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Tampa Bay Extends AHL Affiliation

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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch have been one of hockey’s most successful partnerships, and it isn’t going to end anytime soon. The two organizations have announced a new five-year affiliation extension, keeping them linked through the 2026-27 season.

General manager Julien BriseBois released a statement:

The Lightning are thrilled to extend our affiliation agreement with the Crunch today. Howard Dolgon and his group in Syracuse create an ideal environment for our prospects to develop in, as evidenced by the number of players that have eventually made it to Tampa to play for the Lightning. We’d like to thank Howard and the entire Crunch staff for their continued commitment to the success of both our franchises. We would also like to thank the Crunch fans for their passion and support of the team.

The number of players to come through the Crunch-Lightning pipeline and make an impact at the NHL is almost unparalleled in the AHL. Carter Verhaeghe, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Mitchell Stephens, Jan Rutta, Taylor Raddysh, Matthew Peca, Cedric Paquette, Richard Panik, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Nesterov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Jonathan Marchessault, Nikita Kucherov, Slater Koekkoek, Alex Killorn, Mathieu Joseph, Tyler Johnson, Connor Ingram, Libor Hajek, Radko Gudas, Yanni Gourde, Cal Foote, Adam Erne, Brett Connolly, Ross Colton, and on, and on.

There’s also head coach Jon Cooper, who was plucked from the Crunch to lead the lightning in 2013 when Guy Boucher was fired.

There’s absolutely no reason for either team to break a partnership that works this well. The minor league squad hasn’t had a losing record since 2013-14, and even then it was 31-32-13. While most affiliation agreements are just for a few seasons, a five-year deal between these two makes perfect sense.

St. Louis Blues Recall Jake Neighbours, Josh Leivo

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After sending them down yesterday to submit a cap-compliant opening night roster, the St. Louis Blues have recalled forwards Josh Leivo and Jake Neighbours ahead of the team’s season opener on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Neighbours is attempting to stick in the NHL full-time this season after receiving a nine-game trial in 2021-22. One of the team’s best prospects, the 20-year-old Neighbours can be a dominant power forward at times and is coming off a Memorial Cup appearance with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Neighbours will now be able to be sent to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds if he can’t stick in the NHL, rather than having to return to junior hockey. He’s slated to make his season debut along with the rest of the team on Saturday, likely playing alongside Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev.

Leivo is also expected to play Saturday as Logan Brown is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. A new addition to the Blues organization, Leivo had three points in seven games last season with the Carolina Hurricanes and was dominant in the playoffs with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves en route to a Calder Cup championship, scoring 29 points in just 18 games. With over 200 games of NHL experience, Leivo is a fine fill-in on the team’s fourth line and could make a case for himself to stay up with the team longer-term, albeit if it’s just as a healthy scratch. It wouldn’t be a new experience for him, infamously playing just 16 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017-18 under then-head coach Mike Babcock despite being healthy and on the active roster virtually all season long.

Marco Rossi, Calen Addison Make Minnesota Wild Opening Night Roster

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The Minnesota Wild announced via video on their website that prospects Marco Rossi and Calen Addison have both made the team’s opening night roster. In the video, Wild GM Bill Guerin and Head Coach Dean Evason sit down with each player individually to let them know they’ve made the team, and in Addison’s case, discuss becoming a full-time NHLer. Both players have made their NHL debuts, Addison playing as much as 15 regular season games last season on top of three playoff contests, but now both appear to be on their way to regular NHL roles. Michael Russo of The Athletic also reports that veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr has also made the opening roster.

Russo dove deeper into the team’s decision to keep two of its exciting young players on the roster, speaking with both, who reiterated their excitement at the news. Addison, who was originally a draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was acquired by the Wild in February of 2020 in the deal that sent forward Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. After finishing up his junior career in 2019-20 with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Addison turned pro full-time in 2020-21, playing the majority of the season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, making his NHL debut for Minnesota as well. Last season, Addison continued his AHL development, but appeared in 18 NHL games between the regular and postseason.

Rossi was Minnesota’s first round, ninth-overall selection in the 2020 draft coming off an impressive two-year stint with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, which included an incredible 120 points in just 56 games in 2019-20. However, a case of COVID that included long-term symptoms set Rossi back and raised concern that it could affect his development. The young forward was limited to just a single game in 2020-21 while playing in the Swiss league. Rossi would come over to North America for the 2021-22 season, and fears of his long-term hockey ability being set back were soon gone as the then-20-year-old scored 18 goals to go with 35 assists in 63 AHL contests for Iowa.

Now left in a precarious position with $12.7MM in dead cap in 2022-23 (going up to $14.7MM the following two seasons), Minnesota will need to find as much cost-controlled talent as it can get, especially after trading star forward Kevin Fiala. Though Addison and Rossi are largely unproven at this level, if Minnesota wishes to compete like it has the past few seasons, both will have to step up as regular contributors.

