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J.C. Lipon

NHL Prospects Moved At The 2021 KHL Trade Deadline

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The NHL’s trade deadline is still nearly three months away but in the KHL, the deadline for player movement was today.  There were several deals completed including a few involving players whose rights are held by NHL teams.  Here’s a rundown of those moves.

  • Senators RFA winger Vitali Abramov was moved from Traktor Chelyabinsk to CSKA Moscow. The 23-year-old has five career NHL games under his belt but opted to head back home in the summer.  He has 17 points in 41 KHL contests this season and his contract overseas runs through the 2022-23 season.  Ottawa retains his RFA rights through the 2024-25 season.
  • Blackhawks goaltender Ivan Nalimov is on the move from Admiral Vladivostok to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The 27-year-old came to North America for the first time last season, getting in five games with AHL Rockford down the stretch on an AHL deal before returning to Russia this season.  The 2014 sixth-rounder has a 3.50 GAA along with a .891 SV% in 10 games this season and Chicago holds his rights indefinitely since he never signed an NHL contract and there is no transfer agreement in place between Russia and the NHL.
  • Golden Knights center prospect Ivan Morozov was dealt to HC Sochi from SKA St. Petersburg. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick (61st overall) back in 2018 but after spending all of last season in the KHL, he split this season between that league and their lower-tier VHL.  The swap should allow him to play a larger role with Sochi.  Vegas also holds Morozov’s rights indefinitely.

Other names of some note that were on the move were former Stars defenseman Julius Honka who went from Dinamo Minsk to Ak Bars Kazan, former Maple Leafs and Canadiens blueliner Rinat Valiev who went the other way in the Honka trade. Former Bruins prospect Pavel Shen was moved from HK Sochi to Admiral Vladivostok; his NHL deal was terminated back in May while former Jets winger J.C. Lipon was dealt from Sochi to Sibir Novosibirsk.

Snapshots: Power, Belanger, Lipon

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When the Buffalo Sabres secured the first-overall pick in this year’s draft, they had a decision to make. Usually, the top pick in a draft steps directly into the NHL and is given a full-time role on his team. This year, things were different with Owen Power, the consensus top prospect. The big defenseman had already hinted publicly that he was leaning toward a return to the University of Michigan, meaning he wouldn’t be able to help the Sabres during the early part of the season. As revealed today in a behind the scenes video from their pre-draft interview, Power didn’t just hint, he made it quite clear that he wanted to go back to school.

The Sabres, even then, were on board with the idea. GM Kevyn Adams told Power that he loved what he had said about returning to school to chase a national championship and dominate the college scene with no rush to get to the NHL. Michigan should be a powerhouse this season with not only Power returning, but also second-overall pick Matty Beniers and fifth-overall Kent Johnson also returning to the program. Add in fourth-overall Luke Hughes, who will be a freshman with the Wolverines, and it’s easy to see why Power would want to take at least one last crack at an NCAA title before turning pro.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have appointed France Margaret Belanger to the position of President, Sports and Entertainment of Groupe CH. Belanger has been with the organization since 2013 and already served as an alternate governor of the club. As Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports tweets, Geoff Molson remains the team’s owner and president, but it is Belanger who will be in charge of the day to day operations now. She is the first woman to serve on the Canadiens’ executive in its 104-year history, according to a press release.
  • J.C. Lipon went to the KHL last season and it appears as though he’s going to stay for another year. The former NHL forward has signed a one-year deal with Sochi for the 2021-22 season, after scoring 20 points in 37 games for Dinamo Riga this year. Originally selected 91st overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 2013, Lipon played nine games 2015-16 but has mostly been in the minor leagues. In 2019-20 he scored 13 goals and 31 points with the Manitoba Moose, racking up 100 penalty minutes (his sixth AHL season with at least that many).

Snapshots: Predators, Lauko, Lipon

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The Nashville Predators have made a couple of changes to their coaching staff for the 2020-21 season, announcing today that they will not renew the contract of assistant Dan Muse. Rob Scuderi, who had been serving as an assistant on an interim basis, will be returning to his role as defense development coach.

Muse had been with the Predators for three seasons following a stint as the head coach of the Chicago Steel (USHL). Nashville will begin the search for new assistants immediately, giving John Hynes a chance to bring in his own team as he prepares for his first full season behind the Predators bench.

