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Alexei Toropchenko Undergoes Surgery, Unlikely Ready For 2022-23

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When discussing the team’s hiring of Craig MacTavish as an assistant coach today, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong revealed that forward Alexei Toropchenko underwent shoulder surgery this offseason, putting his availability for the start of the 2022-23 season in doubt.

Toropchenko broke into the NHL later in the 2021-22 season, playing the first 28 games of his career and scoring two goals. He replicated that point production in the playoffs, notching two assists in 12 games. The Russian forward did play in every game, but averaged just 8:50 of ice time per night, down from 10:43 in the regular season.

Drafted in the fourth round (113th overall) in 2017 by the Blues, Toropchenko demonstrated solid defensive play in a fourth-line role, well enough to keep him in a regular lineup role into the playoffs. He’s signed for one more season on a two-way deal at the league minimum ($750,000), helping provide a solid lineup spot on the cheap for the cap-strapped Blues. Of note, Toropchenko is now eligible for waivers, so the only time he could see in the AHL next season without the possibility of getting claimed by another NHL club would be on a conditioning stint after he’s recovered.

There will be an additional spot open in the Blues’ forward core come training camp, giving a slightly higher chance to youngsters like Jake Neighbours to make the opening night roster.

Blues Hire Craig MacTavish

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The Blues have made an addition to their coaching staff as the team announced that they’ve hired long-time NHL coach and executive Craig MacTavish as an assistant coach on Craig Berube’s staff.  GM Doug Armstrong released the following statement about the hire:

Craig has spent 30 years in our League, serving as a player, coach and general manager. He played in over 1,000 games, has coached in almost 700 and is a four-time Stanley Cup Champion. We are excited to add his experience to our staff.

MacTavish takes the place of Jim Montgomery behind the bench in St. Louis after it was made official earlier today that Montgomery has joined the Bruins as their new head coach.

This will be the 63-year-old’s second stint with the Blues having finished his playing career with St. Louis, playing for them in 1995-96 and 1996-97.  While MacTavish has extensive experience as an NHL coach (including eight years as the head coach in Edmonton), he hasn’t worked behind an NHL bench since covering as Edmonton’s interim coach for five games back in the 2014-15 campaign.  Since then, MacTavish’s only coaching experience came in the KHL with Yaroslavl where he didn’t make it through the season.  MacTavish joins Mike Van Ryn and Steve Ott as assistants on Berube’s staff.

Will Cranley's Junior Rights Traded To Flint

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  • Blues goalie prospect Will Cranley was dealt from OHL Ottawa to Flint. The 20-year-old had a tough season, his first as a starter, as he had a 3.81 GAA along with an .873 SV% in 41 games with the 67s.  Cranley is eligible to turn pro next season and is already signed.  He can be returned to junior to play for the Firebirds but will still burn the first year of his contract in that scenario.

Minor Notes: Cross, Chaulk, Henault

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The 2021-22 campaign was an extremely successful one for the Springfield Thunderbirds, who fell just short of winning the 2022 Calder Cup. Newly affiliated with the St. Louis Blues, the Thunderbirds made the Calder Cup Final in the first season this iteration of the Springfield AHL franchise even made the playoffs.

Now, the team announced today that the man who captained them there is sticking around. Veteran defenseman Tommy Cross is staying in Springfield on a one-year AHL contract, continuing what’s been a long minor-league career for him. Now 32, the Connecticut native was a 2007 second-round pick of the Boston Bruins who, although he didn’t get a solid NHL role, stayed in the organization until 2018. He did get into four NHL games (three regular-season, one playoff) in Boston, registering a combined two assists. He was a captain in their organization as well, serving in the role for Providence from 2015-2018. One of the most well-respected leaders in the minors, Cross will get another chance at lifting the Calder Cup for the first time.

  • Colin Chaulk stepped into the head coaching role for the Bakersfield Condors when Jay Woodcroft got the call-up to Edmonton mid-season. Today, Bakersfield announced he’ll be sticking around, stripping away the interim tag and naming him the ninth head coach in team history. The Condors won their best-of-three First Round series against the Abbotsford Canucks, but were swept 3-0 in the Division Semifinals by the Stockton Heat.
  • The Baby Rangers are making moves. Via a team release, the Hartford Wolf Pack announced a one-year AHL contract for defenseman Louka Henault. The 2001-born Henault is an undrafted free agent, and after serving as the captain of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season, will head to Hartford professionally. In his last season of juniors, Henault scored eight goals, 57 assists, and 65 points in 63 regular-season games, adding 16 points in 25 playoff games.

