Evening Notes: Knoblauch, Wood, Miller, Rangers
Edmonton GM Stan Bowman told Ryan Rishaug of TSN that extension talks with Head Coach Kris Knoblauch continue, with no foreseen issues ahead. Having taken the Oilers to new heights, and with a window still as open as ever, keeping Connor McDavid‘s former OHL coach around is a no-brainer.
Speaking of the Oilers’ mega star, Bowman did not provide any updates on McDavid, other than that they’re happy to play the long game if needed, and talk consistently with his agent, Judd Moldaver.
Having acquired Connor Ingram earlier today, Bowman touched on the goalie front as well. Apparently, no talks have emerged with Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard yet, and that Ingram has been brought in as another good option for the club.
It’s fair to say that running it back with Skinner and Pickard again this year has been a bit unexpected. Yet it appears Bowman will keep a close eye on each, evaluating their long-term prospects in Edmonton, especially with an intriguing addition coming into the fold.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Brooks Bratten, Nashville’s beat reporter, shared today that top prospect Matthew Wood is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, an ailment sustained in the team’s Gold Star Showcase scrimmage last week. The 2023 first-round-pick has made a strong case to remain with the big club so far in camp, after a six-game trial fresh out of the NCAA last season. Now set to miss time, eyes turn to fellow key prospects Brady Martin and Joakim Kemell, who become more likely to make the team given Wood’s injury. Additionally, the Predators claimed Tyson Jost on waivers today.
- Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic updated today that J.T. Miller remains sidelined since an unassuming lower body injury sustained in practice two days ago. Thankfully, the captain’s ailment isn’t thought to be serious, so perhaps the Rangers are content with being patient. Meanwhile, Sam Carrick was seen back in a red no-contact jersey, and Casey Fitzgerald was absent, but due to being waived today rather than injury. The former Sabres defenseman is expected to be a key piece for AHL Hartford for the second straight season.
Metropolitan Notes: Strome, Fitzgerald, Islander Defenders
Center Dylan Strome is in the lineup tonight after being questionable to play due to sickness, per a team announcement. He was a full participant in today’s morning skate and is centering the team’s top line between Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson.
Despite feeling under the weather, Strome scored Washington’s first goal of the game tonight against the Red Wings. His availability is key for the Capitals as they continue their run towards the top seed in the eastern conference. Strome has been instrumental to the team’s success, registering 65 points in 67 games played. He is set to break his career high of 67 points in a season, which he recorded just last year.
In his last three seasons, he has recorded 71 goals and 197 points and has assisted on many Ovechkin’s goals as the Russian sniper nears the all-time mark.
Elsewhere in the Metro:
- Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald discussed a scary situation that occurred to his son with his fellow general managers at their annual meetings, per an NHL release. Fitzgerald’s son, Casey Fitzgerald, a defender with Hartford of the AHL, sustained a serious cut to his neck from a skate blade in a game against Providence on Dec. 28. Casey was wearing a neck guard, which is mandated by the AHL, but the skate hit above the guard, and it was very close to being a life-threatening situation. The elder Fitzgerald approved of photos being shown of the wound, acknowledging the photos could serve as a reminder to the seriousness of these gruesome injuries. While the AHL requires cut-resistant equipment, the NHL currently doesn’t have these provisions in place. While Fitzgerald would like to see this change, he is also looking toward even better advancements in protective equipment. He noted that had the skate hit his son’s neck guard, it wouldn’t have prevented the cut from taking place in that particular situation. But better preventative measures, including wider neck straps, could help prevent serious cuts.
- The Islanders’ Adam Pelech is playing tonight against the Penguins, while defenders Alexander Romanov and Adam Boqvist both missed the contest due to illness, per a team announcement. Pelech was a full participant in the Islanders morning skate on Tuesday after missing Sunday’s contest against the Florida Panthers with a lower-body injury. Coach Patrick Roy noted his return as a huge support for the team. Pelech has recorded 17 assists, 65 blocked shots, and 68 hits through 45 games on the season. With Romanov and Boqvist out, defender Tony DeAngelo is paired with Pelech, and veteran Mike Reilly cracked the lineup for just the 13th time this season.
