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Charles Hudon

Tampa Bay Lightning Announce Several Minor Contracts

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced several minor signings to fill out their organizational depth. Gabriel Dumont, Charles Hudon, Darren Raddysh, Andrej Sustr and Maxime Lagace have all signed one-year, two-way contracts today worth the minimum $750K in the NHL.

Raddysh should be a familiar name to Bolts fans, as brother Taylor Raddysh is a Tampa draft pick and budding NHLer. Darren, like Taylor, has not played in the NHL just yet, but has been a productive AHLer. The two could both find themselves in the Tampa Bay lineup this season as the team will be looking for affordable support.

Sustr is another name well-known by Tampa. The veteran defenseman spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the team before spending a year with the Anaheim Ducks and the past two season in the KHL with the Kunlun Red Star. He returns to the Lightning to play a depth role, likely as no more than a stay-at-home bottom-pair option.

Dumont is yet another former Bolt, having spent parts of two seasons with the team, including a career high 39 NHL games in 2016-17. Dumont and Hudon are both small, shifty forwards with NHL experience and plenty of AHL success and will be good veterans for Tampa in the minors.

Lagace, though largely an AHL netminder, played a significant role for the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season and could do so again if called upon. In his one start for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, Lagace recorded a 29-save shutout. Likely to be Tampa’s No. 3 in net, the 28-year-old is not a bad depth option for the Lightning.

 

 

 

Snapshots: Halak, Ovechkin, Koivu, Hudon

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Veteran goaltender Jaroslav Halak and the Boston Bruins are officially parting ways. Halak’s agent, Allan Walsh, confirmed to The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter that Halak will reach unrestricted free agency on July 28 and the Bruins are not expected to be a suitor. The news really should not come as much of a surprise. It’s the dawn of a new day in net in Boston, as young goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Daniel Vladar have been excellent in both the NHL and AHL and look ready to take on regular NHL roles. Swayman in fact took the Boston backup job from Halak over the course of this season and into the postseason. The 2020 Hobey Baker finalist and Mike Richter Award and 2021 AHL All-Star  has already shown flashes of NHL starting potential and could secure the role this season. Vladar, who led the AHL in save percentage and GAA in 2019-20, requires waivers this season, so he too looks locked into an NHL role. Between that duo and Tuukka Rask, who will be sidelined until mid-season but is still a candidate for extension, Halak had no place with the Bruins. With that said, there should be plenty of suitors out there. Halak was an ideal Robin to Rask’s Batman over the past three years, taking on a considerable workload and playing at an elite level, winning the Jennings Trophy with Rask in 2019-20. The 36-year-old has shown signs of decline in the past calendar year, but can still be an above average backup for a contender or a 1B mentor to a young 1A.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin is less than two weeks away from reaching unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career but in an interview with Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov, he expressed confidence that he will be able to reach an agreement to remain with Washington. He also acknowledged the possibility of returning to Dynamo Moscow in the KHL for next season which suggests that a new deal with the Caps isn’t finalized and is simply waiting until after the expansion draft to be filed as many expect will happen with several UFAs next week.  Ovechkin has been adamant about his desire to play in the Olympics and with there still being uncertainty about whether NHL players will participate in 2022, going to the KHL would guarantee him the chance to participate.  Having said that, a return to Washington still is the expected outcome.
  • Former NHL center Mikko Koivu has found his first coaching opportunity as Ilta Sanomat’s Tatu Mullykoski relays that the 38-year-old has been named an assistant coach for Finland’s Under-20 team (their World Junior squad). He replaces Tuomo Ruutu who became part of Florida’s coaching staff earlier this summer.  Koivu spent the first 15 years of his career with Minnesota before joining Columbus for this past season.  However, he hung up his skates after seven games with the Blue Jackets.
  • Pending UFA winger Charles Hudon is looking to return to North America, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 27-year-old opted not to re-sign with Montreal as a restricted free agent and instead spent the season with Lausanne in Switzerland where he had 32 points in 33 games this past season.  Hudon has 41 points in 125 games over parts of five seasons with the Canadiens.

Charles Hudon Signs In Switzerland

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The Montreal Canadiens tendered a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Charles Hudon this offseason, but despite being eligible for arbitration the 26-year-old forward declined to file. Instead, Hudon has signed a one-year contract with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA where he will play this season.

In 125 games at the NHL level, Hudon has scored 14 goals and 41 points, underwhelming totals for a player who has dominated the minor leagues. Even in the shortened 2019-20 AHL season, Hudon tallied 27 goals in 46 games, though that came with just eight assists. He had just two points in 17 games with Montreal, including two during the postseason bubble.

Montreal will retain his rights temporarily, but given Hudon turns 27 in June he likely will become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. With the uncertain schedules of every professional league in the world that may still afford a bit of time for the team to bring him back, but it appears as though his time in Montreal could be over.

