appears to be the odd one out in terms of making Chicago’s opening roster as things currently stand.  With two years left on his contract at $3.5MM, he’s a lock to go through waivers unclaimed and an assignment to the minors would only free up $1.125MM in cap space.  That said, if he’s only going to be a reserve player, going that route and bringing someone up making close to the minimum would likely be worthwhile from a cap perspective.
  • Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor missed more than two months with a lower-body injury last season with the team never revealing the nature of it. O’Connor clarified to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that he had undergone sports hernia and groin surgery to fix an issue that had crept up early in the season.  The 25-year-old was able to return for the final two games of the playoffs and will have a chance for a bigger role in 2021-22 with the departures of Brandon Saad (free agency) and Joonas Donskoi (expansion).  He’s in the final year of his contract, one that carries an AAV that’s actually $25K below the league minimum.

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