Flyers Loan Victor Mete To Minors, Recall Cal Petersen
November 5th: Without playing in either of the two games for the Phantoms over the weekend, the Flyers have announced they have recalled Mete from his loan.
November 2nd: The Flyers have loaned defenseman Victor Mete to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, per a team announcement Thursday. In a corresponding transaction, they’ve recalled goaltender Calvin Petersen from the Phantoms, who will be the backup to Samuel Ersson for the time being while starter Carter Hart is out longer-term with what the team calls a “mid-body injury.”
Mete, 25, did not make the Flyers’ opening-night roster after signing a one-year, two-way deal with a minimum guaranteed salary of $500K during the offseason, clearing waivers in early October. With injuries to both Rasmus Ristolainen and Marc Staal causing strain on the Flyers’ defensive depth last month, though, the team recalled Mete from Lehigh Valley last week to offer some additional veteran insurance on the roster. He did not appear in a game during this call-up, however, serving as a healthy scratch for four contests dating back to last Thursday against the Wild. He returns to the Phantoms, where he has just one assist and a -3 rating through five games.
A two-way defender by trade, Mete’s offensive game has never translated to the pros after notching 44 points in 50 games with the OHL’s London Knights in 2016-17. He largely managed to stick in the NHL full-time after turning pro in 2017, even spending a handful of seasons in a top-four role for the Montreal Canadiens, but found himself relegated to the minors for a good portion of last season with the Maple Leafs. He missed most of 2022-23 with injury, however, suiting up in just six games for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and 11 games for the NHL club.
Petersen, who looked like the Los Angeles Kings’ goalie of the future just two seasons ago, isn’t doing much to rebuild his value in the minors after an offseason cap-dump move that saw the Flyers take on his $5MM cap hit in the three-way Ivan Provorov trade that also included the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’s won one out of four appearances for Lehigh Valley so far, posting an unimpressive 3.76 GAA and .884 SV%. It’s likely that Felix Sandström will replace him on the NHL roster once he completes his current conditioning stint in the minors. Sandström made the NHL roster to start the season as the Flyers opted to carry three goalies, but he’d yet to appear in a game, causing the Flyers to assign him to Lehigh Valley last Tuesday.
Flyers’ Carter Hart Leaves Game And Will Not Return
Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart left tonight’s game with an apparent mid-body injury and will not return. The Flyers tweeted the news just moments ago after Carter left the game in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres. Hart allowed two goals on five shots to start the game after he appeared to injure himself early in the first period. He stayed in the game and looked as though he would try to gut it out, but ultimately decided better of it and exited around the ten-minute mark.
It’s always hard to pinpoint exactly when an injury occurred but the likeliest event in this case was when Sabres forward Kyle Okposo appeared to fall on Hart. The 25-year-old received a visit from the trainer but remained in net and was slow to get up off the ice on several occasions before he was removed from the game.
Sam Ersson took over duties in the Flyers net and could end up seeing a lot more playing time if Carter is out for any length of time. Ersson has struggled in back-to-back starts after winning the backup job in training camp. The 24-year-old is currently sporting a .760 save percentage and 5.91 goals against average entering action tonight. If the Hart injury is of the serious variety, the Flyers could also call up Felix Sandstrom from his conditioning stint with AHL Lehigh Valley and have Cal Petersen stashed in the AHL as well.
This is an important season for Hart as he looks to bounce back from three consecutive disappointing seasons after starting his career with such promise. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native has been terrific for the Flyers in this young season posting a 4-3 record with 2.30 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. He has been largely responsible for the Flyers surprising, albeit unspectacular start to the season.
Philadelphia Flyers Willing To Take On Salary
Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers are prepared to weaponize their cap space to acquire additional assets. The Flyers begin today with less than $1MM in salary cap space, a number that would translate to roughly $3.9MM at the NHL trade deadline. Now that number might not seem significant, but the Flyers can easily free up over $6MM by placing defenseman Ryan Ellis on LTIR, something they’ve been hesitant to do thus far, but are willing to do to make a trade work.
