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Grigori Denisenko

Waivers: 10/08/23

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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

F Patrick Brown
F A.J. Greer

Arizona Coyotes

F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks

F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche

F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars

F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings

F Zach Aston-Reese

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

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens

F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström

Ottawa Senators

F Bokondji Imama

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

F Grigori Denisenko

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.

Golden Knights Claim Grigori Denisenko Off Waivers From Panthers

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The Golden Knights dipped into the waiver pool as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed winger Grigori Denisenko off waivers from Florida.  Everyone else from Friday’s group cleared.

The 23-year-old was formerly viewed as one of the top prospects for the Panthers after they picked him 15th overall back in 2018 following a good season in the MHL in Russia.  He spent two more seasons playing at home, working his way up to the KHL level, before coming to North America in 2020 when he signed his entry-level contract.

Denisenko saw NHL action in each of his three years on that first deal, spanning 26 contests.  However, while he has seven assists in those appearances, he’s still looking for his first goal.  Meanwhile, he has had some success in the minors and is coming off a year that saw him put up a dozen goals with 24 assists in 56 games with AHL Charlotte.

He opted to take less than his qualifying offer this summer in exchange for a two-year, one-way deal worth the NHL minimum of $775K in the hopes that doing so could help him earn a spot at the end of Florida’s roster.  Clearly, that didn’t happen with his placement yesterday but now, he’ll look to stick with the Golden Knights.  While Denisenko isn’t a prototypical fourth-liner, he could add some offensive upside to that line or alternatively, bide his time as a low-cost reserve forward.  Either way, it’s a low-cost pickup for Vegas that will have a chance to give them a nice reward if Denisenko is able to reach his offensive potential with them.

Florida Panthers Sign Six Players

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The Florida Panthers have signed forward Grigori Denisenko to a two-year, one-way contract extension, per his agent, Dan Milstein. The contract carries an average annual value of $775K, says NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston.

PuckPedia adds they’ve signed UFA defenseman Niko Mikkola to a three-year deal worth $2.5MM per season, and TSN’s Darren Dreger says they’ve nabbed Mike Reilly on a one-year deal worth $1MM. They’ve also announced a one-year, two-way extension for blueliner Lucas Carlsson. Per PuckPedia, they’ve signed forward Will Lockwood to a one-year, two-way deal worth $350k guaranteed with a $775k NHL cap hit and $275k AHL salary.

The team later added some more AHL depth, per PuckPedia, signing forward Alexander True to a one-year two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL, $350K in the minors, and a guaranteed salary of $425K.

With some of Florida’s forwards now on the UFA market, Denisenko is a likely candidate to start 2023-24 with the team – potentially even in a top-nine role if they don’t make any other editions. Florida drafted the Russian winger 15th overall in 2018, but he’s yet to break out with just seven assists in 26 career NHL games up to this point.

Mikkola is the big-money signing here, though, and he’s expected to be a stylistic replacement for Radko Gudas, who departed as a UFA to the Anaheim Ducks today. Even with the Panthers’ defense injuries, though, Mikkola will still likely start the season on the bottom pairing on the left side behind Gustav Forsling and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Reilly is likely destined for a press-box role for most of the season (he played in just 10 NHL games last year), but could find himself in the lineup ahead of players like Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Mahura if Florida desires a more offensively inclined option.

Carlsson, Lockwood, and True are likely candidates for AHL Charlotte.

Snapshots: Murphy, Tkachuk, Michkov

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While the New York Rangers filled the final head coaching vacancy in the league today, officially hiring Peter Laviolette, their offseason work is far from over. The Rangers and Laviolette will need to fill out the rest of his staff, which, per The New York Post’s Mollie Walker, will not include assistant coach Gord Murphy.

Goalie coach Benoit Allaire will be the only returning member from last year’s coaching staff. The Rangers relieved former head coach Gerard Gallant’s other assistants, Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley, early last month.

Murphy had been on the Rangers’ staff only as long as Gallant had: two seasons. He was an internal promotion, though, spending two years with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack as an associate head coach from 2019 to 2021. The long-time NHL defender and father of Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy, Gord also spent lengthy stints with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant.

More from around the league today:

  • Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice offered no update on the status of star winger Matthew Tkachuk before tonight’s do-or-die Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Tkachuk has not practiced with the team since their Game 4 loss, and his availability for tonight remains up in the air after a hard hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar in Game 3. Already without the services of Eetu Luostarinen at forward as well, either Givani Smith or Grigori Denisenko could slot into the lineup tonight if Tkachuk can’t go. Smith played just over five minutes in one game during the First Round against Boston, while it would be Denisenko’s playoff debut.
  • Yesterday, reporting indicated that early presumptive top-two pick Matvei Michkov could fall completely out of the top 10 choices when the 2023 NHL Draft occurs this month. Today, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman spoke to a panel of anonymous NHL executives and scouts about a myriad of topics, including the perception of Michkov around the league. Multiple executives and scouts still had Michkov pegged in the top two or three spots in the draft, even considering his contract situation and the Russian geopolitical climate. Others were harsher on his play, with one scout saying, “you have a [5-foot-9] not-amazing-skating, average-compete winger.” What did appear clear in the responses, though, was that the extraneous factors surrounding Michkov’s development and NHL future weren’t a huge concern.

