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Buddy Robinson

Chicago Blackhawks Activate Jason Dickinson

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After being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last night, Jason Dickinson finally has his visa issues sorted out, as the Chicago Blackhawks activated the veteran forward today, sending Buddy Robinson to the AHL to make room.

Dickinson, 27, came in a deal that saw the Canucks give up a second-round pick to get his salary off the books, an asset the Blackhawks will happily take in their scorched-earth rebuild. Signed to a three-year, $7.95MM ($2.65MM AAV) contract in 2021, Dickinson lasted just 62 games with the Canucks before being shipped out of town.

A first-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2013, the 6’2″ center has never really paid off on his early promise of offensive potential. He has never had more than nine goals in a single season and had just 11 total points last year for the Canucks.

It won’t be surprising to see him eclipse those numbers with the Blackhawks this season, given how much opportunity there likely is for depth players to play a lot, but it’s hard to imagine him being much more than a bottom-six defensive contributor on a contending team.

His current cap hit makes that sort of untenable for most contending clubs, but there is the possibility that the Blackhawks can flip him down the line by retaining some of the remaining salary.

For now, he’ll join a group that is winless through the first two games of the season.

Buddy Robinson Signs With Chicago Blackhawks

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July 25: A week later, the Blackhawks officially announced the contract for Robinson.

July 18: If you’re a minor league veteran looking for a chance to play at the NHL level, there might be no better place than the Chicago Blackhawks. It makes sense then why Buddy Robinson has, according to PuckPedia, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the club for the 2022-23 season. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K and an AHL salary of $475K.

Robinson, 30, actually played more this season with the Anaheim Ducks than the rest of his career combined, suiting up 32 times and scoring six points. The 6’6″ forward has been a consistent offensive presence in the minor leagues for years, but rarely had the opportunity to show what he could do at the highest level. In 490 games in the AHL, playing for the Binghamton Senators, San Jose Barracuda, Manitoba Moose, Stockton Heat, and San Diego Gulls, Robinson has scored 120 goals and 259 points, while also racking up 461 penalty minutes.

The Blackhawks have made it very clear through their offseason moves that while they aren’t likely to be competitive at the NHL level, the Rockford IceHogs should be a force to be reckoned with in the AHL. Robinson should only add to that minor league strength–unless of course, he lands himself an NHL job in training camp.

That’s certainly possible, given the way things are shaking out in Chicago. There are lots of players competing for spots, but few real difference-makers or proven commodities. Especially after the trade deadline, when several pieces are expected to be moved, there will likely be playing time available for players like Robinson.

Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg Moved To Injured Reserve

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With the Anaheim Ducks scuffling on the ice, falling in the standings, and heading toward a trade deadline that could determine the direction of the franchise for years to come, there’s a lot to consider when looking at any transaction. Today, the club moved captain Ryan Getzlaf and forward Jakob Silfverberg to injured reserve, recalling Danny O’Regan, Vinni Lettieri, and Buddy Robinson in their place.

It’s not that a move like this is akin to throwing in the towel–if players get injured there’s not really another option–but losing Getzlaf and Silfverberg does certainly raise some questions about the Ducks’ ability to compete in the Pacific Division race. While he’s not the dominating two-way presence he was earlier in his career, Getzlaf is still an effective player for Anaheim with 31 points in 47 games. Never a huge goal scorer, he has only found the back of the net three times, but there’s a reason why he still plays nearly 19 minutes a night and takes more faceoffs than anyone else in the lineup.

Silfverberg meanwhile has also seen his goal-scoring numbers plummet in recent years. After posting at least 17 in five consecutive seasons, he had just eight last year and just five through 53 games this season. While he still has 21 points and is a positive defensive player, he’s not the dynamic offensive threat he once was.

Still, losing both puts a strain on the depth of the Ducks, especially if they were to trade names like Rickard Rakell and Nicolas Deslauriers at the deadline. The team is already using many of their top prospects in the lineup, though this would likely be good news for someone like Max Comtois, who has found himself on the outside looking in despite leading the Ducks in scoring last season.

