Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Vinnie Hinostroza

Vinnie Hinostroza Placed In COVID Protocol

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Buffalo Sabres already had their games this week postponed, but that was supposed to be due to a COVID outbreak with their opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Perhaps it wasn’t only that, however, as the Sabres have now also added Vinnie Hinostroza to the protocol. With the games postponed, they’ve returned Casey Fitzgerald to the AHL.

Hinostroza, 27, has found something of a home in Buffalo after a tumultuous career and has 14 points in 30 games so far this season. A stint on the COVID list, assuming he tested positive for coronavirus and is experiencing symptoms, would keep him out a minimum of ten days. That would mean missing at least two games.

After playing on three teams over the last two seasons, Hinostroza looks a lot more like the player who scored 16 goals and 39 points for the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19. He’ll have to hope he can get back on track after this time out of the lineup.

Atlantic Notes: Batherson, Del Zotto, Hinostroza

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Two years ago, the Senators thought they were buying low on the prime years of Colin White’s career when they handed him a six-year, $28.5MM contract.  That hasn’t panned out particularly well so far but even so, Ian Mendes of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that Ottawa could look to go down that road again, this time with winger Drake Batherson.  The restricted free agent had a 17-goal, 17-assist performance last season and is someone that they project as a future 20-goal player.  Locking him up now at a bit of a discount – he has just 99 career NHL games played which limits his negotiating leverage – could come in handy down the road as some of their upcoming top youngsters move off their entry-level deals into pricier second contracts.  That type of long-term cap planning will be needed for the Sens to keep as much of their future core together as possible.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Still with Ottawa, Michael Del Zotto’s two-year, $4MM contract with the Senators may have come as a surprise considering he had to earn a deal last season through the PTO route but the veteran told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that there were four or five other offers on the table. The 31-year-old blueliner had 13 points in 53 games last season but is a bit of a curious fit in Ottawa with the acquisition of Nick Holden and the presence of young blueliners Erik Brannstrom and Victor Mete who are lefties like Del Zotto.  Clearly, GM Pierre Dorion believes there’s a fit and with that many teams showing interest which certainly would have bolstered his market, Del Zotto got a bigger deal than expected.
  • The Sabres have been quiet in free agency so far with the biggest contract handed out being a one-year, $1.05MM deal for winger Vinnie Hinostroza. The 27-year-old told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that his history with Buffalo head coach Don Granato played a big role in his decision to sign there.  Hinostroza had 25 points in 50 games with Chicago back in 2017-18 when Granato was an assistant coach before being moved in the 2018 summer to Arizona.  He finished up on a high note last year after rejoining Chicago, notching a dozen points in 17 games.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Craig Anderson, Six Others

at CDT | by 21 Comments

When the Buffalo Sabres lost both Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton to free agency, it left their goaltending depth chart almost completely empty. Only journeyman Dustin Tokarski and prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remained, meaning the team was going to have to add another netminder at some point. They’ve done just that, though it certainly isn’t one that can handle a starting load if the need arises.

The Sabres have signed Craig Anderson to a one-year, $750K contract. The 40-year-old goaltender is now the oldest player under contract in the league. Just a few days ago, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said that Anderson was expected to retire. That obviously hasn’t happened, as he’ll now join the Sabres and potentially have plenty of playing time this season.

Buffalo has also announced several other depth signings. Jimmy Schuldt, Sean Malone and Brandon Davidson have signed one-year contracts worth $750K each, Mark Pysyk has signed a one-year deal worth $900K, and Vinnie Hinostroza has signed a one-year contract worth $1.05MM.

Hinostroza is the most interesting among the five names, after he recorded 12 points in 17 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season following a midseason trade. He had performed well offensively in the past, even recording a career-high of 16 goals and 39 points in 2018-19. The 27-year-old has been extremely inconsistent though, and will have to really take advantage of playing time in Buffalo to get his career back on track.

A few minutes later they signed Aaron Dell, another goaltender who isn’t a true starter and has struggled in recent years. Dell had an .857 in seven appearances for the New Jersey Devils in 2020-21, winning just one game. It’s good to have depth, but it seems like it will be up to Luukkonen if the Sabres are going to have any sort of above-average goaltending this season.

