Montreal’s Sami Niku Suffers Concussion
Saturday: The Canadiens announced that Niku suffered a concussion on the play and is out indefinitely.
Friday: Newly signed Montreal Canadiens defenseman Sami Niku has left tonight’s preseason game against the Ottawa Senators and won’t return. The team reports he suffered an upper-body injury, leaving the game after a hit from Ottawa’s Josh Norris.
Niku signed a one-year, two-way deal with Montreal on September 24 after having his contract with the Winnipeg Jets mutually terminated. It was going to be the second year of a two-year deal for him with a cap hit of $725,000.
Drafted 198th overall in 2015, Niku’s stock rose steadily within the Winnipeg organization after his draft year. He had two impressive seasons with JYP in the Liiga in 2015-16 and 2016-17, tallying 38 points in 97 games while holding his own defensively in a professional league.
It hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly for Niku in the NHL, though, struggling to land a full-time spot with the team. Niku spent the majority of 2020-21 on the taxi squad, getting into just six games with Winnipeg and no AHL time whatsoever. Over a four-year career in Winnipeg, Niku’s gotten into 54 games, scoring two goals and eight assists for 10 points.
Niku was hoping a change of scenery and an uncertain defense in Montreal could translate into a consistent lineup spot this season. With Shea Weber missing the entire year and Alexander Romanov possibly moving into a top-four role, there’s space to fight for on the bottom pairing. Without a more extended internal scouting of their newly acquired talent, though, Niku’s opportunities to enter the lineup could be more limited than otherwise. He’ll be fighting for games played with more experienced talents like Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman. It’s not at all a guarantee that Niku is able to translate this one-year deal into a full-time role.
Training Camp Notes: Kane, Toews, Senators
Today marked the first day of training camp for the majority of teams across the league. With the first preseason tilt just two days away now, teams are getting fired up and ready to go see at what level players in their organization are able to perform. One team whose offseason led to much fanfare was the Chicago Blackhawks, and the health status of both of their stars were hot topics of discussion today. NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports that a nagging injury to star winger Patrick Kane, an undisclosed matter that had appeared before the start of the Edmonton bubble in 2020, hasn’t healed completely. However, neither Kane nor others in the organization are concerned about his ability to play through the matter, as Kane himself remarked today that he’s “optimistic with where [he’s] going.” A great sense of mysteriousness still veils whatever the nagging issue is, as the nature of the injury has yet to be reported.
More notes from today’s opening of training camps:
- After missing the entirety of 2020-21 due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, it was reported earlier in the offseason that Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews was expected to return to play this year. Roumeliotis reports that after summer workouts, Toews rejoined the team today for his first formal practice since 2020. It would be a huge add for Chicago to get their captain back into the fold after an offseason that saw them forge a deeper team throughout. While Toews’ practice today went well, he hopes for but won’t guarantee an opening night appearance when their season opens in Colorado on Wednesday, October 13.
- The contract negotiation saga of Brady Tkachuk has largely been an arduous, open-to-the-public process that continues to plant nervousness in Senators fans. It’s come to a head in recent days, as training camp has now begun without Ottawa’s best forward in the fold. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that in his absence, they’ve kept the other two-thirds of his line together in Josh Norris and Drake Batherson. While it’s anybody’s guess on who could fill that role during play if Tkachuk misses the start of the season, head coach D.J. Smith used forward Nick Paul in that first-line left-wing role today. Potentially a sign of things to come, it’s still anything but a guarantee.
NHL Announces All-Star Teams, All-Rookie Team
On the heels of the NHL Awards, the league has revealed the rosters of it’s all-league teams. As voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the selections are as follows:
First All-Star Team (link)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy
D Adam Fox
D Cale Makar
LW Brad Marchand
C Connor McDavid
RW Mitch Marner
Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Art Ross winner McDavid anchors the First Team All-Stars for the fourth time in his career, flanked by Hart candidate Marchand and with Vezina finalist Vasilevskiy in net. However, the story of the top All-Star squad is young defensemen Fox, the Norris winner, and Makar, a Norris finalist, manning the first team blue line in just their second NHL seasons. Marner is another first-time selection with a career year in his fifth season.
