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Tyson Jost

Sabres Claim Tyson Jost Off Waivers From Wild

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The Sabres have added some extra depth up front as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed center Tyson Jost off waivers from Minnesota.

The 24-year-old was acquired by the Wild back at the trade deadline last season in exchange for Nico Sturm.  They were hoping that a change of scenery would help Jost to unlock the potential he showed in the past that made him the 10th overall pick in 2016.  He was a little better down the stretch last season with six points in 21 games which gave them cause for a little bit of optimism heading into this season.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well this season.  Jost was limited to just three assists in 12 games while spending a lot of time on the left wing.  He was also a healthy scratch in five games and that’s simply not a good return on a $2MM price tag.  Unable to trade him, the Wild put Jost on waivers yesterday.  His full contract will come off the books which will give GM Bill Guerin considerably more flexibility as he looks to upgrade his roster that currently sits on the outside looking in at the playoff race.

As for Buffalo, it’s a claim that doesn’t carry a lot of risk and there’s a clear path to playing time for Jost.  Riley Sheahan is currently playing center on their fourth line and Jost represents a younger, more talented option at this point of his career.  If the Sabres envision him on the wing, Anders Bjork has already cleared waivers this season and the Sabres took advantage of that as he was sent back to AHL Rochester in a corresponding move.

Notably, Jost’s contract is a little back-loaded so while his cap hit is $2MM, his qualifying offer next summer stands at $2.25MM, his actual salary this season.  He’ll need to show some improvement if he wants a chance at receiving that tender in June; perhaps this change of scenery will be the one to help get him going.

Minnesota Wild To Waive Tyson Jost

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Forward Tyson Jost will be placed on waivers by the Minnesota Wild when the 1:00 p.m. CT deadline hits, according to a Tweet from the team’s public relations department.

After a strong training camp, it’s been anything but to begin the season for Jost. The 24-year-old, acquired via trade last season, has just three assists through 12 games and has been a healthy scratch five times. Averaging just 12:44 per night, his spot in the lineup has faded away with Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno returning to health.

His $2MM cap hit will likely be a deterrent for most teams, keeping him in the Wild organization. However, it’s not inconceivable that a team near the bottom of the standings would take a flyer on the 2016 tenth overall pick. However, he’s only managed to eclipse the 10-goal mark twice and never had more than 30 points in a 354-game NHL career.

The last time Jost played in the AHL was 2018-19, scoring five points in an eight-game stint. It seems as though that might be where he ends up for at least a few days, if he clears waivers.

Central Notes: Leddy, Wild, Meyers

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There was good news and bad news today for the St. Louis Blues. The good news was the team clinched a playoff spot with a 6-5 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild. The bad news was defenseman Nick Leddy taking a high stick near his eye, causing him to leave the game. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford spoke to Blues’ Head Coach Craig Berube, who said that the incident had blurred Leddy’s vision and he is not expected to play tomorrow against the Nashville Predators.

With the Blues clinching today, the need to have Leddy in the lineup is not so pressing, however the team paid a hefty price to acquire the defenseman, who is rich with playoff experience, to use down the stretch and in the playoffs. Berube did not appear to be overly concerned about this injury, however any time an injury involving a player’s vision comes into question, it can be scary, not only for their playing career, but their life away from the rink too.

  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo provided several updates on the Minnesota Wild, per Head Coach Dean Evason. Most notably, Tyson Jost, who took a big hit from Pavel Buchnevich earlier today, will not play tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks for precautionary reasons. Evason also notes that defenseman Jon Merrill is still out of the lineup going forward, having not played since March 31st with an upper-body injury. In more positive news for the Wild, Evason says that forward Jordan Greenway has started skating and star defenseman Mathew Dumba is getting closer to return as well.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced that forward Ben Meyers will make his NHL debut tonight as the Avalanche take on the Carolina Hurricanes at home. Colorado signed the undrafted college free agent earlier this week after his season at the University of Minnesota had come to an end at the hands of Minnesota State. A finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Meyers figures to provide solid scoring depth for a deep, talented Avalanche team as they head into the playoffs. Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said he plans to have Meyers center Andrew Cogliano and Logan O’Connor in tonight’s game.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Tyson Jost

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The Colorado Avalanche are getting their trades done ahead of Monday’s deadline, this time dealing Tyson Jost to the Minnesota Wild. The Avalanche will receive Nico Sturm in return, opening up another chunk of cap space for any future moves.

Jost, who turned 24 just yesterday, never did quite fulfill his potential in Colorado. In parts of six seasons and more than 300 games, the 2016 tenth-overall pick set career-highs of just 12 goals and 26 points while hardly ever finding himself in the top-six. A part-time center, he has just six goals and 14 points in 59 games this season and his possession metrics have cratered.

