Sabres Acquire Sam Carrick From Rangers
March 6: The Sabres have officially announced the deal.
March 5: The Sabres are set to acquire center Sam Carrick from the Rangers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. New York receives Buffalo’s third-round pick and Chicago’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft in return, Friedman added later. Carrick was held out of tonight’s win over the Maple Leafs for asset protection.
Carrick, 34, is just past the midway point of the three-year, $3MM contract he landed in Manhattan as a free agent in 2024. At a cap hit of $1MM, he’s been a legitimately impactful fourth-line pivot for the Rangers for the past year-plus. In 140 games for the Blueshirts, he netted 10 goals and 30 points while averaging 11:17 of ice time per game. He went 54.1% in the faceoff circle and put up exceptional possession numbers for his role as a defensive specialist at 5-on-5.
That last part has been especially true this season. He’s actually managed a cumulative +3 rating despite starting over 75% of his shifts in the defensive zone since arriving in New York, and the Rangers’ most-used fourth-line combo this season of Carrick, Adam Edstrom, and Matt Rempe has controlled 55.6% of expected goals.
While Buffalo’s main goal at the deadline is to add right-shot depth at defense, acquiring a #4 center behind their strong one-two-three punch of Tage Thompson, Ryan McLeod, and Joshua Norris was likely the second checkbox on GM Jarmo Kekäläinen‘s list. They haven’t had a stable option down the middle on the fourth line all year, frequently alternating between Joshua Dunne and Tyson Kozak. Combined, they have 106 games of NHL experience compared to Carrick’s 380.
Longevity aside, Carrick is a legitimate upgrade on both sides of the puck. Dunne has just four points for his career in 46 games, while Kozak has four points in 39 games this year. Dunne hasn’t cracked 100 draws on the year, while Kozak has won a respectable but upgradeable 49.1%. Kozak, in particular, has also posted worse possession impacts than Carrick in comparable defensive/offensive zone splits at 5-on-5.
Carrick also gives the Sabres a plug-and-play option at the position through next season while being a cost-effective 13th forward if he does fall out of the regular rotation. That latter consideration is important for a team that finds itself in unfamiliar territory close to the upper limit, needing to use virtually all their available space for next season to get new deals done for Alex Tuch and Zach Benson.
Rangers’ Sam Carrick Generating Interest
Ahead of tonight’s game against Toronto, Mollie Walker, beat writer for the team, reported that the New York Rangers were not playing Sam Carrick for roster management reasons. The 34-year-old would not be alone, as Vincent Trocheck received the same designation. It appears that after 140 games as a Blueshirt, Carrick will be moving on to his fifth organization.
A veteran who is clearly not in New York’s plans for the future, Carrick holds a $1MM cap hit which runs through next season. It may be a slightly more ideal scenario if he was instead a rental, but there’s been enough demand for bottom six centers that GM Chris Drury should be able to recoup some value for Carrick.
The Ontario native was a late bloomer, emerging as a full time NHLer at age 29 with the Anaheim Ducks. After a short stop in Edmonton, he caught on with the Rangers, inking his contract as a free agent. Carrick has just 10 playoff games of experience, coming as an Oiler in 2023-24, but he brings the two-way attributes and toughness that any contender would value.
Carrick has 380 games under his belt, with 10 points in 60 contests this season as a Ranger. He’s been trusted under head coach Mike Sullivan, having yet to miss a game for any reason, only now sitting with a trade in mind. Carrick has 53 penalty minutes, capable of dropping the mitts, and has a strong 53.9% face-off win rate.
The Vegas Golden Knights gave up a 2029 second rounder, along with other assets, for Nic Dowd, a center one year older than Carrick at 3x the contract, with same term. The Minnesota Wild forked over a 2028 second rounder for Michael McCarron. Both middlemen have more perceived value than Carrick, but it seems possible Drury could fetch as much as a third-round pick for his offering.