Central Notes: Duchene, Hinostroza, Nylander, Werenski

at CDT | by 5 Comments

While not mathematically eliminated, when center Matt Duchene was placed on injured reserve on March 6, the Nashville Predators were a team that wasn’t going to the playoffs. However, without Duchene, the team went on a impressive run and currently sit fourth in the Central Division. While the team didn’t get better without Duchene in the lineup, the 30-year-old center now returns to the team (after missing almost six weeks due to a lower-body injury) and many eyes will be on him.

The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes that Duchene needs to prove his value to the team. Duchene, who signed a seven-year, $56MM contract in July of 2019, hasn’t lived up to his end of the contract so far after two years. He was expected to step in and solve the team’s second-line center issues, but instead he has struggled. He scored an underwhelming 13 goals and 42 points last year in 66 games and has struggled even more with just three goals and eight points in 24 games. With five more years of Duchene at $8MM per season, the team has to hope they can get Duchene going in hopes of potentially convincing a team, such as the Seattle Kraken to take him.

  • It looks like Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman may have found himself a gem in recently acquired forward Vinnie Hinostroza. Acquired from Florida for middling prospect Brad Morrison, Hinostroza returned to his former team only to already post five assists in his first six games with Chicago. Originally added as a depth option, the Blackhawks could see a potential longer future with him. Hinostroza will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Sticking with the Hawks, forward Alexander Nylander tweeted out himself that he is skating again. The 23-year-old forward was injured during the playoffs last season, suffering a torn meniscus, and hoped that rest would be enough to be ready for this season. In December, he decided instead to have surgery on his knee instead and was given a recovery timetable of four to six months. Now with four months done, Nylander looks like he’s slowly progressing.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that defenseman Zach Werenski, who was deemed out for the rest of the season due to a sports hernia, had successful surgery Wednesday. The recovery time for the surgery is expected to be six to eight weeks, ensuring that Werenski should be back for the start of training camp next season.

Trade Deadline Summary: Central Division

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the Central Division.

Carolina Hurricanes
Status: Buyer

In – F Cedric Paquette, D Jani Hakanpaa, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2022 sixth-round pick (ANA), 2022 seventh-round pick (CLB)
Out – F Ryan Dzingel, D Haydn Fleury, F Gregory Hofmann

Chicago Blackhawks
Status: Neutral

In – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, F Adam Gaudette, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Josh Dickinson, F Ryder Rolston, 2021 second-round pick (VGK), 2022 third-round pick (VGK), 2021 fourth-round pick (MTL), 2021 seventh-round pick (FLA)
Out – F Mattias Janmark, F Carl Soderberg, F Matthew Highmore, F Lucas Wallmark, D Madison Bowey, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2021 fifth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick

Columbus Blue Jackets
Status: Seller

In – D Mikko Lehtonen, F Gregory Hofmann, 2021 first-round pick (TOR), 2021 first-round pick (TBL), 2022 third-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (TOR), conditional 2022 seventh-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Nick Foligno, D David Savard, F Riley Nash, G Veini Vehvilainen, 2022 seventh-round pick

Dallas Stars
Status: Neutral

In – None
Out – None

Detroit Red Wings
Status: Seller

In – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 first-round pick (WAS), 2022 second-round pick (WAS), 2021 fourth-round pick (TBL), 2022 fourth-round pick (COL), 2021 fifth-round pick (OTT via MTL)
Out – F Anthony Mantha, D Patrik Nemeth, D Jon Merrill, D Brian Lashoff

Florida Panthers
Status: Buyer

In – F Sam Bennett, D Brandon Montour, F Lucas Wallmark, D Lucas Carlsson, F Brad Morrison, 2022 sixth-round pick (CGY)
Out – F Brett Connolly, F Vinnie Hinostroza, D Riley Stillman, F Henrik Borgstrom, F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 third-round pick, 2021 seventh-round pick