After years of being slammed up against the salary cap, the Flyers have finally created roster and salary cap flexibility after a summer in which they moved on from veterans Kevin Hayes, Tony DeAngelo, and Ivan Provorov. General Manager Daniel Briere seems fully committed to rebuilding the Flyers and appears willing to take on undesirable contracts in exchange for future assets.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported just two weeks ago that the Flyers were open to taking on Ottawa Senators forward Mathieu Joseph and his $2.95MM cap hit in exchange for a high prospect or a first-round pick, something Ottawa appears uninterested in entertaining. However that could change if they start the season slow without their second and third-line centres.
While a Joseph deal hasn’t materialized the Flyers will likely have their pick of suitors as the flat cap has created a financial landscape in which 19 NHL teams are within $1MM of the salary cap ceiling (including Philadelphia). There are a lot of teams that see themselves as Stanley Cup contenders who will be hard-pressed to make in-season improvements unless they can move out some salary, this is where the Flyers cap space could be leveraged to acquire assets.
The Flyers are early in their rebuild and are at least three or four years away from turning the corner. With that in mind, any contract they take on will probably fall into the one to three-year range similar to the contract they acquired with Cal Petersen. Philadelphia has several of their own undesirable contracts as well as over $5MM in dead cap space for the next few seasons in the DeAngelo buyout and the retained salary on Hayes.
Waivers: 10/03/23
Oct. 4: All players have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This means a pair of rather highly-touted Senators, Bernard-Docker and Sokolov, will remain with the organization.
Oct. 3: Following a large list of players hitting the waiver wire this time yesterday, today’s list is quite a bit smaller, but there is some solid talent that could potentially be claimed by a different organization. Today’s full list of players hitting the waiver wire comes courtesy of TSN’s Chris Johnston:
Boston Bruins
D Alec Regula
D Dan Renouf
F Anthony Richard
D Reilly Walsh
D Parker Wotherspoon
Edmonton Oilers
New Jersey Devils
Ottawa Senators
D Jacob Bernard-Docker
F Matthew Highmore
D Jacob Larsson
F Egor Sokolov
Philadelphia Flyers
Examining The Philadelphia Flyers’ Goalie Depth
The Philadelphia Flyers have had their moments over the past decade-plus, but even throughout their periods of championship contention recently, the team has lacked an elite, long-term starting netminder. Steve Mason, who played just four full seasons in a Flyers uniform from 2013 to 2017, was the closest thing they had to one since the new millennium.
Even during their most recent Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2010, goaltending was their major weakness. They were backstopped by a tandem of Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, neither of whom had any recent or successful experience as a true starter. They’ve likely found their next one in 25-year-old Carter Hart, who already sits ninth all-time in wins in franchise history despite playing just five seasons for the Flyers during a period of mediocrity.
Behind Hart, though, new general manager Daniel Brière has made a number of interesting moves to fill out the team’s goalie depth. They arguably have a four-way battle for the backup job heading into next season, although some options are likelier than others. Two players split the backup role for them last season – Felix Sandström and Samuel Ersson, the latter of whom played less but posted far better numbers with a 6-3-0 record and .899 save percentage compared to Sandström’s abysmal .880 mark.
The Flyers are just a handful of years removed from the 2018-19 campaign, where they set an NHL record for most goalies used in a season with eight. Hart, Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Calvin Pickard, Cam Talbot, Michal Neuvirth, Mike McKenna, and Alex Lyon all got some action in the crease in a Philadelphia jersey that season. Next season, they hope someone impresses enough (and stays healthy enough) to break out and bring that number back down to two.
Now, it’s time to see who exactly that could be:
Samuel Ersson
The Flyers think (hope?) they have a late-round gem in Ersson, who they selected 143rd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut just last season and also took over the starting role for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recording a .900 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average in 42 games. It was a huge rebound campaign for him after injuries limited him to just five appearances with Lehigh Valley in 2021-22. The team obviously believes in him, handing him a two-year, $2.9MM extension earlier this month set to start in the 2024-25 season.
