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Michael Hutchinson

Nine Players Placed On Waivers

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After 25 players found themselves on waivers on Friday (23 of which cleared), it’s a smaller group of players on the waiver wire today.  James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the following nine players have been waived:

Edmonton Oilers

F Joseph Gambardella

Nashville Predators

D Alexandre Carrier
D Ben Harpur
G Kasimir Kaskisuo
D Tyler Lewington
F Sean Malone
F Michael McCarron
F Anthony Richard

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Michael Hutchinson

All nine players have some NHL experience, ranging from one game for Malone and Kaskisuo to 127 for Hutchinson.  The latter actually started last season as the backup in Toronto but struggled mightily before being waived and sent to the minors.  He was flipped to Colorado before the trade deadline and as a result of injuries to both Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, Hutchinson actually was the starter for the Avalanche by the time their postseason run came to an end.  While he did relatively well, he still had to settle for a two-year, two-way deal that was ultimately signed to meet a pending expansion requirement.

Teams will have until 11 AM CT on Sunday to place a claim on any of these players.  If they pass through, they’ll be eligible to be assigned to the minors or to the new taxi squads.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Michael Hutchinson

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have brought back a familiar face, signing goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a two-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $725K at the NHL level, making Hutchinson an inexpensive depth option at what has become a crowded position in Toronto.

Maple Leafs fans will certainly be pulling their hair out reading this news, after Hutchinson was basically run out of town for his poor performance last season. The 30-year-old goaltender posted an .886 save percentage in 15 appearances with the Maple Leafs, going 4-9-1 before eventually being shipped to the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps it’s Colorado where his stock rose again, as Hutchinson was forced into action for the Avalanche during their postseason run and played admirably.

Though Hutchinson now comes to Toronto as the potential fourth option behind starter Frederik Andersen, backup Jack Campbell, and newcomer Aaron Dell, this move does check off a few boxes for the Maple Leafs. First, and likely foremost, Hutchinson would give the team another option should Dell be claimed on waivers if the team ever decided to send him to the minor leagues. Second, Hutchinson will now actually fill the expansion draft requirement for the Maple Leafs if they decide to leave Andersen unsigned and protect Campbell next year. Every team needs to expose at least one goaltender that is signed through the 2021-22 season, something that Andersen and Dell both do not represent.

If the AHL season goes as planned, it will be interesting to see how the Maple Leafs work out playing time though. Dell and Hutchinson are both veterans who could succeed at the minor league level, but the team also has two prospects in Joseph Woll and Ian Scott that will need seasoning. There is the speculation that the NHL may carry a taxi squad or increased rosters due to the COVID-19 protocols, in which point Dell or Hutchinson would be a strong option as a third traveling goaltender.

All Colorado Avalanche UFA’s To Test The Market

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Don’t expect any impending unrestricted free agents out of Denver to re-sign prior to next Friday. The Athletic’s Ryan Clark reports that all of the Colorado Avalanche’s current UFA’s are expected to test the market. Not all of group have been ruled out from re-signing with the club, but they will all at least take the chance to talk to other teams.

Among the group still negotiating with the Avalanche are forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Matt Nieto. Namestnikov is coming off of a strong season, especially considering he played for three different teams. It was with Colorado that he found the most per-game success, recording four goals and six points in nine regular season games and another four goals and five points in a dozen playoff games. It makes sense that the Avs would like to bring the talented two-way forward back, but Namestnikov could command a significant salary and is likely looking for some long-term security as well. With Colorado hoping to improve their roster from the one that fell short in the postseason, they will likely let Namestnikov discover his market value before deciding what the best use of their cap space is. Nieto is a different case. The experienced role player has been a solid contributor for the Avalanche for the past four seasons, but still has not established himself as a player worthy of a high-value contract. Colorado could re-sign the bottom-six forward without much of a hit to their salary cap status, but will likely weigh their roster space and needs versus the market value of extending Nieto.

Those who will not be returning to Denver next season? Clark states that forward Colin Wilson, defensemen Kevin Connauton and Mark Barberio, and goaltender Michael Hutchinson will not be re-signed by the Avalanche. Barberio has in fact already signed in Switzerland for next season. Wilson and Connauton are both veteran, experienced NHLers, but played very limited roles for Colorado this season, combining for just nine games played. The pair should be able to find new homes where the potential for NHL ice time is higher than it was with the Avs. Hutchinson is one of the best veteran No. 3 goalies in the NHL and played well for the Avs this year when pressed into action in the regular season and postseason. However, with the talk being that Colorado could look at bringing in a third goalie to challenge Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, combined with a couple of young pros in the system, Hutchinson appears to have lost his role. He will surely find work given the need for depth in net ahead of a condensed 2020-21 season.

With all of these players potentially moving out, the Avalanche have plenty of room to make some additions this off-season. While Clark warns that the team is keeping future extensions in mind when evaluating their salary cap flexibility, it still seems likely that Colorado could make a major splash or two this summer to improve a roster that is already very close to being a top Stanley Cup contender.

Toronto Trades Hutchinson To Colorado, Re-Acquires Rosen

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have re-acquired a familiar face as the team picked up defenseman Calle Rosen from the Colorado Avalanche, while sending third-string goaltender Michael Hutchinson back.