Second All-Star Team (link)
G Marc-Andre Fleury
D Victor Hedman
D Dougie Hamilton
LW Jonathan Huberdeau
C Auston Matthews
RW Mikko Rantanen
Vezina winner Fleury highlights an impressive second-team squad that also included Norris finalist Hedman and Hart finalist Matthews. This is Hedman’s fifth appearance on the Second Team All-Star roster, but all the others are first-time selections. Under-rated starts Huberdeau and Rantanen receiving much-deserved recogntion from the PHWA.
All-Rookie Team (link)
G Alex Nedeljkovic
D K’Andre Miller
D Ty Smith
LW Jason Robertson
C Joshua Norris
RW Kirill Kaprizov
With Calder winner Kaprizov leading the way, the All-Rookie teams boasts a mix of seasoned young players in their first full NHL seasons, such as Kaprizov himself and Nedeljkovic, sophomores Robertson and Norris, and true “rookies” in first-year pros Miller and Smith on the back end.
For those thinking that their favorite star was snubbed from all-league recognition this season, the voting results were actually very definitive. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon was a distant third at center, as was the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin at left wing and Vegas’ Mark Stone at right wing. Colorado’s Philipp Grubauer was way back of the top two in net as well. On defense, Hamilton was actually well behind Fox, Makar, and Hedman, but far enough ahead of Vegas’ Shea Theodore and Boston’s Charlie McAvoy.
Senators Notes: Tkachuk, World Championships, Stutzle
Senators winger Brady Tkachuk is by far Ottawa’s most prominent restricted free agent heading into the summer. He leads the team in scoring with 34 points in 50 games and is second in the league in hits with 215, making him a core piece of their puzzle as they expected when they selected him fourth overall in 2018. Postmedia’s Ken Warren examines some of the comparable contracts around the league in terms of impact RFAs coming off of their entry-level deals and notes that the deal his brother Matthew signed with Calgary (three years, $21MM) may be one of the more interesting comparisons out there both in terms of their style of play and comparable production (after factoring in extrapolations for the last two shortened seasons). Ottawa has shown that they’re willing to give a max-term deal as they did for defenseman Thomas Chabot but the cap climate has changed since then. Regardless of which way they go, Tkachuk is in for a significant increase on his $925K base salary (which includes his signing bonus for the season).
More from Ottawa:
- Center Josh Norris has been in talks with Team USA about joining their entry for the upcoming World Championships, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The rookie has had a nice season, picking up 32 points in 50 games and certainly appeared to be a part of their burgeoning young core. The official invite hasn’t come yet with the Sens still technically mathematically alive in the playoff picture although that could change as soon as tonight when they take on Montreal. Meanwhile, Garrioch notes that Tkachuk’s RFA status will likely keep him away from participating.
- With Norris and Shane Pinto both showing promise down the middle, Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan suggests that Ottawa is unlikely to shift Tim Stuetzle back to center to finish this year or to start next season. While the 19-year-old would be more valuable as a middleman, he’s also one of the youngest players in the league and staying on the wing where the responsibilities are a little lighter makes a lot of sense at this point of his career.
Snapshots: Women’s Worlds, Norris, Bemstrom
The IIHF has agreed in principle to a new set of dates for the 2021 Women’s World Championship, which will now be scheduled to take place between August 20-31. The event was originally supposed to start next week in Halifax, but was canceled just as players were set to arrive for their quarantine period. The venue for the rescheduled tournament is still to be determined, but several locales have expressed interest in hosting. The dates announced are obviously much later than anticipated, but IIHF president Rene Fasel explained:
The players, the teams, Hockey Canada, and the IIHF have been placed in a difficult position due to the sudden cancellation. But this is not an excuse to operate this tournament as a half-measure. We needed a range of dates that can work for the teams and also would allow for comprehensive broadcast coverage as well as a chance for spectators to be able to attend the games.
