Evgeny Svechnikov Signs AHL Contract
The Manitoba Moose have signed free agent forward Evgeny Svechnikov to a one-year, AHL contract for the 2021-22 season. While that may be surprising to many after his history in the NHL, there’s more to the story. Sportsnet contributor Ken Wiebe reports that Svechnikov will attend Winnipeg Jets training camp on a professional tryout and will be given an opportunity to earn a two-way NHL contract should he prove healthy enough.
Svechnikov, 24, was not tendered a qualifying offer from the Detroit Red Wings earlier this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. That was a far fall for a player selected 19th overall in 2015, but a not totally unexpected one after so many injuries. The young forward has just 41 games of NHL experience under his belt, 21 of which came this past year, and has scored just five goals so far.
That doesn’t mean his career is over though. If Svechnikov can prove he’s fully healthy and ready to contribute, there’s no doubt that his talent level deserves an NHL contract. If he doesn’t earn that NHL deal and instead spends the year with the Moose, he’ll still be a very interesting player to watch. Should he stay healthy and productive, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent again next offseason looking for a new deal and new opportunity.
Jets Interested In Evgeny Svechnikov
The Jets will need to add some low-cost depth to their system in the hopes of giving themselves a little bit of salary cap flexibility by carrying some minimum-salary players and it appears that one of the players they’re eyeing is winger Evgeny Svechnikov. Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe is among those to report (Twitter link) that there is mutual interest between Winnipeg and the 24-year-old though no agreement is in place yet.
Svechnikov was the 19th-overall pick by Detroit back in 2015 but has seen his stock drop steadily since his rookie professional season where he had 51 points in 74 games. He missed all of 2018-19 due to a knee injury and has had trouble staying in the lineup since then as well.
Last season, Svechnikov cleared waivers in training camp but wound up only playing in four games with AHL Grand Rapids where he had a goal and an assist. Instead, he split the season between the Red Wings and their taxi squad, getting into 21 NHL contests where he had a respectable five goals and three assists despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game in ice time. However, Detroit declined to tender him a qualifying offer last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.
With Winnipeg currently being very tight to the salary cap (even with Bryan Little’s LTIR room), the Jets will need to have some cheaper players to call upon in case of injury. Svechnikov would certainly fit the bill and with the flashes of upside he has periodically shown with Detroit, he’s someone that likely would get a long look in training camp if they can get an agreement in place.
Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings
Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Riley Barber, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Hayden Verbeek, Jakub Vrana
Defense:
Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christian Djoos, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Troy Stecher
Goalies:
Kaden Fulcher, Thomas Greiss
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
F Valtteri Filppula, F Sam Gagner, F Luke Glendening, F Darren Helm, F Bobby Ryan, D Alex Biega, D Marc Staal, G Jonathan Bernier
Notable Exemptions
F Joseph Veleno, F Filip Zadina, D Jared McIsaac, D Moritz Seider, G Filip Larsson
Key Decisions
The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.
The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.
However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.
Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.
Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.
Projected Protection List
F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana
D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser
There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/04/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Calgary – Josh Leivo
Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
Detroit – Evgeny Svechnikov
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov*
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils
Kuznetsov (and teammate Ilya Samsonov) did not play last night for the Capitals due to disciplinary reasons and now finds himself in the COVID protocol. That means he could miss tomorrow’s rematch against the Rangers, though it is not clear how long he will be kept out at this point. He missed several weeks on the list earlier this year. As Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press points out, players on the taxi squad, which currently includes Samsonov, do not have to be listed on the public COVID protocol list, even if they are unavailable to the team.
*denotes new addition
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/03/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Calgary – Josh Leivo
Colorado – Devan Dubnyk*
Detroit – Evgeny Svechnikov*
New Jersey – Jonas Siegenthaler
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: John Hayden, Arizona Coyotes
The NHL can’t seem to keep the board clean, as even with Hayden coming off they will see the number grow to four. Svechnikov has been added for the Red Wings, who recently had Adam Erne also miss games on a short stint. Svechnikov played against Tampa Bay on Saturday, but for now, is unable to practice with the team. It is unclear if he will miss any game action as the Red Wings don’t play again until Friday.
*denotes new addition
Central Notes: Teravainen, Red Wings, Reichel
Hurricanes winger Teuvo Teravainen practiced with the team for the first time as he works his way back from a concussion that has sidelined him for all but one game over the past two months, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. The 26-year-old is a big part of Carolina’s offense and would certainly be a huge addition for the stretch run for their battle for first in the Central Division. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that the final call on when the winger returns will be Teravainen’s and considering this was only his first practice back, he’s likely still at least a few days away.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- The Red Wings have ruled out wingers Robby Fabbri and Evgeny Svechnikov for tonight’s game against Chicago, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). Fabbri has missed more than two weeks with an upper-body injury but has resumed skating while Svechnikov was injured in Thursday’s morning skate and is listed as day-to-day.
- Still with Detroit, prospect Joe Veleno should be recovered from the concussion that caused him to miss the final three weeks of his SHL season by the time his quarantine period is done, mentions Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. The 21-year-old was a first-rounder of the Red Wings back in 2019 and played in 46 games with Malmo this season, recording 20 points while spending time both at center and on the wing. While he’s reporting to AHL Grand Rapids for the time being, head coach Jeff Blashill suggested that Veleno could see some NHL action down the stretch as well.
- The Blackhawks are hoping to bring 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel to North America next season, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The forward had a strong season with Berlin in the DEL with 27 points in 37 regular season games with their playoffs getting underway this coming week. As Pope notes, Chicago is stockpiling a surplus of forwards which gives them lots of depth and perhaps some chips to try to move this summer.