Blues Will Reportedly "Make A Real Effort" To Re-Sign Ville Husso

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  • Earlier today, Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell was the pending UFA of focus, and now we have some news on another netminder set to headline this summer’s open market: Ville Husso. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reports that the Blues will “make a real effort” to re-sign Husso, specifically mentioning Husso’s “great relationship” with Jordan Binnington as a factor at play in negotiations. Husso is coming off of a breakout season where he posted a 25-7-6 record, .919 save percentage, and 2.56 goals-against-average. The Helsinki native even got some down-ballot Vezina consideration and is expected to have multiple suitors on the open market as a 27-year-old free agent. Strickland reports that the Blues will attempt to get him back, although it’s difficult to imagine they’ll be able to offer him the sort of long-term deal he may be able to get from elsewhere. The Blues already have Binnington under contract at a $6MM cap hit, and with important extensions for Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas needing to be inked next offseason, it’s not likely that the Blues will be able to give Husso a huge extension. What is possible, though, is Husso taking a short extension in St. Louis with the hopes of having another similar season to this past year in order to secure an even bigger free agent contract in the summer of 2023, when he would theoretically have that extra season’s worth of starts to pad out his currently thin NHL resume.

Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup

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With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.

Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.

It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.

The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.

Klim Kostin Could Be A Trade Candidate This Summer

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  • In his latest reader chat, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that winger Klim Kostin is a likely trade candidate for the Blues this summer. Alexey Toropchenko plays a very similar style as Kostin and is someone that head coach Craig Berube is a fan of, giving Torochenko a leg up for that spot on the lineup.  A 2017 first-round pick, Kostin is waiver-eligible next season but could still carry some value after picking up nine points and 90 hits in 40 games with St. Louis this season while also playing a key role for AHL Springfield as the Thunderbirds get set to start the Calder Cup Finals tomorrow.

Snapshots: Husso, Ducks, Penguins

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It’s no secret that St. Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso had a large breakout season in 2021-22. Written off as a bust as he dealt with injury issues in the minors, the organization’s former goalie of the future finally exploded for a 25-win rookie season, earning a .919 save percentage and two shutouts along the way. It was good enough to win him the starting job for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he had just a 2-5 record and a sub-.900 save percentage as Jordan Binnington reclaimed control of the crease (before his injury, at least).

Now, the 27-year-old Finn with just 53 NHL starts will be one of the top options for teams perusing the unrestricted free agent market for goalies. On The Jeff Marek Show earlier in the week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned the possibility of the Edmonton Oilers being interested in Husso this offseason. Friedman notes that there were rumors of the Oilers making Husso a mid-season acquisition around the turn of the calendar year, also making note of the fact that the Oilers could be without Mike Smith next season, either due to retirement or long-term injury reserve. With Edmonton already losing Mikko Koskinen this offseason, the organization needs more than just promising youngster Stuart Skinner in the crease. While Smith being unavailable may still force Skinner into an NHL role next season, it prevents him from having to be “the guy” too early in his development.

  • The Anaheim Ducks are entering what could be a transformative offseason under new general manager Pat Verbeek after the organization’s young talent took big steps forward in 2021-22. In a piece for The Athletic, Eric Stephens names a list of young players who the Ducks could take a flier on to add to that talent pool, including Carolina’s Martin Necas and Ethan Bear, Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi, Detroit’s Filip Zadina, and Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik. All of them have been mentioned in trade rumors recently after falling down the depth charts of their respective organizations. With a lot of turnover expected in Anaheim this offseason, due in part to the retirement of captain Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim could give a chance to one of these players to excel in more important roles.
  • Continuing their run of front office announcements, the Pittsburgh Penguins today named Teena Murray as their senior vice president of integrated performance. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo notes, Murray will oversee the strength and conditioning staff, rehabilitation, sports science, and medical staff, reporting directly to general manager Ron Hextall. Considering Pittsburgh’s long history of injury-prone seasons, it’s an important role to fill for this team.

Hockey Canada Names Men’s U20, U18 Team Selection Camp Rosters

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As the 2022 event cycle begins to come to a close, aside from the postponed 2022 World Juniors set to take place in August, national team organizations begin to look to the 2023 calendar. Today, Hockey Canada named their rosters for the National Men’s Junior Team summer development camp, as well as the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp.

The National Men’s Junior Team roster is comprised of talent from the 2021 NHL Draft, as well as the upcoming 2022 and 2023 NHL Drafts. Among the top NHL-affiliated talent attending the camp is Chicago Blackhawks D Nolan Allan, Columbus Blue Jackets D Corson Ceulemans, Dallas Stars F Wyatt Johnston, Los Angeles Kings D Brandt Clarke, Nashville Predators F Zachary L’Heureux, New Jersey Devils F Chase Stillman, New York Rangers F Brennan Othmann, St. Louis Blues F Zachary Bolduc, and Vegas Golden Knights F Zach Dean. Clarke was notably snubbed from the 2022 World Juniors roster.