Especially with Vegas and Minnesota out of the mix, most buyers have 4C taken care of. On paper, Colorado or Tampa Bay could benefit from an addition, or Anaheim could seek a reunion with the veteran, their fourth line thin and not overly experienced.
Whatever the case, Carrick’s name will be one to watch as the Rangers move ahead in their new direction.
Evening Notes: Knoblauch, Wood, Miller, Rangers
Edmonton GM Stan Bowman told Ryan Rishaug of TSN that extension talks with Head Coach Kris Knoblauch continue, with no foreseen issues ahead. Having taken the Oilers to new heights, and with a window still as open as ever, keeping Connor McDavid‘s former OHL coach around is a no-brainer.
Speaking of the Oilers’ mega star, Bowman did not provide any updates on McDavid, other than that they’re happy to play the long game if needed, and talk consistently with his agent, Judd Moldaver.
Having acquired Connor Ingram earlier today, Bowman touched on the goalie front as well. Apparently, no talks have emerged with Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard yet, and that Ingram has been brought in as another good option for the club.
It’s fair to say that running it back with Skinner and Pickard again this year has been a bit unexpected. Yet it appears Bowman will keep a close eye on each, evaluating their long-term prospects in Edmonton, especially with an intriguing addition coming into the fold.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Brooks Bratten, Nashville’s beat reporter, shared today that top prospect Matthew Wood is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, an ailment sustained in the team’s Gold Star Showcase scrimmage last week. The 2023 first-round-pick has made a strong case to remain with the big club so far in camp, after a six-game trial fresh out of the NCAA last season. Now set to miss time, eyes turn to fellow key prospects Brady Martin and Joakim Kemell, who become more likely to make the team given Wood’s injury. Additionally, the Predators claimed Tyson Jost on waivers today.
- Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic updated today that J.T. Miller remains sidelined since an unassuming lower body injury sustained in practice two days ago. Thankfully, the captain’s ailment isn’t thought to be serious, so perhaps the Rangers are content with being patient. Meanwhile, Sam Carrick was seen back in a red no-contact jersey, and Casey Fitzgerald was absent, but due to being waived today rather than injury. The former Sabres defenseman is expected to be a key piece for AHL Hartford for the second straight season.
Rangers Sign Sam Carrick To Three-Year Deal
The New York Rangers are expected to sign forward Sam Carrick to a three-year, $3MM contract per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The deal was first reported by St. Louis Blues rinkside reporter Andy Strickland (Twitter link).
Carrick continued to improve his stat line this season – though he wasn’t focused much on scoring. Instead, Carrick recorded 111 penalty minutes in 77 games this season, a career-high in the NHL and the most he’s recorded since the 2014-15 AHL season. 90 of those penalty minutes came in 61 games with the Anaheim Ducks, though Carrick dialed things back a bit after moving to the Edmonton Oilers are the Trade Deadline. He recorded a much more modest 12 penalty minutes in 16 regular-season games with Edmonton, though he added 12 more penalty minutes in 10 postseason games. Between the two teams, Carrick also posted a meager 10 goals and 16 points.
Carrick is certainly not known for his scoring, with his career totals up to 53 points and 316 penalty minutes in 240 games after his eighth season in the NHL. But Carrick makes up for the lack of scoring with grit and intangibles, boasting a dazzling 63.1 faceoff-percentage in his brief stint with Edmonton – bringing his success rate at the faceoff dot up to 50.7 percent across his career. He’s served as a stout, bottom-line centerman with the ability to play penalty-killing minutes, when it’s not his own penalties that are being killed. He’ll offer depth down New York’s depth chart, following the loss of Alexander Wennberg to the open market.
Sam Carrick Fined By Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety issued their only punishment from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fining Edmonton Oilers’ forward Sam Carrick a total of $2,213.54, the maximum allowable, for slashing Florida Panthers’ defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Elliotte Friedman of TSN followed up the report by announcing the league would not pass down any additional discipline.