Avalanche Notes: Waivers, Newhook, Helm

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Saying the Colorado Avalanche have had a flurry of waiver-wire activity over the past couple of days surely wouldn’t make them unique; that would make them about a dime-a-dozen amongst other NHL clubs. However, their situation has created some buzz, and now we’re getting some clarity on it as well that not all teams necessarily provide. For one, as reported by Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, former top prospects Shane Bowers and Martin Kaut, who were both placed on waivers yesterday, cleared and have been assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Given the sheer number of players being placed on waivers this weekend, it’s not shocking that this pair would clear, especially given their lack of NHL success, however it was interesting to see the two placed on waivers given their former status as prospects and their still relatively young age (both are 23).

Turning to today’s waiver players, we noted earlier in today’s Waivers tracker that the Avalanche have put forwards Anton Blidh and Mikhail Maltsev on waivers. When head coach Jared Bednar met with the media, including Dater, earlier today, he shed some light on why that decision was made, indicating the two players were placed on waivers for “cap flexibility” purposes. That itself is not particularly surprising, considering that’s likely the reason for many waiver placements around the league right now, but Bednar did continue, saying that he felt Maltsev was “too quiet” in camp. The coach also added, without naming any specific names, “there’s a lot of guys that can ’play hockey.’ But we’re trying to win.”

  • For the most part, training camp is used as a time to decide who makes the roster, and for those who have already secured a spot, it may be about deciding where they play and what role(s) they occupy. That was set to be the case this camp for Avalanche center Alex Newhook, who appeared to be in line for the open second-line center job that was left vacant by Nazem Kadri who signed with the Calgary Flames. However, the team also inked veteran center Evan Rodrigues to a one-year, $2MM contract his offseason, giving Newhook formidable competition for the role. With camp in the rear-view and a focus on the regular season ahead, it seems as though the Avalanche have not made a concrete decision on who will occupy what role. Instead, Bednar told the media, including Dater, that he will give Newhook a real, everyday chance to win the job over “a couple of months.” The decision to essentially not make one, appears to make sense. Operating this way will not only to allow Colorado to evaluate team chemistry and see how Newhook’s development continues, but also to see where Rodrigues stands, who broke out with 43 points in 82 games last year.
  • On the injury front, Bednar said veteran forward Darren Helm likely won’t be able to play until “some time” early in the season. Helm, who played through an abdominal injury during Colorado’s Stanley Cup run last spring, is still recovering. A lack of a concrete timetable at this juncture is a bit concerning, however an early season return is nonetheless encouraging.

Snapshots: Kane, Valimaki, Has

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It seems it’s no longer an “if,” but instead a “when and where” that the Chicago Blackhawks trade franchise-great Patrick Kane. With Chicago escalating its rebuilding efforts this offseason, lead by the trade of Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators, it seemed Kane was as good as gone this summer too. However, the veteran has a full no-movement clause in his contract and appears keen on taking a wait-and-see approach this season with where he would want to be dealt. Still, given the tight squeeze on the salary cap for many teams, the forward’s impending free agency, and the fact that he’s still playing near the top of his game, finding a match on his shortlist of teams could prove to be a challenge nonetheless. One team that could be a fit is the Boston Bruins, but those challenges mentioned above pose as much of an issue to them as anyone else. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont acknowledges those challenges, but looks to find a path to a deal between the two Original Six squads.

Given Kane’s $10.5MM cap hit, of which the Blackhawks can retain 50% in a trade, and Boston being $1.44MM over the salary cap ceiling, Chicago would certainly have to take some salary back from Boston. This might not be an issue, Dupont says, as the team could realistically craft a package around one or both of forward Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Brandon Carlo, who carry cap hits of $4MM and $4.1MM respectively. These two aren’t the sort of young prospects or premier draft picks Chicago would hope to acquire, but could represent a collection of young talent that would help get things moving forward more quickly for the Blackhawks. Dupont also points to youngsters Jakub Zboril or Jack Studnicka as an additional sweetener if needed, but does raise concern if a first-round draft pick was needed on top of this package.