The tournament also needed to be over well before Olympic qualification begins in November and other leagues around the world start up. The IIHF is working with Hockey Canada to evaluate potential venues and expects to make a choice in the coming weeks.
- While the women’s worlds look for a new venue, management teams are starting to prepare for the upcoming men’s tournament which is set to begin in just under three weeks. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators has been contacted by Team USA as a candidate to take part and he is “definitely interested.” The 21-year-old center has blossomed into quite the player this season for the Senators, scoring 15 goals and 32 points in his rookie season. Originally selected by the San Jose Sharks in 2017, he came to Ottawa as part of the Erik Karlsson deal and is on a path to stardom with the Senators.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets may not have much left to play for this season, but don’t tell Emil Bemstrom. The 21-year-old forward has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and doesn’t have a single goal, but was activated today from injured reserve. Bemstrom was a strong performer for the team a year ago and would be a nice late-season story if he can get going in the final few games.
Josh Norris Wins AHL Rookie Of The Year
It’s been quite the season for Ottawa Senators prospect Josh Norris, who kicked off his professional career after two successful years at the University of Michigan. Not only did Norris lead all first-year AHL players in scoring with 61 points in 56 games, but he was named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star Teams as well. Today, the league announced what was obvious after those previous accolades: Norris is your AHL Rookie of the Year, winning the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award.
Originally selected 19th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2017, Norris was a key part of the Erik Karlsson trade the next year. At that point, the young forward was still in college and unsigned, but it was obvious he had huge potential as a future top-six contributor.
The 21-year old even got a chance to suit up with Ottawa for a few games, but will still be looking for his first NHL point when things resume in the winter. Whether he starts with the big club is unclear, but Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion did call Norris a “future star” today on a conference call with reporters including Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet.
Minor Transactions: 02/27/20
How about ten NHL games with plenty of playoff implications for your Thursday night? That’s what is on offer this evening around the league as several postseason hopefuls do battle. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers kick things off with their seasons on the line, while the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators battle to stay in the Western Conference race. As the league prepares, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Joshua Norris, the young forward who has dominated the minor leagues in his first taste of professional hockey. One of the key parts in the Erik Karlsson deal, Norris now has 30 goals and 58 points in 52 AHL games.
- With Sami Niku dealing with an injury, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled Nelson Nogier from the Manitoba Moose. The 23-year old Nogier has 11 NHL games under his belt, and just one since the 2016-17 season.
- Jonathan Drouin will not play tonight for the Montreal Canadiens, so the team has recalled Charles Hudon under emergency conditions. Teams have limited recalls after the trade deadline, but emergency ones do not count towards that total.
- The Predators have sent Connor Ingram back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, signaling that Pekka Rinne has recovered from his recent illness. Ingram had been up under emergency conditions.
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues, as they continue their current road trip. After facing the Colorado Avalanche last night, Buffalo will journey to Vegas, Arizona and Winnipeg before heading home.
- Joshua Jacobs has earned his first call-up of the season from the New Jersey Devils, after clearing waivers in late September. The 24-year old has just a single NHL game under his belt to this point, despite being the 41st overall pick in 2014.
- Once again the San Jose Sharks have involved Lean Bergmann in a transaction, this time bringing him back up from the minor leagues. The 21-year old forward has played eight games with the Sharks this season, registering one points.
- After needing Calvin Thurkauf to fill in for a long list of injured forwards, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent him back to the AHL. The 22-year old played in three games, but didn’t tally his first NHL point.
