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West Notes: Kaprizov, Nalimov, Ferraro, Dugan

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In his most recent mailbag series, The Athletic’s Micheal Russo (subscription required) writes even though prized prospect Kirill Kaprizov could finish his KHL season early, don’t expect him to be in a Minnesota Wild uniform before the season ends. The scribe writes that Kaprizov’s contract with CSKA Moscow doesn’t expire until Apr. 30, which means the soonest that Minnesota could sign the 22-year-old will be on May 1 to a two-year deal. While nothing is set in stone, it is believed that Kaprizov, who will be a free agent, will sign with the Wild this summer.

Minnesota also expects Kaprizov to play for Russia at the World Championships this summer (assuming it isn’t cancelled due to the coronavirus), before reporting the Minnesota this summer, according to Russo, who spoke to general manager Bill Guerin. It’s expected that he will attend development camp between June 28 to July 3 and would be expected to play in one of the rookie games in September.

Kaprizov is wrapping up his best season yet in the KHL as he has tallied 33 goals and 62 points in 57 games and should be one of the top rookies in the NHL next season.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) writes that Chicago Blackhawks goaltending prospect Ivan Nalimov is expected to sign a professional tryout agreement with their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs in the next few days. After playing with Sochi this season in the KHL, Nalimov has become a free-agent and is allowed to negotiate with the Blackhawks. Nalimov’s play over the years has been inconsistent, so the idea of signing him to an AHL PTO is a low-risk maneuver and will allow the team a chance to evaluate him up close before deciding whether to sign him to a NHL contract. The 25-year-old finished his season with Sochi with a 7-14-1 record in 24 appearances with a 2.50 GAA and a .911 save percentage. The Blackhawks have a number of decisions to make in net throughout the organization with just Collin Delia and Matt Tompkins signed. The team will have to make decisions on Corey Crawford, Malcolm Subban, Kevin Lankinen and now Nalimov this summer.
  • The San Jose Sharks will be without defenseman Mario Ferraro all weekend. The rookie defenseman has been trying to play through a lower-body injury for a week and a half, but finally requires a break as he will sit out Saturday’s game against Ottawa and against Colorado on Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. Head coach Bob Boughner hopes Ferraro will be available by Wednesday, the start of the team’s four-game road trip. Ferraro, the college defensive partner of Colorado’s Cale Makar, has two goals and 11 points in 61 games in his first season with the Sharks.
  • David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that the Vegas Golden Knights might get a depth addition as soon as next weekend (assuming they don’t get into the NCAA tournament) as Jack Dugan, who currently leads college hockey with 52 points, could sign with Vegas. Dugan, the Golden Knights’ fifth-round pick in 2017, has dominated in college and could add provide some depth, especially after the team learned that Cody Glass will miss the rest of the season.

Minor Transactions: 3/7/20

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As usual, Saturday is a busy day on the schedule with 20 teams in action including the Panthers who will be retiring Roberto Luongo’s number in advance of their game against Montreal.  There should be plenty of roster movement throughout the day which we’ll keep track of here.

  • The Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Dennis Gilbert to AHL Rockford, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. The 23-year-old played for them on Friday while being up on emergency recall and logged 13:36 of ice time.  He has suited up 21 times for Chicago this season, picking up a goal and two assists.
  • With Lawrence Pilut dealing with the flu, the Sabres announced the recall of defenseman John Gilmour from AHL Rochester. The 26-year-old blueliner has played in four games with Buffalo this season but has spent most of the year in the minors.  After putting up 54 points at the AHL level a year ago, Gilmour has just 13 with Rochester so far this season.
  • The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned defenseman William Lagesson to AHL Bakersfield.  With Oscar Klefbom being activated off injured reserve, the odds of Lagesson getting any NHL ice time go down considerably as he already was a regular healthy scratch but he’ll log plenty of minutes for the Condors.  Meanwhile, getting Klefbom back after missing three weeks due to a shoulder issue will certainly help Edmonton’s push for first place in the Pacific Division.
  • The Sharks announced the recall of defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.  The 21-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent back in July and has played in 33 AHL games this season, picking up a goal and four assists. The San Jose Sharks later announced they have recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. The 25-year-old DeSimone has yet to make his NHL debut. He has five goals and 19 points in 48 games.
  • After being recalled earlier in the week on an emergency basis, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois to AHL Utica.  The 22-year-old has been up three times with Vancouver this season but has yet to see any action with them in 2019-20.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled forward Janne Kuokkanen from the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. The Devils picked up Kuokkanen from the Carolina Hurricanes at the traded deadline for Sami Vatanen. Kuokkanen has fared quite well with Binghamton since acquired, scoring three goals and six points in four games. He has 15 goals and 48 points in 56 AHL games. The 21-year-old Kuokkanen has 11 NHL games under his belt, having played seven games with the Hurricanes last season with no points.
  • The Boston Bruins announced they assigned forward Karson Kuhlman to the Providence Bruins of the AHL after the team activated defenseman Connor Clifton from injured reserve. The 24-year-old Kuhlman played in 25 games for Boston, posting one goals and six points. Clifton, has been out since Dec. 29, with an upper-body injury. While offense was never a strong point for the 24-year-old with two goals and two points in 30 games, Clifton did provide some physicality with 85 hits.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled forward Morgan Geekie from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The 21-year-old center became one of the top forward options on the Checkers squad after the team traded away a number of prospects recently, including Kuokkanen, Julien Gauthier (to the New York Rangers) and Eetu Luostarinen (to the Florida Panthers). With the increased playing time, Geekie captured AHL Player of the Week honors for his performance last week, which included four goals and seven points in four games.