Of all the names here, Ersson’s the one the Flyers hope commands the backup role come opening night and, ideally, remains in the NHL by the time the 2023-24 season draws to a close. He is still waiver-exempt and isn’t terribly close to requiring them, either. He needs to play 48 more NHL games (or two more NHL seasons, whichever comes first) before he’ll need to clear waivers to head to the minors, per CapFriendly. That being said, from an asset management standpoint, Sandström does require waivers and is a potential claim candidate. Ersson will need to clearly demonstrate Sandström is potentially expendable from the organization with a strong camp.
Ivan Fedotov
There is a fair amount of intrigue in Fedotov’s on-ice potential. The question looms, however, if he’ll actually be at training camp. The IIHF sided with Philadelphia regarding a contract dispute between them, Fedotov and KHL club CSKA Moskva after Fedotov had two technically active contracts for 2023-24. CSKA and the KHL are likely to appeal the ruling, however, and it’s unclear whether Fedotov will travel to the United States and suit up for the Flyers.
Fedotov didn’t play at all last season after completing required military service in Russia, an unforeseen complication that occurred after the Flyers had signed him to an entry-level contract and penciled him into their backup role last season. Given the murky contractual situation and the breakout of Ersson, however, he’s lost the edge on the role. There’s no denying he’s the highest-ceiling option available, however. The 26-year-old stands at an absolutely massive 6-foot-8 and 212 pounds and won the KHL’s Best Goaltender award, an All-Star team nod, a Gagarin Cup championship, and an Olympic silver medal – all during the 2021-22 season. The year prior, he still posted spectacular numbers, recording a .925 save percentage in 26 games with CSKA.
Cal Petersen
The Flyers acquired Petersen, 28, via trade from the Los Angeles Kings to provide some cap relief in the three-way deal that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Briefly viewed as Los Angeles’ long-term goalie option post-Jonathan Quick, Petersen had a disastrous 2022-23 campaign which saw him post a .868 save percentage in nine starts before the Kings waived him (and his $5MM cap hit) and assigned him to the AHL.
With two years remaining on his deal, Petersen hasn’t looked like himself since posting a 9-18-5 record but a sparkling .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average for the Kings in 2020-21. He’s the most experienced option available to the Flyers for the backup role with 94 NHL starts under his belt, and he may enter next season with some renewed confidence after a strong performance for the United States at the World Championships. That being said, he’s a non-candidate to get claimed on waivers given his albatross contract, and he’ll need to significantly outplay the trio of younger, higher-upside netminders here in order to return to a full-time NHL role in a Flyers uniform.
Felix Sandström
Selected 70th overall in 2015, Sandström didn’t take the step forward that Philadelphia wished he would have last season. The 26-year-old started the season as Hart’s backup but won just three out of 18 starts, posting poor advanced and standard stats in the process. He has posted good enough numbers when given the chance in the minors, but he hasn’t shown anything at the NHL level to suggest it can translate.
That being said, he’s still relatively young in goalie years at 26, and if he shows enough strides in camp, it could be enough to earn him the nod over Ersson (or Fedotov) to avoid exposing him to waivers or to make the Flyers consider carrying three netminders. Either way, he likely won’t receive more than the 20 games he played overall for the Flyers last season, save for a significant injury to Hart.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Ivan Provorov As Part Of Three-Team Trade
With Mike Babcock expected to be named Columbus Blue Jackets head coach later this summer, the Blue Jackets have made a major push to improve their roster for his first season as head coach.
In a trade officially announced by all three involved teams, Columbus is acquiring defenseman Ivan Provorov from the Philadelphia Flyers, but there are a lot of moving parts to the deal. Here are the full details as told by the team announcement:
Philadelphia trades Ivan Provorov and Hayden Hodgson to Los Angeles in exchange for Calvin Petersen, Sean Walker, Helge Grans and the Kings’ 2024 second-round pick. Columbus acquires Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. Columbus acquires Provorov from Los Angeles in exchange for Connauton.