  • It’s once again that time of year where we’ll see at least a dozen players, if not more, hit the waiver wire each day, with some very intriguing names as part of that. Today’s crop of waiver-wire finds includes a pair of former top Avalanche prospects in Martin Kaut and Shane Bowers, who may still have room to grow, an intriguing defenseman in Mark Friedman, as well as another young 2017 first round pick like Bowers in that of Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki. Considering the amount of players on waivers and teams needing to trim their rosters, many players that would be claimed any other time of the year, are able to be snuck through. However, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic believes Valimaki might not be able to sneak through so easily. Losing someone like Valimaki, who still has some upside, for nothing wouldn’t be ideal for Calgary, but for Valimaki, Salvian points out, it could be a fresh start, perhaps with an opportunity to once again establish himself as an everyday NHLer.
  • The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, have signed defenseman Martin Has to a one-year AHL deal, the team announced. That news alone doesn’t seem to make it much different from any other AHL signing, however it does carry with it the caveat that Has is a Capitals draft pick who has not signed an ELC, but is still eligible for one. Has was a fifth-round selection of the Capitals back in 2019, but has seen limited game action prior to last season. The 21-year-old defenseman did put together a solid year in 2021-22 though, getting into 57 games as a member of the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL, recording 20 points. The Capitals have one year remaining in order to decide whether or not they would like to offer Has his ELC, otherwise he will become a free agent next summer.

Edmonton Oilers Hire Steve Staios

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The Edmonton Oilers have nabbed one of junior hockey’s most successful executives, hiring former NHL defenseman Steve Staios as a special advisor to the hockey operations staff. Staios will report to general manager Ken Holland and work closely with the team’s prospects.

Notably, the announcement also ends Staios’ time with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, a team he led to the league championship earlier this year. He joined the Bulldogs in 2016 after spending several years in the Toronto Maple Leafs player development department, a role that followed his long playing career.

That playing career included parts of eight seasons in Edmonton, where he played 573 regular season games for the Oilers, more than half of his career total. The physical defenseman racked up 743 penalty minutes and 146 points during those games and wore an “A” as alternate captain at times. In 2011-12, Staios eclipsed the 1,000-game mark for his career while playing in his final season with the New York Islanders, before retiring at the age of 38.

As general manager and president of the Bulldogs, he twice took home the OHL Championship, while also winning the GM of the Year award this past season. Many of the top contributors to the recent Hamilton squad were undrafted talents that were helped along and put in prime positions for success, something that the Oilers could certainly use some of as they continue to try and surround Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with depth.

If Staios can help set up a pipeline of junior talent to the Oilers, his presence will certainly be worth it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Montreal Canadiens Rebuild

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For many, looking at the Montreal Canadiens’ situation from afar, they would classify it as a “rebuild.” After appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals in the shortened 2020-21 season, the team was eager to repeat their success, but instead found themselves in the basement of the NHL standings. Not only that, it began to appear more and more clear that future Hall of Fame goaltender Carey Price would be sidelined long-term, if not for good. Losing their once-in-a-generation netminder would seem to make it all the more clear that this was a rebuild.

On Tuesday, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes discussed the state of the franchise with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Hughes said that early on after being hired (Hughes was named General Manage on January 18th of this year), he and his boss, Jeff Gorton, had declined to put any sort of label on their plans, whether that be a rebuild, a retool, a reset, or something else. However, when pressed by LeBrun about whether Price’s status impacts the direction of Montreal’s plans, Hughes said “I think so” before adding, “[I]f we had a fully healthy Carey Price,” then remarking that they did owe it to Price to try and remain competitive.

While Hughes still failed to put a label on their plans, being without Price for the 2022-23 season and likely beyond seems to push Montreal closer to a more conventional rebuild. Had Price been healthy and the the player everyone has come to expect, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that Montreal, with a few changes, could become competitive rather easily. Now, without a game-changer like Price, Montreal could opt to change course and take things slow.

When it comes to labeling the team’s process, one might wonder why the team would avoid doing so, and that reasoning could, of course, simply be subjective. On his reasoning, Hughes says, “people can put different connotations on what a rebuild means versus a reset or a re-tool. To me, they’re just words.” Instead, Hughes added, it’s more about trying to build something while not limiting his flexibility as far as conforming to the timeline and process that his words have put him into.

That seems to make the most sense for any team in this sort of situation, but especially the Canadiens. For one, there is a chance, albeit small, they could have Price back in the future. Second, this group has recently had great success. And third, although the team finished dead last in the entire league last season, there was a noticeable positive change after current head coach Martin St. Louis replaced Dominique Ducharme behind the bench, not to mention their injury situation, which was among the worst in the NHL.

Some might worry that Hughes’ unwillingness to put a label on the process constitutes unwarranted optimism that there may be no long-term tear down or protecting his and the team’s image as they prepare for a long-term teardown, and that concern may be fair. However, consider a similar situation that played out a few hundred miles south of Montreal with the New York Rangers. Recall in early 2018 when Rangers management, including Gorton himself, somewhat infamously issued a statement to fans, essentially advising them of a full-scale rebuild after years of success.

