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Minor Transactions: 02/17/21

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It has been a rare slow day for internal NHL transactions, with few recalls and assignments to and from the taxi squad and AHL. Yet, down in the minors there continue to be other notable moves, as well as constant changes for familiar names overseas. Here are some of the day’s key minor transactions:

  • Sam Vigneault has requested and been granted a release from his AHL contract, the Laval Rocket announced. The team provided no other details beyond that it was a mutual decision to part ways. Vigneault, 25, signed with Laval this off-season but had not had the opportunity to play with the club yet. After three seasons within the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, all spent with the Cleveland Monsters including on an AHL contract last year, Vigneault’s first pro foray away from the club was short-lived. It remains to be seen if the forward will look for another opportunity in the AHL (or ECHL) or instead head overseas.
  • It has already been a whirlwind start to the season for goaltender Angus Redmond. The former Anaheim Ducks prospect was traded to the Edmonton Oilers last year and, while he wasn’t re-signed by the team, attended training camp with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Still unable to earn a contract, Redmond signed with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks just this past weekend and played in a pair of games with the team. Now, he’s on to a new team. With the Toronto Maple Leafs currently using intended AHL starters Michael Hutchinson and Joseph Woll for themselves right now and another keeper, Ian Scott, currently injured, the Toronto Marlies have announced that they have signed Redmond to an AHL contract for the remainder of the year. Once the Toronto goalie pipeline returns to normal, Redmond will likely return to the ECHL but will have an opportunity to prove himself in the AHL for the time being.
  • The ZSC Lions, currently sitting pretty in second place in the Swiss National League, have announced a number of extensions to keep their successful roster together. Among those returning is NHL veteran Marcus Kruger, who has battled injuries this year but has been even better on a per-game basis than he was in his first season with ZSC last year. Kruger, 30, is just two year removed from competing in the NHL, but seems content to stay in Switzerland, signing a one-year extension. Other notable names earning new contracts are former NCAA standout Garrett Roe, who has found stardom in Europe and and even played for Team USA at the 2018 Olympics, and Dario Trutmann, formerly of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers and a World Juniors hero for the Swiss.

Injury Notes: Dubois, Lindholm, Sandin

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The Winnipeg Jets have officially moved Pierre-Luc Dubois to injured reserve, a disappointing outcome for a player that is having a season full of them. The young forward has played just two games since his trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets and just seven on the season thanks to a long quarantine. He was injured last week, though it’s still not exactly clear what happened or how long he’ll be out.

Dubois failed to record a shot in either of his games with the Jets and now has just one point on the season. When he does get back on the active roster, he’ll have to really push to get back to the top-line center he appeared to be in recent years.

  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Lindholm will be out for four to six weeks with a broken thumb, his AHL team announced today. Lindholm sustained the injury last Friday, meaning his season will be truncated by at least a month. The 26-year-old defenseman was part of the trade that saw Brandon Saad go to the Colorado Avalanche in the offseason but had yet to get into the NHL lineup with the Blackhawks. In 66 career games, he has five points.
  • Another minor-league defenseman, this time Rasmus Sandin, will also be out a while. The young defenseman suffered a foot injury and will be out for several weeks, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. Sandin, one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ top prospects, played in one NHL game earlier this season and recorded a point. The 20-year-old is still waiting for his chance to crack the roster full-time and was supposed to get his game back up to speed in the minor leagues. Now, unfortunately, he’ll be sidelined instead.

Snapshots: Coyotes, Granlund, Stars-Predators

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If you thought new ownership, new management, or a new season had created any stability in the Arizona Coyotes front office, think again. In an unbelievable piece by Katie Strang of The Athletic (both in quality and content), the Coyotes’ internal turmoil is detailed, which includes lawsuits, unpaid invoices, and breaches of contract, among many other eyebrow-raising stories.

Much of what Strang reports does not have a direct impact on the Coyotes’ on-ice product, but it does touch on the management style of new GM Bill Armstrong and the missteps that resulted in the drafting of Mitchell Miller (who the team then renounced the rights to). The whole piece is a must-read for any hockey fan.