The play in question occurred near the end of Game 2 after Kulikov delivered a hard hit to Carrick. Afterward, Carrick slashed Kulikov in what is best described as his ‘nether region’, resulting in a two-minute minor penalty for slashing, and a 10-minute game misconduct. Since Carrick was ejected from the game, teammate Evander Kane served his two-minute penalty.
Expectedly, the Department of Player Safety will expand its leniency throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Still, it is surprising that this will be the only supplemental discipline from Game 2. Aside from Carrick, defenseman Vincent Desharnais and forward Warren Foegele were ejected from the Oilers bench, with forward Leon Draisaitl delivering a controversial hit to Aleksander Barkov.
Nevertheless, the Oilers organization should view the lack of punishment as a silver lining to their Game 2 loss, as they will not be forced to lose any players for a pivotal Game 3. Managing only one goal through the first six periods of the Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton will need all hands on deck to get back into this series.
Pacific Notes: Coleman, Honzek, Lipinski, McDavid, Carrick
The Calgary Flames will be without forward Blake Coleman, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). Coleman suffered the injury on a hard hit from San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle Burroughs, though he finished out the game.
Coleman has found a new layer to his game on the struggling Flames roster, posting an impressive 29 goals, 23 assists, and 52 points in 77 games. Each of those represents a career-high for the 32-year-old, who hasn’t topped even 40 points in any of his seven seasons up to this point. He and winger Yegor Sharangovich—who’s posted 30 goals of his own—have been pivotal to the Flames this season, setting the pace for the team’s limited offense.
The Flames are well outside of a playoff spot, removing some of the stress of finding a fill-in for Coleman. Kevin Rooney is expected to slot into the lineup for the short term. Calgary has five games left in its season.
One player who won’t be filling in is 2023 first-round pick Samuel Hoznek, who is in Calgary after the end of his WHL season, though he’s nursing an injury that could hold him out, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation (Twitter link). Calgary signed Honzek last summer, loaning him to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants for the season. He returns to the Calgary organization alongside WHL teammate Jaden Lipinski, who has signed an amateur try-out contract with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Honzek will also close out the season with the Wranglers once he’s cleared to play.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The Edmonton Oilers haven’t received any positive news about superstar Connor McDavid, who remains day-to-day and questionable for the team’s next game, per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug (Twitter link). McDavid will be poised to miss his second game with a lower-body injury. He’s been filled in for by Dylan Holloway, who was recalled ahead of the team’s Wednesday matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. Holloway scored his first NHL goal since February 13th in the spot start.
- The Oilers will also be without forward Sam Carrick, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered during the team’s Wednesday night matchup, per NHL Network’s Tom Gazzola (Twitter link). Carrick, who moved to Edmonton alongside Adam Henrique at the Trade Deadline, has recorded four points and 12 penalty minutes in his first 12 games with the Oilers. He’ll likely be replaced by Connor Brown.
Oilers Showed Interest In Extending Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick
The Edmonton Oilers didn’t have much cap space or buying power ahead of the Trade Deadline, heavily limiting the lineup upgrades they could bring in. And rather than fight through the nitty-gritty of the cap, Edmonton instead opted to make one very calculated, and very impactful, trade – acquiring Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a first-round pick in 2024 and a fourth and fifth-round pick in 2025. Aside from quietly acquiring veteran depth defender Troy Stecher, the big-name buy from Anaheim was Edmonton’s only Deadline move. And now it seems the Oilers are trying to stretch out the impact of the deal, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting that the team showed interest in extending both of their new faces.
Now, it’s no surprise to see Edmonton trying to get the most out of what they paid for, especially with both Henrique and Carrick set to become unrestricted
free agents this summer. But Henrique is 34 and Carrick 32, likely limiting any contract negotiations to the short-term. That’ll be a change of pace for the veteran Henrique, who’s had just three contracts across his 14-year NHL career. What’s more, he’ll be roughly one full season away from his 1,000th game in the NHL when this season ends – meaning wherever Henrique signs next is likely where he achieves that tremendous feat. He’s shown plenty of loyalty throughout his career – playing eight years in New Jersey and seven years in Anaheim – but a looming retirement could leave the 34-year-old considering if Edmonton is where he wants to finish out. There would be no shortage of interested parties if Henrique did hit the open market, though extending him would go far in solidifying Edmonton as a top team over the next few years.