Minor Transactions: 03/04/20

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Just four games are on the NHL schedule this evening, though the earliest game is one to tune in for. The Philadelphia Flyers will travel and take on the Washington Capitals in a battle of the top two teams in the Metropolitan. The Flyers, on a six-game winning streak, have climbed to within three points of the division lead and look unstoppable of late. As they and the rest of the league prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • After last night’s game, the San Jose Sharks sent Nick DeSimone back to the minor leagues. Today however they’ve recalled him again, continuing his season of bouncing up and down between leagues.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled both Nicolas Roy and Brandon Pirri, giving them two more forward options for their game on Friday night.
  • After being recalled by the Dallas Stars to fill in for an injured Ben Bishop, Jake Oettinger has been returned to the minor leagues. The top goalie prospect will get his chance one day in the NHL but that time is not just yet.
  • With Tomas Tatar’s injury last night, the Montreal Canadiens have recalled Lukas Vejdemo from the minor leagues. The young forward will join the team on the road and is available for Thursday night.

Pius Suter Drawing NHL Interest

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If you were a fan of the OHL’s Guelph Storm in 2014, you will remember what a powerhouse club they were. Led by future NHL talents like Brock McGinn, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Dickinson and Robby Fabbri, the team went 52-12-4 and walked through the playoffs en route to an OHL championship. One of the depth players on that team was a Swiss-born forward named Pius Suter, who would be one of the club’s best players the next season before returning to Europe.

Undrafted, Suter has spent the last five seasons playing for Zurich SC of the Swiss professional league, continuing his development as a top two-way center. In 2018 he suited up for Switzerland in the Olympics and this season has seen him take the jump to league superstar, leading the NLA in both goals and points. It comes as no surprise then that a report today has NHL teams showing interest in Suter, though there will be complications.

Suter’s contract with the Lions extends through the 2022-23 season, but the report indicates that it includes an out-clause this summer. Should he decide to exercise that and try his hand in the NHL, it will be interesting to see which teams pursue the 23-year old.

Much was made recently when the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Denis Malgin, a former teammate of Auston Matthews during his time in Switzerland. Well Suter was also on that team with Matthews and Malgin, one which took home the league championship. Malgin and Suter were on the Swiss World Junior team that year as well, alongside San Jose Sharks star Timo Meier and New Jersey Devils top center Nico Hischier, among others.

Evening Notes: Marleau, Stamkos, Timashov, Merzlikins

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Just a handful of months ago, veteran winger Patrick Marleau made it clear he only wanted to play for the San Jose Sharks after he was bought out of his previous contract. He did eventually sign with them, but with Marleau’s approval, the Sharks traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline in hopes he might be able to chase a Stanley Cup.

However, with just 51 games remaining before he breaks Gordie Howe’s games played record, many wonder if Marleau might opt to re-sign with the Sharks this summer. When asked, Marleau admitted that might be a possibility, according to Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka.

“Yeah, I think the door’s open maybe to come back,” said Marleau. “I definitely would like to play another season, so that would be good.”

  • Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said that the decision to allow forward Steven Stamkos to undergo muscle core surgery was a tough one, but was the result of multiple tests and discussions with Stamkos and doctors, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. Stamkos will have the surgery on Monday and will miss six to eight weeks, meaning he is likely to miss some of the playoffs. The timing is tough, but Cooper added, “Good thing is when it gets done, it’s done, and now we never have to worry bout it again.”
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Dmytro Timashov, claimed off waivers last Monday, will make his debut with the Red Wings Saturday in Ottawa. However, the forward will not travel with the team back home, however, as the forward is still dealing with visa issues and can only play with Detroit because they are in Canada at the moment, according to NHL.com’s Dana Wakiji. “He’ll have to stay in Canada here,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “He has to pick up his passport. So he’s hoping to get that Monday and get back for the game Monday night.”
  • The Athletic’s Alison Lukan reports that Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who left last Monday’s game after colliding with Ottawa’s Anthony Duclair, is out with a concussion. The scribe writes that the head injury is considered to be minor, but Columbus is taking the injury cautiously. Merzlikins has a 2.53 goals against and a .922 save percentage in 32 appearances. However, with Joonas Korpisalo back in the fold, the team doesn’t have to rush Merzlikins back quickly.

Pacific Notes: Russell, Nygard, Lehner, Meier, Backes

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The Edmonton Oilers have gotten a boost on defense. The team announced they have swapped roster players. The Oilers have activated defenseman Kris Russell from long-term injured reserve, while placing forward Joakim Nygard on IR as well. Russell’s return is well-timed after the team lost Mike Green for an extended period.

The 32-year-old Russell has been out since Jan. 29 with a concussion, but finally appears ready to return to the team’s defense. Russell is expected to step in as a third-pairing defender Saturday. He has appeared in 49 games with eight assists and 93 blocked shots. Nygard has been out of the lineup since Jan. 29 with a broken hand, but the team didn’t place him onto IR until now. He is not expected back until late March.

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) looks into the possibility of whether the Vegas Golden Knights could find a way to keep goaltender Robin Lehner, an unrestricted free agent this summer, in the future. With the estimation of a six-year, $6MM AAV contract as a potential contract for Lehner, Granger notes that it is possible to keep both Lehner and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury, who still has two years remaining at $7MM AAV. However, it would put the team in a very tight cap situation and investing $13MM in goalies doesn’t make much sense. However, the scribe did admit it is possible that the team could conceivably attempt to trade someone like Paul Stastny, who would be in the final year at $6.5MM. Either way, the Golden Knights will have to make some tough decisions this summer.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier is seriously considering playing at the World Championships that will be held in Switzerland. The 23-year-old from Switzerland said he hasn’t given it any real thought yet, but admits it would be a great opportunity to play in front of his own country. Meier did play for the Swiss back in 2018 when they took a silver medal.
  • Recently acquired forward David Backes hopes to get into an Anaheim Ducks game soon, perhaps even Sunday against the New Jersey Devils, according to OC Register’s Eliott Teaford. The 35-year-old was acquired a few days before the trade deadline that saw forward Ondrej Kase headed to Boston for Backes, a 2020 first-round pick and a prospect. Backes, however, has not appeared in an NHL games since Jan. 9, and has spent his time this week getting back into game shape. “I’ve probably reached a saturation point where it’s been just me and a coach out there being in a practice situation,” Backes said. “I’ve done a lot of that, so now it’s bumping and grinding and timing and angles. When you haven’t played in two months, it’s going to be a process. But I’m excited to start that process, hopefully, sooner than later.”

No Extension Talks Yet For Aaron Dell

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It has been a resurgent season of sorts for Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell.  After it looked like they’d be forced to look for another option following a season where he posted just a .886 SV%, the 30-year-old has bounced back this year and has effectively taken the number one job from Martin Jones for the time being.  Despite that, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that there have been no discussions regarding a possible contract extension for the pending unrestricted free agent and it appears those will have to occur over the summer.  For his part, Dell appears to be interested in remaining with the team he signed with as an undrafted free agent back in 2013, citing that he and Jones (who is signed through 2023-24) work well together.  With San Jose likely remaining as a cap-strapped team for next season, re-signing Dell may be a more cost-effective option over bringing a more proven option in to push Jones.

