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AHL Exemption Coming For Some CHL Prospects

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In the 2020-21 season, with the OHL not playing at all and the other two CHL leagues playing shortened schedules, many prospects that would not normally be eligible for the AHL played in the minor leagues. According to the CHL-NHL agreement, many of those players would be forced back to junior for 2021-22, if they had not yet reached the age of 20. For a player like Cole Perfetti, it meant he would either have to make the Winnipeg Jets or return to the Saginaw Spirit, despite scoring 26 points in 32 games for the Manitoba Moose, clearly proving he can compete at the AHL level.

Special circumstances need special rules though, and Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the finishing touches are being put on an agreement that will allow junior eligible players who played 20 or more AHL games this season to return to the AHL in 2021-22. Perfetti, to stay with the same example, would not be required to go back to the OHL even though he is still just 19 years old.

The move would be a huge boost for the AHL, as the minor league could now have more young star power competing next season, but it is also a huge loss for the junior leagues, the OHL in particular. Players like Seth Jarvis or Connor Zary from the WHL didn’t have time to reach that 20-game threshold before their junior season started up again, even though they did play well in the short minor league stint.

One interesting case is Jamie Drysdale of the Anaheim Ducks. The 19-year-old defenseman played just 14 games at the AHL level, but that’s not because he went back to junior. Drysdale instead joined the NHL club for 24 games. Though he is likely to stay with the Ducks for next season, it is interesting to note that under the proposed rule, he would appear not to be eligible for AHL action if he struggles at all to start the year. Dreger does tweet that the eventual agreement will be a little more complicated, so perhaps there will be exceptions for players like Drysdale.

Snapshots: Baptiste, Letowski, Kalamazoo

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Nicholas Baptiste found new life with the Texas Stars this season, getting his career back on track with 23 points in 34 AHL games. The 25-year-old forward will now head overseas to play for Ilves in Finland, where he could find even more offensive success. A third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Baptiste played 47 games with the team between 2016-18, scoring ten points. He’s been stuck in the minor leagues ever since, suiting up for the Milwaukee Admirals, Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators in addition to the Stars.

An unrestricted free agent that was playing under an AHL deal, Baptiste is still young enough to go to Europe, boost his value and potentially return on an NHL contract down the line. He’ll have to perform, obviously, but this may not be the last we’ve heard of Baptiste in North American pro hockey.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have hired Trevor Letowski as an assistant coach for the upcoming season, adding him to Dominique Ducharme’s staff. Letowski, who played more than 600 games in the NHL, was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires for four seasons before this new appointment, though he didn’t get to serve during the canceled 2020-21 OHL season. Letowski joins a staff that already had assistants Alexandre Burrows and Luke Richardson, the latter of which signed a new three-year contract recently.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have reached an affiliation agreement with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL, joining forces once again. The two were affiliates between 2014-16, but the Wings had other agreements with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks since then. For the 2021-22 season, after opting out of the ECHL season this year, they’ll be linked to the Blue Jackets, meaning they’ll receive some of their lower-end prospects. The ECHL is especially important for goaltending prospects, who need playing time above all else for their continued development.

Hockey Canada Names WJC Coaching Staff, Development Camp Roster

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Hockey Canada has announced the coaching staff for this year’s National Junior Team, introducing Dave Cameron as the replacement for the outgoing Andre Tourigny. Tourigny of course recently took an NHL head coaching job with the Arizona Coyotes, meaning he would no longer be able to fulfil his duties to the national program. Cameron will be joined by assistants Michael Dyck, Louis Robitaille and Dennis Williams, along with goaltending consultant Olivier Michaud. Hockey Canada senior VP Scott Salmond released a statement on the new staff:

We are excited to welcome five experienced coaches to Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2021-22 season, all of whom bring a wealth of experience from the National Hockey League, Canadian Hockey League and internationally. We know these five men will represent our country with pride as they use their leadership and expertise to help Canada compete for a gold medal this December.