  • Jakob Lauko will start the 2020-21 season with HC Karlovy Vary of the Czech league but is expected back with the Boston Bruins when NHL training camp opens. The 20-year-old forward spent this season with the Providence Bruins, scoring just nine points in 22 games. The limited action was due to a knee injury Lauko suffered at the very start of the World Junior tournament, meaning any games he can play in the Czech Republic will be beneficial to his development.
  • J.C. Lipon’s contract with the Winnipeg Jets is up and the 27-year-old forward will take his talents to the KHL. Dinamo Riga has signed Lipon to a contract for the 2020-21 season after he failed to make it to the NHL once again this year. A third-round pick back in 2013, Lipon made his NHL debut in the 2015-16 season but hasn’t been back to the NHL since. Instead, he played 61 games for the Manitoba Moose this year, scoring 31 points.

The Unleashed 2020: Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Though most players have to wait until after their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team in the league without compensation, there are a few other ways to get to the open market. Players that complete seven full seasons in the NHL are eligible for UFA status, as are restricted free agents that do not receive qualifying offers. There is another way however, offered to those players who don’t get a long opportunity in the NHL but have put in several years at the professional level: Group VI unrestricted free agency.

Earlier this month, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents early. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

Anaheim Ducks

Andrew Poturalski
Justin Kloos

Arizona Coyotes

(none)

Boston Bruins

Ryan Fitzgerald

Buffalo Sabres

(none)

Calgary Flames

Ryan Lomberg
Rinat Valiev
Jon Gillies

Carolina Hurricanes

(none)

Chicago Blackhawks

(none)

Colorado Avalanche

Antoine Bibeau

Columbus Blue Jackets

Doyle Somerby

Dallas Stars

Gavin Bayreuther
Dillon Heatherington

Detroit Red Wings

(none)

Edmonton Oilers

Colby Cave*
Shane Starrett

Florida Panthers

Danick Martel
Jack Rodewald

Los Angeles Kings

(none)

Minnesota Wild

Carson Soucy

Montreal Canadiens

Laurent Dauphin
Gustav Olofsson

Nashville Predators

Michael McCarron*

New Jersey Devils

Brandon Baddock
Dakota Mermis

New York Islanders

Jordan Schmaltz

New York Rangers

Boo Nieves*
Vinni Lettieri
Danny O’Regan
Nick Ebert

Ottawa Senators

Morgan Klimchuk

Philadelphia Flyers

Reece Wilcox

Pittsburgh Penguins

Riley Barber
Thomas Di Pauli
Adam Johnson

San Jose Sharks

Anthony Greco

St. Louis Blues

Mackenzie MacEachern*
Andreas Borgman

Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Walcott
Patrick Sieloff
Spencer Martin

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kasimir Kaskisuo

Vancouver Canucks

Ashton Sautner

Vegas Golden Knights

Valentin Zykov
Oscar Dansk

Washington Capitals

Liam O’Brien
Colby Williams
Tyler Lewington

Winnipeg Jets

J.C. Lipon

Training Camp Cuts: 09/30/19

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Teams will be finalizing their opening day rosters today, meaning that plenty of players will be removed from training camp. As always, we’ll keep track of all those cuts right here. Keep checking back as this list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

G Adin Hill (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Peter Cehlarik (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Anders Bjork (to Providence, AHL)
F Trent Frederic (to Providence, AHL)
F Jack Studnicka (to Providence, AHL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
G Maxime Lagace (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Curtis Lazar (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Scott Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Casey Nelson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tage Thompson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Anton Wedin (to Rockford, AHL)
D Dennis Gilbert (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Hayden Stewart (released from PTO)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Brandon Manning (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D William Lagesson (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Mario Kempe (to Ontario, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Ontario, AHL)
D Derek Forbort (designated injured/non-roster)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Louie Belpedio (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Charles Hudon (to Laval, AHL)
G Charlie Lindgren (to Laval, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Jeremy Groleau (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Boo Nieves (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Filip Chytil (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vitali Kravtsov (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vinni Lettieri (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan Lindgren (to Hartford, AHL)
G Igor Shesterkin (to Hartford, AHL)
D Tarmo Reunanen (to Lukko, Liiga)
D Joseph Morrow (released from PTO)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

