Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sami Niku

West Notes: Niku, Podkolzin, Coyotes

at CDT | by 4 Comments

While Sami Niku’s name has come up in recent trade speculation, his agent Mike Curran clarified to Jason Bell of the Winnipeg Free Press that the defenseman has not requested a move.  The 24-year-old split the season between Winnipeg and AHL Manitoba and while he was quite productive with the Moose with three goals and 11 assists in 18 games, it didn’t materialize into much NHL production as Niku had just five helpers in 17 games with the Jets.  Given his offensive prowess with Manitoba over the past three seasons, he has progressed about as far as he can in the minors but a full-time NHL spot hasn’t been something that he has been able to lock down.  Accordingly, the restricted free agent could probably benefit from a change of scenery but he’s not the one that’s looking for it.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Canucks prospect Vasili Podkolzin’s sophomore KHL season hasn’t gone particularly well. He has just a goal and three assists in 18 games and had been a healthy scratch in the past two games which led to a demotion to the VHL today.  The GM of SKA St. Petersburg, Roman Rotenberg, told Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (Twitter link) that the move is to try to get him ready for the World Juniors and have him have some success against players in his age group.
  • The Coyotes are looking to bring back a familiar face as they are in talks with Shane Doan about a position in their organization, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Doan spent his entire 21-year career with that franchise dating back to their original days in Winnipeg before retiring in 2017.  He currently is working in the hockey operations department for the league.

Free Agent Notes: Niku, Greene, Granlund, Jost

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It appears that Jets forward Jack Roslovic isn’t the only player that Winnipeg has made available in trade talks.  Murat Ates of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that that RFA defenseman Sami Niku is also being shopped around the league.  The 24-year-old has been dominant offensively in the past in the minors but that hasn’t resulted in much of a consistent NHL opportunity as of yet.

Last season, Niku played in 17 games with Winnipeg, recording five assists while averaging over 16 minutes a night.  However, the Jets often made him a healthy scratch as well.  He also got into 18 games with AHL Manitoba, picking up three goals and 11 helpers.  There is some intriguing upside with Niku but it’s also telling that he didn’t get more of an opportunity despite all of their injuries.  There should be some interest but given his limited chances so far, his inclusion in a package with Roslovic may not move the needle much.

Other free agent notes from around the NHL:

  • Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters, including NHL.com’s Brian Compton (Twitter link) that veteran there is a “strong chance” that veteran UFA defenseman Andy Greene will return. New York acquired the 37-year-old from New Jersey back in February but instead of using him as a top-four blueliner like he had been previously, Greene was deployed in more limited minutes.  After making $5MM per season for the last five years, it’s safe to suggest that he’ll be taking a significant pay cut to stick around.
  • UFA forward Mikael Granlund is in the process of trimming down his list, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had 30 points in 63 games with Nashville last season, the lowest full-year point total of his career.  He had 69 points in 2016-17 and followed it up with 67 a year later so the upside is certainly there which is why he was voted as the eighth-best UFA on our Top-50 list.  While he can play down the middle, Hedger notes that most suitors view him as a winger.
  • Colorado is working on a two-year bridge deal for RFA center Tyson Jost, relays Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now (via Twitter). The Avalanche drafted the 22-year-old tenth overall in 2016 but he has yet to become a productive player in the NHL.  Jost had eight goals and 15 assists in 67 games last season and has been between 22 and 26 points in each of his three full NHL campaigns.  Between that and Colorado’s pending stars needing new deals, a short-term pact to keep the AAV low makes a lot of sense.

Minor Transactions: 02/27/20

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Caggiula, Niku

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With recent season-ending injuries to Calvin de Haan and Brent Seabrook, the Chicago Blackhawks and head coach Jeremy Colliton have seen the team’s defense struggle even more. The team is relatively happy with their top four of Duncan Keith, Erik Gustafsson, Connor Murphy and Adam Boqvist, but the team is having issues with their third pairing in which the trio of Olli Maatta, Dennis Gilbert and Slater Koekkoek have struggled.

Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that a league source reports the Blackhawks have been looking for help on defense since early in the season, but have not been able to acquire a blueliner due to team’s demands for prospects that Chicago is unwilling to part with. That leaves the Blackhawks in a tough place. The team does have some cap room and take back a bigger contract, but with little cap space expected next season, the team is unlikely to be able to pick up anything more than a rental player.

