Maxim Mamin Linked To KHL
After returning to the Florida Panthers this season, Maxim Mamin appeared to have re-established himself as a legitimate NHL option. The Russian forward is a pending unrestricted free agent and could have been an interesting pickup for teams looking to add a bit of scoring punch on an inexpensive contract. That might not be happening, at least for anyone in North America, as Russian news agency TASS is reporting that Mamin has signed a new three-year contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Originally selected by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, there always was worry about whether Mamin would ever come to North America. He was a born-and-bred CSKA player, a top program in the KHL, but Florida managed to convince him in 2017, adding him to the NHL roster. That stint lasted just 33 games though, as he returned to Russia partway through the 2018-19 season after failing to get regular ice time.
Three years later and he was back, though it still wouldn’t be exactly what he envisioned. Not only would he start the year in the minor leagues but Mamin would find himself on the taxi squad again partway through the year, and deal with an injury that cost him nearly a month. That led to just 40 NHL appearances, scoring seven goals and 14 points. He did also get into four postseason matches but was held scoreless.
With the Panthers facing more important free agent negotiations, it seemed likely that Mamin would end up on the open market either way. Now, if the report from TASS proves true and he’s heading home, it could essentially end his time in the NHL. In 73 career games, he scored ten goals and 18 points.
Florida Panthers Activate Maxim Mamin; Loan Owen Tippett To AHL
The Florida Panthers already have too many forwards, and yet one more is returning today. The team has activated Maxim Mamin from injured reserve and expects to have him on the first line with Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov this evening. To clear a roster spot for Mamin, the team has sent Owen Tippett back to the AHL once again.
This isn’t the first time Tippett finds himself without much opportunity in Florida. He was sent to the minors for a few days last month, was scratched the past two games, and played fewer than eight minutes in his last appearance. The young forward’s name has been in the rumor mill for months, and it was brought up again today by Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet’s The Jeff Marek Show:
Obviously you would like to see him play, I’m sure he wants to play. But I don’t think that’s necessarily the hold up of a trade. [Teams] scouted him in the American Hockey League, I’m sure there are plenty of teams that scouted him when he was a junior. Everyone kind of knows, or has an opinion on what they have or haven’t got yet. So while I’m sure [not playing] sucks for him, it doesn’t hold up a deal in my mind. And I think he’s going to be traded, I think it’s just a matter of–is he going to be part of a package to get something, or does he just go himself.
Sending Tippett to the minor leagues does give him a chance to play, but as Friedman suggests, it’s not like he has much to prove at that level. The 23-year-old forward recorded four points in his two-game stint with the Charlotte Checkers earlier this season and overall has 20 goals and 46 points in 53 career AHL appearances. Selected tenth overall by the Panthers in 2017, Tippett possesses a huge shot and powerful frame, but still faces inconsistency when trying to create offense for his linemates. Through 94 regular season games in his NHL career he has 14 goals and 33 points, though his short playoff run last year with four points in six games suggested he might have even more to offer in the postseason.
Atlantic Notes: Panthers, Stecher, Mittelstadt
The Panthers will have some reinforcements up front for their first game after the All-Star break. Team reporter Jameson Olive relays that wingers Patric Hornqvist and Maxim Mamin plus center Noel Acciari should all be ready to suit up on Wednesday against Carolina. Hornqvist has been out for close to a month with an upper-body injury while Mamin has missed close to three weeks with an undisclosed injury. As for Acciari, he hasn’t played with Florida all season due to a pectoral injury suffered back in the preseason that required surgery although he did get in a couple of games on a conditioning stint last week. The Panthers only have one open roster spot at the moment so they will need to make a couple of moves to activate the trio of forwards off IR.
Elsewhere around the Atlantic:
- The Red Wings should have defenseman Troy Stecher back in their lineup on Saturday against Philadelphia, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran has missed more than three months due to a wrist injury, a disappointing outcome in a year where he’s going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. His return will help offset the absences of Filip Hronek (COVID protocol) and Nick Leddy (upper-body injury) and if he’s able to play well over the next month, he could be an interesting trade candidate for Detroit heading into the trade deadline.
- Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt has been cleared for contact as he works his way towards coming from his latest upper-body injury, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Head coach Don Granato indicated that the 23-year-old can now be classified as being out day-to-day but that they will err on the side of caution since he has hardly played this season; Mittelstadt has played just seven times due to multiple injuries.
AHL Shuffle: 10/15/21
An increasingly tight salary cap situation for many teams across the league has expectedly led to a lot of wheeling, dealing, and maneuvering early on this season, especially in the recalls and assignments department. We’ll keep track of all of today’s minor NHL to AHL and AHL to NHL roster moves right here.
Atlantic Division
- Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports the Panthers re-assigned Chase Priskie and Maxim Mamin to the Charlotte Checkers. Priskie was recalled Thursday prior to the team’s season opener against Pittsburgh but was a healthy scratch. Mamin had previously been listed as a non-roster player. Mamin last played in the NHL with the Panthers in 2018-19, playing seven games, but has played in the KHL ever since.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers are sending forward Jackson Cates back down to Lehigh Valley, per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi. Cates was recalled from the Phantoms Thursday to give the team roster flexibility as their two new waiver claims in Patrick Brown and Zack MacEwen were both unavailable. Yesterday’s other two recalls, Max Willman and Nick Seeler, remain with the team and will likely play in the team’s home opener against Vancouver Friday night.
- Per the team, the New Jersey Devils activated forward Tyce Thompson off injured reserve and have assigned him to the Utica Comets. The brother of Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, Tyce made his NHL debut last season, scoring one assist in seven games.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov to the Cleveland Monsters. Likely to see another call-up at some point this season, Chinakhov will make his North American debut with Cleveland soon.
- Greg McKegg has been recalled by the New York Rangers after Ryan Strome‘s placement on the COVID protocol list. He’ll draw into the lineup Saturday against Montreal as the team has only 12 active forwards.
Central Division
- The Avalanche’s Jayson Megna has been sent down to the Colorado Eagles, notes The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Megna drew into Colorado’s lineup on Wednesday against Chicago in the place of Nathan MacKinnon, who remains on COVID protocol. Megna could be recalled again soon, as Baugh reports it could just be a salary cap maneuver.
- Soon is apparently today, as Megna has rejoined the big club along with Stefan Matteau and Dylan Sikura, with the Avalanche sending Alex Newhook down to the Eagles. A peculiar transaction, you can expect more paper shuffling before the team’s game Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
Pacific Division
- The Vegas Golden Knights assigned Peyton Krebs, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Jake Leschyshyn to the Henderson Silver Knights ahead of the team’s season opener tonight. All three played in Thursday night’s 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, and they’ll likely be recalled soon as the team continues to deal with injuries and absences in the bottom six.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Panthers Sign Maxim Mamin
The Panthers have brought forward Maxim Mamin back to North America as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that Florida is close to signing the 26-year-old to a one-year contract with an AAV below $1MM. The team later made it official, announcing they’ve signed Mamin to a one-year deal worth $975,000.
Mamin was a sixth-round pick of Florida (175th overall) back in 2016 and signed his entry-level deal a year later, leaving CSKA Moscow of the KHL to do so. He played in 33 NHL games with the Panthers during that stretch but opted to go back to CSKA once it was finished where he spent the last three seasons.
Mamin is coming off a strong season back home, one that saw him notch 15 goals and 20 assists in 55 games, both career highs while chipping in with a dozen points in 22 playoff contests. That is enough for GM Bill Zito to want to bring him back to Florida to give him a chance at earning a regular spot in the lineup. It’s a low-risk move for both sides as a contract at this price tag won’t have a significant effect on their cap situation while allowing Mamin to test unrestricted free agency a year from now.