Rosen, 26, spent the previous two years with the Maple Leafs, mostly with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, but did play eight games with the Leafs between those two seasons. The belief was that he had developed to the point that he was a likely candidate to take over a third-pairing defenseman for Toronto this season. However, instead the Maple Leafs traded him to Colorado during the summer as part of the Nazem Kadri deal that brought in Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot. Rosen has split time with the Avalanche as well, but has primarily stayed in the AHL with the Eagles, where he has three goals and 15 points in 35 games. He has appeared in eight games with the Avalanche with two assists.

As for Hutchinson, the Avalanche needed some depth at the position with the injury to Philipp Grubauer and they got it. The team has been using backup Pavel Francouz as the primary starter, but need a capable backup to fill in as a third-string option. Hutchinson started the season as the Maple Leafs’ backup goaltender, but struggled immensely all season. An injury to Frederik Andersen, only made things worse as the netminder allowed seven goals in his final two appearances before Toronto opted to trade for Jack Campbell and sending Hutchinson to the Marlies. In 15 games, Hutchinson had a 3.66 GAA and a .866 save percentage. He has played better in the AHL in four starts this year, posting a 1.98 GAA and a .943 save percentage.

Michael Hutchinson Clears Waivers

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Friday: Hutchinson has cleared waivers. He has been assigned to the minor leagues along with Pontus Aberg.

Thursday: With the news that Frederik Andersen is ready to return to action, the Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Michael Hutchinson on waivers. Hutchinson lost his backup role with the Maple Leafs when they acquired Jack Campbell, and will now be sent to the minor leagues should he clear waivers tomorrow.

It hasn’t been an easy role for the Maple Leafs to fill since Curtis McElhinney left for greener pastures in the summer of 2018, but it appears as though Campbell has the full trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. That isn’t something that Hutchinson was ever really able to acquire, even with his history of success at every level. Before an ill-fated stop over with the Florida Panthers, Hutchinson had recorded a .910 save percentage in 102 games with the Winnipeg Jets and even better numbers in the minor leagues. This year was the epitome of inconsistency however, and he’ll leave the team with a 4-9-1 record and .886 save percentage.

It’s hard to see anyone claiming Hutchinson after he already cleared waivers in November, unless they need an injury replacement for a short period of time. If he does clear, having a goaltender with that much NHL experience sitting the minor leagues is never a bad thing, though it would certainly complicate the Toronto Marlies’ situation.

Hutchinson will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. His entire cap hit will come off the books if assigned to the minor leagues.

Atlantic Notes: Anderson, Barkov, Weegar, Andersen

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While Senators goaltender Craig Anderson has been discussed as a speculative trade candidate in what is likely his final NHL season, the netminder told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that his preference would be to not get traded.  The 38-year-old has been with Ottawa since the 2010-11 campaign and is having a bit of a tough season with a 3.19 GAA and a .901 SV% while losing starts to Marcus Hogberg in recent weeks.  With Anders Nilsson getting closer to returning as well, it could be a crowded crease if Anderson isn’t moved.  The veteran has a $4.75MM cap hit and a 10-team no-trade clause which could make any potential move tricky.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Panthers will have center Aleksander Barkov back in the lineup on Saturday against Pittsburgh, notes George Richards of The Athletic (Twitter link). He has missed the last three games due to a lower-body injury sustained against Montreal and they haven’t fared well offensively in his absence, scoring just five goals in that stretch which is less than half their season average in goals per game.  Meanwhile, Richards adds (Twitter link) that defenseman MacKenzie Weegar is dealing with complications from the injury that caused him to miss more than a month.  He had just returned on Tuesday but played just 13 minutes and then missed Thursday’s game.  There’s no timetable for his return.
  • Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen has been ruled out through the weekend due to his neck injury, notes TSN’s Kristen Shilton (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that it’s difficult to peg a timeline for his return but that he is working through drills.  In the meantime, Michael Hutchinson will serve as the backup to newcomer Jack Campbell but will likely be waived once Andersen is ready to return.

Toronto Notes: Hyman, Marner, Goaltending

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to get Zach Hyman back in the lineup tomorrow night against the New York Islanders, a welcome sight for a team struggling to find their identity this season. While the Maple Leafs have scored 64 goals this season, good for third in the NHL, they’ve also allowed 62. Hyman will bring an aspect of forechecking that has been sorely missing, while also giving them another prime penalty killing option. The 27-year old forward is coming off major knee surgery however, and may take some time getting up to speed. He scored 21 goals and 41 points last season but has yet to play in 2019-20.

More notes regarding the Maple Leafs:

  • Hyman will start on a line with John Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen, thanks to the absence of Mitch Marner from the team for at least a month. Marner confirmed to reporters including Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press that he suffered a high-ankle sprain in Saturday’s game. The team had previously announced that he will be re-evaluated in four weeks, but high-ankle sprains are notorious for causing lingering issues for professional athletes.
  • Meanwhile, the team is also trying to figure out their backup goaltending situation after waiving Michael Hutchinson yesterday. Head coach Mike Babcock explained to reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that the team didn’t play well enough ahead of Hutchinson, but that the plan to start the backup in the second half of back-to-back situations will continue. That would suggest that Kasimir Kaskisuo will make his NHL debut this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless the team finds a different option before then.