  • NHL.com’s Chris Kuc reports that Chicago Blackhawks winger Drake Caggiula said he hopes to return sometime next week, but it won’t be on Sunday against Detroit. Caggiula has been out since mid-November with a concussion and could add more depth to the team’s forward lines on his return. The 25-year-old Caggiula has appeared in just 15 games so far this season with three goals and four points.
  • Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun reports that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Sami Niku could be ’freed’ soon. The 23-year-old was expected to play a much bigger role this year with a heavily depleted blueline. However, injuries and a car accident back during training camp, have prevented Niku from making much of an impact this season. He’s appeared in just one NHL game so far this year and has only played 18 with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. With a recent fan lobbying to #FreeSami, head coach Paul Maurice said that chance could be coming soon. “We’re going to see him sooner rather than later, unless we get on some kind of run,” said Maurice. “We still haven’t made our lineup … but we’re going to want to get him up to speed and get him in pretty quick.”

Minor Transactions: 10/11/19

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Patrick Marleau and Brayden Point sure didn’t seem like they had any rust on them when they returned for San Jose and Tampa Bay last night, both scoring a pair of goals and leading their teams to victory. Thursday was filled with high-scoring matchups and tonight’s action could be the same as six teams battle in three games. The Carolina Hurricanes will welcome in the New York Islanders and try to stay perfect, while the Buffalo Sabres aim to prove their explosive start isn’t a mirage. As teams prepare for tonight and a big weekend around the NHL, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have returned Sami Niku to the minor leagues, now that both Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Morrissey are back playing. Even with a ravaged defense corps, the Jets have won two games in a row and now sit just a single point behind the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division. Niku, 23, will have to wait patiently for his next opportunity, which will likely come whenever the team faces another injury.
  • Gustav Bouramman has landed on his feet in Sweden after accepting a contract termination earlier this month. The 22-year old defenseman has signed a six-week contract with Farjestad BK of the SHL to cover an injury absence, but will have a chance to earn an extension if he plays well enough. In 23 games with the Iowa Wild last season, Bouramman recorded just two points.
  • With Corey Perry approaching a return, Denis Gurianov has been assigned to the Texas Stars after playing in three games with Dallas to start the year. Gurianov didn’t score, but did get some more valuable development time with the NHL as he looks to take the next step in his career. Selected 12th overall in 2015, Gurianov has played 25 games in the NHL so far.A
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Joseph Blandisi under emergency conditions, returning Andrew Agozzino at the same time. Agozzino played just five shifts (1:44 TOI) in yesterday’s win over the Anaheim Ducks. Blandisi meanwhile played six games with the Penguins last year and has 80 under his belt at the NHL level.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have flipped depth defensemen, recalling Ilya Lyubushkin from Tucson (AHL) and sending Kyle Capobianco to the Roadrunners.  Lyubushkin played in 41 games with the Coyotes last season but was left in the minors to start this season to get some playing time while Capobianco sat as a healthy scratch with the Coyotes.  Now it appears that those roles will be reversed.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned Nicolas Roy to Chicago of the AHL, reports SinBin.Vegas.  He was called up more than a week ago but didn’t get into any action.  Roy was the key part of the trade return for Erik Haula over the offseason following a strong showing with Carolina’s farm team in the playoffs.  He’ll likely see a big role with the Wolves and should be in line for another recall at some point later on in the season.

Minor Transactions: 10/08/19

at CDT | by 5 Comments

After a relatively quiet Monday night around the NHL, things are ready to kick into high gear tonight with eight games on the schedule. Among those are some heavyweight matchups and upstart battles, but perhaps most interesting will be one between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames. Though the Kings may not be quite ready for playoff contention, don’t tell Drew Doughty that. The veteran defenseman has been in the news this week as he prepares to face his young rival in Matthew Tkachuk tonight.

As always we’ll keep track of all the minor moves teams make in preparation for tonight’s action.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have officially recalled Sami Niku and Nelson Nogier from the AHL, while placing Bryan Little on injured reserve. The team has also given Dmitry Kulikov a personal leave, making their defense quite an inexperienced group for tonight’s game. Josh Morrissey will also not be back in the lineup even after returning to practice in full yesterday, meaning the team will have a tough test containing Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
  • After using some deft roster management to get the full benefit of long-term injured reserve yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings have sent Oliwer Kaski and Ryan Kuffner back to the minor leagues. Andreas Athanasiou has also been activated and should be in the Red Wings’ lineup tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Kevin Connauton has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche, who were carrying just six defensemen while Ian Cole continues to recover from injury. The team will take on the Boston Bruins on Thursday, though it is not clear who exactly will be in the lineup at this point.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/01/19

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Even with the season starting tomorrow, teams still have some final cuts to make today. Rosters have to be cap compliant by the end of the day. though with so much talent on waivers there might still be some last-minute moves. We’ll keep track of those right here. Keep checking back throughout the day for updates.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

D Ilya Lyubushkin (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Curtis Lazar (to Rochester, AHL)
F Scott Wilson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Nelson (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Alan Quine (to Stockton, AHL)
F Zac Rinaldo (to Stockton, AHL)
F Dillon Dube (to Stockton, AHL)
D Andrew MacDonald (released from PTO)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