Cameron, who also replaced Tourigny as head coach of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, is returning to the WJC program for the first time since 2011. He led the team to a silver medal that year, coaching a group that included future NHL staples like Ryan Ellis, Tyson Barrie, Casey Cizikas, Sean Couturier, and Brayden Schenn. This time around he’ll have a new list of young stars to pick from, including top 2021 prospects like Brandt Clarke, Dylan Guenther and Mason McTavish.

The full list of players invited to development camp was also announced today:

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Logan Mailloux Renounces Himself From 2021 NHL Draft

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Any team that was struggling with the decision of whether or not to select Logan Mailloux in the upcoming draft has now been taken off the hook. The top prospect has renounced himself from the 2021 NHL Draft, asking teams not to select him.

Mailloux, 18, according to reports in The Athletic and Daily Faceoff, was charged in Sweden with taking and distributing an offensive photo without consent during a consensual sexual encounter last year. According to Katie Strang and Corey Pronman of The Athletic, at least nine teams had already completely dropped Mailloux off their draft list because of the incident. Now, the prospect is asking for the entire league to pass on him. In a Twitter post today, Mailloux wrote:

Being drafted into the NHL is an honour and a privilege that no one takes lightly. The NHL Draft should be one of the most exciting landmark moments in a player’s career, and given the circumstances I don’t feel I have demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege in the 2021 Draft. If I were to ever have the honour of being selected I would want a fanbase to be proud to welcome me to their organization. I know it will take time for society to build back the trust I have lost, and that is why I think it is best that I renounce myself from the 2021 NHL Draft and ask that no one select me this upcoming weekend. I feel that this would allow me the opportunity to demonstrate an adequate level of maturity and character next season with the London Knights in the OHL and provide all the NHL teams the opportunity to reassess my character towards the 2022 NHL Draft.

Should he go undrafted, Mailloux could return to the London Knights and continue his hockey career. When asked for comment by Strang, the Knights released a statement indicating that they would continue to work with the young defenseman to “help him better understand his actions, the ramifications of his actions and [ensure] that this does not happen again.” If undrafted, he would be eligible for the 2022 draft. Mailloux was ranked 23rd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Ryan Ellis, Phillippe Myers, Nolan Patrick, Cody Glass Swapped In Three-Team Trade

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Talk about going out with a bang. Just before the NHL entered a transaction freeze that lasts through Wednesday’s Expansion Draft, the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vegas Golden Knights completed a trade with a slew of big names. Nashville sent career Predator Ryan Ellis to Philadelphia in exchange for fellow defenseman Philippe Myers and center Nolan Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. The Predators then flipped Patrick to Vegas for another young center, Cody Glass, the No. 6 overall pick in 2017. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, this is a purely player-for-player trade with no picks or prospects changing hands.

At first glance, the biggest winner in this trade has to be the Flyers. While Nashville was exploring trading one of five defensemen that they would have liked to protect from expansion, Ellis was not considered to be a likely trade candidate. The 30-year-old right-hander has been an elite defenseman for the better part of the last decade with the Predators, playing big minutes and producing impressive point totals all while playing a sound defensive game. Admittedly, Ellis does carry some concerns, including an offensive drop-off this season, an injury history, and a contract with six years and $37.5MM remaining. However, at least in the short-term, he is an outstanding addition to the Flyers’ defense corps. Their core objective this off-season was to find a mate for Ivan Provorov on the top pair and that is now complete.

It is hard to take issue with the cost paid by the Flyers as well. Ellis, though much older and a very different style of player, is a tremendous upgrade to Myers on the Philly blue line. As a one-for-one swap, there is no question that Ellis is the better player right now and Myers will likely never reach that caliber of play either. As for Patrick, the young forward needed a change of scenery after his first few years as a pro player have been marked by injury and inconsistency. There was some discussion that Philadelphia could even leave Patrick exposed, given their vast number of valuable, expansion eligible forwards. By moving Patrick in this deal, the Flyers give up the upside of the former top pick, but gain protection flexibility in exchange. Leading scorer James van Riemsdyk or long-time standout Jakub Voracek, both previously expected to be exposed to the Seattle Kraken, could now step into Patrick’s vacancy.