But while Henrique is an established veteran newly exposed to the world of short-term deals, Carrick is on the eighth contract of his eight-year career in the NHL. He’s in just his third full-time NHL season, finally carving out a confident role on the 2021-22 Ducks roster. He’s totaled 22 goals and 37 points across 180 games since then, adding a strong 50.5 faceoff percentage and 362 hits. Carrick fills a lot of the boxes teams look for in fourth-liners, and he’s admirably serving in that role for the Oilers. But after cap retention in the trade, Carrick is contributing just $425K to Edmonton’s salary cap. That’s a great price for an effective fourth-liner, but richer prices could be too much to bear for an Oilers team that could afford space for young players. Carrick likely doesn’t demand much on the open market, but how Edmonton decides to approach his extension could serve to lock up their bottom six.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick
2:31 pm: The Ducks have made the trade official per a team announcement.
12:23 pm: The Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks are working on a trade that will send both Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to Alberta. With the full trade details before either team has confirmed, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that Anaheim will acquire a 2024 first-round selection as well as a conditional 2025 fifth-round selection that can be upgraded to a fourth-round pick if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.
Although the Ducks are already retaining 50% of Henrique’s salary in the deal, the Tampa Bay Lightning were also brought in to retain 25% of the salary as well, earning a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick from the Oilers in the process. Aside from Henrique and Carrick, Edmonton will also be acquiring Tampa Bay’s 2024 seventh-round selection and goaltender Ty Taylor, who is currently rostered on the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL.
Further reporting has indicated that Anaheim will be retaining 50% of Carrick’s contract as well, bringing his total salary with Edmonton down to $425K for the remainder of the season. Because the Ducks retained money on both players, they no longer have any retention spots available for any remaining trades they may make leading up to the deadline.
With Henrique now in the mix, Edmonton will have the opportunity to get creative in their top six. Understandably, they will likely keep their first line together heading into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs but now can move either Evander Kane or Mattias Janmark around the lineup to create a more balanced offensive approach. 
Speaking of balance, that is exactly what Henrique brings to the table for the Oilers as one of the more consistent two-way forwards in the NHL. Formidable offensively, Henrique has scored 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games for the Ducks this season but also boasts a 52.9% faceoff win rate.
Aside from helping out both offensively and defensively at even strength, Henrique should also be able to improve the Oilers’ pedestrian penalty-kill percentage this year. Centering Anaheim’s top penalty kill unit for much of his tenure in California, Henrique should be able to slide next to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the team’s top penalty kill unit or be the focal point of the team’s second unit.
Carrick, on the other hand, gives the Oilers an upgrade to a portion of the offensive unit they have been craving for much of the season. Experimenting with Connor Brown and Adam Erne on the team’s fourth line, Carrick gives Edmonton a more bona fide player to utilize in that role.
In 61 games for Anaheim this season, Carrick has scored eight goals and 11 points in total as well as throwing 137 hits against his opponents. Carrick has mostly played down the middle for the Ducks this season but does give the Oilers some flexibility to move Dylan Holloway to the wing on the bottom line.
With the inclusion of a first-round pick going to Anaheim in this deal, General Manager Pat Verbeek has added yet another top selection for the 2024 NHL Draft, with the Ducks now having seven total selections in the first three rounds of this upcoming summer’s draft. With 11 picks in total for 2024, the Ducks will now have added 20 new players to the organization via the draft in the last two years alone.
