Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Robert Hagg

Florida Panthers To Acquire Robert Hagg

at CDT | by 6 Comments

A day after acquiring Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers, the Florida Panthers are acquiring a former Flyer in that of defenseman Robert Hagg from the Buffalo Sabres, reports Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff.  The pick is expected to be a sixth-round selection in 2022, reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. That pick was originally the Calgary Flames’ selection, but was traded to Florida last year along with Sam Bennett.

Hagg is currently in the final year of a two-year deal, carrying a $1.6MM cap hit. As Seravalli also adds, the Panthers are expected to place defenseman Aaron Ekblad on LTIR, which will make Hagg’s cap-hit no issue for the Panthers. Per Seravalli, Ekblad is expected back in time for the first round of the playoffs.

The now 27-year old Hagg was once one of the Flyers’ top prospects and has gone on to be a steady defenseman in the NHL. He was traded by the Flyers to the Sabres last summer in the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. This year, Hagg has eight points in 48 games, averaging 17:01 time on ice for the rebuilding Sabres and will now join his former teammate Giroux as additional depth in the wake of Aaron Ekblad’s injury.

East Notes: Ekblad, Domi, Hagg

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad left Friday’s game early due to a lower-body injury but interim head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters, including David Wilson of the Miami Herald, that the injury isn’t as bad as it first appeared, indicating that there was no structural damage.  While there’s no timetable yet for his return, Brunette is “very hopeful” that his star blueliner won’t be out for long.  Ekblad suffered a serious ankle injury late last season that took him out for the playoffs which dealt a serious blow to their postseason hopes.  Although it appears he’ll miss some time, Ekblad has avoided a similar fate this time around.

Other news and notes from the East:

  • There haven’t been any recent discussions between the Blue Jackets and Max Domi regarding a contract extension, notes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has 32 points in 52 games this season and the fact he can play on the wing and down the middle should be of interest to playoff-bound teams.  What won’t be something many of those contenders have interest in, however, is his contract, as his $5.3MM cap hit is one that will be difficult for them to afford.  Regardless, Columbus should be able to find a trade taker for him by Monday.
  • The Penguins have shown interest in Sabres defenseman Robert Hagg, reports Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription link). Cap space will be an issue for Pittsburgh with all of their current space coming from Jason Zucker who’s on LTIR but will return next month but if Buffalo is able to retain half of Hagg’s $1.6MM AAV, his cap hit would be just above the league minimum which is something they should be able to afford.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Forsberg, Vrana

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The lower-body injury that has kept Sabres defenseman Robert Hagg out for nearly a month was one that had been lingering for most of the season, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  The 26-year-old still leads the team in blocks (56) and has the most hits among blueliners (49) despite missing nine games and playing through the injury for most of the year.  He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer so a return to health – he has been skating in recent days and should return soon – could certainly boost his stock both in terms of contract value and what Buffalo could get in a trade for him as a rental player.

Meanwhile, Lysowski adds that goalie Dustin Tokarski was a full participant in practice on Friday for the first time since getting hit with a particularly rough bout of COVID-19 back in late November.  There remains no timetable for his return but they plan to gradually increase his workload in the coming days to assess his potential readiness to play.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve removed goaltender Anton Forsberg from COVID protocol, paving the way for him to rejoin the roster. With Ottawa now off until Monday, that will give him a chance to get a practice or two in and potentially be ready to return against Edmonton.  The Sens now have three goalies on the active roster so Matt Murray could potentially return to AHL Belleville to get some more game action in since he hardly played in his first stint with the team.
  • Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana has resumed skating as he works his way back from shoulder surgery that has caused him to miss the entire season so far, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan. At this point, the 25-year-old has been limited to light stickhandling work and head coach Jeff Blashill indicated the original recovery timeline – sometime in mid-to-late February – remains the likely target for his return.  If Detroit can hang around the battle for the second Wild Card spot until then (they’re one point out heading into play today), he’d be a big addition for the stretch run.

Atlantic Notes: Kucherov, McAvoy, Hagg

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is coming off long-term injured reserve and is making his 2022 debut tonight against Calgary, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Kucherov hasn’t played since the third game of the 2021-22 season, and he’s been out with a lower-body injury ever since. He’ll likely slot back into his home on the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point. Save for Ross Colton, who’s currently in COVID protocol, the Lightning have a fully healthy forward group for the first time since October.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out for tonight’s game against Minnesota with a lower-body injury, although he notes it’s not a long-term ailment. It goes without saying that McAvoy is the rock for Boston’s blue line, scoring 20 points in 28 games and averaging 24:22 per game. In his place, 31-year-old John Moore likely slides into the lineup for just the fifth time this season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have been without defenseman Robert Hagg since mid-December, but he could be close to returning. The Athletic’s John Vogl reports that he took part in practice with his teammates today, his first time doing so since suffering a lower-body injury on December 14. Acquired from Philadelphia this offseason, Hagg has five points in 25 games.