Florida Panthers Recall Ten Players

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4:00 PM: The Panthers have officially announced the recalls, and added one name that wasn’t included in Richards’ report: goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, 25, is a 2016 second-round pick who played in 17 games with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and posted an 11-3-1 record and .921 save percentage in those games. Fitzpatrick saw action in one AHL game this season, stopping 23 of 25 shots in an April 1st overtime loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds. With Guzda, Lyon, and Bobrovsky ahead of him on the depth chart something would have to go quite wrong for him to see time in these playoffs, so this recall is more about adding some depth to the team than anything else.

10:37 AM: The Florida Panthers have brought up their complement of Black Aces for the remainder of the playoffs today ahead of Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards, the following players have been brought up from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers:

F Connor Bunnaman
F Grigori Denisenko
F Patrick Giles
F Aleksi Heponiemi
D Lucas Carlsson
D Matt Kiersted
D Santtu Kinnunen
D John Ludvig
D Calle Själin
G Mack Guzda

The recalls come after the Hershey Bears eliminated Charlotte from the Calder Cup Playoffs on May 4, taking their Atlantic Division semifinal series by a count of 3-1.

The two most intriguing names on this list are Denisenko and Heponiemi, both previously highly-touted prospects that have yet to make a notable NHL impact. Denisenko struggled in the minors this year and posted no points and a -1 rating in four playoff games for Charlotte. The 24-year-old Heponiemi, however, led the team with seven points in seven playoff games.

One name that Panthers fans will definitely recognize is Carlsson, who dropped back into an AHL role this season after appearing in 40 games for Florida during 2021-22. Carlsson was one of the best defenders in the AHL this season, recording 54 points in 61 games along with a +24 rating. He’s one of the more dependable recall options for Florida should injuries pop up among their defensemen.

The 24-year-old Kinnunen is also a name to watch for in the coming years. A seventh-round pick of the Panthers in 2018, Kinnunen broke out for 35 points in 69 regular-season games and six points in seven playoff games for Charlotte during his first season in North America.

Snapshots: Stanley, Red Wings, Panthers

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Entangled in all of the trade deadline chaos, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reports that Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Logan Stanley has requested a trade from the team. Strickland also notes that Winnipeg is not guaranteed to move on from the young defenseman.

Drafted in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Stanley hasn’t entirely found his footing in Winnipeg. Last year, Stanley played relatively well throughout the season, racking up a modest 13 points in 58 games played. Also, as he is a defenseman that plays to his size, the 6’7″ defenseman managed to accrue 131 hits and 100 blocks over the course of last year. With a couple of trips to the injured reserve this season, Stanley desires a fresh start outside of Winnipeg. Because of his youth and contract status with the team, it is possible that Winnipeg could retain Stanley and try to repair a relationship that has soured for at least one side. If the relationship can’t be repaired, the playoff-hopeful Jets could send him to another team in an individual trade, or look to include Stanley in a larger deal.

Other notes:

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced today that Jordan Oesterle has been activated off of injured reserve, while forward Michael Rasmussen has been placed on the IR. Rasmussen appeared to have a lower-body injury after taking a shot off the knee in Detroit’s Saturday night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now in his 4th season in the NHL, Rasmussen never seemed to live up to his ninth overall draft selection. Topping out at 27 points in 80 games last year, Rasmussen has played far better this year under new head coach Derek Lalonde. Playing in only 56 games so far this season, Rasmussen has produced a new career high of 29 points. After the trade of Tyler Bertuzzi earlier this morning, the Red Wings will now be without another valuable forward in the lineup.
  • Florida Panthers announce that forward Grigori Denisenko has been loaned back to the Panthers’ AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers. A frequent call-up of the Panthers this season, Denisenko has appeared in 18 games, scoring a total of three points. Denisenko will now join the third-place Checkers as he helps the team push for the playoffs in the AHL

Florida Panthers Recall Grigori Denisenko, Zac Dalpe

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The Florida Panthers have announced the recall of forwards Grigori Denisenko and Zac Dalpe from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. The move comes as the Panthers are dealing with injuries to key players, including captain Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett, who are both day-to-day with “lingering injury issues,” per head coach Paul Maurice.

