Teams Moving On From Prospects Earlier Than Ever
One of the sub-themes from the 2024 offseason and part of a larger theme in general from the 2024-25 NHL season — organizations are moving on from top prospects much earlier than in previous years. Nick Faris of The Score recently broke down this narrative and explained how it symbolizes a few shifting narratives.
Faris writes that ten players drafted in the top 15 between 2019-2023 have changed teams since the start of the calendar year 2024. This is partly due to NCAA prospects using their inevitable free agency as a negotiating tactic to move on from their draft organization and teams reassessing their needs much quicker than in previous years.
Anaheim Ducks’ Cutter Gauthier and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rutger McGroarty are the most recent examples of NCAA stars choosing to forego their entry-level contract with their drafting teams in the hopes of being traded to a different organization. Both were granted their wishes as the Philadelphia Flyers traded Gauthier to the Ducks for Jamie Drysdale, and the Penguins traded their top prospect Brayden Yager to the Jets for McGroarty.
The remaining top 15 talents from the previous four NHL Drafts were moved out of rapidly shifting team needs. The Colorado Avalanche had a larger need for a second-line center rather than a long-term top-four option on the blue line culminating in the trade for Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram. The Utah Hockey Club and Sabres moved on from Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie, respectively, for more immediate needs on their roster with only one game played combined for their drafting franchise. The Penguins moved on from Yager for more immediate help in McGroarty, and the Nashville Predators traded top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov as they will not need another starting goaltender until the 2030s.
This is not to say that NHL organizations are non-committal towards their high-end draft selections as Faris notes 12 players drafted in the top 15 from 2019-2023 have already signed long-term contracts with their respective franchises. It has become clear that NHL teams are assessing young talent faster than ever. There has been no indication that the quality of assessment has improved as some of the players who have changed hands will inevitably have better careers with their new teams.
Utah Hockey Club Acquires Mikhail Sergachev
The Utah Hockey Club have acquired defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning, in exchange for defenseman J.J. Moser, forward prospect Conor Geekie, and a second-round draft pick, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The first blockbuster of the draft has hit, as Tampa Bay parts with a top-line defender and moves out $8.5MM in cap space. That should make their pursuit of franchise centerman Steven Stamkos a bit more manageable. Stamkos was reportedly set for the open market on July 1st, with the Lightning holding just $5.335MM in cap space. That number is now up to $16.5MM – a massive difference – after the Lightning also moved Tanner Jeannot and his $2.665MM cap hit to the Los Angeles Kings.
And while the cap space is surely what Tampa was looking for, they’ll reel in a strong return for parting with Sergachev. That includes Moser, who’s filled a strong second-pairing role for the Arizona Coyotes since his second-round selection in 2021. Still just 24, Moser has already totaled 205 career games and 72 points – including 26 points in 80 games this year. He’s a swift, confident defender on and off the puck, showing a knack for controlling traffic along his own blue line.
Tampa also receives top prospect Conor Geekie, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He’s since played through his final two seasons in the WHL, recording 99 points in just 55 games split between the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos this season. Not to be outdone, Geekie also added nine points in nine postseason games. He’s a big-frame forward, standing at 6-foot-4 and 197 pounds. He’s improved his ability to move that weight around substantially since his draft year looking much more fluid moving with the puck on his stick this season. Geekie signed his entry-level contract following the end of Swift Current’s year, setting him up for his first pro season in 2024-25.
And in return for their pretty penny, Utah receives a true top defenseman – finally ending a search that’s taken them through Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sean Durzi. None of the options could fill the role, though, leading Utah to pull in the understudy to Lightning star Victor Hedman. Sergachev has served in a vital role for the Lightning since a 2017 trade for forward Jonathan Drouin. He recorded 40 points in 79 games in his rookie season with Tampa Bay, quickly claiming a large share of ice time that he hasn’t relinquished since. Sergachev recorded at least 30 points in each of his next four seasons before posting a career-high 10 goals and 64 points in the 2022-23 season. It was the breakout that fans had been waiting for – though his encore this season was cut short by a pair of long-term leg injuries. He’ll now have to carry on his performance in a new jersey, joining the NHL’s newest franchise.
Coyotes Assign Conor Geekie To AHL
With the franchise being relocated to Utah for next season, there aren’t many too transactions coming in the near-term future for the Coyotes. However, there was one today as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-assigned center Conor Geekie to AHL Tucson.
The 19-year-old was the 11th overall pick two years ago by Arizona, giving them another potential core piece up front. Geekie got off to a dominant start this season with WHL Wenatchee, notching 20 goals and 29 assists in just 26 games before leaving to play for Canada at the World Juniors where he had three points in five contests.
Upon his return from the tournament, Geekie was moved to Swift Current who was stocking up for what they hoped was a long playoff run. He produced at a similar clip with the Broncos, tallying 23 goals and 27 helpers in just 29 games; all told, finished with 99 points in only 55 appearances, finishing fourth in the league in points per game. However, the playoff run wasn’t as long as they were hoping for having lost to Moose Jaw in the second round. Geekie was still productive in the postseason, however, collecting six goals and three assists in nine contests.