F Clark Bishop (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Brian Gibbons (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Gustav Forsling (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Anton Forsberg (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Max McCormick (placed on injured/non-roster)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk (placed on injured/non-roster)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

G Collin Delia (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kirby Dach (placed on injured/non-roster)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Andrew Peeke (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Liam Foudy (placed on injured/non-roster)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Jayson Megna (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kevin Connauton (to Colorado, AHL)
D Calle Rosen (to Colorado, AHL)
D Ian Cole (placed on injured/non-roster)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Jared McIsaac (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Chase Pearson (placed on injured/non-roster)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Ryan Poehling (to Laval, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Miikka Salomaki (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Matt Tennyson (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Spokane, WHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

D John Marino (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Casey DeSmith (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Nicolas Roy (to Chicago, AHL)
D Nicolas Hague (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
D Christian Djoos (to Hershey, AHL)
D Michal Kempny (placed on injured/non-roster)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

D Sami Niku (to Manitoba, AHL)

Central Notes: Spurgeon, Koivu, Thomas, Avalanche, Copp

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild announced earlier today they signed Jared Spurgeon to a seven-year, $53MM extension that will kick in during the 2020-21 season. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that Spurgeon’s deal has a no movement clause this year as well as the first four years of the first contract. After that, Spurgeon has a 10-team modified no-trade clause for the final three years, which will kick in during the 2024-25 season.

  • Sticking with the Wild, Minnesota got some good news about injured forward Mikko Koivu, who had surgery to repair a torn ACL back in February. The 36-year-old, who was expected to be eased back into practices and scrimmages in training camp, told coach Bruce Boudreau that he’s ready and is expected to participate in scrimmages on Monday, according to StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan. Koivu was cleared for practice on Thursday, but now looks like he’s ready for full play. He scored eight goals and 29 points in 47 games last season before going down with the knee injury.
  • NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that the St. Louis Blues have been without forward Robert Thomas for a second straight day as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist. He and Jordan Kyrou, out with a knee injury, are expected to be brought back slowly from their injuries. “We’ve got them in that third group right now,” Blues head coach Craig Berube said. “We’ve got to be a little cautious with them right now.”
  • BSN Denver’s A.J. Haefele writes that Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar had quite a few positive to point out after Day 2 of training camp. Bednar pointed out quite a bit of improvement in the play of winger Andre Burakovsky and the standout play of A.J. Greer and the impressive leaderships skills of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. He also said that he believes that the next step for defenseman Samuel Girard is his offensive game. The 21-year-old scored four goals and 27 points last season. While both were career highs, Bednar would like to see those numbers rise this season.
  • The Athletic’s Ken Wiebe reports that the Winnipeg Jets are without a few player at the moment. The team has been without forward Andrew Copp due to a minor groin injury, while Kristian Vesalainen and Sami Niku were stiff Saturday after being in a fender-bender on Friday. They should return soon.

 

Winnipeg Jets Face Big Questions After Early Exit

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Winnipeg Jets were knocked out of the playoffs last night by an impressive St. Louis Blues group, and now must face the harsh reality of another season wasted. The Jets will not be happy with just making the playoffs in a season where many had them as a Stanley Cup contender, and will have plenty of questions surrounding the organization as the offseason begins.

Is Paul Maurice the right man for the job?

There’s no doubt that Paul Maurice is a good coach. The Jets’ head man has been behind NHL benches for most of his professional life, first taking the reins of the Hartford Whalers in 1995 when he was just 29 years old. His 695 wins put him seventh all-time among NHL coaches, behind only Joel Quenneville and Barry Trotz among those active. He’s ahead of names like Mike Babcock, John Tortorella and Claude Julien.

For all his regular season success though, Maurice has plenty of failure on his resume too. His teams have finished below .500 in a full season six times, and his overall record in the playoffs is 36-44. The team found some success last season as they made it all the way to the Western Conference Final, but that was just the third time in his entire NHL career that Maurice had made it past the second round of the playoffs. Now with another disappointing exit, the coaching seat in Winnipeg is sure to feel warm over the next few weeks and months.

How much are they willing to commit to Laine, Connor and Trouba?

Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba are all set to become restricted free agents this summer, and should all command huge dollar figures and term. Each one of them is a potential star at his position, but each also comes with some real red flags. Trouba’s are perhaps the easiest to see after his previous tough negotiations and hesitancy to commit long-term to the Jets. The 25-year old defenseman has wanted to be “the guy” on the right side, a position that the Jets are deep at with Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers among others.

Laine has had his ups and downs all season, going through drastic slumps while also still showing why he is a potential superstar. While he hit the 30-goal threshold for the third time in his three-year career, he also had his lowest point total (50) and was a -24 on the year. His negotiation will be particularly interesting to see if the two sides even want to ink a long-term deal after such a disappointing year.