D Luke Schenn (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Danick Martel (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexander Volkov (to Syracuse, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team release)

F Kenny Agostino (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nic Petan (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Garrett Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Kevin Gravel (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Kalle Kossila (designated injured, non-roster)
F Mason Marchment (designated injured, non-roster)
F Egor Korshkov (to Toronto, AHL)
F Matt Read (released from PTO, signs AHL contract)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Sven Baertschi (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nikolay Goldobin (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alex Biega (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Keegan Kolesar (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jake Bischoff (to Chicago, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

F J.C. Lipon (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Nelson Nogier (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
G Eric Comrie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Joona Luoto (to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (to Manitoba, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Michael Sgarbossa (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Christian Djoos (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)

Waivers: 09/30/19

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Today is the last day to use waivers in order to get a roster cap compliant for the start of the regular season, so we will see a lot of players available for selection.

Anaheim Ducks

F Daniel Sprong
F Sam Carrick

Boston Bruins

F Peter Cehlarik

Buffalo Sabres

F Remi Elie
F Curtis Lazar
F Scott Wilson
D Casey Nelson

Calgary Flames

F Alan Quine

Carolina Hurricanes

F Clark Bishop
D Gustav Forsling
G Anton Forsberg

Chicago Blackhawks

D Carl Dahlstrom

Colorado Avalanche

F Jayson Megna

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Marko Dano

Edmonton Oilers

F Sam Gagner
D Brandon Manning

Minnesota Wild

F J.T. Brown

Nashville Predators

F Miikka Salomaki
D Steven Santini

New Jersey Devils

D Matt Tennyson

New York Islanders

F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Tanner Fritz
D Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers

F Boo Nieves

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Casey DeSmith

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Luke Schenn

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Kenny Agostino
F Nic Petan
F Garrett Wilson
D Kevin Gravel

Vancouver Canucks

F Sven Baertschi
F Nikolay Goldobin
D Alex Biega

Winnipeg Jets

F J.C. Lipon
D Nelson Nogier
G Eric Comrie

Washington Capitals

F Liam O’Brien
F Michael Sgarbossa
D Christian Djoos

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign J.C. Lipon

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Like with Seth Griffith earlier today, the Winnipeg Jets have re-signed a minor league forward. J.C. Lipon has agreed to terms with the Jets on a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. Lipon was scheduled to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer after failing to get much of an NHL opportunity with the Jets so far in his career.

Lipon, 25, was originally selected in the third round of the 2013 draft after an impressive finish to his junior career. The winger ended up with 112 points and 135 penalty minutes that season for the Kamloops Blazers, mixing physicality and offense to make him a dangerous opponent. That mix continued in the minor leagues the next season when the overage Lipon jumped right into professional hockey, recording 42 points and 136 penalty minutes for the St. John’s IceCaps of the AHL. That kind of versatility has continued throughout his career, but with only nine games in the NHL so far the Jets have obviously not believed it can be sustained at the highest level.

Still, Lipon is an important part of the Manitoba Moose and has worn an “A” as alternate captain for the past three seasons. He’ll be back in the AHL most likely in 2019-20, unless the Jets find themselves struggling to fill the fourth line after their upcoming cap crunch. At the very worst, he’ll provide some depth for the team in case of injury.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/29/18

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With the season-opening roster deadline fast approaching, many teams will be putting the final touches to their rosters this weekend so another busy day of cuts is expected.  We’ll keep tabs on the non-waiver roster cuts here and update this post throughout the day.

Boston Bruins (via CapFriendly)

G Zane McIntyre (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team Tweet)

D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

D Michal Cajkovsky (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Saku Maenalanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Nicolas Roy (to Charlotte, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

F Denis Gurianov (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Jake Chelios (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Patrik Rybar (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per CapFriendly)

G Al Montoya (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
G Michael Hutchinson (to Springfield, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (to Springfield, AHL)

New York Rangers (per CapFriendly)

D Chris Bigras (to Hartford, AHL)
F Peter Holland (to Hartford, AHL)
G Marek Mazanec (to Hartford, AHL)
F Cole Schneider (to Hartford, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Hartford, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via CapFriendly)

F Brendan Gaunce (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via TSN’s Brian Munz)

F Dennis Everberg (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Seth Griffith (to Manitoba, AHL)
F J.C. Lipon (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Nicolas Kerdiles (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Manitoba, AHL)

Jets Re-Sign J.C. Lipon

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The Jets have inked another of their restricted free agents, announcing the re-signing of winger J.C. Lipon to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay him the league minimum of $650K at the NHL level while Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe adds (Twitter link) that he will receive $150K at the minor league level.  The contract contains a total guarantee of $210K.

