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Dominic Toninato

39 Players Clear Waivers

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Oct 11: Barre-Boulet, Brooks, Brown, and Jonsson-Fjallby were all claimed, but the other 39 players cleared and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Oct 10: On the final day to waive players before opening-night rosters are due, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports these 43 players have been placed on waivers:

F Sam Carrick (ANA)
D Jacob Larsson (ANA)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (BUF)
D Eric Gelinas (CAR)
D Maxime Lajoie (CAR)
F Josh Leivo (CAR)
F Stefan Noesen (CAR)
F C.J. Smith (CAR)
D Gabriel Carlsson (CBJ)
D Mikko Lehtonen (CBJ)
F Kevin Stenlund (CBJ)
G Collin Delia (CHI)
G Malcolm Subban (CHI)
D Jacob MacDonald (COL)
D Alexander Petrovic (DAL)
F Riley Barber (DET)
F Taro Hirose (DET)
D William Lagesson (EDM)
F Kyle Turris (EDM)
D Lucas Carlsson (FLA)
G Christopher Gibson (FLA)
D Austin Strand (LAK)
F Austin Wagner (LAK)
F Frederik Gauthier (NJD)
G Connor Ingram (NSH)
F Michael McCarron (NSH)
F Andrew Agozzino (OTT)
D Nick Seeler (PHI)
F Alex Barre-Boulet (TBL)
D Fredrik Claesson (TBL)
D Andrej Sustr (TBL)
F Adam Brooks (TOR)
F Justin Bailey (VAN)
D Madison Bowey (VAN)
F Phillip Di Giuseppe (VAN)
D Travis Hamonic (VAN)
F Sven Baertschi (VGK)
F Patrick Brown (VGK)
F Gage Quinney (VGK)
G Zachary Fucale (WSH)
F Garrett Pilon (WSH)
D Nelson Nogier (WPG)
F Dominic Toninato (WPG)

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Winnipeg Jets Need To Make Changes To Be Cap-Compliant

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The Winnipeg Jets are a team looking to improve after a couple of subpar regular seasons. Most of their shortcomings have been due to the team’s defense after unexpectedly losing Dustin Byfuglien after the 2018-19 season. Winnipeg made a flurry of moves to address that issue this offseason, acquiring Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon to replace Derek Forbort and Tucker Poolman, both of those replacements being undeniable upgrades. While the team looks poised to have more success than in the past few seasons.

They brought Paul Stastny back into the fold on a one-year, $3.75MM deal to help continue to solidify their top-six forward group. But one long-time important piece won’t be returning to Winnipeg this season — Bryan Little. Little suffered a concussion and ruptured eardrum after playing just seven games in 2019-20, and it’s unlikely that the longtime Thrashers/Jets forward suits up ever again. Instead, his $5.3MM cap hit will go on long-term injured reserve for yet another season.

Still, that maximum of $5.3MM as a cap cushion isn’t enough for Winnipeg right now, as they currently sit at $5.8MM over the cap with a full roster. While Winnipeg could send just one forward down to become cap-compliant, it leaves them with very little wiggle room throughout the season in case of injury and hinders their flexibility at the trade deadline.

The most likely short-term solution is to send forward David Gustafsson to Manitoba. He’s one of only two players who aren’t waiver-eligible on the Winnipeg active roster. But after scoring 19 points in 22 AHL games last year, he’ll likely push for an NHL role throughout the season. They also could opt to send defender Sami Niku down to the minors, as his tenure with the club hasn’t gone very smoothly, but risk losing him on waivers to a team willing to take a chance on his development. They’ve tried to deal Niku in the past with no takers, as teams likely anticipate that he’ll be available for them to select on the waiver wire at some point in the future.

There are other names, such as Dominic Toninato and Jansen Harkins, that could see some time in the AHL as a short-term solution to Winnipeg’s salary cap situation. The reality stands that Winnipeg likely needs to make an additional move to create some cap flexibility for a team that needs it to be a contender this year.

All cap figures courtesy of CapFriendly.

Winnipeg Jets Agree To Terms With Dominic Toninato

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The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with Dominic Toninato on a two-year contract. The deal will be a two-way contract in 2021-22, a one-way contract in 2022-23 and carries an average annual value of $750K at the NHL level.

Toninato, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing just a handful of games for the Jets. In fact, because he was used as an emergency recall and placed on the taxi squad so often this year, he ended up playing just five regular season games at the NHL and AHL levels combined. He did get into three postseason games, even scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, but it was still a far cry from the 46 games Toninato suited up for in 2019-20.