Michael Hutchinson Placed On Waivers

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Tuesday: Hutchinson has cleared waivers. The Maple Leafs have already recalled Kaskisuo and didn’t take long to send Hutchinson to the AHL.

Monday: Michael Hutchinson has been placed on waivers today. It appears as though his opportunity as the Toronto Maple Leafs backup goaltender is over, as Bob McKenzie of TSN expects Kasimir Kaskisuo to be called up to take the role.

It’s been a nightmare season so far for Hutchinson, who lost his fifth start last night after giving up four goals to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period. The Maple Leafs only really play their backup in back-to-back situations, giving Hutchinson the short end of the stick each time, but his .879 save percentage simply hasn’t been good enough.

That’s not to say that Kaskisuo will fare any better, given he has never appeared in an NHL game previously. The 26-year old was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth and only really started to find minor league success during last season’s playoff run with the Toronto Marlies. He has a .928 save percentage this season however and has been a rock in net for the AHL club.

For the Maple Leafs, there is some chatter that they could look elsewhere for a different option in net. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period tweets that they have looked at the market, even reaching out to Scott Darling before he decided to go overseas. The problem is their cap situation that will only really allow the backup to earn a minimum NHL salary of $700K. The team does have some potential flexibility given Mitch Marner will be out at least a month with an ankle injury, but that will come to an end when the star forward returns. Any move for a more expensive backup would complicate things quite a bit.

Florida Panthers Ink Philippe Desrosiers

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Wednesday: Both contracts have been made official.

Tuesday: The Florida Panthers have completed the complete restructuring of their depth chart in net, as TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that Philippe Desrosiers has been signed to a one-year, two-way deal with a minimum $700K cap hit. The Dallas Stars product will likely compete to be third-string behind free agent addition Sergei Bobrovsky and rookie Samuel Montembeault, who has been confirmed as the backup. The trio represent a brand new lineup in goal, as the Panthers began last season with Roberto Luongo (retired), James Reimer (traded), and Michael Hutchinson (traded) in the top three spots.

Desrosiers, 23, was a second-round pick in 2013 after establishing himself as a young workhorse with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic. However, he has not lived up to that reputation in the pros, spending most of his time in the ECHL over the past four years. However, things began to change this season as Desrosiers finally played more games in the AHL than ECHL and posted a solid .910 save percentage and 2.54 GAA in 26 contests. Despite hinting at his remaining upside, Desrosiers did not earn a qualifying offer from the Stars, allowing him to test the market for a better opportunity.

Desrosier’s competition to be the next man up in AHL Springfield next year is veteran Chris Driedger and rookie Ryan Bednard. Driedger, 25, has made three NHL appearances in his career but, like Desrosiers, has also spent considerable time in the ECHL. While he may have the edge in experience and an existing familiarity with the organization entering his second year with the team, Driedger lacks some of the potential of his competitors and it may cost him in appearances. Bednard, 22, has yet to make his pro debut after signing late in the season with Florida following a postseason run with Bowling Green State University to wrap up his college career. After a stellar senior year, Bednard is likely the favorite to emerge as the No. 3 keeper for the Panthers, but his lack of pro experience may keep him from claiming the title right away.

CapFriendly reports that the Panthers have also signed AHL forward Joel Lowry to a minimum one-year, two-way contract. Lowry logged 30 points in 55 games for Springfield last season, earning himself an NHL deal for the first time in four years.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Martin Marincin, Hire Dave Hakstol As Assistant Coach

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The Maple Leafs have kept one of their depth defenders around, announcing that they’ve re-signed Martin Marincin to a one-year, $700K contract.  The team also confirmed the previously-reported one-year, $700K deal for goaltender Michael Hutchinson.

Marincin was once regarded as a quality prospect in Edmonton but has since settled in as a depth player over his four seasons with Toronto.  In 2018-19, he spent most of the year as a reserve defender but still got into 24 games with the Maple Leafs, averaging over 15 minutes a night in those contests.  He also saw action in eight contests with the AHL Marlies which made it the second straight year he had cleared waivers and saw time at both levels.

Toronto’s salary cap crunch is well-known so the fact that Marincin took a small pay cut to drop to the league minimum salary is somewhat noteworthy.  That will certainly help his chances of remaining with the big club for next season, likely in the same role he had in 2018-19.  With 201 career NHL games under his belt, the Maple Leafs know what they have in Marincin and while his upside is more limited now than it once was believed to be, he can still be a small factor for them for another season.

In addition to those announcements, the team also revealed that they have hired former Philadelphia head coach Dave Hakstol as their new assistant coach to round out Mike Babcock’s coaching staff.  Hakstol spent part of four seasons behind the Flyers bench before being let go in December.  Toronto’s staff has undergone some changes this summer with the departures of D.J. Smith (to the Senators as head coach) and Jim Hiller (to the Islanders as an assistant) while also bringing in former Florida assistant Paul McFarland.

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