Ducks Re-Sign Brett Leason, Urho Vaakanainen
6:23 p.m.: Anaheim’s now finalized these deals. Per Stephens, Leason’s is worth $1.05MM, while Vaakanainen’s is worth $1.1MM.
11:33 a.m.: The Ducks have re-signed winger Brett Leason and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to one-year deals, The Athletic’s Eric Stephens reports. The pair were briefly UFAs after being non-tendered by Anaheim yesterday.
Anaheim does a good job by bringing back two valuable depth pieces on one-year contracts for the 2024-25 season. Neither Leason nor Vaakanainen are game-breakers in their own right but they do eat up minutes as the Ducks’ prospects continue to make their way up the depth charts.
In his third season with the Ducks organization, Leason experienced a career year compared to his previous standards. Scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 68 games, not only did Leason set career-highs in goals, assists, and points; he tied for seventh in Anaheim in goal-scoring altogether.
Vaakanainen just completed his first full season with the Ducks even though he has been with the organization for two and a half. Limited by injuries at the start of his tenure in Anaheim, Vaakanainen managed a solid outing during the 2023-24 season by putting up one goal and 14 points in 68 games while being one of the three Anaheim defensemen to not produce a negative rating.
Both should factor into the Ducks’ lineup next season as the team continues to climb their way back into contention. However, with multiple prospects looking to graduate to the NHL level, neither player may be in the long-term plans for Anaheim.
Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021). Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen
Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram
Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen
Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington
Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen
Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell
Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene
Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon
Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais
Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson
Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi
Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia
Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron
New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar
New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck
New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick
Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux
Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier
Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont
Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov
Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen
Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie
Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit
Anaheim Ducks Assign Urho Vaakanainen On Conditioning Loan
The Anaheim Ducks have assigned defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls on a long-term injury conditioning loan, according to the team.
It’s a great sign for Vaakanainen and his playing future that he’s able to give it a go in the minors on a short-term basis. The young defenseman has already had an injury-plagued career, and potentially his scariest injury came in a September 30 preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. Vaakanainen left the contest on a stretcher after a collision caused his head to hit the boards.
Today, it was reported that Vaakanainen had resumed practicing. It’s unclear when he’ll play in his first game with San Diego, but as he’s just returned to the ice, don’t expect it to be right away.
Vaakanainen, a stout defensive prospect, was one of the main pieces in the return from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Hampus Lindholm at last season’s trade deadline. The 2017 first-round pick eclipsed 10 NHL games for the first time in 2021-22 and remained in the league full-time with Anaheim after the trade. He had two assists in 14 games, even working his way into a top-four role.
The Ducks weren’t great last season defensively, and they haven’t demonstrated any improvement this season either. Whether or not Vaakanainen can make a material difference to the team’s porous play remains to be seen, but he would allow the team to relieve some less NHL-ready players.
West Notes: Jets, Vaakanainen, Avalanche, Stone
Despite dealing with multiple injuries up front, the Jets enter play today sitting in second place in the Central Division thanks to a resurgent season from Connor Hellebuyck and some improved defensive play from some of their veteran blueliners under new head coach Rick Bowness. Accordingly, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press wonders if instead of moving one of those veteran rearguards to make room for a youngster, they instead turn around and move one of those younger defensemen to acquire some help up front. Ville Heinola is just now getting his feet wet this season after starting the season in the minors while Logan Stanley has been out for a month and might have a hard time getting back into the lineup when healthy. Both players carry cap hits under $1MM which would be enticing to cap-strapped teams while Winnipeg has a little over $1.7MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly which would give them some extra flexibility to take on a more expensive forward in return.
More from the West:
- Ducks defenseman Urho Vaakanainen has resumed practicing as he works his way back from an injury sustained late in the preseason, relays Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register. He was injured at the end of September when he went crashing into the boards where he had to be stretchered off the ice. There’s still no firm timeline for his return but the fact he’s now skating with the team suggests he should be back sooner than later. He’d be a welcome addition to an Anaheim back end that has struggled so far this season; the 23-year-old logged more than 19 minutes a game after joining them at the trade deadline a year ago.