As for Nashville, the deal solves some problems but all of them. The Predators have been looking to clear salary cap space this summer to improve their roster and do just that by getting out from under Ellis’ expensive long-term contract. However, by bringing in Myers they are still left with five defensemen that they would like to protect – Myers, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Dante Fabbro, and Alexandre Carrier – but only eight total skaters they can protect. Fortunately, the forward portion of their protection scheme is made easier by flipping Patrick for Glass, who is exempt from the Expansion Draft. Glass was never given consistent opportunity in Vegas possesses ample ability and could find success for Nashville right away.

Vegas was clearly unhappy with Glass’ development, leading to his benching in the postseason and trade rumors early this off-season. However, the team has been too quick to trade away prospects and picks in their early seasons of existence and losing Glass would have hurt their pipeline if he had been dealt in a deal for yet another veteran. Instead, they replace him with Patrick, who is still just 22 and has three seasons of NHL experience under his belt. Perhaps most importantly, Patrick has experience with Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon, the former GM of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings when Patrick was a superstar for the team. If anyone can help Patrick get back on track and reach his potential, it could be McCrimmon. In regards to the Expansion Draft, Vegas is exempt and taking advantage of that special privilege with what could turn out to be a major move down the road.

This is a landscape-shifting move for the Seattle Kraken, who now could see players for both Philadelphia and Nashville that they expected to be exposed now protected. It is believed that the Predators were seeking a side deal with Seattle and there is no word as to whether one has been completed or not, though Nashville appears to have some sort of trick up their sleeve. As for Philly, the Kraken probably believed that they could see at least two of Patrick, van Riemsdyk, and Voracek exposed, but now will not. GM Ron Francis and company have their work cut out for them in reacting to a wild pre-roster freeze flurry.

“Every GM In The League” Has Called On Seth Jones

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are having to make another difficult decision this off-season, as star defenseman Seth Jones has indicated that he will test free agency next summer rather than re-sign. As The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes, barring a change of heart, this means that Jones will be traded, as expected. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has allowed other top players to stay with the team and walk as free agents in recent years, but with the team re-tooling and John Davidson back in his role as team president and focused on the future, Jones will not follow suit.

Fortunately, the Blue Jackets will have no trouble at all trading Jones and will be able to get a major return back. Kekalainen tells Portzline that he has ” heard from just about every GM in the league” since Jones’ availability became public. This could be puffery from the veteran executive to drive up the price, but is also entirely believable. Jones has been playing top-pair minutes for years, produces on offense, is solid on defense, and has improved in his physicality as well. At just 26, Jones is one of the more complete defensemen in the NHL and any club could use him.

Who will be the lucky team that lands Jones though? Portzline has heard four names come up repeatedly in conversations with sources around the league: Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. The Avalanche certainly stand out as a outlier; the top contenders have plenty of depth on defense and are lacking in cap space, this year and beyond. They would likely be looking at Jones as a year-long rental as they push for that elusive Stanley Cup. Would the cost be worth the short-term investment though? The other three clubs certainly would be eyeing a long-term deal with Jones as they are each in need of a top-tier defenseman. The Flyers have long been searching for a capable player to pair with Ivan Provorov on their top pair and Jones is as good a fit as can be found on the market. The Blackhawks also have been without a truly elite defenseman for some time. Like Colorado, they have salary cap issues but would be more willing and able to make it work. The Kings are the most dangerous buyer on the market, armed with a ton of talented prospects and fueled by a desire to improve before their aging core calls it quits. A top defenseman would go a long way in L.A.’s effort to return to relevance.