Waiver Wire: 10/1/24
28 players hit the waiver wire Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s a sharp increase from yesterday’s 12 names as more veterans are assigned to the minors later in camp. All of yesterday’s waived players cleared, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Today’s waiver placements are as follows:
Anaheim Ducks
Buffalo Sabres
F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
New York Rangers
F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin
Seattle Kraken
F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka
Vancouver Canucks
F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin
Rangers Sign Casey Fitzgerald, Benoit-Olivier Groulx
The Rangers have added some NHL-experienced depth on cheap deals. Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald is joining on a two-year contract, while forward Benoit-Olivier Groulx is heading to New York on a one-year pact after being non-tendered by the Ducks, per a team announcement. Fitzgerald’s is a two-way deal in 2024-25 before converting to a one-way deal in 2025-26, while Groulx’s is a two-way deal, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.
Fitzgerald, 27, is coming off a one-year, two-way deal with the Panthers that saw him buried in the minors for the entire season for the first time since 2020-21. He played in 69 games on assignment to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, notching four goals and 17 assists for 21 points with a +22 rating and 65 PIMs.
The son of Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has played 148 career AHL games across five seasons in the Panthers and Sabres organizations, recording 55 points (13 goals, 42 assists). He has also skated in 63 NHL games in Buffalo and Florida in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, collecting nine assists and a -21 rating. He’s still on the hunt for his first major league goal. He was originally a third-round pick of the Sabres in 2016.
The physical right-shot blue liner is expected to start the season on assignment to AHL Hartford but will be an outside candidate to land a spot on the NHL roster out of camp as an extra defenseman. His main competition for the role as it stands will be Connor Mackey. Either way, there’s an increased opportunity for the Rangers’ depth defenders to find NHL minutes next season with Erik Gustafsson and Chad Ruhwedel hitting free agency.
Groulx, 24, was a second-round pick of the Ducks back in 2018 but hit the open market early after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, recording only two assists and a -9 rating in 45 games for Anaheim while averaging 12:11 per game. He’s scored only once in 65 NHL games dating back to his debut in 2021-22. He can play both left wing and center but has struggled in the faceoff dot at the NHL level, winning 44.4% of his draws.
His possession impacts in Anaheim have been quite poor, too, but he could carry some value as a cheap energy winger, especially for what’s likely a league-minimum cap hit. He finished seventh on the Ducks in hits (101) last season and has good size at 6’2″ and nearly 200 lbs. He’ll enter camp competing with UFA addition Sam Carrick and familiar faces Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe for a fourth-line/extra forward role.
Panthers Notes: Ekblad, Sourdif, Bennett
PuckPedia tweeted that the Florida Panthers made a move today to officially place star defenseman Aaron Ekblad on the long-term injured reserve. The transaction has been months in the making, but the Panthers officially completed the paperwork today. Ekblad is expected to miss at least the first month of the season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.
The move gives the Panthers some breathing room under the salary cap allowing them to facilitate other moves. Florida will be without Ekblad and fellow defenseman Brandon Montour for quite some time which could lead to expanded roles for Gustav Forsling and newcomer Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
One note on LTIR is that once a player is placed on it, they must miss at least ten games and 24 days, which means the earliest Ekblad could return is the first week of November.
The 2014 first-overall pick saw his numbers dip last season as the Panthers marched to the Stanley Cup finals. And with the root cause of his injury unknown, one might wonder if a fully healthy Ekblad could be ready for a monster bounce-back season.
In other Panthers notes:
- The Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Justin Sourdif from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The recall comes mere hours after the team assigned the 21-year-old to the AHL along with veterans Zac Dalpe and Casey Fitzgerald. The Richmond, British Columbia native posted seven goals and 17 assists as a rookie last season in the AHL, dressing in 48 games. The Panthers open the regular season against the Minnesota Wild on October 12th.
- Panthers forward Sam Bennett may be back in Florida’s lineup sooner than later as David Dwork of The Hockey News is reporting that the team is toying with the idea of bringing Bennett on their upcoming road trip. The 27-year-old has been ruled out of their season opener on Thursday but may travel with the team as they head up to Winnipeg for a game on Saturday and New Jersey next Monday. Bennett was seen in a walking boot on October 7th after being injured in a preseason game on October 5th, however, the injury doesn’t appear as severe as first reported.
Waivers: 10/08/23
Oct. 9: Four players on this list were claimed today: A.J. Greer (Calgary), John Ludvig (Pittsburgh), Ivan Prosvetov (Colorado), and Lassi Thomson (Ottawa). All others have cleared and are expected to be assigned to their team’s respective AHL affiliates, aside from Boyd, who PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports remains on the Coyotes’ active roster for now.