Minor Transactions: 02/27/20

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How about ten NHL games with plenty of playoff implications for your Thursday night? That’s what is on offer this evening around the league as several postseason hopefuls do battle. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers kick things off with their seasons on the line, while the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators battle to stay in the Western Conference race. As the league prepares, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Joshua Norris, the young forward who has dominated the minor leagues in his first taste of professional hockey. One of the key parts in the Erik Karlsson deal, Norris now has 30 goals and 58 points in 52 AHL games.
  • With Sami Niku dealing with an injury, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled Nelson Nogier from the Manitoba Moose. The 23-year old Nogier has 11 NHL games under his belt, and just one since the 2016-17 season.
  • Jonathan Drouin will not play tonight for the Montreal Canadiens, so the team has recalled Charles Hudon under emergency conditions. Teams have limited recalls after the trade deadline, but emergency ones do not count towards that total.
  • The Predators have sent Connor Ingram back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, signaling that Pekka Rinne has recovered from his recent illness. Ingram had been up under emergency conditions.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues, as they continue their current road trip. After facing the Colorado Avalanche last night, Buffalo will journey to Vegas, Arizona and Winnipeg before heading home.
  • Joshua Jacobs has earned his first call-up of the season from the New Jersey Devils, after clearing waivers in late September. The 24-year old has just a single NHL game under his belt to this point, despite being the 41st overall pick in 2014.
  • Once again the San Jose Sharks have involved Lean Bergmann in a transaction, this time bringing him back up from the minor leagues. The 21-year old forward has played eight games with the Sharks this season, registering one points.
  • After needing Calvin Thurkauf to fill in for a long list of injured forwards, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent him back to the AHL. The 22-year old played in three games, but didn’t tally his first NHL point.

Joe Thornton “Wanted A Shot” At Stanley Cup This Season

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One of the most interesting names to watch going into the trade deadline was Joe Thornton, who rumors had swirled around for weeks during the San Jose Sharks’ losing season. The idea of Thornton going to a contender—perhaps even the Boston Bruins—had fans around the hockey world salivating. Thornton is one of the best players in the history of the NHL without a Stanley Cup championship, with more than 1,600 games played and 1,500 points.

Unfortunately, the deadline came and went without a new address for the future Hall of Fame center. The 40-year old will finish the year with the Sharks, adding games and points onto his resume but no more playoff appearances. That obviously disappointed Thornton, who told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic just as much:

As you get older you realize you only have so many shots at this thing, and it would have been nice to have a chance. … I wanted a shot. I’ve been hunting this thing down for 22 years.

Thornton’s longtime teammate, Patrick Marleau, another NHL icon without a championship to his name, got a chance to chase one when he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But it didn’t happen for Thornton. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that there was interest in the veteran center from three or four teams, but not the real “elite Cup contending teams” that Thornton would have waived his no-movement clause for. LeBrun clarifies, by saying that he doesn’t believe the Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights or Colorado Avalanche showed any interest.

Thornton is currently on a one-year deal with the Sharks, the third such contract he has signed with the team. This time he only carries a $2MM cap hit though, making him much easier to fit into a team’s finances.

Still, it’s hard to know exactly what you would be getting. Thornton has just four goals on the season in 62 games, and while his assist totals are still strong—23 on the year—there might just not be enough left to really intrigue those top teams.

Minor Transactions: 02/25/20

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Roster limits are no longer a problem for teams around the NHL, meaning several veterans from the minor leagues will likely find themselves back up for the stretch run instead of floundering in the AHL. Paper transactions were all the rage yesterday because they made young talent eligible for minor league playoffs, but many should be back up today.

  • The San Jose Sharks have recalled Maxim Letunov and Lean Bergmann, giving them a 23-man roster again after trading several names yesterday. The next few weeks for the Sharks are all about prospect evaluation, finding out who can do what for next season.
  • Kevin Gravel has been returned to the minors by the Toronto Maple Leafs after filling in at practice yesterday. The Maple Leafs are expected to give Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin an increased role down the stretch, though Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci were both spotted skating yesterday.
  • Dillon Dube has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Calgary Flames, making room for a couple of defensemen they added at the deadline. Dube has played 38 games for the Flames this season and will likely be back up soon.
  • A couple of players that were acquired yesterday, Daniel Sprong and Fredrik Claesson have been sent to the AHL right away. The pair will suit up for the Hershey Bears and Binghamton Devils respectively for the time being.
  • Following an injury to Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins last night, Matiss Kivlenieks has been recalled under emergency conditions. The Blue Jackets just can’t catch a break, losing two more players to injury in Merzlikins and Riley Nash.
  • After playing a man short last night, the Ottawa Senators have recalled Filip Chlapik from the minor leagues. The team now has 14 forwards on the roster, at least provided Rudolfs Balcers equipment has finally arrived.
  • Justin Dowling has been loaned to the AHL for a conditioning stint, allowing him to get into some action for the first time in a month. Dowling has six points in 27 games for the Stars this season.
  • After being papered yesterday, Nicolas Roy and Zach Whitecloud have been recalled again from the minor leagues. Both players will be eligible for AHL playoffs if the Vegas Golden Knights decide to send them down.

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