It will be interesting to see where he fits into the Minnesota lineup, but the Wild aren’t just buying a rental here. Jost is signed through 2022-23 at a $2MM cap hit and will still be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of his current deal. At the very worst he’ll be another bottom-six option for head coach Dean Evason to try and fit into the right spot, but perhaps he can bring even more to the table when he’s not stuck behind some of the other more offensively talented forwards in Colorado.

In Sturm, the Wild aren’t giving up a ton, especially given he was signed as an undrafted college free agent a few years ago. The 26-year-old has nine goals and 17 points in 53 games this season and can provide some size to the Colorado lineup while only costing $750K against the cap. That’s the clear win here for the Avalanche, who have cleared a good bit of room that they can then use on someone else. Sturm had been scratched the last few games in Minnesota and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, so this is no long-term play by the Avalanche. Still, the team did release a statement on their newest player:

Nico is a big, strong forward who also brings a heavy defensive presence. He is a defensive-minded center who can chip in offensively, is good on draws and can contribute on the penalty kill. We would like to thank Tyson for everything he has brought to our team over the last five seasons, not just on the ice, but in the generous and impactful work he has done throughout the community.

With an extra $1.25MM shaved off their books, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic is now primed to make an even bigger splash than the Josh Manson acquisition from yesterday. Rumors continue to swirl around Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who is slated to play in his 1,000th game on Thursday, though there are other high-priced targets that the Avalanche could now target. No matter who it is, it’s obvious that Sakic is willing to push his chips into the middle this season and go for the Stanley Cup with one of the most talented rosters in the NHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin Week-To-Week With Upper-Body Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche are being hit with the injury bug early this season, as The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that forward Valeri Nichushkin is sidelined week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

With the team already missing Devon Toews and Pavel Francouz from their lineup prior to the season’s start, the team’s forward core has now lost three members in the past three days. Captain Gabriel Landeskog is suspended for the next two games, Nathan MacKinnon’s season debut is on hold as he remains on COVID protocol, and it’s now apparent the Avs have lost a third top-nine forward for the time being.

The 26-year-old Nichushkin has had somewhat of a career renaissance with Colorado after a rough start with the Dallas Stars, the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2013. He’s received Selke votes in back-to-back seasons, scoring 23 goals and 48 points in 120 games from 2019 to 2021 in an Avalanche uniform. Nichushkin had one assist in 15:03 of ice time on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.

The team will now turn to Mikko Rantanen to carry the offensive load in the absence of MacKinnon and Landeskog. They’ll look towards forwards like Andre Burakovsky, Tyson Jost, and a pair or rookies in Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta to increase production in depth roles to compensate for the loss of Nichushkin.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Tyson Jost

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The Colorado Avalanche have checked off one of the final entries on their to-do list, signing Tyson Jost to a two-year contract. Jost was the team’s last restricted free agent at the NHL level. Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that the deal will carry an average annual value of $2MM. GM Joe Sakic released a statement:

Tyson took a big step last year and was a key contributor to our team. He has worked hard to improve his game and earn a spot in our lineup. Tyson is a guy with a lot of character who competes at a high level day in and day out. We are excited to have him under contract for another two seasons.

Jost, 23, was the tenth overall pick in 2016 and though he is still waiting on an offensive breakout, the Avalanche trust him as a full-time bottom-six option that can help them moving forward. In 2020-21, he scored seven goals and 17 points in 54 games playing mostly with Valeri Nichushkin and Joonas Donskoi, a trio that unfortunately won’t be able to return for Colorado next season. Donskoi was snatched up by the Seattle Kraken in expansion, and after losing Brandon Saad to free agency, the Avalanche lines should have a slightly different look in 2021-22.

The biggest question is whether Jost, whose career-high is 26 points, will ever be able to step into a top-six role and succeed offensively. He’s already good enough in his own end to hold down a checking role, but there simply needs to be more scoring if he’s to become the next core piece in Colorado.

An offensive breakout would also benefit the young forward, as he’ll be an arbitration-eligible free agent once again at the end of this contract. In fact, he’ll be just a year away from unrestricted free agency, something he’s on schedule to reach at the age of 26 thanks to his early start in the NHL. It means these next two seasons are crucial from a financial standpoint, as the Avalanche hope to squeeze some extra value out of a $2MM cap hit while Jost hopes to set himself up for a big extension.

Colorado Re-Signs Tyson Jost

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Colorado has taken care of one of its restricted free agents as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that center Tyson Jost has accepted his qualifying offer.  That means he receives a one-year, one-way deal from the Avalanche worth $874,125.