Minor Transactions: 02/23/20
Yesterday was one of those days that can only be explained by a glitch in the matrix. The Bruins, Lightning, and Penguins – the NHL’s top three teams – were all blown out, while the Capitals lost to the lowly Devils and, if that wasn’t bad enough, Alex Ovechkin‘s 700th career goal was overshadowed by another story line, which was a 42-year-old zamboni driver named David Ayres manning the net for the Hurricanes as an emergency backup and getting the win over his employer, the Maple Leafs. Will some of these teams overreact to these shocking results, especially on the eve of the trade deadline? It’s quite possible. One thing is for certain, roster tweaks could be in store for all involved. Many teams around the NHL could be making minor moves ahead of Monday’s big day, so keep up with all of the action here:
- The Ottawa Senators have reassigned forwards Drake Batherson and Josh Norris to AHL Belleville, the team announced. While Batherson has been part of this up-and-down shuffle all year, playing in 23 games with Ottawa and 37 games with Belleville, Norris made his NHL debut on this recall. The Unvisersity of Michigan standout leads the AHL Senators with 58 points in 51 games this season.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled a pair of players as they deal with potential long-term injury absences. The team announced the promotion of forward Gerald Mayhew and defenseman Louis Belpedio, both of whom have seen NHL action before but could be in for a larger role this time around. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that defenseman Carson Soucy is out for at least one month, while forward Luke Kunin could miss 10-14 days minimum.
- After recalling Sheldon Dries and Logan O’Connor on consecutive days, the Colorado Avalanche were faced with a decision on which to keep at the top level and which to return. The team has apparently opted to keep the youth and motor of O’Connor over the greater experience and scoring ability of Dries, as he has been reassigned to the AHL Eagles. Dries is one of the top point-getters for the Eagles this season, but has skated in just three games for the Avs compared to 40 last year. O’Connor has eight NHL games this year and 13 total, but has just one point to show for it. The University of Denver product does bring a lot of energy and speed to the lineup though.
- Taylor Fedun is back with the Dallas Stars, as the team has promoted the veteran from his conditioning assignment with AHL Texas. Fedun has played in 27 games for the Stars this season, contributing nine points, but was a healthy scratch for ten games before being sent to Texas for conditioning earlier this month. Fedun will be a dependable depth option for Dallas down the stretch and in the playoffs.
- The Vegas Golden Knights added some depth to their forward lines as they announced they have recalled Patrick Brown from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The 27-year-old was signed during the offseason away from the Calder Cup Charlotte Checkers, who defeated Chicago in the finals last season. He was brought in to provide a veteran presence for the team’s young prospects. He has six goals and 19 points in 54 games this season. Now, he gets his first opportunity in Vegas. Brown has 36 games of NHL experience, all with Carolina, where he has tallied just a goal and an assist.
- The New York Islanders announced they have swapped forwards. The team has assigned veteran Andrew Ladd to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. The team also have recalled forward Kieffer Bellows to the team, although Bellows, who was assigned Friday to Bridgeport, never left. He watched the last Islanders’ game in the press box, suggesting that he was expecting to be recalled immediately.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have recalled defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere from his conditioning stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. The blueliner has missed 18 of the team’s last 19 games with a knee injury, but looks ready to return after a two-game stint in the AHL where he had one assist. The Flyers hope he can contribute immediately after a poor season so far where he’s seen his ATOI drop to a career low 18:21.
- Kiefer Sherwood is back up with the Anaheim Ducks who announced that they have recalled him from AHL San Diego. While he hasn’t seen any NHL time this season, he got into 50 games with Anaheim back in 2018-19, recording six goals and six assists. In 37 games with the Gulls this season in the minors, he has 16 goals and seven helpers.
Minor Transactions: 02/21/20
You can bet that there will be more trade action in the next couple of days, but right now several teams are likely just focused on their results from a night ago. The Florida Panthers, a team scratching and clawing to keep pace in the Atlantic Division, lost in regulation to the worst team in the Western Conference, while the Arizona Coyotes couldn’t figure out how to score a single goal to keep their playoff hopes alive. While the NHL assesses and recalculates, we’ll be here to keep track of all the minor moves.
- The New York Islanders have recalled Andrew Ladd and Otto Koivula, while sending Kieffer Bellows back to the AHL. Cal Clutterbuck has also been moved to long-term injured reserve, but it’s actually a good sign—he’ll also head to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to begin a conditioning stint.