- As expected, the Avalanche have recalled wingers Sampo Ranta and Anton Blidh from the minors, per the AHL’s transactions listing. Colorado has been shuffling waiver-exempt players back and forth all season long in an effort to try to bank some extra cap space, something that is harder to do with the team currently in LTIR. Ranta and Blidh have played in three and four games respectively with the Avs so far this season.
- Flames defenseman Michael Stone has been activated off injured reserve, reports Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last ten games due to an undisclosed injury after putting up two goals and three assists in his first ten contests this season. Calgary had an open roster spot so they didn’t need to make any corresponding move to activate Stone.
Injury Updates: Bruins, Ducks, Flames
The Boston Bruins issued two injury updates, one of which could have a major impact on the team’s calculations for their opening-night roster. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told the media today that top prospect Fabian Lysell was out day-to-day, with a target returning to play Wednesday against the New York Rangers. He also revealed that star winger Taylor Hall was injured and would be out with a week-to-week designation.
It’s the Hall injury that’s most significant here, especially since the team is already without winger Brad Marchand due to injury. This leaves the Bruins without their top two left wingers to start the season, absences that could significantly alter the complexion of the team’s top-six early in the year. With Hall and Marchand out, it’s possible that players such as Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha are leaned on more heavily to create offense, and this injury could also increase the odds of Lysell making the team for at least a nine-game trial.
Some other injury updates from across the NHL:
- The Anaheim Ducks issued injury updates on two of their players: Trevor Zegras and Urho Vaakanainen. For Vaakanainen, the team said that he was released from the hospital on Friday and “continues to improve.” For Zegras, the team revealed that he is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury but will be on the ice for today’s activities. This is good news for Vaakanainen, who hopefully is on the path to a safe recovery after he suffered a scary injury Friday when he was stretchered off the ice.
- The Calgary Flames issued three injury updates today, regarding forwards Emilio Pettersen and Martin Pospisil, as well as defenseman Dennis Gilbert. Per the team, all three players are considered day-to-day as they continue to battle for roles in training camp.
Urho Vaakanainen Taken To Hospital After Suffering Injury
There was a scary moment partway through the first period in Friday’s preseason contest between the Ducks and Sharks. After setting up a goal, Anaheim defenseman Urho Vaakanainen hit his head into the boards and had to be stretchered off the ice.
The team announced (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old was taken to hospital for evaluation but “has full movement in his extremities and is fully conscious and alert”. Speaking to reporters postgame, head coach Dallas Eakins didn’t have any updates on Vaakanainen’s condition.
Vaakanainen is in his first full season with the Ducks after being acquired near the trade deadline last season as part of the Hampus Lindholm trade. He signed a two-year, $1.7MM contract back in July and was hoping to land a full-time spot in Anaheim’s lineup this season. Unfortunately, it appears those plans are on hold for the time being as the team waits to see how long he’ll be out of the lineup.
Also on the injury front in Anaheim, center Trevor Zegras will be undergoing a second MRI as the team looks to get more information about the upper-body injury he sustained on Wednesday, relays Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Zegras was injured in the second period against Arizona on a hit from Jan Jenik. The imaging is happening today so the team should have an idea of how long the 21-year-old will be out of the lineup in the near future.
Anaheim Ducks Extend Three Players
The Ducks have gotten a chunk of their outstanding offseason business done, signing three of their restricted free agents to extensions. The team announced deals for defensemen Simon Benoit and Urho Vaakanainen as well as for goalie Olle Eriksson Ek.