Nashville Predators
Status: Neutral

In – D Erik Gudbranson
Out – D Brandon Fortunato, 2023 seventh-round pick

Tampa Bay Lightning
Status: Buyer

In – D David Savard, D Fredrik Claesson, D Brian Lashoff, F Antoine Morand, conditional 2023 seventh-round pick
Out – F Alexander Volkov, G Magnus Chrona, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick

Snapshots: Mrazek, Fabbri, Gudbranson, Hinostroza, Bowness

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Hurricanes got a key part of their lineup back tonight with the announcement that Petr Mrazek was getting the start tonight against Dallas.  The veteran had missed the last 31 games due to a right thumb injury after entering the season as the expected starting goaltender.  Carolina more than held their own with James Reimer and Alex Nedeljkovic splitting time in Mrazek’s absence and with the latter now once again being waiver-eligible, they will be forced to carry three goalies the rest of the way as it’s highly doubtful he’d go unclaimed again.  Last month, GM Don Waddell indicated that he’s open to moving one of his three netminders and a good showing from Mrazek over these next couple of appearances may go a long way towards determining whether or not that happens.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Red Wings winger Robby Fabbri missed today’s game due to an undisclosed injury. Following the contest, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link), that the 25-year-old is listed as day-to-day and they expect to know more about the extent of the injury on Tuesday.  Fabbri sits third on Detroit in scoring with ten goals and eight assists in 30 games.
  • Senators defenseman Erik Gudbranson did not accompany the team on their trip to Winnipeg, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The veteran returned to Ottawa to be with his wife who is expected to give birth to their first child in the next few days.  Gudbranson has played in 34 games this season, picking up a goal and two assists.
  • Blackhawks center Vinnie Hinostroza opted to make the 20-hour drive from Florida to Chicago to reduce his required quarantine tine, notes Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Panthers this week after having a limited role in Florida where he played in just nine games.  Hinostroza isn’t on the CPRA list yet but should be on there once he makes it to his hotel room in Chicago to begin serving his quarantine period.
  • Stars head coach Rick Bowness was pulled from their game against Carolina after the second period due to COVID-19 protocols, the team announced (Twitter link). Assistant coach John Stevens served as acting head coach for the rest of the game.

Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Vinnie Hinostroza

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks have brought back a familiar face, reacquiring Vinnie Hinostroza from the Florida Panthers. In return, the Panthers will receive minor-league forward Brad Morrison.

Hinostroza, 26, was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2012 and played his first 106 NHL games for the club before a trade took him to the Arizona Coyotes. He returns to the club in the midst of a brutal season for the Panthers, where he has dressed just nine times and doesn’t have a point. The undersized forward reached a career-high of 16 goals and 39 points in the 2018-19 season for the Coyotes but hasn’t been the same player since. Now on just a one-year, $1MM contract, he is a low-risk, low-reward play for the Blackhawks ten days before the deadline.

It’s low-risk because Morrison isn’t much of a prospect, despite his five points in six games so far this season for the Rockford Icehogs. He’s been up and down between the ECHL and AHL since turning pro and is a non-tender candidate when his entry-level contract expires at the end of this season.

If Hinostroza wasn’t going to play for the Panthers, they didn’t need to be carrying his $1MM cap hit on the books any longer. While Florida isn’t in desperate need of cap space and they could have freed up this amount simply by putting him on waivers and then the taxi squad, this at least gets them a closer look at Morrison down the stretch. Really, this is a deal about getting Hinostroza–a Chicago native–back where he feels most comfortable and with the management group that drafted and developed him.

He still may find himself on waivers at some point, but perhaps Hinostroza can refresh his career and find the level he had in the past. For a team still on the playoff bubble, adding some NHL-level depth is never a bad thing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vinnie Hinostroza Signs With Florida Panthers

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Florida Panthers have signed Vinnie Hinostroza to a contract after the young forward was not issued a qualifying offer by the Arizona Coyotes, according to team reporter Jameson Olive. James Mirtle of The Athletic reports the deal is just one-year in length and worth $1MM.