Of course, bouncing on and off the NHL roster is nothing new for Toninato, who has just 87 games played since he signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2017. Originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, the 6’2″ forward spent a year in the USHL and then went to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for four seasons, even winning the NCHC Best Defensive Forward award in 2016-17.

That defensive presence will always be his ticket to the NHL, given the limited offensive upside Toninato brings. In those 87 career NHL games, he has just five goals and 15 points, though he has averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time through those matches.

This contract provides some stability for him, as well as the chance to earn a guaranteed NHL salary in 2022-23. That’s something new for Toninato, who has been on two-way deals to this point in his career.

For the Jets, his signing provides them with another player that can fill the expansion requirements at forward. Though he didn’t play much this season, the games from last year also count towards the threshold, meaning he was always likely to be extended in some fashion in order to help maximize Winnipeg’s flexibility.

Kings Claim Troy Grosenick Off Waivers

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After just getting through quarantine protocols, Troy Grosenick is heading back to where his season began.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Kings have claimed the netminder off waivers from Edmonton.

The 31-year-old was originally signed by Los Angeles early in unrestricted free agency in October to serve as their third-string option behind Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen.  Once Petersen was cleared shortly after the start of the regular season, Grosenick was waived for the purposes of sending him to the taxi squad but Edmonton claimed him with Mike Smith being injured though Grosenick had to serve a two-week quarantine period before he could suit up as Mikko Koskinen’s backup.

If Los Angeles was the only team to claim Grosenick, they will be able to send him to their taxi squad since they were the team that originally had and waived him.  Otherwise, he’ll have to remain on the NHL roster or go through waivers again if they want to send him down.

The veteran has just two games of NHL experience, both with San Jose back in 2014-15 and has effectively been an AHL starter since then.  Last year, he played in 33 games with AHL Milwaukee, posting a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% along with two shutouts which helped him earn a small raise at the AHL level in his one-year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $350K in the minors.

Meanwhile, Friedman adds in a separate tweet that Jets forward Dominic Toninato went through waivers unclaimed and that there wasn’t anyone placed on waivers today.

Troy Grosenick, Dominic Toninato Placed On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed Troy Grosenick on waivers, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, just a few days after finally activating him. The Oilers claimed Grosenick off waivers on January 16, but he never did play a game for them. Joining Grosenick on waivers is Dominic Toninato of the Winnipeg Jets, who had previously been placed on long-term injured reserve.

This could suggest that Mike Smith is close to returning for the Oilers, who have leaned heavily on Mikko Koskinen in his absence. Koskinen leads the league in games played, shots faced and minutes this season (not to mention losses and goals against) as he operated as the only real NHL-caliber goaltender on the Edmonton roster. Smith’s return would take some of that pressure off, though it is still not certain that the 38-year-old can really contribute much at this point in his career. Smith has a .900 save percentage over his last two seasons, though has gone 42-28-8 in that time.

Toninato meanwhile was put on LTIR just as the season began after he failed his training camp medicals. He too could be approaching a return, though it’s not clear if he has a role on the Jets NHL roster at this point. The 26-year-old forward did play 46 games for the Panthers last season but seems ticketed for the taxi squad or minor leagues (whenever the Manitoba Moose get started, that is) whenever he is healthy enough to do so.

There hasn’t been a skater claimed since the start of the season, but Grosenick perhaps could be claimed once again. The 31-year-old has been a strong minor league option for many years, including posting a .920 in 33 appearances with the Milwaukee Admirals last season. For teams like Toronto, Carolina or Colorado who are dealing with injuries, claiming Grosenick could represent a chance to add some goaltending depth for the next little while.

Winnipeg Jets Sign C.J. Suess, Dominic Toninato

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The Winnipeg Jets have announced a pair of minor league signings, inking Dominic Toninato and C.J. Suess. Toninato has signed a one-year, two-way deal that carries a $700K salary at the NHL level, while Suess’s deal is a two-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $725K in the NHL.

Suess returns to the only professional organization he’s known, following his strong 2019-20 season with the Manitoba Moose. The 26-year-old forward scored 14 goals in 57 games for the team and even earned himself an NHL call-up, making his debut for the Jets in November. A fifth-round pick in 2014 he’ll likely return to the minor leagues this season and provide some scoring punch for Manitoba.