If it is, while he may seem like a disappointment after those big AHL totals, more than 100 NHL games out of a fifth-round pick is still pretty good value for the Canadiens.

Charles Hudon Nearing Deal In Switzerland

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Canadiens RFA Charles Hudon is closing in on a deal with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA, reports Guillaume Lefrancois of La Presse.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie adds (Twitter link) that the winger is already in Lausanne and is waiting for his work visa to be approved before he signs the contract.

The 26-year-old opted to not file for arbitration back on Saturday so this may not be a typical loan situation as many players have had over the last couple of months.

Hudon spent most of last season with Laval of the AHL after clearing waivers and was quite productive, notching 27 goals in just 46 games.  However, that didn’t carry over to his NHL opportunities as he managed just a goal and an assist in 15 games with Montreal during the regular season and didn’t record a point in two playoff contests.  Hudon has had success in the NHL before, posting a 30-point season in 2017-18 but has struggled since then.

Lefrancois notes that Hudon was hopeful of a fresh start somewhere else but clearly, a trade scenario has not yet materialized.  If this is a season-long signing and not just a short-term deal until NHL training camps open, it likely wouldn’t be until late March or sometime in April before his season would end which may wind up being around where the NHL trade deadline will be in 2020-21 depending on the length of the campaign.  At that time, he could sign with whoever holds his rights or wait it out until next offseason when he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Snapshots: Slepyshev, Eliasson, Hudon

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There has been some recent talk about the Oilers trying to bring back winger Anton Slepyshev.  In a recent video conference with reporters (video link), GM Ken Holland confirmed that he has made an offer to Slepyshev’s camp and is waiting to hear back.  The 25-year-old is signed through the end of the month and while some KHL teams will let their players out of their deals early to sign in the NHL, most don’t so even if they’re able to reach an agreement over the coming weeks, it may take some time before a deal is made official.  Slepyshev didn’t do much offensively in his first stint with Edmonton where he scored just 10 goals in 103 but has shown more of a scoring touch back home, collecting 18 goals and 27 assists in 54 games with CSKA Moscow this season.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Red Wings prospect Jesper Eliasson is transferring to the SHL as Farjestad announced that they have signed the goaltender to a two-year deal that runs through the 2021-22 season. Eliasson was a third-round pick (84th overall) back in 2018 and the two-year term means that at the completion of the final season, Detroit will have a limited window to get him signed before the June 1, 2022 signing deadline.  The 20-year-old spent this season playing down a level with Almtuna (Allsvenskan) while on loan from Vaxjo.
  • Agent Allain Roy confirmed to Guillaume Lefrancois of La Presse that Canadiens winger Charles Hudon has received interest from the KHL and the NLA for next season. However, Hudon’s preference is to try to remain in the NHL.  It has been a tough year for the 25-year-old as he has struggled with Montreal, picking up just one goal and one assist in 15 games.  However, he is in the top-five in AHL goals with 27 in just 46 games with Laval which is helping to generate his interest from those other leagues.  He will be a restricted free agent this offseason with arbitration eligibility.

Minor Transactions: 02/27/20

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How about ten NHL games with plenty of playoff implications for your Thursday night? That’s what is on offer this evening around the league as several postseason hopefuls do battle. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers kick things off with their seasons on the line, while the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators battle to stay in the Western Conference race. As the league prepares, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Joshua Norris, the young forward who has dominated the minor leagues in his first taste of professional hockey. One of the key parts in the Erik Karlsson deal, Norris now has 30 goals and 58 points in 52 AHL games.
  • With Sami Niku dealing with an injury, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled Nelson Nogier from the Manitoba Moose. The 23-year old Nogier has 11 NHL games under his belt, and just one since the 2016-17 season.
  • Jonathan Drouin will not play tonight for the Montreal Canadiens, so the team has recalled Charles Hudon under emergency conditions. Teams have limited recalls after the trade deadline, but emergency ones do not count towards that total.
  • The Predators have sent Connor Ingram back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, signaling that Pekka Rinne has recovered from his recent illness. Ingram had been up under emergency conditions.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues, as they continue their current road trip. After facing the Colorado Avalanche last night, Buffalo will journey to Vegas, Arizona and Winnipeg before heading home.
  • Joshua Jacobs has earned his first call-up of the season from the New Jersey Devils, after clearing waivers in late September. The 24-year old has just a single NHL game under his belt to this point, despite being the 41st overall pick in 2014.
  • Once again the San Jose Sharks have involved Lean Bergmann in a transaction, this time bringing him back up from the minor leagues. The 21-year old forward has played eight games with the Sharks this season, registering one points.
  • After needing Calvin Thurkauf to fill in for a long list of injured forwards, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent him back to the AHL. The 22-year old played in three games, but didn’t tally his first NHL point.