The Kings are retaining 30% of Provorov’s deal, meaning he’ll cost $4.725MM against the cap for Columbus for the next two seasons.
Laid out plainly, here is what each team is acquiring as part of this deal:
Columbus gets: Provorov. Philadelphia gets: Petersen, Grans, Walker, 2023 1st (via CBJ via LA), 2024 2nd (via LA), conditional 2nd (via CBJ). Los Angeles gets: Hodgson, Connauton.
Columbus’ acquisition of Provorov should not come as a surprise, as it was reported months ago that the team had an interest in acquiring a defensive upgrade to fill the void left by their trade of Vladislav Gavrikov to Los Angeles. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has found his upgrade in Provorov, 26.
Provorov was the seventh-overall pick at that 2015 draft and at times looked to be a potential top-of-the-lineup, all-situations force for Philadelphia. He averages over 24 minutes per night for his career, and has a career-high of 17 goals and 41 points.
But in recent seasons, as the Flyers themselves have descended from consistent playoff team to league basement-dweller, Provorov’s form has declined and this season he played a full minute less per game than his career average, earning 23:01 time on ice per contest.
As Provorov’s inconsistency became harder and harder to ignore and the Flyers organization began to pivot to more of a rebuild-like direction, it became clear that a change of scenery would likely be in the best interest of all parties.
Now Provorov gets his change of scenery with two seasons remaining on his contract. He’ll land in Columbus, where he’ll be slotted more appropriately as the team’s number-two left-shot defenseman behind franchise face Zach Werenski.
Assuming Werenski can return to form next season after an injury cost him most of his 2022-23, Provorov will be in a more comfortable position as a second-pairing anchor. It’s likely that the Blue Jackets believe he’ll be able to reach the heights he hit earlier in his career in that position sort of position, when he’s not being leaned on as his coach’s number-one option.
For the Kings, the motivations behind this deal seem relatively clear. First and foremost, creating cap space was an important priority, and is something the Kings have done by sending Petersen and his $5MM AAV deal to the Flyers.
Petersen once looked like a potential successor to Jonathan Quick for the Kings, posting a solid .911 save percentage in 35 games in 2020-21. Since that point, though, Petersen has declined sharply and this season spent most of the year in the AHL as he had a grisly .868 save percentage in his 10 NHL games. Now Petersen will get a fresh start in Philadelphia while the Kings clear his hefty cap hit off their books, save for any money they retain. (which will be revealed when the official trade details come in)
Cap space is of importance to the Kings as they are looking to sign an extension with Gavrikov, their mid-season trade acquisition. ESPN’s John Buccigross on Twitter cited a conversation with a Kings executive who pegged the cost of Gavrikov’s contract extension to be in the “$6-7 million” range, with the team preferring to keep the number as early in the $6MM range as possible. If the Kings do end up finalizing that sort of contract extension with the 27-year-old Russian rearguard, this trade of Petersen is an essential one.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that Gavrikov is “only interested in a two-year contract extension with the Kings,” which could contribute to the higher price tag Buccigross is reporting, as the conventional wisdom is that short-term contracts for coveted players who are in their prime would carry higher average annual values than the more traditional long-term commitments.
Meanwhile, the trade of Walker (reportedly to Philadelphia) is no surprise seeing as the Kings have been long expected to deal from their surplus of right-shot NHL-ready blueliners. With Sean Durzi a breakout talent and 22-year-old Jordan Spence clearly ready to take on the challenge of the NHL, it seems Walker was the odd man out in the team’s right-shot defensive picture.
Walker is a 28-year-old undrafted Bowling Green State University product who is making $2.65MM against the cap for one more season. He scored 13 points in 70 games this season and contributed to the team’s penalty kill, but his average ice time was cut from 18:22 per game last year to just 14:50 this season.
Perhaps he’ll be able to earn a larger role in Philadelphia, or the Flyers could even opt to flip him to another team to earn even more draft capital to further their rebuild process.