At any rate, the team will have to make do for the next little while without the services of two veteran forwards. It is not clear how long either will be out, though they must serve seven days on injured reserve from their last game played. For Getzlaf, that’s March 4 after missing the last couple, but Silfverberg played (and scored) on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Buddy Robinson Clears Waivers

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March 3: Robinson has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

March 2: The Anaheim Ducks have placed Buddy Robinson on waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This is his second time on waivers in 2021-22, after clearing just before the start of the regular season.

Given that Robinson, 30, has played in 23 games for the Ducks this season, he needed to go on waivers again before heading to the minor leagues. The 6’6″ winger doesn’t play much, but you notice him when he’s out there for Anaheim, racking up hits and generally imposing his will on the opposition physically.

Robinson has even set a career-high with four points this season, taking his total to seven through 44 NHL games. He also has two fighting majors and 43 hits, while averaging fewer than ten minutes a night.

If a team is looking for some size, he can certainly fill that role, but with a limited amount of upside at the NHL level and a whopping $400K minor league guarantee, it seems unlikely that a team would want to nab Robinson at this point. He is much more valuable in the minor leagues, which any claiming team wouldn’t be able to send him until getting him through waivers themselves.

Panthers, Ducks Announce More COVID Protocol Additions

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The Florida Panthers will not have Patric Hornqvist in the lineup this evening when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, as he has entered the COVID protocol. Hornqvist joins Mason Marchment, Sam Reinhart, and Spencer Knight, stealing quite a few important names from the team’s regular roster.

The Panthers, among the league’s elite teams so far this season, lost their last game against the Dallas Stars in a shootout and have now called two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division. The team is not only without these key players due to COVID-related absences, but also names like Sam Bennett due to a suspension and Markus Nutivaara due to injury. Despite that, they will need to try to take down the red hot Metropolitan-leading Hurricanes.

Lucas Carlsson and Aleksi Heponiemi will both enter the lineup tonight, while Sergei Bobrovsky will take the net again, his fifth start since returning from the holiday break.

In Anaheim, the Ducks are facing their own COVID absences. Vinni Lettieri is the latest addition to the protocol, where he will join John Gibson, Hampus Lindholm, Derek Grant, and Sam Carrick. Ryan Getzlaf has technically left the protocol, but he’ll also miss tonight’s game against the New York Rangers as the team gets him back up to speed.

The Ducks have recalled five players ahead of the game. Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Jacob Perreault, Buddy Robinson, Greg Pateryn, and Lukas Dostal are all up from the San Diego Gulls. Perreault, still just 19, would be making his NHL debut when he hits the ice tonight (he is expected to play with Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano). Selected 27th overall in 2020, Perreault has 18 points in 23 games for the Gulls this season as one of the few junior-aged players eligible to play in the minor leagues. That’s thanks to the number of games he played last season–27–during the OHL’s postponed campaign. The son of longtime NHL forward Yanic Perreault, he would be the 16th player from the 2020 first round to make his debut–the second for Anaheim, after Jamie Drysdale.

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.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Four Players

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced a set of minor signings, adding four players to the organization. Brogan Rafferty has signed a one-year, one-way contract, Danny O’Regan has signed a two-year, two-way contract, and Greg Pateryn and Buddy Robinson have both signed one-year, two-way contracts.

Rafferty, the only player in the bunch on a one-way deal, is expected to earn $750K on the contract according to Darren Dreger of TSN. It’s an interesting gamble for the Ducks after Rafferty reached Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer, failing to get into more than three games with the Vancouver Canucks since he signed out of Quinnipiac University. That’s despite dominating the AHL in his only year there, registering 45 points in 57 games. The right-shot defenseman could potentially get into the lineup for Anaheim, at least in a limited role.

The other three each have some NHL experience, with Pateryn even once being considered a capable shutdown option. He once signed a three-year, $6.75MM deal with the Minnesota Wild, but was in the minor leagues by the end of the deal. None of the three should be considered for serious NHL time this year, but should provide some injury insurance and a strong foundation for the San Diego Gulls.