In Tampa Bay, even by retaining a total of $1.45MM of Henrique’s salary, they will still have plenty of cap maneuverability to make a big splash come deadline day. Essentially purchasing a later-round pick from the Oilers, the Lightning could use this extra draft selection as a sweetener of their own in a few days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report trade talks heating up between Edmonton and Anaheim.
The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the trade had been completed.
TSN’s Chris Johnston was the first to report that draft picks would be headed to Anaheim.
Anaheim Ducks Make Three Roster Moves
The Anaheim Ducks have made three roster moves, announcing the recall of defenseman Drew Helleson, the activation of forward Sam Carrick off of the injured non-roster list, and the placement of defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk on injured reserve.
The moves put Helleson in line to potentially make his NHL debut with just 32 professional games on his resume.
Shattenkirk, 33, heads to injured reserve for the first time in his Ducks career. The former All-Star blueliner has been remarkably healthy as a Duck, although he did face significant injury issues as a member of the New York Rangers, issues that contributed to the Rangers’ expensive decision to buy him out of his $6.65MM AAV deal.
Shattenkirk is out with a lower-body injury, and since he last played on 11/9 the Ducks have the opportunity to make his injury reserve placement retroactive to that date.
Shattenkirk’s injury fill-in on the Ducks’ blueline is the 21-year-old Helleson. As mentioned, Helleson doesn’t have an NHL game on his resume, although he has been among the San Diego Gulls’ most heavily-utilized defensemen so far this season.
While Helleson has just two points in AHL 13 games so far this year, Helleson has been a valuable minute-muncher and penalty-killer in San Diego. He could find his way into the Ducks’ lineup if coach Dallas Eakins prefers a more defensively-oriented look to his lineup.
As for Carrick, the 30-year-old veteran has been a member of the Ducks’ organization since the 2016-17 season and spent last season as an NHL regular, the first year in his career where he did so.
Carrick scored 11 goals and 19 points in 64 games last season and won fans over with his physical style, his work ethic, and his ability to pitch in a goal here and there. His activation puts him in line to make his season debut for Anaheim.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/22
It’s been an eventful day throughout the NHL so far with plenty more to come. Several games took place this afternoon, including Claude Giroux‘s return to Philadelphia with much more continuing into tonight. The Toronto Maple Leafs honored legendary defenseman Borje Salming in a touching tribute before taking on the struggling Vancouver Canucks, both teams looking to make a statement. Meanwhile, down in New Jersey, the Devils look to make it nine in a row against the Arizona Coyotes, but will have to do so without their top three goaltenders.
Even with the exciting day in the NHL, there are a few other moves worthy of reporting and we’ll keep track of them here:
- Anaheim Ducks forward Sam Carrick, who had been loaned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, on a conditioning loan back on November 1st, appears to have been recalled by Anaheim. Although unconfirmed, the AHL’s transactions page lists Carrick as recalled on today’s date, seeming to be a good bet the veteran forward will be rejoining the Ducks soon. The forward has been recovering from left hip surgery he had back in May, and wasn’t expected to rejoin the team until sometime in November. Carrick signed a two-year, $850,000 AAV extension with the Ducks after playing a career-high 64 games in 2021-22.
- The Grand Rapids Griffins have returned forward Trenton Bliss on loan to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Bliss, 24, is playing in only his second professional season, finishing up a four-year stay at Michigan Tech last season, where he had 40 points in 36 games. Bliss didn’t record a point over his four games with Grand Rapids, but does have a goal and an assist in three games for Toledo.
- The Belleville Senators have recalled goaltender Logan Flodell from his loan to the Allen Americans of the ECHL. A longtime veteran of the WHL, Flodell moved on to Acadia University for the 2018-19 season, where he played parts of three seasons before turning pro at the end of 2021-22. The 25-year-old played in three games with Belleville last year in addition to 19 ECHL games split between the Reading Royals and South Carolina Stingrays. This season, Flodell has played just three games in net for Allen, posting a .909 save-percentage and 2.70 goals-against.
This page will be updated throughout the day.