Vaakanainen, 23, received a two-year extension, the terms of which were not fully detailed in the announcement. Vaakanainen came to Anaheim as part of the mid-season Hampus Lindholm trade, and got into 14 games with the Ducks after being dealt there. Vaakanainen was the 18th overall pick at the 2017 draft and has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL defenseman. In that limited sample with the Ducks, Vaakanainen played in nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game and got a sprinkling of ice time on both the power play and penalty kill.
Vaakanainen may never develop into the shutdown top-four force he was drafted to be, but there is hope that he can become a defense-first bottom-pairing piece in Anaheim.
Benoit, 23, is an undrafted player who got into an impressive 53 games for the Ducks last season. Benoit got a one-year, two-way deal. A hulking six-foot-three, 200-pound physical force, Benoit steadily earned coach Dallas Eakins‘ trust and eventually saw time on the Ducks’ penalty kill. There isn’t much offense to Benoit’s game, and he had just five points in 53 games, but he’s got four seasons of professional hockey under his belt and should be in the mix for a similar role in Anaheim this fall.
Eriksson Ek, 23, is the brother of Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek and has been a developmental goalie project for the Ducks organization since he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. Eriksson-Ek served as the backup goalie for most of the season playing for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. He got into 26 games and went 7-15-2 with an .880 save percentage and a 3.44 goals-against-average. He got a one-year extension.
Morning Notes: Skills Results, Bruins, KHL
The NHL held their Skills Competition as part of their All-Star festivities last night. The winners for each event are as follows:
Fastest Skater: Jordan Kyrou (Blues)
Save Streak: Jack Campbell (Maple Leafs) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)
Fountain Faceoff: Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
Hardest Shot: Victor Hedman (Lightning)
Breakaway Challenge: Alex Pietrangelo (Golden Knights)
21 in ’22: Joe Pavelski (Stars)
Accuracy Shooting: Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes)
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- There are teams with some interest in Bruins youngsters Jack Studnicka and Urho Vaakanainen but there are questions as to what the upside for both players are, suggests Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (subscription link). Studnicka started the season in Boston’s top six but has spent most of the season in the minors while Vaakanainen’s limited experience makes it hard to project whether or not he could become a second-pairing rearguard. Both players are potential trade options if the Bruins try to make a splash at the trade deadline but those questions of upside will make their value considerably varied around the league which could complicate things in a trade.
- The KHL announced that they have canceled the remainder of their regular season. The season was paused in mid-January due to several COVID outbreaks and while teams have less than 10 games remaining, the Olympic break would make it too difficult to play the rest of the season without compressing the playoff schedule too much. Instead, they’ll elect to start their postseason on March 1st with more of a normal schedule while the seedings will be based on win percentage. The IIHF World Hockey Championships are slated to begin in mid-May so this isn’t a situation where the KHL could have played later in the spring; they want to be finished by then so their players can participate in this tournament.
Coyle, Forbort Expected To Step Into Top Roles For Bruins
With the unexpected departure of David Krejci, the unknown status of injured Tuukka Rask, and a shockingly busy first day of free agency that included adding a number of top names, there are plenty of questions surrounding the Boston Bruins and how they may look next season. With so many possible lineup combinations and the team having yet to even practice together once, it would be understandable to leave fans wondering how the team may be structured in 2021-22. However, head coach Bruce Cassidy is not afraid to hint at his plans. Speaking with beat writer Eric Russo, Cassidy was open about who he sees stepping into some of the most important vacancies in the Bruins lineup.
First and foremost on the minds of most is who will step into Krejci’s role as second line center, especially after Taylor Hall was re-signed following stellar production with Krejci and Craig Smith. Well, despite some speculation to the contrary, Occam’s Razor prevails. Third line center Charlie Coyle will indeed get the first shot at centering the second line, as Cassidy called him the “obvious choice”. Coyle may be coming off of the worst offensive season of his career, but the two-way forward will be healthy this season following off-season knee surgeries and will look to return to form, which is a player whose career full-season scoring pace is 40 points. Cassidy notes that with Hall and Smith having experience playing together and Coyle and Smith also having played together, the familiarity that the three would share makes it an easy initial choice as the team’s second line. However, Cassidy does note that free agent additions Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek both play their best at center as well and could be next in line if Coyle is not a fit.