Connor meanwhile led all Jets forwards in scoring during the playoffs and has developed into a key cog on offense. The biggest question surrounding his negotiation will be as a direct comparison to Laine. Doesn’t the 22-year old former Michigan star deserve more money after the year he just completed? How will the Jets afford to pay both of them, while also watching an extension kick in for Blake Wheeler raising his cap hit to $8.25MM. Is that too much money to spend on the wings?

What about the unrestricted free agents?

If those three RFAs weren’t enough, the Jets also have some important unrestricted free agents to worry about, starting with Myers. The hulking defenseman is set to hit the open market in July and could arguably be the best blue line option available, depending on how things go with Erik Karlsson. While he had another strong season for the team, if they are looking to shake things up perhaps they decide not to bring him back and instead install one of their younger defensemen like Sami Niku on a full-time basis.

There is also Kevin Hayes, whose upcoming free agency leads to another question about the Jets. How are they going to fill that second line center role, after using rentals in each of the last two years? Hayes was acquired for a first-round pick this season after the team spent the same on Paul Stastny the year before, only to see both fail to bring them a Stanley Cup. Bryan Little is still under contract for five more years at a $5.29MM cap hit, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has obviously not been content with him in the middle of the second unit.

Minor Transactions: 2/16/19

at CDT | by 2 Comments

As is often the case, Saturday is a busy day on the schedule with 24 teams in action which means there should be plenty of roster movement throughout the day.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • The Jets announced the recall of defenseman Sami Niku from AHL Manitoba. The 22-year-old has split the season between the NHL and AHL which has prevented him from really getting into a rhythm as of late.  He has a dozen points in 20 games with the Moose plus a pair of assists in 11 contests with Winnipeg so far this season.  With Joe Morrow suffering a lower-body injury that’s going to keep him out for two-to-three weeks, Niku, who has been part of trade speculation in recent weeks, may be in line for some more playing time.  In a separate move, the team has also promoted blueliner Tucker Poolman from Manitoba.  After playing 24 games with Winnipeg last year, he has yet to play with them this season while injuries have limited him to just 25 contests with the Moose.
  • Dallas is giving a look to the top goal scorer in the AHL as center Joel L’Esperance has been brought up from Texas (AHL) per a team release. The 23-year-old is in his first full professional season and has already scored 27 goals in just 49 games.  He signed with the Stars as an undrafted free agent last summer, a move that is certainly paying dividends already.  This will be L’Esperance’s first look at the NHL level.
  • The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned winger Andrew Ladd and defenseman Thomas Hickey to Bridgeport of the AHL on conditioning stints. Ladd has been out for three months due to a leg injury while Hickey has been out of action with an upper-body issue for nearly two months.  GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters, including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter links) that both players have been transferred to LTIR today and are pegged to play two games with the Sound Tigers before re-evaluating their progress.
  • Defenseman Filip Hronek is back with the Red Wings after the team announced his promotion from AHL Grand Rapids.  The 21-year-old has been quite productive in limited action at the minor league level, collecting 23 points in 28 games.  He also has more than held his own with Detroit, logging over 18 minutes a night in 23 contests with the big club.
  • Injuries on the back end for the Kings have provided an opportunity for Matt Roy to get a look with the big club as the team announced that he has been brought up from Ontario (AHL).  Roy leads the Reign in scoring by a defenseman with 29 points in 45 games so far this season.  His recall was required with Alec Martinez and Sean Walker are out with upper-body injuries.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned winger Kevin Roy to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The 25-year-old has been on season-opening injured reserve after undergoing offseason wrist surgery. Roy played 25 games for the Ducks last season, putting up six goals and seven points. He will attempt to find his game after a long layoff with the Gulls, where he scored 14 goals and 37 points last season.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have assigned forward Mikhail Vorobyev to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. The 22-year-old was recalled for a second stint with the team on Jan. 28, but has failed to produce offensively. He hasn’t register a point in eight games since that call-up. He has just one goal and two points in 15 games total this season, while receiving just 9:20 of ATOI.
  • Ed Willies of The Province reports that injured winger Jake Virtanen has been moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Virtanen took a big hit from Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf Wednesday, missed Thursday’s game and had an MRI this morning, prompting the team to place him on IR. The team will use that open roster spot to put newly acquired forward Ryan Spooner on the ice. Head coach Travis Green said the injury is not concussion-related. He is expected to miss at least a week.
  • The St. Louis Blues announced they have placed defenseman Carl Gunnarsson on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The veteran defenseman has been out of the lineup since Feb. 5 and therefore can return whenever he is ready. The team has recalled forward Sammy Blais from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Blais has played 24 games for the Blues, but has just two goals and three points in that time.

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

scroll to top