They’ll also get Connauton, a 33-year-old defender with 360 games of NHL experience on a $762.5k cap hit for next season. He scored 15 points in 63 games in 2022-23 for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, and it was his first season since 2013 spent without a single NHL game played. He’ll likely play with the Ontario Reign in the AHL and add to the Kings’ defensive depth.
Hodgson, 27, has just seven games of NHL experience but scored 19 goals and 31 points in 46 AHL games in 2021-22. His point total dropped to eight this past year, but perhaps the physical forward can return to AHL prominence in Ontario.
For Philadelphia, this deal is all about adding as much draft and prospect capital to further their rebuild under new GM Daniel Briere. Getting a first-rounder in a highly-regarded draft is a solid return for Provorov, and the additional two second-rounders are a great bonus. Grans has had an uneven time in the AHL with the Kings organization, but he’s still just 21 years old and was the 35th overall pick at the 2020 draft. He’s a talented prospect who could quickly put himself in the Flyers’ blueline mix.
This trade is Briere’s first move in what is likely to be a summer of major change for the Flyers. If they are indeed pursuing a complete rebuilding process, (perhaps including a trade of netminder Carter Hart, who has been the subject of “industry rumblings” about a potential trade) this is a strong first transaction to get that rebuild started.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the deal taking place. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, and ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski each first reported other elements of the deal.
USA Hockey Announces First 22 Players For 2023 Worlds
The first 22 players that will compete for Team USA at the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championship have been named, with an interesting mix of NHL experience and college excitement.
Lane Hutson is the youngest player in the group at just 19 years old, and he’ll be sharing the ice with 35-year-old Nick Bonino, the oldest. General manager Chris Clark released the following:
The depth of our player pool is reflected with our team and we’re excited about the group we have to represent our country at the world championship. We’ve got a great mix of experience and youth and most of our players have represented the U.S. before and know what it takes to be successful at a world championship.
The team will start training on Saturday in Munich, before a pre-tournament game on Tuesday. The tournament schedule for the U.S. begins next Friday, against Finland.
Here’s a look at the 22 players that have made the team so far:
G Casey DeSmith
G Drew Commesso
G Cal Petersen
D Henry Thrun
D Connor Mackey
D Ronnie Attard
D Dylan Samberg
D Scott Perunovich
D Lane Hutson
D Nick Perbix
F Samuel Walker
F Drew O’Connor
F Luke Tuch
F Nick Bonino
F T.J. Tynan
F Cutter Gauthier
F Sean Farrell
F Anders Bjork
F Matthew Coronato
F Conor Garland
F Alex Tuch
F Carter Mazur
Kings Recall Tobias Bjornfot And Cal Petersen
With their AHL affiliate in Ontario being eliminated on Friday, Los Angeles has elected to bring a couple of extra players up. They announced that defenseman Tobias Bjornfot and goaltender Cal Petersen were recalled from the Reign while also loaning goaltender David Hrenak to Greenville of the ECHL with the Swamp Rabbits still playing at that level.
Bjornfot is no stranger to being recalled this season as this is the ninth (and final) time that he is getting promoted. The 22-year-old played in ten games with the Kings during the regular season, the fewest appearances at the top level he has had in the last three seasons. In those contests, Bjornfot picked up an assist along with 11 hits and 12 blocks while logging a little over 14 minutes a night.
At the minor league level, Bjornfot was a bit more productive but certainly didn’t light up the scoresheet either, collecting five goals and seven helpers in 50 games. It should be his final season in the minors as he’ll be waiver-eligible next season and it’s unlikely that Los Angeles will want to risk losing him for free by trying to send him down again.
As for Petersen, it has been a year to forget for the 28-year-old. After a rough start to the year that saw him post a save percentage of just .868 in 10 appearances, he cleared waivers at the beginning of December and was sent down to the minors. He fared a bit better down there, putting up a .904 SV% in 40 regular season contests but that type of performance won’t be enough to see him pushing for playing time in the postseason. Instead, he’ll likely serve as the third-string option, allowing Hrenak to go back to the ECHL where he spent the majority of his season.