With the assignment to the Roadrunners, Geekie can now get his first taste of AHL action with Tucson, a team that finished second in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference. It should be a good test for him as Geekie will be able to turn pro full-time next season.
West Notes: Zucker, Geekie, Schwartz, Karlsson
Coyotes winger Jason Zucker is set to have a disciplinary hearing today for his hit on Florida winger Nick Cousins on Tuesday, the league announced. The incident occurred late in the second period with Zucker receiving major penalties for boarding and fighting plus a game misconduct. The 31-year-old is in his first season in the desert after inking a one-year, $5.3MM contract with Arizona in free agency last summer. Zucker, who has no prior fine or suspension history, has six goals and six assists in 29 games so far this season.
More from the Western Conference:
- Still with Arizona, prospect Conor Geekie could be on the move in junior as soon as Thursday, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was the 11th overall pick in 2022 and has been quite productive with WHL Wenatchee, notching 20 goals and 29 assists in just 26 games. Now that his time with the World Juniors has ended following Canada’s elimination, his trade restriction has been eliminated and it appears that little time will be wasted moving him; Swift Current is believed to be his next destination.
- Seattle could be close to getting a key winger back as head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Mike Benton of the Kraken Audio Network (Twitter link) that Jaden Schwartz is near a return to the lineup. The 31-year-old has missed a little more than a month with a lower-body injury and is currently on LTIR. Schwartz had gotten off to a nice start to his year with 15 points in 23 games before the injury.
- The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Linus Karlsson from AHL Abbotsford. The 24-year-old made his NHL debut earlier this season, getting into three games with Vancouver but has spent the bulk of the year in the minors where he has been quite productive, notching 23 points in 25 games. Vancouver has an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to bring Karlsson up.
Snapshots: Winnipeg, Hayes, Sharangovich
The WHL’s Winnipeg Ice are on the move again after spending just four years in the city, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Friday. After moving from Cranbrook in the Kootenay region of British Columbia in 2019, a condition of the sale to new owners in Winnipeg was a new facility for the team. The condition was never met, and now the team has been sold to former 2017 BCHL executive of the year David White, who will move them to Wenatchee, Washington, a town with a population of about 35,000 people in the center of the state. For now, it seems the new Wenatchee WHL squad will share the ice with White’s BCHL team, the Wenatchee Wild, at the Town Toyota Center with a capacity of 4,300 people.
Winnipeg lost in this year’s WHL championship series and boasts an eye-popping record of 110-20-6 over the past two seasons combined. The franchise’s debut season in Wenatchee could include Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie and Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie, both first-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Other notes from around the hockey world today:
- On today’s episode of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman dumped some cold water on the rumors of a Kevin Hayes trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. After the two teams were involved in a three-way deal that saw Ivan Provorov head from the Flyers to the Jackets, reports said the move didn’t eliminate the possibility of the long-rumored Hayes deal coming to fruition. However, the Blue Jackets now have under $6MM in projected cap space for 2023-24 (CapFriendly) after getting defender Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils in a sign-and-trade, which would force the Flyers to retain a high amount of Hayes’ $7.14MM cap hit through 2025-26. While Columbus remains in desperate need of centers, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has seven defensemen on the roster that cost more than $2MM against the cap, including a combined $6.75MM wrapped up in Erik Gudbranson and Andrew Peeke, who both had very disappointing campaigns last season.
- Another name mentioned by Friedman was that of New Jersey Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich, who Friedman believes could hit the trade market this offseason. The 25-year-old Belarusian is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after completing a two-year, $4MM contract signed in August of 2021 and has registered at least 30 points in all three of his NHL campaigns. He is a decent depth scorer, but he’s not of much value defensively and posted the lowest point-per-game output of his NHL career (0.40) last season. He was a healthy scratch for most of New Jersey’s playoff run, appearing in three out of 12 games.
Conor Geekie Returned To WHL
As we now get closer and closer to the start of the regular season, some of the top selections of the 2021 and 2022 drafts will be sent back to their junior teams to continue developing. Making the NHL is a difficult task, and with CHL players under the age of 20, the AHL is not an option due to age restrictions. Today, the Arizona Coyotes have sent Conor Geekie back to the WHL’s Winnipeg ICE, where he will remain for the rest of the season. The team has also sent undrafted netminder Anson Thornton to the Barrie Colts.
Geekie, 18, was the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, after his outstanding 2021-22 season that saw him score 70 points in 63 games with Winnipeg. He and Matthew Savoie, the ninth overall pick (Buffalo), drive one of the most exciting offensive teams in junior hockey, and should make the ICE a contender once again this year.
Standing 6’3″ but with a game focused more on skill than size, Geekie projects to be a long-time asset down the middle for the Coyotes. At this point in the rebuild, there is no benefit from rushing a player like him, meaning a trip back to junior was always in the cards. Still, it will be interesting to see what kind of forward momentum he can build this year after already dominating most nights as a 17-year-old.
Notably, since he only turned 18 in May, Geekie will not be eligible for the AHL in 2023-24 either, as he will still be under the 20-year-old cutoff. That means the ICE could potentially get him for two more years, should he fail to make the Coyotes again next fall. For now, he’ll likely be a candidate for the Canadian Word Junior team in December, and a top performer all year in the WHL.