Denisenko returns to the NHL after being sent to the minors two days ago. The 21-year-old Russian has appeared in 17 games for the Panthers this season, recording three assists. The Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Denisenko is known for his speed and skill, but his NHL opportunities have been limited, and he’s still searching for his first NHL goal.

Dalpe, 31, has scored 14 goals in 32 games for the Checkers this season and remains the team’s captain. A veteran of nearly 500 AHL games, Dalpe also has two goals and two assists in 11 appearances with Florida this season. He provides veteran depth in a fourth-line role for the Panthers after they lost Chris Tierney on waivers to the Montreal Canadiens yesterday.

In addition to the recalls, the Panthers will get a boost tonight in perhaps their biggest game of the year against the Buffalo Sabres, as the two teams remain in a tight Eastern Conference Wild Card race. As expected, Maurice confirmed Anthony Duclair will make his season debut after completing his recovery from an Achilles tear. The 27-year-old was a key contributor for the Panthers last season, recording 31 goals, 27 assists, and 58 points in 74 games.

To create the salary cap flexibility needed to activate Duclair and allow for the recalls, it’s expected that Givani Smith was placed on long-term injured reserve. The 24-year-old forward was hit in the face by a shot from teammate Radko Gudas during a game Monday. Smith has appeared in 22 games for the Panthers this season, recording a goal and three assists after he was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings.

Florida Panthers Reassign Spencer Knight, Grigori Denisenko

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The Florida Panthers announced Wednesday that the team has reassigned goalie Spencer Knight and winger Grigori Denisenko to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Alex Lyon has been recalled to replace Knight’s spot on the roster.

While some eyebrows might raise at Knight getting demoted to the minors, this is purely a cap-related transaction. With winger Anthony Duclair expected to make his season debut Friday as he returns from an Achilles tear, the Panthers need to scratch and claw for every dime of cap space possible in order to take Duclair’s $3MM cap hit off long-term injured reserve.

Reassigning Knight, Denisenko, and Chris Tierney, who Florida waived hours ago, would free up an additional $2.6MM in space to bring their projected cap hit down to roughly $85.1MM. While over the $82.5MM Upper Limit, Patric Hornqvist’s $5.3MM cap hit remains on LTIR to keep them compliant.

While Knight will surely return after the Panthers’ cap situation is resolved, it’s not a guarantee Denisenko receives an immediate call-up. The 15th overall pick in 2018 has again been limited to a fourth-line role and has three assists in 17 games with Florida this year.

Lyon has made six appearances for the Panthers in 2022-23, recording a .887 save percentage and a 3-2-1 record.

Panthers Recall Grigori Denisenko

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The Panthers have been carrying an open roster spot since the All-Star break and they now have elected to fill it, announcing (Twitter link) the recall of winger Grigori Denisenko from Charlotte of the AHL.

It is the third recall of the season for the 22-year-old who is viewed as one of the top prospects in the organization.  After playing just once with Florida last season, Denisenko has suited up a dozen times for them so far in 2022-23, picking up three assists while logging 11:20 per night in what has largely been a bottom-six role.

Things have gone better for him offensively in the minors as he has nine goals and a dozen helpers in 37 games with the Checkers.  However, that’s basically the same rate he produced at last year (18 points in 30 games) and considering he’s in his third season in North America, it’s also reasonable to infer that they were hoping for a bit more progress offensively from Denisenko.

With the recall, the Panthers now have two extra forwards on their active roster; Colin White was the healthy scratch against Colorado on Saturday.  It wouldn’t make sense for Florida to recall Denisenko to then turn around and sit him so it stands to reason that someone that suited up against the Avs will be scratched for their next game on Monday against Minnesota.

Snapshots: Islanders, Tanev, Guzda

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The New York Islanders have now lost six in a row, scoring just 11 goals in the process. A group that was once expected to be serious buyers at the trade deadline have nearly fallen out of the playoff race entirely, making it a much different situation as February approaches.

When discussing the team’s deadline plans (as best as he can figure, with Lou Lamoriello at the helm), Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast that there was real interest in Jakob Chychrun at one point. Apparently, the Islanders balked at the asking price, something that Friedman understands, given their current position.

  • With Chris Tanev already ruled out through the All-Star break, the Calgary Flames have moved him to injured reserve. Brett Ritchie has been activated to fill his spot, and is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the team takes on the Seattle Kraken. Ritchie last played on New Year’s Eve, leaving the game after just six shifts.
  • The Florida Panthers will go with Alex Lyon in net again tonight, and are set to have Mack Guzda as the backup after recalling him this morning. To make room, Grigori Denisenko was returned to the minor leagues. Lyon has allowed 17 goals in four games so far, including seven on 49 shots Tuesday night.

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