Many feared the worst after the team had traded an overwhelming majority of its prospects and draft picks in the years prior. But, the organization was able to hit on a number of their draft picks, many of which they acquired when they traded away veterans from their team. They were also fortunate to score in the draft lottery by securing a first and second overall pick, used to select Alexis Lafreniere in 2020 and Kaapo Kakko in 2019, respectively. Add on to that the acquisition of Adam Fox, who developed into a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman and the emergence of superstar netminder Igor Shesterkin. Perhaps most notable was, just 17 months after their announcement of a rebuild, the team signed superstar Artemi Panarin to a blockbuster deal.

Two seasons after that announcement, the Rangers found themselves as a play-in team in the 2020 bubble; three years later, they were in the playoff hunt up until the last week or so of the regular season; and four years after, they were big-time buyers at the trade deadline, gearing up for a Stanley Cup run. Sure, the Rangers were far more clear about their intentions (not many teams explicitly state their intention in a letter to fans either), but Hughes vagueness could give him the opportunity to assess his situation as it progresses and see where it fits. Perhaps there’s more good fortune beyond number one overall selection Juraj Slafkovsky and the process is accelerated like in New York; perhaps it’s a little longer and more deliberate like that of the Ottawa Senators or Detroit Red Wings; or perhaps it’s a drawn out, full-scale rebuild like the Arizona Coyotes. For now though, based on Hughes’ comments, flexibility in the process will be the name of the game in Montreal.

Morning Notes: Robertson, Petry, CHL

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Preseason is already well underway and there continues to be no real update in talks between Jason Robertson and the Dallas Stars, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The insider explains that the only thing coming out of either side is that daily discussions are being held.

Robertson, 23, is one of four remaining restricted free agents that needs a contract for this season, and by far the most important of the group. The young forward scored 41 goals and 79 points in 74 games last season. The Stars kick off their season on October 13 against the Nashville Predators.

  • Jeff Petry has received a $5,000 fine for roughing in last night’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. The Pittsburgh newcomer played more than every Penguin except Kris Letang, including nearly seven minutes on the powerplay. Despite the nine man-advantage opportunities, the Penguins lost 6-2, with Petry taking a frustration penalty when he punched the back of Jonatan Berggren’s head.
  • The CHL is already off and running, with players all heading back from their NHL camps to compete at the junior level once again. To kick things off, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has released full previews of each league, with prospects to look out for and rookies that will be building their stock. His pick for Rookie of the Year? Michael Misa, the Saginaw Spirit forward who was granted exceptional status. Misa is eligible for the 2025 NHL draft.

Top Blues Prospect Scott Perunovich Leaves Game With Injury

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Defenseman Scott Perunovich is one of the very best prospects the St. Louis Blues have in their system – if he stays healthy. Injuries have been a serious concern for him in the past, and they may be unfortunately continuing now. The Blues announced that Perunovich left tonight’s preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury and will not return.

Perunovich took a hit along the boards from Blackhawks forward Michal Teply, causing his arm/wrist area to make awkward contact with the glass.

St. Louis’ 45th overall pick in 2018, Perunovich missed the entire 2020-21 season with an injury after a spectacular junior season with the University of Minnesota Duluth. In 2019-20, he registered an assist per game and finished the year with 40 points in 34 games. Despite the missed season, Perunovich didn’t seem to miss a step in 2021-22, scoring 22 points in just 17 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and registering six assists in his first 19 NHL games with the Blues. He now has just played those 36 games combined over the last two seasons, and the 24-year-old is losing precious development time.

Perunovich figured to challenge for a top-four role with the Blues this season, especially with veteran Marco Scandella on the injured list. Hopefully, Perunovich’s injury isn’t long-term and he’s able to rebound and get back to health before the regular season begins.

Minor Transactions: 09/02/22

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Just a few weeks from now, NHL teams will be taking the ice to do battle in the preseason. Meanwhile, minor league and European clubs continue to make additions to their own rosters in preparation for the regular season. As always, we’ll keep track of today’s notable minor moves right here.

  • Max Martin, who played 13 games for the Texas Stars last season, has signed a new one-year deal with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for 2022-23. The WHL champion went undrafted out of junior but had inked a deal with Texas to make the jump to the AHL. After just 22 games, he’ll now compete in the ECHL for the upcoming season.
  • CapFriendly completed a bit of housekeeping today, moving Bogdan Trineyev, Adam Sykora, Adam Edstrom, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Dmitri Ovchinnikov, Marco Kasper, Noah Ostlund, and Mikael Pyyhtia to the “loaned” designation, indicating they will be playing overseas this season. There are no real surprises among the group, though it does include some top prospects that should be in North America in the coming years.
  • Alex D’Orio, who had been on an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins until this summer, has signed with IF Bjorkloven of the Swedish second tier. D’Orio became an unrestricted free agent when the Penguins decided to not issue him a qualifying offer.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

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