UPDATE: The Coyotes have released a statement that does not directly dispute the Strang piece, but alleges The Athletic has “condoned a harassment campaign against Mr. Alex Meruelo, the Arizona Coyotes, the Meruelo Group and dozens of current employees and former employees.” The statement concludes by announcing the team will be exploring legal options in response to the piece. (Full statement via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN)

  • In James Mirtle’s latest piece for The Athletic, he suggested that Mikael Granlund could be a fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs if their search for a top-six winger continues. Granlund is on a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators and carries a $3.75MM cap hit. Mirtle’s colleague Adam Vingan recently examined the trade value of several Predators players, comparing Granlund to the Gustav Nyquist and Mats Zuccarello moves of 2019. Both of those trades included second-round selections and a conditional third-round pick.
  • Speaking of the Predators, Granlund and the rest of the team will have to wait another few days to get back into game action. Like yesterday, tonight’s game between the Predators and Dallas Stars has been postponed due to inclement weather. Nashville will now head to Columbus where they take on the Blue Jackets’ on Thursday evening.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Toronto Maple Leafs

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We’ve now made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful for. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this season comes with a bit of a change. Typically at this time of the calendar year, the trade deadline is fast approaching but now, we’re only at the one-quarter mark.  Still, we’ll analyze what they’re happy about so far and what they can be hoping for in the months to come.

What are the Maple Leafs most thankful for?

Their collection of top-end offensive talent.  When you’re spending nearly half of the salary cap on four forwards, it better be a highly-skilled group.  There’s no denying that Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander qualify as highly-skilled.  Few teams can match up with a one-two center punch in Matthews who is scoring at a torrid pace in the early going and Tavares and Marner is one of the premier playmakers in the league.  Nylander is a little streakier than the others but has the ability to take over a game as well when he’s on.  There’s shouldn’t be many long offensive droughts with that level of firepower at the top of their lineup.

Who are the Maple Leafs most thankful for?

The answer is Matthews but he’s already been mentioned above so instead, let’s highlight Jake Muzzin.  With all of the money they have spent up front, it has come at the expense of being able to spend much on the back end.  When they acquired Muzzin, the hope was that he’d bring some defensive stability and grit to Toronto’s defense corps but there were questions as to whether or not they’d be able to afford to keep him.  He was as advertised and the two sides worked out a four-year extension last season, ensuring he’d stick around.  With Morgan Rielly up for a new deal after next season, the Maple Leafs will at least be able to enter those talks knowing that they have one key cog on the back end locked up already.

What would the Maple Leafs be even more thankful for?

Avoiding short and medium-term injuries.  The cap structure of this team still works when players are placed on LTIR but anything under 10 games or 24 days becomes a little trickier to navigate.  They can afford one extra skater over the minimum when fully healthy but if more than one skater is unavailable due to a short-term injury, they’ll be in a situation where they have to play short a player for a game.

On a similar note, they’d also be thankful for Jack Campbell returning soon and staying healthy.  His absence has forced Toronto to use Frederik Andersen more than they’d like early on.  And with Andersen set to become an unrestricted free agent next season, they need to get a good look at Campbell to try to determine if he can take on a bigger role in 2021-22.  It’s hard to make that evaluation when he’s on IR.

What should be on the Maple Leafs’ wish list?

With their cap situation being where it is, there isn’t a whole lot they’ll be able to do on the trade front.  A forward who can play on the third line that extends their depth would certainly help but it’s someone that will need to be making close to the minimum.  Today’s pickup of Alex Galchenyuk ($1.05MM) may be tough to carry on the roster on a full-time basis so they may need to look cheaper.  Goaltending depth has been hard to come by but given their hesitance to use Michael Hutchinson so far (Aaron Dell was originally in the reserve role before short-term injuries forced them to waive him to open up cap room), bringing in a different third option that they’d be comfortable using would also be beneficial.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Alex Galchenyuk

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Just like that, Alex Galchenyuk is on the move again. After being dealt from the Ottawa Senators to Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Galchenyuk has been traded for the second time in about 54 hours. Although, he reportedly never even got the chance to leave Ottawa for Carolina, so he now has a much shorter trip ahead of him. The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they have acquired Galchenyuk from the Hurricanes in exchange for forward prospect Egor Korshkov and veteran defenseman David Warsofsky. Galchenyuk cleared waivers earlier today and is eligible to be assigned by Toronto to the taxi squad or AHL.