Toninato meanwhile is joining his third organization, fourth if you include the Toronto Maple Leafs who drafted him in 2012. The University of Minnesota-Duluth product never did sign with Toronto, instead joining the Colorado Avalanche where he played 39 NHL games over two seasons. Traded to the Florida Panthers in 2019, he actually spent most of the year in the NHL, suiting up 46 times and playing in three postseason matches.

Getting Toninato on an NHL-minimum two-way contract is a nice pull for the Jets, given his experience and ability to jump into the lineup if needed. While he shouldn’t be inked onto the lineup card on a regular basis, he’ll be a useful piece in case of injury.

Minor Transactions: 11/06/19

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Last night was another step in the right direction for three struggling Western Conference teams, as the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild were all victorious in their respective matchups. The same can not be said about the Los Angeles Kings, who are now 5-10 and have trade rumors swirling all about. Just two games are on the schedule tonight, and as teams prepare for that action we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • With Alexandre Texier nearing a return, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Markus Hannikainen to the minor leagues. Hannikainen still hasn’t played in a single game for the Blue Jackets this season after suiting up 44 times in 2018-19. The 26-year old is just injury depth at this point.
  • Dominic Toninato has been recalled by the Florida Panthers, after they sent Riley Stillman back yesterday. The Panthers acquired Toninato from the Colorado Avalanche just a few months ago, and this will be his first call-up with the organization.
  • German Rubtsov’s time with the NHL club is over for now, as the Philadelphia Flyers have sent him back to the AHL and recalled Mikhail Vorobyev. In three games Rubtsov was held scoreless and still looks to have some development to do in the minor leagues. The 21-year old has played just 21 AHL games so far after injury robbed him of much of the 2018-19 season.
  • Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy are on their way back to the Chicago Wolves, the latest in a series of transactions for the pair of Vegas Golden Knights prospects. The team is using off days to bank some cap space, but could recall one or both down the road.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have sent Ashton Sautner back down, a good sign after he was forced from his only game with an injury. The 25-year old defenseman won’t be a full-time player for the Canucks this season, but is valuable injury depth.
  • Josh Mahura has been assigned to the Anaheim Ducks, another likely cap-saving move that while the team waits for their next game. The Ducks don’t play again until Sunday.
  • Zachary Senyshyn and Cameron Hughes have both been sent back down by the Boston Bruins, who don’t play again until Friday evening. At least one of the young forwards will likely be recalled at that time, but for now the team will save some cap space on the off days.
  • Jayson Megna has been returned to the AHL by the Colorado Avalanche, with T.J. Tynan taking his place on the NHL roster. The 27-year old Tynan has been on fire at the minor league level, scoring 12 points in his first ten games for the Colorado Eagles.
  • The Washington Capitals have returned Liam O’Brien to the minor leagues, giving him a chance at some playing time after sitting on the sidelines the last few days. O’Brien is an important player for the Hershey Bears, but hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since 2017-18.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks announced that defenseman Dennis Gilbert has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The 23-year-old has split his season between the NHL and AHL, most recently getting some starts in Chicago in place of Brent Seabrook. 

Florida Panthers Sign Three Players

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Both Anthony Greco and Dominic Toninato decided not to file for arbitration earlier this month, but they won’t have to wait through a long contract negotiation. The pair of minor league forwards have both agreed to one-year, two-way contracts with the Panthers. According to PuckPedia, Jayce Hawryluk has also signed, accepting his two-way qualifying offer worth $874K at the NHL level.

Greco, 25, made his NHL debut last season for the Panthers while also putting up a career season in the minor leagues. The undrafted forward scored 30 goals and 59 points for the Springfield Thunderbirds, leading them in both categories. That kind of offensive production is more than anyone saw coming with Greco, who never cracked 23 points in a single season at Ohio State University where he played for four years.

Toninato is a bit of a different story. Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, he also went the NCAA route for four years. After signing with the Colorado Avalanche however, he quickly made it to the NHL and suited up 37 times in 2017-18. Incredibly, Toninato was held to just two assists in those 37 NHL games and has just three points total over 39 contests. After a trade brought him to Florida it seems unlikely that he’ll get a real shot with the Panthers before proving himself in their minor league system.