Buffalo’s Robert Hagg Out Month-To-Month With Lower-Body Injury

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Buffalo Sabres announced in today’s injury report that defenseman Robert Hagg is out month-to-month with a lower-body injury. Hagg was injured in the second period of the team’s last game on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, playing 16 shifts and 11:30 before leaving.

Hagg is in his first season with the Sabres after the team acquired him from the Philadelphia Flyers this summer in the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. He’s put up results consistent with the rest of his career in a slightly increased role, seeing his highest ice time average since his rookie season in 2017-18.

Through 25 games, Hagg has a goal and four assists for five points and a -12 rating.

He’d most recently been playing on his off-side on a pairing with Jacob Bryson. Colin Miller, who’s seen some time in the press box recently despite putting up a respectable 11 points in 26 games (while averaging 20:01 per game), will slot back into the lineup.

It’s not all bad news on the injury front for the Sabres, however. New acquisition Alex Tuch is now listed as week-to-week and is no longer practicing in a non-contact jersey. He could look to make his Sabres debut before the New Year after having shoulder surgery last offseason.

Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Rasmus Ristolainen

at CDT | by 23 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers moved out some cap space by trading Shayne Gostisbehere yesterday, but didn’t wait long to use it up. The team has acquired defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Robert Hagg, a first-round pick in this year’s draft (14th overall) and a second-round pick in 2023.

Ristolainen, 26, has just one year remaining on his contract and carries a $5.4MM cap hit. Though he brings the mix of size–Ristolainen stands 6’4″–and offensive upside that teams covet, he has also been routinely derided by more analytical measures. Even in some of the traditional stats like +/-, Ristolainen’s overall impact on the game has been poor, registering a whopping -163 over his 542-game NHL career. That entire career has been spent in Buffalo, where things haven’t gone well since he made his debut 2013, but at least part of that failure has to fall at the feet of Ristolainen, who has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night throughout his career.

Perhaps with a more reasonable role and strong partner those numbers can improve, but it is still a staggering price for the Flyers to pay after jettisoning Gostisbehere yesterday. The Flyers have now completely made over their defense corps in short order, acquiring Ryan Ellis and Ristolainen while shipping out Hagg, Gostisbehere, and Philippe Myers. The two newcomers now join Ivan Provorov, Justin Braun, RFA Travis Sanheim and prospect Cameron York as the likely top-six in Philadelphia next season, pending any additional moves.

For Buffalo, getting a pick in the first half of this year’s first-round is a successful haul for a player that was nearing the end of his time in a Sabres uniform. It wouldn’t have made much sense to re-sign Ristolainen as an unrestricted free agent next summer, and his comments in the past suggest he may not have even been open to it. With Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart also reportedly on the market, the Sabres could quickly amass quite the collection of draft picks and future pieces to build around.

It also confirms that it was the correct decision to protect Ristolainen in the expansion draft, even if it did end up costing them young defenseman William Borgen. The return for Ristolainen, which includes a player in Hagg that is a legitimate NHL option, is obviously much more important.

In Hagg, who has one year left on his own contract before unrestricted free agency and holds a $1.6MM cap hit, the Sabres potentially have another piece they can flip at some point. The 26-year-old has played 236 games at the NHL level including 34 this year for the Flyers, mostly in a depth role. He recorded just five points, but was still a physical presence on the back end, tallying 100 hits in those 34 contests.

After paying that price to get him, the question now becomes whether the Flyers will extend Ristolainen and at what cost. The team is already locked in long-term with Ellis and Provorov, who combine for $13MM through at least 2024-25. With so many other multi-year commitments already on the books at forward, the Flyers will need to be careful how they dole out any money this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Updates: McAvoy, Hagg, Hischier, Wild

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Bruins got some more bad news on the injury front as just prior to their game against Philadelphia, the team announced (Twitter link) that Charlie McAvoy was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury.  The 23-year-old has been a key cog on their back end this season, leading the way offensively with 22 points in 35 games while averaging a team-high 24:23 in ice time.  For context, he’s the only regular Boston blueliner averaging more than 20 minutes a night.  Adding help on the back end has seemingly been a goal for the Bruins dating back to last offseason and if McAvoy is going to miss any extended period of time, that need will only intensify.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg is a couple of days away from returning to the lineup, relays Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has been out for the last three weeks with a shoulder injury and is averaging three hits a game in 21 appearances so far this season.
  • New Jersey center Nico Hischier has resumed skating as he works his way back from nasal surgery three weeks ago, notes Sam Kasan of the Devils’ team website. It has been a tough season for their new captain as the 22-year-old has been limited to just five games between this, a stint on the CPRA list, and an offseason leg injury.
  • Wild center Nick Bjugstad (upper body) is being evaluated to see if he’s able to play on Wednesday after leaving Monday’s contest early, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Meanwhile, winger Mats Zuccarello (lower body) skated today and is questionable for Wednesday after missing the last two games due to the injury.  As for Zach Parise, he is expected to be available to play tomorrow, his first appearance since being put into COVID protocols last month.