Galchenyuk’s propensity for being traded is becoming comical at this point. The 27-year-old forward, who once looked like he could be a long-term franchise cornerstone for the Montreal Canadiens, has instead become the NHL’s most frequent flyers over the past few years. From Montreal, he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes during the 2018 off-season. Exactly a year and two weeks later, his time in the desert was over as he was traded once again to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His time with Pittsburgh didn’t even last a full season, as he was moved before the trade deadline last year to the Minnesota Wild. When his contract expired this off-season, he signed a one-year deal with the rebuilding Ottawa Senators, almost ensuring that he would be traded yet again at some point this season. However, even he could not have seen this coming. Galchenyuk made it just one month to the day since the start of the 2020-21 season before he was traded on Saturday to the Hurricanes along with another free agent addition, Cedric Paquette, in exchange for Ryan Dzingel. Just two days later, he is now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When Galchenyuk was placed on waivers on Monday, it immediately raised suspicion that he might be moved again this season. Not only were the Hurricanes willing to let him be claimed for free on the waiver wire, but if he did in fact clear he would have even more value to another interested team having gained the flexibility to move to the taxi squad. In Galchenyuk, a dangerous offensive Maple Leafs team adds another intriguing weapon. Galchenyuk is not a consistent, high-effort contributor nor can he be relied upon for any defensive responsibility, but he does possess scoring focus and natural offensive ability and especially when surrounded by superior talent can produce at a high level. In Toronto, there is plenty of superior talent to go around and Galchenyuk appears to be an ideal fit as a top-nine depth option. Even more importantly, Galchenyuk is affordable for the cap-strapped Leafs. His entire $1.05MM cap hit can be buried if he is assigned to the taxi squad or AHL and is not a major burden should he stick with the NHL roster, though it will still require some cap acrobatics by the Leafs front office. Moreover, Galchenyuk is also a quarantine-free acquisition for Toronto. While Paquette took off for Carolina right away following the trade, Galchenyuk stayed behind in Ottawa in case he was claimed on waivers by another Canadian team. He wasn’t, but just a few hours later he ends up with a Canadian team anyway and by all accounts had not yet left the country. He should be able to join the Maple Leafs immediately.

In exchange for providing the Maple Leafs with a player who checks a number of boxes, if he plays that is, the Carolina Hurricanes land a package that includes an AHL depth player and a question mark prospect. Warsofsky, though a respected veteran and leader in the AHL, has not played in the NHL since 2017-18 and has just 55 NHL games on his resume. Barring a mass amount of injuries to the Carolina blue line, one of the deepest units in the league, Warsofsky is nothing more than an experienced addition to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves (where his brother is head coach) to help provide some guidance to the Hurricanes’ minor league prospects. Thus, the true value for the ’Canes in this deal lies with Korshkov. The 24-year-old winger was a second-round pick in 2016 and has size, skill, and a track record of goal-scoring success in the KHL and just last season in the AHL. In fact, the past two years have been the best of Korshkov’s career. He recorded 16 goals and 25 points in 44 games with the AHL Marlies last year, adding a goal in his first and only NHL game with the Maple Leafs as well, and is currently having a career year on loan in the KHL with 16 goals and 31 points in 53 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. However, therein lies the problem as well. It took Korshkov nearly three years to make it to North America after being drafted into the NHL, even as an overage selection, and after just one season he returned to Russia and opted to remain there rather than return once the NHL and AHL returned to play. The key to this deal for the Hurricanes is being able to convince the power forward to commit to playing in North America and to adopting an NHL style of play. If they succeed with Korshkov, his long-term potential greatly outweighs the value that Galchenyuk might have provided as an injury substitute for the remainder of the season.

Joe Thornton Expected To Return Monday

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  • The Maple Leafs are expected to welcome back Joe Thornton for their opener against Ottawa on Monday, relays Postmedia’s Lance Hornby. The 41-year-old suffered a fractured rib in Toronto’s fifth game of the season and was immediately placed on LTIR.  Assuming he is able to play tomorrow, he’ll wind up missing just the minimum amount of time.  Thornton has a goal and an assist so far this season which has mostly been spent on the left wing of their top line after playing down the middle for the last two decades.

Snapshots: Tatar, Dumba, Devils, Murphy, Hamonic

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without Tomas Tatar Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who is a healthy scratch, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. The move made by head coach Claude Julien is believed to be a message sent to both Tatar and the team after Montreal has lost three of their last four games.

Tatar, despite having four goals and eight points in 14 games, has been adequate on the ice, but not as good as last season when he posted 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games. Engels believes that the message is meant just as much to the team as Tatar is one of the most popular players in the locker room.