The 25-year-old spent all of last season with Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate in Manitoba and posted his best numbers since his rookie professional season.   In 68 games with the Moose, he collected 17 goals and 21 assists which ranked him tied for eighth on the team in points.

Lipon has just nine games of NHL experience under his belt in his five-year professional career.  Those contests came in 2015-16 where he picked up a single assist in that time.  Since then, he has been an important cog for their farm team and spent the past two seasons as an alternate captain, a role he is likely to reprise in 2018-19 assuming he clears waivers as expected.

The Jets still have work to do heading into training camp as they still have two of the 13 remaining RFAs around the league in defenseman Josh Morrissey and goalie Eric Comrie.  While Comrie will likely sign a short-term deal, Morrissey’s case is much more prominent.  While there haven’t been reports as to whether he’s working on a bridge contract or a long-term pact, he did express optimism last week that a deal would be reached in time for training camp.

Fourteen Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

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We’re now just a few weeks away from the start of training camp, and there are still 14 restricted free agents without contracts. Many of those who remain unsigned are key players for their teams, and starting training camp without them isn’t a desired situation for either side. That means early September should be filled with new contracts, including several that should be quite substantial.

The full list of unsigned RFAs, thanks to CapFriendly:

Nick Ritchie (ANA)
Marek Langhamer (ARZ)
Sam Reinhart (BUF)
Noah Hanifin (CGY)
Matt Puempel (DET)
Darnell Nurse (EDM)
Michael McCarron (MTL)
Miles Wood (NJD)
Jordan Schmaltz (STL)
William Nylander (TOR)
Shea Theodore (VGK)
Eric Comrie (WPG)
J.C. Lipon (WPG)
Josh Morrissey (WPG)

As CapFriendly points out, there is still technically a possibility of an offer sheet for these players given their status as restricted free agents but it seems extremely unlikely at this point. Offer sheets are so rarely used in today’s NHL and would require a team to have ample cap space this late in the summer. Remember too that an offer sheet is not something a team can do without the player’s consent, and none of these situations seem contentious currently.

Instead, these contracts are taking a long time because they have real impact on their team’s cap situations going forward. William Nylander wants a long-term deal from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Jake Gardiner and others needing new contracts within the next year there are plenty of reasons to think a bridge deal could be more beneficial. Nylander’s cap hit is extremely important for the Maple Leafs going forward, and given that it will likely fall somewhere around Dylan Larkin’s $6.1MM and David Pastrnak’s $6.67MM it takes time to work out.

For a team like Edmonton, locking up Darnell Nurse provides perhaps even more challenges. The team needs Nurse desperately this season given their already ailing blue line, but also has to worry about how they’ll add to the team down the line if they buy out any of his free agent years. That would send his cap hit skyrocketing, and the team has just $3.9MM left for this season and more than $62MM already committed for 2019-20. A bridge deal in Edmonton might be the only possible contract, but it might not be what Nurse is looking for.

The same could be said in Calgary, where the Flames can’t be exactly sure what they have in Noah Hanifin. While he has a high draft pedigree and has been a fine player in Carolina through the early part of his career, there’s no indication yet that he can be a franchise defenseman capable of leading their blue line down the road. With many of their other defensemen closing in on unrestricted free agency and the back half of their careers, the Flames have to be careful where they commit the most dollars.

Overall, this is a very talented group that is still unsigned as we inch closer to September and should make for some fireworks just before camp. In the worst case scenario some of them will miss camp and perhaps even hold out into the season, at which point we’ll be looking at a December 1st deadline instead of mid-September. That’s when every RFA needs a contract by or else they forfeit the entire 2018-19 season.

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