Oct. 8: It’s expected to be a busy day on the waiver wire, as NHL teams are making their final adjustments to the roster they’ll bring into the start of the 2023-24 season. There have already been numerous notable names exposed to the waiver wire thus far this preseason, and that list could only expand today. All players from yesterday’s waiver wire have cleared.
Anaheim Ducks
D Lassi Thomson
G Alex Stalock
F Andrew Agozzino
Boston Bruins
Arizona Coyotes
F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson
D Ben Gleason
Florida Panthers
F Zac Dalpe
D John Ludvig
D Casey Fitzgerald
Los Angeles Kings
Montreal Canadiens
F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
G Magnus Hellberg
F Colin White
D Mark Friedman
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Radim Zohorna
St. Louis Blues
F Mackenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcolm Subban
F Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning
D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Martin Jones
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie
Vancouver Canucks
F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
The big surprise here out of Arizona regards Boyd. The versatile 30-year-old veteran doesn’t have an exorbitant contract (just $1.75MM through the end of the season) and has scored 69 points across the last two seasons.
He’s been something of a breakout player for the Coyotes as his 17-goal, 35-point 2022-23 was far and away his best season in his career, so it’s definitely a surprise to see him exposed on waivers.
For Anaheim, the move to waive Stalock likely means that Lukáš Dostál has won the Ducks’ backup goalie job behind John Gibson, as should Stalock clear the Ducks will have the option to send him down to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
In Edmonton, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to see Lavioe waived. The 23-year-old power forward was drafted just outside of the 2019 first round, and took a real step forward in his development last season. He became a genuinely impactful AHLer, scoring 25 goals and 45 points. He’s a name to watch in terms of players with the potential to be claimed out of this group.
Anderson-Dolan finally made the NHL on an extended basis last season, and scored 12 points in 46 games. He even got some playoff action under his belt, but seeing as he was a near-point-per-game scorer in his last season in the AHL, it seems the Kings could prefer to have him start the season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Rosen appears the likeliest candidate from the Blues’ group of waived players to be of interest to other teams, as he’s owed just a $762.5k cap hit this season and impressed in 49 games of NHL action last season. He scored 18 points in that span and could interest teams in need of some additional defensive help.
Out of Tampa is Bogosian, and it’s reported that the Lightning are hoping to put the veteran blueliner in a position to land on another team where he can play a bigger role than he’d be offered in Tampa. The 33-year-old won a Stanley Cup for the Lightning and it seems that the organization is looking to do right by the player while also turning to other options to staff their defense.
One of the biggest names on waivers comes out of Toronto, as Jones played in 48 games last season but now finds himself exposed to 31 other clubs. With an $875k cap hit, the veteran netminder could end up claimed by teams in need of instant goaltending support, such as the Lightning who don’t have much depth after the injury to superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Florida Panthers Agree To Terms With Casey Fitzgerald
The defending Eastern Conference champions have made their second signing of the day. Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald is running it back with the Florida Panthers on a one-year, two-way contract after testing the open market, the team announced today. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Fitzgerald hit unrestricted free agency this summer under Group VI rules. This special designation applies to players with significant professional experience who don’t meet the standard eligibility guidelines for unrestricted free agency but have played less than 80 NHL games, allowing them perhaps to find a more significant role with another team earlier in their career. However, the 26-year-old Fitzgerald liked his fit in the Panthers organization, and he’s opted to return for another season.
The son of New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald found his way to the Sunshine State via waivers in January, heading south to the Panthers after the Buffalo Sabres attempted to assign him to the minors. He would play quite sparingly, though, playing just four out of 40 Panthers regular-season games after the claim and two out of 21 playoff games. All in all, that’s 55 healthy scratches for Fitzgerald in 61 games he’s been rostered for as a Panther.
A puck-mover by trade, Fitzgerald’s been adequate in limited NHL action but hasn’t demonstrated enough to push into an everyday spot in the lineup. The right-shot defender has nine assists in 63 games of NHL experience between the Sabres and Panthers but is still looking for his first NHL goal.
Buffalo’s third-round selection in 2016, Fitzgerald likely remains in a press-box role to start the season, even with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour out with injuries. The team went bargain bin shopping on the back end, and their earlier UFA additions of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola, and Mike Reilly likely push him down the depth chart. He could very well be waived again later on in the season and, if he clears, would be assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.