It’s somewhat shocking that Hinostroza could be had for such a low figure, given his history of success in the NHL and relative youth on the open market. The 26-year-old forward has scored 100 points in 246 games across four seasons, including a 16-goal campaign in 2018-19. Though that number dropped dramatically this year, Hinostroza also shot at an unsustainably-low 3.8%. If that number was at his previous career average of 9.1%, he would have had 12 goals in 68 games despite playing just over 13 minutes a night.

Since he still recorded 22 points in those 68 games, it’s hard to even understand why the Coyotes weren’t able to work out a deal. His qualifying offer would have been $1.5MM and he could have potentially secured more than that through arbitration, but seeing him sign in Florida for just $1MM must sting. That’s especially true with the Coyotes having such trouble scoring and when they instead went out and spent $2.5MM on Tyler Pitlick and John Hayden, both players that are arguably less effective than Hinostroza.

For Florida meanwhile, the signing continues a trend of acquiring players after their previous organizations cut them loose. The team also signed Alexander Wennberg and Radko Gudas today and traded for Markus Nutivaara earlier this week. At such low costs, each of these players represents a chance for some excess value this season in Florida. In Hinostroza’s case, it also reunites him with his former head coach Joel Quenneville, whom he played under in Chicago.

Ten Notable Non-Tenders

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Lost in the shuffle on the marathon second day of the draft is that Wednesday also represented the deadline for qualifying offers to be tendered.  The flattening of the salary cap increased the concerns about salary arbitration which has certainly affected the quality of players that are now set to hit the open market on Friday.  As these players will not be a part of our annual Top-50 UFA Rankings, here’s a rundown of ten notables to keep tabs on over the coming days, listed in alphabetical order.

Andreas Athanasiou (Edmonton)

Back at the trade deadline, the Oilers dealt a pair of second-round picks and Sam Gagner to secure the speedster, one that GM Ken Holland had plenty of familiarity with from his own days with Detroit.  While the winger was having a tough season, he’s only a year removed from a 30-goal campaign.  In a normal salary cap world, his $3MM qualifier would have been tough to swallow but still would have happened.  Instead, he hits the open market with Edmonton not getting much return for those two fairly high picks while becoming an intriguing bounce-back target for some teams.  He won’t get paid like a 30-goal scorer but as a third-liner with upside, he’ll land one of the bigger contracts out of this group of players if not the biggest.

Matt Benning (Edmonton)

There was a time that the Oilers hoped that Benning could step into a role on their second pairing but it didn’t come to fruition.  However, he has been a serviceable third-pairing player over the past few years but a cap-strapped Oilers team couldn’t justify qualifying him at $1.95MM.  Given that he’s a right-handed shot in a market that doesn’t have a lot of them, he should have interest from a few teams.

Nick Cousins (Vegas)

On the surface, a $1MM qualifying offer to a player who had 25 points in 65 games and got into 17 postseason contests doesn’t seem too pricey.  But this is a case where the potential for a higher award through arbitration is a risk that Vegas didn’t want to take with Cousins.  It’s the second-straight year that the 27-year-old was non-tendered for this reason after Arizona did the same thing a year ago.  A versatile depth player, he should be able to land somewhere for around the same contract as he played on this past season.

Anthony Duclair (Ottawa)

Despite finding an opportunity to play a bigger role than he had at any other point in his career, it seems as if Duclair may have overplayed his hand in contract talks.  After scoring 23 goals this season, he opted to represent himself in contract negotiations against the recommendation of GM Pierre Dorion who indicated that a sizable raise was offered before getting to this point.  Still just 25, Duclair becomes a very interesting addition to the open market but having bounced around the league already (he has played for five different teams in six NHL seasons), it’s hard to tell how strong his market may be.

Vinnie Hinostroza (Arizona)

A year ago, it looked like the 26-year-old was set to be a useful part of Arizona’s long-term plans.  He was coming off of a career-best 16-23-39 stat line and was pushing for a spot in their top six.  Things went sideways this year though as he potted just five goals in 68 games which made a $1.5MM qualifier untenable.  Hinostroza could fit on a third line for some teams and should have a fair bit of interest.