Of course, as Jones’ market continues to develop and the asking price becomes more concrete, another suitor could swoop in. Every team in the league will keep an eye on the bidding war over the next few weeks, before the Blue Jackets are expected to pull the trigger, by the NHL Entry Draft if not before.

Trade Rumors: Eichel, Blackhawks, Kings

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Jack Eichel remains the biggest name on the trade market and will remain as such until he is dealt. Or not dealt? The Athletic’s John Vogl spoke to both sides and found that GM Kevyn Adams and Eichel’s agent had a long, productive meeting on Wednesday. Eichel’s camp believes that the situation is “heading toward a resolution.” Read into that what you will, but the language at least hints at a possible reconciliation between the two sides. This report comes on the heels of TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that the Sabres’ asking price of “the equivalent of four first-round picks” has depressed the market. If the Sabres are not willing to drop the price of this franchise-altering trade, they could instead try to make amends with their superstar. Then again, Vogl also notes that the Sabres have not changed their opinion on Eichel’s proposed controversial neck surgery, a line in the sand that could still split the two sides. “Resolution” could still mean that the team and the player are working toward finding a trade.

  • One team in on Eichel are the Chicago Blackhawks. Don’t mistake their openness to trading iconic defenseman Duncan Keith as transitioning into a rebuild. Dreger notes that they are big game hunting this summer and have talked to Buffalo about the star center. However, Dreger does not believe that adding Eichel to a roster that already has two top-tier forward contracts in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews is feasible from a cap perspective, even if Keith is moved. Instead, he believes that Chicago has a far better chance of landing one of their other two rumored targets: defensemen Seth Jones and Dougie Hamilton.
  • The equivalent of four first-round picks is a mighty big ask, but it won’t slow down the Los Angeles Kings if they want to add Eichel. L.A. has long been a rumored landing spot for Eichel and it seems there is mutual interest in a trade. As Vogl notes, the Kings’ ability to part with the pieces needed to land Eichel hasn’t changed with today’s deal for Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson. L.A. parted with two valuable draft picks, but not a first-round pick nor any of their top-flight first-round prospects like Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Turcotte, Rasmus Kupari, or Tobias Bjornfot. If Eichel remains on the market, the Kings will definitely be in play.

Snapshots: Keith, Petruzzelli, Power

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Information is flowing fast after today’s reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are looking for trade options for longtime defender Duncan Keith. A veteran of almost 1,200 NHL games, all with the Blackhawks, he’s entered a steep decline since finishing fourth in Norris voting in 2016-17. Keith’s still been forced to play upwards of 23 minutes a night due to Chicago’s lack of defensive depth, and it’s hurt both his offensive and defensive numbers significantly. He posted a career-low 15 points this season along with some of the worst possession metrics of his career. With two more seasons left at $5.5MM, Chicago is antsy to get out of the deal as soon as they can. With Elliotte Friedman’s reports today that a potential destination is likely in the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada, combined with the fact that Keith has a residence in Penticton, British Columbia, many pointed to the Vancouver Canucks as a suitor for the 37-year-old. The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal is now reporting, however, that the Canucks haven’t shown interest in Keith and won’t make any efforts to acquire him. Taking on more salary is understandably tough for Vancouver right now, who still have Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to sign to new contracts this offseason.