The Philadelphia Flyers attempted a similar benching of leading scorer Travis Konecny on Jan. 30. Unfortunately, he has not scored a point since then.

  • Corey Masisak of The Athletic reports that a New Jersey Devils team spokesman said the team will be allowed to return to practice on Monday. That will be the first time the team has been allowed on the ice since the game at Buffalo on Jan. 31. The team is currently scheduled to play on Tuesday at the New York Rangers.
  • The Minnesota Wild got even more good news when they learned that defenseman Matt Dumba should be in the lineup on Tuesday when they begin playing once again after suffering what looked to be a severe ankle injury, according to Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan. Dumba got tangled up with teammate Jordan Greenway and suffered an awkward fall on Jan. 30, but the blueliner said that he’s feeling good and has no issues regarding the injury. The 26-year-old Dumba is looking solid this season, already with three goals in just nine games this season. Teammate Mats Zuccarello is also getting closer to a return. The veteran forward practiced Friday in a non-contact jersey.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Connor Murphy on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 9, according to NHL.com’s Brandon Cain. The blueliner was suffered a right hip injury in that game and is expected to miss up to two weeks. Murphy has been playing well for Chicago with two goals and five points in 13 games, while averaging 22:45 of ATOI.
  • The Vancouver Canucks could be getting a boost back to their defense as head coach Travis Green reported that defenseman Travis Hamonic is close to returning to the team. The 30-year-old blueliner remains on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He has only appeared in five games with the Canucks this year with two assists, but could be a big addition if he returns soon.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Toronto Maple Leafs

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Current Cap Hit: $84,543,578 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alexander Barabanov (one year, $925K)
D Mikko Lehtonen (one year, $925K)
D Rasmus Sandin (two years, $894K)
F Nicholas Robertson (three years, $822K)

Potential Bonuses
None

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a history of bringing in European players in on entry-level contracts. Sometimes they work out and other times not. However, the team feels good about bringing in Lehtonen and Barbashev. The 27-year-old Lehtonen is coming off a dominant season in the KHL last season with Jokerit where he scored 17 goals and 49 points in his first season there. His offense could come in handy as he already has three points in just five games. The 26-year-od Barabanov has also proved to be a useful depth piece after five full seasons in the KHL. Both should provide good production for what they’re being paid.

The 20-year-old Sandin has worked his way up the depth chart and is knocking on the door of Toronto’s defense. Sandin did get into 28 games with the Maple Leafs last season and likely will get another opportunity at some point this season and should be an eventual full-time player for Toronto in the future. Robertson also has shown flashes of brilliance and despite his knee injury has a bright future ahead of him that could come at some point later this season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Frederik Andersen ($5MM, UFA)
F Zach Hyman ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Wayne Simmonds ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Zach Bogosian ($1MM, UFA)
F Jimmy Vesey ($900K, UFA)
D Travis Dermott ($874K, RFA)
F Nic Petan ($775K, RFA)
F Joe Thornton ($700K, UFA)
F Jason Spezza ($700K, UFA)
F Travis Boyd ($700K, UFA)

The Maple Leafs will have an interesting decision to make in net during the offseason as Andersen’s contract will be up and the team has not indicated any willingness to discuss an extension at this point. In fact, the team had been looking to potentially move Andersen to upgrade in net instead last offseason with no luck. The 31-year-old who had been quite consistent over the years in Toronto, didn’t have as strong of a season, posting a .909 save percentage, significantly lower than his career number (.916). Of course the defense behind him wasn’t much better, which could explain that, but it will be interesting if the team brings Andersen back next year. Hyman could be another interesting decision for GM Kyle Dubas. The 28-year-old has posted two 20-goal seasons and is a favorite among players, but with serious salary cap implications it will deal with over the next few years, Hyman might be a luxury the team cannot afford.

One thing the Maple Leafs focused on in the offseason with improving the team’s depth and they did that, signing a bunch of players to one-year deals, including Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian, Vesey. The team brought back Spezza as well for another year in hopes that they could improve the depth and experience level in their bottom six, although some of them like Simmonds and Thornton might get a crack at even bigger roles. Dermott will also require some tough negotiations as the RFA will want a raise next season.