On defense, while some were content with the Bruins’ most frequent top pair of Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy, not everyone was convinced. Count Cassidy among that group. The head coach opined that the role may have been asking too much of Grzelcyk. He believes that free agent addition Derek Forbort, who plays a much more defensive and physical style, could in fact be the better match with McAvoy. Cassidy stated that between competing for that role and likely playing alongside Brandon Carlo on the top penalty kill unit, Forbort will be expected to play “big minutes”. Of course, Forbort will have to prove himself worthy, as Grzelcyk has the advantage of being the incumbent. Cassidy noted that Mike Reilly will likely continue to play with Carlo, but that too could change if Grzelcyk is bumped from the top pair.
Elsewhere on the roster, Cassidy firmly stated his support for Connor Clifton as getting the first shot as the regular third pair right-handed defenseman in the wake of Kevan Miller‘s retirement. However, he also noted that youngsters Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen as well as recovering veteran John Moore all have experience playing their off side and will compete for opportunity. In the bottom-six, Cassidy offered a vote of confidence for Jake DeBrusk retaining his starting job as third line left wing, while also advocating for top prospect Jack Studnicka to get a look for a roster spot. With the versatility of additions Haula, Nosek, and Nick Foligno, there are plenty of potential combinations on that third line and there is a high likelihood of a more offensive fourth line in Boston than in years with the overflow of the third line position battle matched with the likes of Curtis Lazar and Trent Frederic. In goal, Cassidy did not just announce free agent splurge Linus Ullmark as the new starter; in fact quite the contrary. Cassidy expects Ullmark and breakout rookie Jeremy Swayman “to compete for the majority of the starts.” While Ullmark was compensated like a starter by the Bruins in both salary and term, Cassidy notes that Swayman will be given a fair chance to “come in and potentially be the No. 1.”
How it all plays out in Boston remains to be seen, but Cassidy did not hold anything back about his thought and plans for the current roster. That should give fans of the Bruins and their Atlantic Division rivals something more concrete to consider as the days tick down to the start of the regular season.
East Notes: Crosby, Ristolainen, Bruins
Tonight is a milestone game for Penguins center Sidney Crosby as he plays in his 1,000th career NHL contest, all in a Pittsburgh uniform. However, with the team struggling, some have speculated as to whether or not the 33-year-old would be better off or happier with a trade. Speaking with reporters including NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, the captain tried to downplay that, reiterating his desire to stay with the that drafted him first overall in 2005:
Nothing’s changed. [The rumors are] definitely kind of a new subject that I’ve had to deal with and hear about a little bit. But I love playing here. This is where I’d love to play for the rest of my career. So I can’t really control what’s said or rumors or things like that, but that’s just kind of how I approach it.
Crosby is off to a bit of a slower start by his standards having averaged over a point per game in all of his first 15 NHL seasons but still sits second in scoring on the Penguins this season with six goals and seven assists in 15 games.
Elsewhere in the East Division:
- While Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is off the CPRA list, he’s not expected to join the team on their current road trip and remains out indefinitely, Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News report. The 26-year-old had a particularly rough case of the virus and head coach Ralph Krueger indicated that it will be a “long process” for the blueliner to return to the lineup. Ristolainen was off to a strong start to his year with six points in ten games while logging over 23 minutes per night but it appears that he will be out for a while yet.
- The Bruins will be without center David Krejci and defenseman Kevan Miller for their outdoor game at Lake Tahoe tomorrow, notes Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (Twitter link). Krejci is dealing with a lower-body injury sustained on Thursday versus New Jersey while Miller’s absence is believed to be more for rest as he works his way back from missing all of last year. Jack Studnicka and Urho Vaakanainen were both recalled to Boston’s taxi squad yesterday.