  • Despite the Detroit Red Wings being one of the more up-and-coming teams in the league, one of their prospects is deciding to leave the organization. Mark Divver of The New England Hockey Journal reports that goaltender Keith Petruzzelli doesn’t intend to sign his entry-level contract with the Wings and will hit free agency in August. A promising young netminder with a big 6′ 5″ frame, Petruzzelli was drafted in the third round (88th overall) by Detroit at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft after a solid season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. Petruzzelli has since spent his hockey career playing four seasons for Quinnipiac University, with his record and save percentage climbing every season. Capping off his senior year with a .926 save percentage and 17-8-4 record, Petruzzelli will undoubtedly receive NHL and AHL offers this August to join another organization.
  • A report today by NHL.com’s Mike Morreale says that the Buffalo Sabres still have not interviewed defender Owen Power, the expected first-overall selection in this year’s draft. Power is quoted in the piece as saying that he’s already spoken with 10 to 15 teams, additionally, he doesn’t know when a potential interview with the Sabres could happen. Power, a gigantic 6′ 5″ left-shot defender, has seen himself rise to the top of rankings due to his impressive two-way play and skating. It’s hard to remember the last time the consensus top prospect wasn’t taken with the first-overall pick, but with the minuscule talent gap between the top few prospects, it’s possible that Buffalo could indeed select someone else. It could be that they just don’t see left defense as a weakness, considering the presence of Rasmus Dahlin. It could also be that they just view someone else as the best player available. But with less than a month until draft day, all eyes will be on Buffalo’s scouts and an extremely important draft pick.

All contract information via CapFriendly.

2021 CHL Import Draft Results

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The CHL held its annual import draft today, where teams from across the Canadian junior leagues get to select the rights of players around the world. Often these are recently drafted prospects, or those seen to have a good chance at next year’s draft. Being selected has no guarantee that the player will actually ever suit up for the team, as Filip Chytil proved in 2017. Chytil was selected seventh overall by the North Bay Battalion but ended up spending the year with the New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack after impressing in his first training camp.

There are clear benefits from picking at the top of the draft though, as the Sudbury Wolves found out in 2018-19. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the third-overall selection and ended up winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player. Because things in the hockey world were so unclear last season, only 66 players ended up being picked in the 2020 draft. Even selections as high as tenth overall were forfeited. This time around things will be a little different as the CHL prepares for a return to a normal schedule in 2021-22.

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Boston Bruins To Name Maine Mariners As ECHL Affiliate

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June 30: The official announcement has been made. Maine will be the new affiliate of the Boston and Providence Bruins.

June 29: The Boston Bruins are set to bring their ECHL prospect much closer to home. The Portland Press Herald’s Glenn Jordan reports that their city’s ECHL franchise, the Maine Mariners, will soon become the official affiliate of the nearest NHL team, with the Bruins expected to make an announcement on Wednesday. This will mark the end of the Mariners’ relationship with the New York Rangers, Jordan notes, as well the break-up between Boston and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

This is just the latest shake-up in the ever-changing minor affiliation landscape. A relatively stable set of relationships for quite a while during the 2000’s and into the early 2010’s, the last several years have brought a number of changes to the AHL and ECHL and their associations with NHL parent clubs. Maine, a 2018 ECHL Expansion team, did not play this past season due to COVID-19 but are set to return in 2021-22 with an exciting new partnership. Ironically, Atlanta also did not play this season due to the pandemic and the Bruins sent their ECHL prospects to the Jacksonville Ice Men. Even more ironic is that Jordan reports that Jacksonville will now become the new affiliate of the Rangers in place of Maine. This will displace the Winnipeg Jets, who will need a new ECHL affiliate with the Gladiators, Allen Americans, and Norfolk Admirals to choose from. The Jets could also opt not to partner with an ECHL team, as several other NHL teams have.

There is a bit of history to this move as well. The original Maine Mariners were an AHL team from 1977 to 1992, at which time they relocated and became – the Providence Bruins. There is also a long-standing relationship between not only Boston sports teams and Maine but the Boston-Providence-Portland trifecta. The Boston Red Sox for decades housed their AAA affiliate in the Providence suburb of Pawtucket and their AA affiliate in Portland. While the Pawtucket Red Sox relocated to Worcester this year, the Portland Sea Dogs are still standing. The Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics (formerly Red Claws) also play in Portland. The Mariners will have some stiff competition for Maine’s most popular minor league team, but between the multiple iterations of the Mariners sandwiching a long run by the AHL’s Portland Pirates and previous QMJHL teams in the state, Portland has always belonged to hockey and excitement will be at a new high with the Boston affiliation.

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