In terms of 2022 eligibles to watch at selection camp, the list is as follows: F Luca Del Bel Belluz, F Jagger Firkus, F Nathan Gaucher, F Conor Geekie, F Ryan Greene, F Tucker Robertson, F Matthew Savoie, F Reid Schaefer, D Kevin Korchinski, D Christian Kyrou, D Tristan Luneau, D Denton Mateychuk, D Owen Pickering, G Tyler Brennan, G Chase Coward, and G Thomas Milic. Forwards Nate Danielson and Adam Fantilli also made the camp roster as 2023 eligible. Really, the only 2022 top-ten lock from that list is Savoie, but Geekie, Korchinski, and Mateychuk are also names that could work their way into the first selections.

The U18 roster is made up of 2023 and 2024 eligible players, and it’s highlighted by a trio of 2023 forwards: Zachary Benson, Matthew Wood, and Brayden Yager.

Latest On St. Louis Blues Impending UFAs

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When it comes to icing a competitive roster each season, it’s hard to count out the St. Louis Blues and General Manager Doug Armstrong, and in theory, the same should hold true for 2022-23. However, Armstrong and the Blues do have a tricky task ahead of them this offseason: try to re-sign, or replace, four key UFAs this offseason, while re-signing two regular RFAs. Earlier today, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, who covers the Blues, provided updates on the status of the four impending UFAs (subscription required).

On veteran forward David Perron, Rutherford writes that the two sides are not close to an agreement, but nothing has changed in the two sides’ desire for a reunion. Rutherford points out an interesting fact, though perhaps an unfortunate one for Perron: he has signed five multi-year deals in his NHL career, and played for five NHL teams, but all five of those contracts were signed with St. Louis. Now 34, with 15 NHL seasons and a Stanley Cup on his resume, Perron will likely be in search of stability and while he has, and ultimately has not, had that in St. Louis, it would be foreseeable that he could ask for some sort of tight no-movement clause, however those have been a key sticking point in Armstrong’s negotiations in the past. When asked, Armstrong did not disclose the status of the negotiations, but Rutherford adds a source close to the negotiations informed him that the offer is likely two-years at an AAV much lower than Perron would like.

Breakout goaltender Ville Husso, after just his second NHL season, is set to hit the UFA market and as Rutherford writes, is probably not returning to St. Louis. Rutherford adds that Husso and the Blues are going to begin some sort of dialogue shortly, however the team may be priced out of re-signing him, with The Athletic forecasting a $4.1MM AAV for the 27-year-old. That figure is technically within the Blues’ range given their cap space, but given Jordan Binnington’s rebound performance and the emergence of young goaltender Joel Hofer in the AHL, St. Louis may ultimately be better-off focusing their cap space to address needs, rather than perhaps creating a logjam in net.

Nick Leddy’s value on the open market seems to be a popular debate topic, and rightfully so. A young Leddy compiled several strong seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the New York Islanders, having another excellent season ahead of a seven-year, $38.5MM extension on Long Island. The defenseman had several down years before reviving his career as a steady defenseman who excelled in transition under Barry Trotz, but was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2021 to alleviate cap concerns for the Islanders. Leddy struggled in Detroit, but was again dealt, landing with the Blues where he appeared to return to form.

His struggles in Detroit appear to have taken a toll on his value, with The Athletic projecting just a $1.7MM salary next season, Rutherford chalking that up to Leddy’s time in Detroit, adding that Leddy is seeking a four or five year deal at around $5MM per season. Whether or not he hits his goal, that price-tag may prove too expensive for the Blues, Rutherford adding that a discount, rooted in comfort playing for the Blues, would be what it takes to keep Leddy in the fold most likely, though that is not expected.

Lastly, Rutherford touches on Tyler Bozak, who had signed a one-year, incentive-laden $750K contract for the 2021-22 season. Bozak has seen more limited time and production since coming to St. Louis as compared to his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, however his ability to play a complete 200 foot game combined with his on and off-ice leadership, has made him a much-appreciated asset for St. Louis. Still, Rutherford says that while Bozak may be had on a similar contract for next season, a return is unlikely given the emergence of forward Alexey Toropchenko, re-signing Logan Brown, and a full-time debut of Jake Neighbours.

At $9MM in cap space, St. Louis is going to be forced to make tough decisions, and must also consider two RFAs this summer in defensemen Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich. Further, all of this goes without mentioning their 2023 free agent class that they have to be mindful of, which includes the likes of Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas on the RFA side and Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko on the UFA side.

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