Cal Petersen Clears Waivers; Kings Make Several Roster Moves
3:31 PM: Add one more roster move to today’s avalanche of transactions in Southern California. Per a team release, the Kings have recalled forward Tyler Madden from the Reign.
This recall puts Madden, 23, in a position to make his NHL debut. The forward is perhaps best known as a former Vancouver Canucks prospect who was sent to Los Angeles as part of the team’s Tyler Toffoli trade.
Madden has scored five goals and eight points in 16 AHL games so far this year and scored 14 goals and 31 points in 48 games last year. Madden played his collegiate career at Northeastern University and scored 37 points in 27 games in his second and final season there.
1:15 PM: As expected, Cal Petersen has cleared waivers after a dreadful start to the season. The Los Angeles Kings have sent him to the minor leagues, while completing several other roster moves. Tobias Bjornfot, Pheonix Copley, and Samuel Fagemo have been recalled, while Rasmus Kupari and Jordan Spence are joining Petersen with the Ontario Reign.
It has been a precipitous fall from grace for Petersen, who signed a $15MM contract just over 14 months ago. That deal includes a $4MM signing bonus next year and $11MM total over the last two seasons, a price tag that many clubs would likely balk at if considering a claim. The fact is that he just hasn’t been good enough to justify that price tag, making it easy to understand why teams would pass over him on waivers.
If he can get his game back in order, there will be a path back to the NHL for Petersen. Copley doesn’t represent a huge upgrade, despite strong performances in the minor leagues. Through 31 NHL games, the 30-year-old has a .900 save percentage, and hasn’t played regularly at that level since 2018-19. While he can serve as a backup, for the time being, the Kings goaltending situation looks rather suspect at the moment.
By assigning Petersen to the minor leagues, Los Angeles will clear $1.125MM of cap space off the books, though a good chunk of that is eaten up by Copley’s $825K deal.
Los Angeles Kings Place Cal Petersen On Waivers
After allowing four goals on 16 shots last night in what ended up a 9-8 loss to the Seattle Kraken, Cal Petersen has been placed on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Los Angeles Kings netminder has been brutal this year, posting an .868 save percentage through his first ten appearances. He is in the first season of a three-year, $15MM contract extension signed in the fall of 2021.
The Petersen story is an interesting one. Selected 129th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, he would go back to the USHL for a year after his draft, before heading to Notre Dame. Starring for the Irish for three years, he decided to leave school early and pursue a professional career. Petersen would ultimately decide not to sign with the Sabres and became a free agent, able to choose his destination.
Los Angeles is where he landed, which at the time seemed a bit of an odd choice. The team already had Jonathan Quick installed as the full-time starter and Jack Campbell was starting to come into his own as the backup. It appeared as though Petersen would be blocked from the NHL net for a while.
Because of injuries and poor play, however, it wouldn’t be long before Petersen was making his debut. In his second pro season, he played 11 games for the Kings and posted a .924, showing that they could have found their future starter. A trade of Campbell the next season, and more struggles from Quick meant Petersen was getting a chance, and he ran with it, posting a .916 save percentage in 54 games over his first three years.
Heading into last season, he was expected to split the work with Quick and the team awarded him with a shiny new three-year extension, despite his previous deal still having a year left. The Kings probably should have waited, as Petersen’s play deteriorated, with him posting an .895 save percentage over 37 appearances. When Los Angeles reached the playoffs, there was no doubt who would be starting for them, and it wasn’t Petersen.
Now, with an even worse performance through the early part of the year and higher expectations for the Kings, the team can’t wait around any more. They’ve now offered him up to anyone who wants to take on the whole contract and could send him to the minor leagues to get back on track if he clears.
It seems unlikely that any team in the league would bite, especially due to the back-loaded nature of the deal. Petersen is owed a $4MM signing bonus next season and then has a $6MM salary in year three, meaning any claiming team would be taking on a lot of financial risk for a goaltender who has struggled.