That may not be the cast for Hawryluk, who will be battling for a roster spot right from the beginning of the season. The 23-year old played 42 games for the Panthers last season and recorded 12 points, establishing himself as a legitimate NHL option. Whenever he was in the minor leagues he dominated the competition, and looks about as ready as he’ll ever be for the big stage. The 32nd overall pick from 2014, Hawryluk has even more competition for the last few spots on the roster thanks to free agent additions like Brett Connolly and Noal Acciari pushing everyone down a peg.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Florida Panthers have quite a few restricted free agents to acquire although no young players worthy of significant deals, while the team has few important unrestricted free agents to worry about, which gives the franchise the opportunity to focus completely on the free-agent market that opens on Monday.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D MacKenzie Weegar – The Florida Panthers have brought the 25-year-old blueliner slowly and he’s starting to provide some value as bottom-tier defenseman. Weegar almost doubled his offensive output, putting up four goals and 15 points last season, while seeing his ATOI increase by more than two minutes to 16:58. Injuries kept him out of 18 games, but Weegar is slowly developing into a reliable player the team needs as defense remains one of the team’s biggest weakpoints. His minus-three rating isn’t too bad, but could be improved upon.

F Denis Malgin – The team has gotten some output out of the 22-year-old Malgin, but the forward has failed to play more than 51 games in any of his three seasons so far with the Panthers as he has dealt with numerous injuries. Regardless, Malgin has showed some potential to put up some points, although he is never likely to be more than a third-line option at best for the Panthers. He tallied seven goals and 16 points, a little less than the 11 goals and 22 points he put up in 2017-18. While he’s shown to be a serviceable depth option for Florida, he likely will never be a 20-goal scorer.

G – Sam Montembeault – With a need for a starting goaltender and the fact that Florida traded James Reimer earlier this morning, the team doesn’t even have a legitimate backup on the roster. The 22-year-old Montembeault did get some NHL playing time this season and might be ready for a permanent back-up role. He played 11 games for the Panthers last season, posting a 3.04 GAA and a .894 save percentage. His numbers weren’t much better in Springfield, suggesting that he probably needs more seasoning, but the youngster is likely the heir apparent to the backup sometime in the future.

Other RFAs: F Anthony Greco, F Jayce Hawryluk, F Dryden Hunt, F Juho Lammikko, F Maxim Mamin, D Ian McCoshen, D Thomas Schemitsch, F Dominic Toninato

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Riley Sheahan – A former first-round pick with the ability to play center, the 27-year-old has now found himself with three teams already and it could be a fourth. Sheahan was acquired in February as part of the deal that saw Florida trade off Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad, but didn’t do much to impress with the Panthers. He scored just two goals in 33 games for Florida and finished the season with nine goals and 19 points. However, the main reason that the Panthers took on Sheahan was that his contract was expiring, which the team wanted in hopes of bringing in a big-game free-agent.

Other UFAs: F Troy Brouwer, D Ludwig Bystrom, D Michael Downing, F Henrik Haapala, F Jamie McGinn, D Julian Melchiori, F Vincent Proplan,

Projected Cap Space: The Panthers currently sit a little more than $25.23MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, which should give them plenty of maneuvering room to sign multiple big-name free agents. The team is well-known for being interested in signing both of Columbus’ top free agents in Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and, if the team can convince both to sign, they have ample cap room to lock up both to long-term deals. If they can only sign one, that still leaves them with Plan B options as well, although their top priority is to add a goaltender, their most desperate need.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Panthers Acquire Dominic Toninato From Avalanche

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The Panthers and Avalanche have made a swap of minor league prospects.  Florida has acquired center Dominic Toninato from Colorado in exchange for defenseman Jacob MacDonald.  Both teams have announced the trade.

Toninato spent most of 2018-19 with Colorado’s AHL affiliate where he posted 29 points (14-15-29) in 57 games.  Although he only got into a pair of games with the Avs, the 25-year-old played in 37 NHL contests back in 2017-18, his rookie season.  Originally a fifth-round pick of Toronto in 2012, Toninato signed with Colorado back in 2017 as a free agent after not getting signed by the Maple Leafs.  He will be a restricted free agent on July 1st with salary arbitration rights.

MacDonald, meanwhile, is a late bloomer.  He spent three full seasons playing on minor league contracts before a 55-point breakout year with New Jersey’s AHL team in 2017-18 got him on the NHL radar.  That earned him a two-year contract with Florida last July and he was once again productive in the minors, recording 43 points (14-29-43) in 72 contests while picking up a goal in a pair of games with Florida.  He’s under contract with a $750K cap hit for next season and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

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