The 22-year-old was a first-round pick of the Avs back in 2016 (10th overall) and while he made his NHL debut less than a year later, he has yet to become the impact forward they were hoping he’d be.  Instead, he has been a relatively consistent depth scorer, notching between 22 and 26 points in each of his first three full seasons.  Last year, Jost was in between those amounts, picking up eight goals and 15 assists in 67 games while his ice time dipped below 13 minutes for the first time in his career.  Things didn’t go much better in the playoffs either as he had just a single goal in a dozen contests.

Accordingly, it’s not surprising to see Jost settle for a one-year deal, even with it being at a pretty low price tag.  Without arbitration rights and the qualifier expiring today, there’s a chance that his contract could have checked in lower had Colorado tried to play hardball.  Instead, Jost will get another opportunity to try to play himself into a bigger role for his next trip through restricted free agency where he will have eligibility for salary arbitration.

With the signing, Colorado has nearly $6MM in cap space at their disposal, per CapFriendly.  However, a big chunk of that is likely heading for offseason acquisition Devon Toews.  The arbitration hearing for the defenseman is scheduled for October 31st.

Free Agent Notes: Niku, Greene, Granlund, Jost

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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.

Western Notes: Brodie, Faulk, Grubauer, Prout

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Doctors are still trying to find the cause for Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie’s collapse during practice Thursday at the Saddledome, and while there still is no answer, according to Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson, many of the worst-case scenarios have already been ruled out.

“All tests that have been done to date have come back negative,” said Calgary general manager Brad Treliving. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned in terms of the tests we go through, and there is no set timetable for TJ’s return. We’ll just go through the process and check every box and make sure we administer every test. But there is good news in that he has come through everything thus far and is doing well, feeling good and is on the mend.”

He will remain out for the time being until the team has a better understanding on why he collapsed.

  • In his most recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that it’s far too early to look at the disappointing numbers of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk and suggest his acquisition was a mistake. Rutherford admits that his numbers are down from his numbers when he played for the Carolina Hurricanes, however he needs time to adjust to new teammates and a Craig Berube’s new system. “He’s been fine,” Berube said Thursday. “It takes time for a guy that’s been one place his whole career and he’s moved. It’s not going to happen overnight. We’ve got to be patient and I think we have been patient. He’s played pretty well, though. He doesn’t have a goal, but he’s been shooting the puck. One or two will go in and that will change things.”
  • With two minor league goaltenders on their roster, The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark reports that goaltender Philipp Grubauer is progressing by the day. Grubauer practiced once again, but the scribe reports that this was the first practice that saw him play at full strength. Head coach Jared Bednar also noted that backup Pavel Francouz remains in concussion protocol, although the goalie claims he’s feeling better. Clark also adds that forward Tyson Jost remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
  • Despite returning and appearing in two games with the San Jose Sharks, the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports that defenseman Dalton Prout is out again with an upper-body injury and no timeline has been set for when he might return. Prout appeared in two games, going scoreless, but adding seven penalty minutes, while adding a much needed veteran presence at the bottom of their defensive lineup.

 

Snapshots: Free Agents, Jost, Kakko

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There are now 27 NHL teams eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, and with that comes a new focus. Free agency is right around the corner and plans are starting to formulate on who to retain or who to pursue in order to improve for next season. Once considered a “Super class” of unrestricted free agents, the group for 2019 has dwindled considerably as teams are hesitant to give up their top players. Still, there is plenty of talent without a contract for next season and Frank Seravalli of TSN released an early ranking of those players today.

As expected, Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson and Sergei Bobrovsky occupy the top three spots, all superstars at their respective positions. The trio could change the face of any franchise in the league, but will each cost a fortune to obtain. Beyond those three though there are other impressive names on the list like Matt Duchene, Anders Lee and even Joe Pavelski. While it may no longer be the best class of free agents in history, teams are still hoping the next seven weeks pass quickly.

  • With John Tavares out of the IIHF World Championship due to an oblique injury, Team Canada suffered a defeat at the hands of Finland today 3-1. The forward group was quite unimpressive except perhaps for a few opportunities by Jonathan Marchessault and Anthony Mantha, and may have trouble creating offense at even strength in the tournament. Canada has three extra spots to add other players, and one of those will be used on Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Jost competed last year for the Canadians and recorded six points in nine games, and also took home a World Junior silver medal for them in the past. Update: The team will also be adding Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.
  • While the Canadians struggled to create any offense, the Finnish squad had no problem thanks to the presence of top draft-eligible prospect Kaapo Kakko. The 18-year old opened the scoring on a breakaway and finished it off with an empty net goal after winning a loose puck from Marchessault while defending the lead. Kakko and fellow potential first-overall pick Jack Hughes are both competing in the tournament against other NHL stars, and have a chance to really show the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers what kind of impact they can have from day one.

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