43 Players Placed On Waivers

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As teams begin to make their final camp decisions with the 2020-21 season getting started this week, the ramifications are apparent in today’s waiver wire group. All nine players from Saturday’s waivers cleared, but that is less likely to occur Sunday with a much longer list, including some more notable names. The following players have been placed on waivers today:

Buffalo Sabres
D Brandon Davidson
F Steven Fogarty
F C.J. Smith
G Dustin Tokarski

Calgary Flames
G Louis Domingue
F Byron Froese
F Justin Kirkland
D Alex Petrovic
F Buddy Robinson

Colorado Avalanche
F Kiefer Sherwood

Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Cracknell
F Seth Griffith

Florida Panthers
G Philippe Desrosiers
F Scott Wilson

Los Angeles Kings
D Daniel Brickley
F Boko Imama

Minnesota Wild
D Matt Bartekowski
D Louie Belpedio
F Joseph Cramarossa
F Gabriel Dumont
G Andrew Hammond
F Luke Johnson
F Gerald Mayhew
D Dakota Mermis
D Ian McCoshen
F Kyle Rau

Montreal Canadiens
F Brandon Baddock
F Alex Belzile
F Joseph Blandisi
F Laurent Dauphin
D Noah Juulsen
G Charlie Lindgren
D Gustav Olofsson
D Xavier Ouellet
F Jordan Weal

New York Islanders
F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Mason Jobst

Ottawa Senators
D Maxime Lajoie

Pittsburgh Penguins
D Kevin Czuczman
F Josh Currie
F Frederick Gaudreau
G Maxime Lagace
D Zach Trotman

Among the names likely to receive attention on the wire are a trio of intriguing young players. Defensemen Noah Juulsen and Maxime Lajoie and forward Josh Ho-Sang have all seen NHL action in the past and have shown promise but for different reasons are now available to claim. Juulsen in particular looked like a long-term permanent piece on the Montreal blue line, but vision issues brought on by head injuries knocked him out of the 2018-19 season after 21 games with the Habs and limited him to just 13 AHL games in 2019-20. The Canadiens clearly want to see him get in some game action before returning him to the NHL roster, but another club may have more faith in the young defenseman, who allegedly is back at full strength. After 56 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2018-19, including a hot scoring start, Lajoie was somewhat inexplicably reduced to just six games with the team this past season. A versatile all-around defenseman who has already shown in a small sample size that he can hack it in the NHL, Lajoie could certainly draw interest from a team more willing to give him another chance. Ho-Sang, a first-round pick of the Islanders back in 2014, is on the outs with his club. A future in New York seems non-existent for a player whose effort and attitude have been called into question. His limited action last season also doesn’t help his case.  Yet, Ho-Sang’s skill is apparent and that alone is a cause for pause for teams scouring the waiver wire.

As for a more polished possible pick-up, Jordan Weal leads the pack as a veteran of over 200 NHL games who has posted an 82-game scoring pace of 25 points or more in three straight seasons. Seth Griffith is also no stranger to being passed around via waivers and Frederick Gaudreau is coming off a career-high 55 NHL appearances last season and has strong scoring numbers throughout his AHL career.

This waiver group could also provide goalie depth for a team in need (see: New Jersey Devils). Andrew Hammond, Louis Domingue, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren are all veteran net minders with NHL experience who could provide some stability in net.

Calgary Flames Sign Four Players

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The Calgary Flames have brought in several depth players, re-signing Buddy Robinson and adding Alexander Petrovic, Byron Froese and Zac Rinaldo. Froese has signed a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $725K, Rinaldo has inked a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K, Robinson has signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $700K and Petrovic’s contract details have not yet been released.

In fact, Petrovic hasn’t been an effective option in the NHL since the 2017-18 season. Once a regular in the Florida Panthers lineup, he suited up just 37 times between Florida and Edmonton in 2018-19 and then spent the entire 2019-20 season with the Providence Bruins. Still just 28, he’ll serve as minor league depth for the Flames next year.

Robinson meanwhile is a veteran AHL scorer, who put up 32 points in 45 games this season for the Stockton Heat. He did get into five games at the NHL and even played in a playoff game for Calgary, but is not expected to spend much time at the highest level.

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.

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