Dominik Kahun (Buffalo)

This was one of the more surprising non-tenders of the group.  Although Kahun has just two years of NHL experience, he’s arbitration-eligible since he’s 25.  He followed up a 37-point rookie campaign with 31 points this pandemic-shortened season (including four in six games with Buffalo after being acquired in a deadline day deal from Pittsburgh) while he also missed time with a concussion and a knee injury.  With his point per game average, he played at a 45-point full-season pace.  Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams has indicated they are interested in retaining the winger but if he makes it to the open market, he should be one of the most sought-after players from this list.

Mark Jankowski (Calgary)

While he had shown progress in his development over his first two full NHL seasons, things went off the rails in 2019-20.  Jankowski scored just five times in 56 games and while he wouldn’t have been able to get much more than his $1.75MM qualifier in arbitration, that was still too high of a price tag for Calgary’s liking.  Still just 26, Jankowski now heads to an open market that isn’t exactly loaded in available centers so while a pay cut is likely, he should have no issues finding a new team.

Dominik Simon (Pittsburgh)

A natural center, Simon has spent the majority of his time with Pittsburgh on the wing, playing on all four lines along the way.  While not a gifted point producer, he has surpassed 20 points in each of the last two seasons while posting above-average possession numbers.  Owed a qualifier of less than $800K, the fear of arbitration sealed Simon’s fate on a cap-strapped Penguins squad.

Troy Stecher (Vancouver)

In 2018-19, Stecher looked to be on the verge of securing a spot in Vancouver’s top four after averaging nearly 20 minutes a night and chipping in with 23 points.  But the return of a healthy Chris Tanev and the addition of Tyler Myers helped push the 26-year-old onto the third pairing and a much lower ATOI than usual.  A $2.325MM qualifier is a bit high for someone in that role but there should be a few teams that see him as a potential fourth or fifth option which makes him a notable addition to the UFA market.

Lucas Wallmark (Florida)

One of the notable parts of the Vincent Trocheck deal, Wallmark was coming off of a league-minimum salary which means this non-tender was solely arbitration related.  The 25-year-old only has two full NHL seasons under his belt, putting up 25 and 23 points in each while posting a faceoff percentage that’s a bit above the 50% mark each time.  There is still some upside with Wallmark and with a weak market down the middle, he’ll have no trouble generating interest.

While these players (among the others that were non-tendered) can become unrestricted free agents on Friday, some teams will still be negotiating with their players to try to get them at a lower salary than either their qualifying offer or their expected arbitration salary.  Usually, a handful wind up re-signing so at least for some of these players, their fates may not be completely sealed yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arizona Coyotes Will Not Qualify Vinnie Hinostroza

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Arizona Coyotes are expected to slash payroll dramatically this offseason as the team deals with a new financial reality. While that may play out most dramatically with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade, it also may be seen in the margins with some less expensive players. Vinnie Hinostroza, one of the team’s pending restricted free agents, is not expected to receive a qualifying offer according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. That would make him an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

Hinostroza, 26, would need a $1.5MM qualifying offer from the Coyotes to remain in the organization, but it could end up costing them even more than that to get him signed. The sixth-round pick is also arbitration-eligible, and with a 16-goal season in 2018-19 may end up landing more than just $1.5MM should he get that far. The only way to avoid arbitration is by cutting bait, something we suggested the Coyotes may do in our Free Agent Focus piece last month.

Frankly, Hinostroza hasn’t been good enough to deserve a raise this offseason. The former Chicago Blackhawk scored just five goals and 22 points for the Coyotes this season and doesn’t bring a ton of value outside of his expected offense.  When he first arrived in Arizona it seemed like a strong fit, but the combination of a lack of scoring and salary restructuring appear to have made him expendable.

As a free agent, he’ll be an interesting name to keep an eye on. Perhaps a team can get the relatively young forward on a bargain contract to attempt a bounce-back season, especially in a flat-cap world that could squeeze the midrange free agents.

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

scroll to top