- With another injury last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Calvin Thurkauf under emergency conditions. Gabriel Carlsson has been sent back down. This time it is Oliver Bjorkstrand who suffered an injury when crashing into the boards, and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic spotted him leaving the arena on crutches.
- With some forwards likely on their way out in the next few days, the Ottawa Senators have recalled Josh Norris from the minor leagues. A piece of the Erik Karlsson trade, Norris has excelled in his first season of professional hockey, recording 58 points in 51 games for the Belleville Senators in the AHL. He’ll likely get a chance to show what he can down down the stretch.
AHL All-Star Game Makes Several Roster Changes
Sunday: More changes are being made, even on the morning of the event. Toronto Marlies teamates Timothy Liljegren and Jeremy Bracco have been added to the North Division squad, the AHL announced. The duo will replace Bellevile Senators forward Drake Batherson, who was recalled by Ottawa, and Utica Comets forward Reid Boucher, who is unavailable due to an injury suffered this weekend.
Saturday: The AHL announced another change to the AHL All-Star roster as Belleville Senators forward Alex Formenton will replace teammate Josh Norris for the North Division.
Wednesday: The league has made another adjustment, selecting Cameron Gaunce from the Syracuse Crunch to replace Lawrence Pilut of the Rochester Americans. Pilut’s absence likely means he’ll be re-joining the Buffalo Sabres after the break.
Tuesday: The AHL All-Star Game is also just around the corner, but thanks to some midseason call-ups the rosters will have to change. Today the minor league announced five swaps for their upcoming event in Ontario, California. Vinni Lettieri (Hartford), Josh Norris (Belleville), Adam Clendening (Cleveland), Alex Nedeljkovic (Charlotte) and Vitek Vanacek (Hershey) have all been added to the game, while Nathan Gerbe (Cleveland), Michael Sgarbossa (Hershey), Rasmus Sandin (Toronto), Chris Driedger (Springfield) and Igor Shesterkin (Hartford) will all no longer be attending.
The full rosters are now as follows:
Atlantic Division:
Andrew Agozzino, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sebastian Aho, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers
Paul Carey, Providence Bruins
Morgan Frost, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack
Vinni Lettieri, Hartford Wolf Pack
Matt Moulson, Hershey Bears (Captain)
Alex Nedeljkovic, Charlotte Checkers
Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins
Owen Tippett, Springfield Thunderbirds
Vitek Vanacek, Hershey Bears
North Division:
Joey Anderson, Binghamton Devils
Rudolfs Balcers, Belleville Senators
Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators
Reid Boucher, Utica Comets
Adam Clendening, Cleveland Monsters
Charles Hudon, Laval Rocket
Jonas Johansson, Rochester Americans
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Toronto Marlies
Josh Norris, Belleville Senators
Lawrence Pilut, Rochester Americans
Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets
Central Division:
Alexandre Carrier, Milwaukee Admirals
Lucas Elvenes, Chicago Wolves
Matthew Ford, Grand Rapids Griffins (Captain)
Jansen Harkins, Manitoba Moose
Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals
Kevin Lankinen, Rockford IceHogs
Joel L’Esperance, Texas Stars
Gerald Mayhew, Iowa Wild
Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild
Derrick Pouliot, San Antonio Rampage
Chris Terry, Grand Rapids Griffins
Yakov Trenin, Milwaukee Admirals
Pacific Division:
Tyler Benson, Bakersfield Condors
Joachim Blichfeld, San Jose Barracuda
Brayden Burke, Tucson Roadrunners
Kyle Capobianco, Tucson Roadrunners
Kale Clague, Ontario Reign
Martin Frk, Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin, Stockton Heat
Lane Pederson, Tucson Roadrunners
Calvin Petersen, Ontario Reign
Anthony Stolarz, San Diego Gulls
T.J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles
Chris Wideman, San Diego Gulls