Two Years Remaining

D Morgan Rielly ($5MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($1.65MM, UFA)
G Jack Campbell ($1.65MM, UFA)
F Pierre Engvall ($1.25MM, RFA)
F Adam Brooks ($725K, RFA)
G Michael Hutchinson ($725K, UFA)

The most interesting player is Rielly, who leads the team in ATOI with 23:47. He has been the team’s No. 1 defenseman for years and will be 28 years old when his contract runs out, which suggests the blueliner could be in line for quite a big raise at some point. Rielly should bounce back to his old offensive ways this year. He tallied 20 goals and 71 points in 2018-19, but injuries kept him to 47 games and just 27 points. A big season this year should begin to step up talks of signing him to an extension in as soon as a year.

Mikheyev is one of the success stories for general manager Kyle Dubas as the 26-year-old came over from the KHL and posted impressive numbers, scoring eight goals and 23 points in 39 games despite suffering a significant injury in the middle of the season. The forward is expected to play a bigger role for the Maple Leafs this year after signing a two-year extension and could be in line for an even bigger contract down the road if he can put his game together and maybe step into a top-six role at some point.

Campbell has fared quite well since being acquired by the Maple Leafs to be the team’s backup and should continue to do so for the next couple of years. However, the 29-year-old has only appeared in eight games since the trade, meaning the team hasn’t shown that much confidence in him. Regardless, he’s been solid in the limited time he’s played.

Three Years Remaining

F Alexander Kerfoot ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($2MM, UFA)

The Maple Leafs brought in Kerfoot as part of the Nazem Kadri deal with Colorado and were hoping that the young center might take control of their third line and establish a dominant line. Three days after the trade, Toronto handed him a four-year, $14MM contract, but the 26-year-old struggled in his first season with the team. After scoring 34 goals in his first two seasons with Colorado, Kerfoot managed just nine goals and 28 points, career lows and struggled. The team has to hope that Kerfoot can find his way, considering the money the team spent on him and the constant cap problems.

Holl, on the other hand, has been a revelation to the team. He struggled to work his way into Toronto’s lineup in the past, but finally earned a regular role last season and has forced his way into the team’s top-four this year. Holl provides both the team with a well-rounded player who could be in line for a big contract down the road if he can continue to produce for the team. However, at $2MM per year, he is currently under a great contract.Read more

Scott Sabourin Clears Waivers

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Feb 8: After signing an NHL contract yesterday, Sabourin has cleared waivers and can join Toronto’s taxi squad.

Feb 7: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed forward Scott Sabourin on waiver, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. That likely means the Maple Leafs have signed Sabourin to an NHL deal (although they have not announced that), considering he is currently signed to an AHL deal and wouldn’t require waivers. The move is likely a result of the injury to Wayne Simmonds, who is expected to miss four to six weeks due to a hand injury.

Sabourin, 28, made his entrance into the NHL last season when he won a spot on the Ottawa Senators’ fourth line as an enforcer and even had some run-ins with Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. However, a horrible collision in early November with then-Bruins forward David Backes knocked the forward out for more than a month due to a concussion. He did eventually return to the lineup in December, finishing the season with two goals, six points and 33 penalty minutes in 35 games.

The forward then signed an AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies during the offseason. Assuming he clears, he will likely be assigned to the team’s taxi squad to bolster the team’s forward depth as the team is now missing Simmonds, Joe Thornton (rib) and Nicholas Robertson (knee).

Toronto’s Wayne Simmonds Could Miss Up To Six Weeks

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Feb 8: Bad news indeed. Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN today that Simmonds broke his wrist and will be out for six weeks. The team will not have a replacement for him in the lineup tonight, going with seven defensemen instead. Rasmus Sandin will make his season debut.

Feb 7: Bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team, which has been rolling of late, with quite a bit of contribution from free agent signee Wayne Simmonds, look like they will be without their veteran forward for quite some time. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s hearing that the 32-year-old is expected to miss up to six weeks after leaving during the third period of Saturday’s game after being hit in the hand with a shot.

Simmonds has been integral to the team’s success so far this season as the team is currently sitting in first place in the North Division with a 9-2-1 record. Simmonds, who has struggled the last few years to produce offensively and is playing on his fifth team in less than three years, seems to have found his game now that he’s returned home. The forward has already tallied five goals in the team’s first 12 games, including a pair of goals Saturday in the team’s 5-1 win over Vancouver.

The Maple Leafs, who spent the offseason bolstering their depth, will need to use much of that as the Toronto is already without veteran Joe Thornton (rib injury) and rookie Nicholas Robertson (knee).

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