Robert Hagg Signs With Philadelphia Flyers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

After a report surfaced this morning that Shayne Gostisbehere is available for trade, the Philadelphia Flyers have moved to lock up one of their other defensemen. Robert Hagg has signed a new two-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $1.6MM. Hagg was scheduled for restricted free agency next month and was arbitration-eligible. He will now be under contract through the 2021-22 season, after which he will be an unrestricted free agent.

Hagg, 25, was a second-round pick of the Flyers back in 2013 but spent several years in the minor leagues polishing his game. By the time he reached the NHL in 2017, he was a strong, punishing defender that offered a new look for the organization. In fact, over the last three seasons, Hagg has recorded 632 hits, fourth among all NHL defenders and tenth among all skaters. Over the same period, he has blocked 337 shots, a number that puts him only behind Ivan Provorov on the Flyers and still among the league’s best.

No, hits and blocked shots aren’t everything, but with so many other talented puck-moving defensemen in the Flyers system, Hagg’s physical profile fits in well. He offers a different look for opposing teams, while actually taking relatively few minor penalties. At $1.6MM per season, he will still represent an inexpensive option that can be deployed on the third pairing nightly.

For the Flyers, that leaves Philippe Myers and Nolan Patrick as the two biggest restricted free agents left to sign. Justin Braun is also a free agent—though the unrestricted variety—but there are other young options for Philadelphia if they choose to let him walk.

Justin Braun Out Through All-Star Break

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that defenseman Justin Braun will not play until after the All-Star break later this month. Braun is dealing with a groin injury, meaning Robert Hagg will get back into the lineup for the Flyers tomorrow night. Philadelphia has eight games remaining before the break.

Braun, 32, was one of the big offseason additions for the Flyers, meant to help stabilize a defensive group that was talented but inconsistent. While his ice time has dropped considerably since his days with the San Jose Sharks, he’s still seeing more than 17 minutes a night and will be missed most on the penalty kill where he is a regular.

Even though he was only acquired last summer, Braun is an interesting name to watch at the upcoming trade deadline thanks to an expiring contract. The Flyers have a whole group of young defensemen looking for more opportunity at the NHL level and even another prospect in Yegor Zamula that looks like he might have a future at the highest level. While the team is currently still right in the thick of the Metropolitan Division playoff race, if they should fall back in the standings selling off expiring assets like Braun will be a tempting strategy.

Philadelphia Flyers Might Have To Move A Defenseman

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers still are trying to sign several restricted free agents, including Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, but with the two sides being far apart so far in negotiations, there is quite a bit of concern when it comes to Provorov. While it’s likely that the two sides will eventually come to an agreement, especially since Provorov’s camp is waiting for Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski to sign first to provide some new comparables, the team could find themselves with too much depth on defense.

The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) writes that if Provorov signs, the team will have eight NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster and unless the team is willing to roll with just 13 forwards next season, the Flyers will have to make a move to get to seven. Some forwards are obviously going no where. The team has two top-four defenseman already in Shayne Gosthisbehere and Provorov, while the team traded for Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to add veteran leadership to their defense. The team is also really high on youngsters Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, which leaves the team just two potential candidates to move.

The most obvious choice would be to send down Samuel Morin. He has potential, but has struggled to make an impact with Philadelphia so far. The problem is that the Flyers would be required to put him on waivers this season and risk losing the 24-year-old for nothing if another team puts a claim on him. While he only has eight games of NHL experience on his resume, there are some teams that would be quite interested in a 6-foot-6 defenseman who might be ready to become an NHL regular.

The only other option for the Flyers would be Robert Hagg, who already has two years of NHL experience and put up 20 points last season. While the team likes him, the team acquired a very similar player in Braun, who is more experienced and better defensively. Many have already wondered if the acquisition of Braun was meant as a sign that the team intends to move on from Hagg. However, Hagg is also no longer waiver-exempt and would almost assuredly would get claimed if Philadelphia put him on waivers, suggesting the team’s only option would be to trade him.

Regardless, no matter what, if the team doesn’t end up in a holdout situation with Provorov, which could be what the Flyers are waiting to find out before making a decision, the team must make a move at some point.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top