AHL All-Star Game Makes Several Roster Changes

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Sunday: More changes are being made, even on the morning of the event. Toronto Marlies teamates Timothy Liljegren and Jeremy Bracco have been added to the North Division squad, the AHL announced. The duo will replace Bellevile Senators forward Drake Batherson, who was recalled by Ottawa, and Utica Comets forward Reid Boucher, who is unavailable due to an injury suffered this weekend.

Saturday: The AHL announced another change to the AHL All-Star roster as Belleville Senators forward Alex Formenton will replace teammate Josh Norris for the North Division.

Wednesday: The league has made another adjustment, selecting Cameron Gaunce from the Syracuse Crunch to replace Lawrence Pilut of the Rochester Americans. Pilut’s absence likely means he’ll be re-joining the Buffalo Sabres after the break.

Tuesday: The AHL All-Star Game is also just around the corner, but thanks to some midseason call-ups the rosters will have to change. Today the minor league announced five swaps for their upcoming event in Ontario, California. Vinni Lettieri (Hartford), Josh Norris (Belleville), Adam Clendening (Cleveland), Alex Nedeljkovic (Charlotte) and Vitek Vanacek (Hershey) have all been added to the game, while Nathan Gerbe (Cleveland), Michael Sgarbossa (Hershey), Rasmus Sandin (Toronto), Chris Driedger (Springfield) and Igor Shesterkin (Hartford) will all no longer be attending.

The full rosters are now as follows:

Atlantic Division:

Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Vinni Lettieri, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Alex Nedeljkovic, Charlotte Checkers
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds
Vitek Vanacek, Hershey Bears

North Division:

Joey Anderson, Binghamton Devils
Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Adam Clendening, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Josh Norris, Belleville Senators
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets

Central Division:

Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals

Pacific Division:

Tyler Benson, Bakersfield Condors
Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Brayden Burke, Tucson Roadrunners
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls

AHL 2020 All-Star Rosters Announced

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Just like the NHL did recently, the AHL has now announced their All-Star rosters for the upcoming festivities. The minor league will hold their annual showcase in Ontario, California, hosted by the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate. 33 of the players announced are AHL All-Stars for the first time, including several top prospects around the league.

The full rosters:

Atlantic Division:

Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Chris Driedger, Springfield Thunderbirds
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Michael Sgarbossa, Hershey Bears
Igor Shesterkin, Hartford Wolf Pack
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds

North Division:

Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Nathan Gerbe, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets
Rasmus Sandin, Toronto Marlies
Ben Street, Binghamton Devils

Central Division:

Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals

Pacific Division:

Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Matthew Phillips, Stockton Heat
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls
Kailer Yamamoto, Bakersfield Condors

Snapshots: Scott, Belzile, Girard

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that goaltending prospect Ian Scott will be out for six months following hip surgery, an unfortunate outcome in what was supposed to be his first professional season. The reigning CHL Goaltender of the Year, Scott hasn’t played a single game for the Toronto Marlies or Newfoundland Growlers this season.

Toronto has been desperately trying to find an answer for their backup goaltending position this season, but there is still a huge gap between Scott, fellow prospect Joseph Woll and starter Frederik Andersen. Michael Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo have been used, but neither one has secured a single win this season. Scott is expected to be ready for training camp, but missing an entire season of development isn’t ideal.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have their own injured minor leaguer, as today it was announced that Alex Belzile will miss six months following pectoral surgery. Belzile has played in 20 games for the Laval Rocket this season and has 14 points, but will be shut down at this point. Charles Hudon is also dealing with a lower-body injury and will not travel with the Rocket.
  • Samuel Girard has escaped suspension after sending Alex DeBrincat flying last night, instead earning just a fine from the Department of Player Safety. Girard will pay $1,957.89, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for boarding DeBrincat.

Minor Transactions: 12/7/19

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As is often the case, Saturday is a busy day on the NHL calendar with a total of 11 games on the docket which means there should be plenty of roster shuffling.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here as well as others of note around the hockey world.

  • The Canadiens have returned Charles Hudon to AHL Laval, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. The winger has been shuttled back and forth routinely in recent weeks in order to slow down his waiver clock.  Hudon has played in nine games with Montreal so far this season, recording one assist.
  • Veteran Eric Tangradi has decided to return for a second stint with the Red Wings organization as their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids announced that they’ve signed the winger for the rest of the season. He had been playing with Barys Astana in the KHL prior to the move.  Tangradi has a total of 150 career NHL games under his belt including six with New Jersey last season.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Anaheim Ducks have recalled forward Sam Carrick from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, while sending goaltender Anthony Stolarz down. The team likely recalled Carrick due to a pending injury to forward Nick Ritchie, although little is known about him. The 27-year-old Carrick has 10 goals and 16 points in 18 games with the Gulls.

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