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Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Mikhail Abramov

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs battle to make the playoffs, the front office still has their eyes on the future. The team has signed prospect Mikhail Abramov to a three-year entry-level contract. Abramov is currently playing with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL, where he will remain for the rest of the season.

The 18-year old Russian forward was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, after his first season in North America. His goal scoring ability has exploded this season, with his 35 tallies tying him for tenth in the entire QMJHL. More impressively perhaps is that Abramov leads his club in scoring by 35 points, scoring 16 more goals than the next best. That kind of production without support is usually a strong indicator of success at the next level, though there is still a long way to go for him before any sort of NHL action.

Most likely Abramov will either stay in the QMJHL next season, though the Maple Leafs could also loan him back to Russia. Either way his deal will not kick in for the 2020-21 season, given he won’t turn 19 until later this month.

Morgan Rielly To Return For Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are barely hanging onto their precarious playoff position after losing three straight games on a west coast road trip. They’ll get some help tonight however, as defenseman Morgan Rielly will return to the lineup after missing 23 games with a broken foot.

Rielly, who turned 26 just yesterday, is one of Toronto’s most important players and best defenseman. An alternate captain that has been with the team since its darkest days, it is hard to explain just how much the club has missed him over the last two months. With Jake Muzzin also out for most of that time, the Maple Leafs have relied on a patchwork group of young defensemen.

Now, with the season hanging in the balance, Toronto will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning as the first team in a very difficult stretch. The team has 11 games between now and the end of the month, with almost all of those coming against teams either in a playoff position or still battling for one. That includes two games against the Lightning, one against their rival Boston Bruins and another against the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals. If there was ever a time when they needed Rielly, it’s now.

Snapshots: College Free Agents, Ceci, Perunovich

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While we have to way until July to get any free agent action among NHL players, the college season will be ending a little sooner. The end of the line for the best NCAA players means a feeding frenzy for NHL organizations, who will be snapping up talent in the hopes that they can step directly into the professional ranks. With that in mind, Frank Seravalli of TSN breaks down five names who are on the radar.

The top name as expected for most of the season is Connor Mackey, who has drawn plenty of speculation over the years. Seravalli reports that 28 of the league’s 31 teams have shown interest in Mackey, including nine that apparently are willing to sign him to an NHL contract this season—allowing him to burn the first year of the entry-level deal he will be restricted to. Remember, to do that the team must have an empty slot under their 50-contract limit, something that the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning currently do not.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs, who will surely be one of the team showing interest in the college defenseman, are getting back one of their own blueliners. Cody Ceci has been activated from injured reserve, adding some more experience to a group that has very little at the moment. The Maple Leafs have been forced to play Travis Dermott, Rasmus Sandin, Justin Holl, Timothy Liljegren and Calle Rosen all at the same time, a quintet that has 291 games of NHL experience between them. Ceci, for all his faults, has played in 494.
  • Speaking of college defensemen, the St. Louis Blues are monitoring one of their own draft picks very closely in Scott Perunovich, who is having another outstanding season for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the situation and exactly what options Perunovich will have after his year is done. Rutherford points out that there may not be a ton of opportunity right away in St. Louis, which has many speculating about whether the dynamic defenseman will try to find a different destination to start his professional career.

Minor Transactions: 03/06/20

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The hockey world is in mourning today after Henri Richard’s death, but the league unfortunately must march on even while grieving. As always, we’ll keep track of the minor moves right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Christian Wolanin from the minor leagues, sending Christian Jaros back to take his place. The swap gives them a different option for their trip to the west coast, which starts tomorrow with a game against the San Jose Sharks.
  • The New Jersey Devils have sent both Jesper Boqvist and Josh Jacobs back to the AHL. Boqvist, 21, has played 35 games this season but has just four goals and zero assists. He’ll need to find his game again in the minors if he ever wants to be an impact player for the Devils.
  • Jonas Johansson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans once again, leaving the Buffalo Sabres after two weeks. The big goaltender now has six games under his belt at the NHL level, with many more likely coming in the future.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned goaltender Anthony Stolarz to AHL San Diego.  He was recalled earlier this week to serve as the backup while Ryan Miller dealt with the flu but now that he has returned, Stolarz can return to his role as the starter for the Gulls.  Anaheim has also returned defenseman Simon Benoit to San Diego, per the AHL’s Transactions Page.  He was recalled for the second time this season on Wednesday but has yet to see NHL action.
  • With Cody Ceci being activated off IR, the Maple Leafs have loaned defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the AHL’s Marlies.  The 20-year-old got into 11 NHL games with Toronto, recording an assist while logging just over 10 minutes a night in ice time.

Snapshots: Shanahan, Doughty, Draft Lottery

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs have distanced themselves from the Florida Panthers of late and look to have a firm hold on the third playoff berth in the Atlantic Division, the same spot they held last year, most have seen this season as a disappointment for the club. The Leafs have endured an up-and-down campaign and even at their best have never truly competed for the division lead with rivals the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. In fact, the Leafs still sit 18 points back of Boston and nine points back of Tampa, who hold a game in hand. Yet, president Brendan Shanahan is choosing to see the positives in Toronto’s season and Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston relays that the Hall of Famer is happy with the direction of his team. “Adversity is something that every NHL team will go through, for all teams and not just ours,” Shanahan said, “and it’s something that you can either meet and grow from or you can use it as an excuse and I like to think that our players aren’t using it as an excuse, certainly not in management or coaching.” Shanahan continued that the team is “never going to [be consistent] all 82 games in a row, but certainly doing it more often than not, and that’s something that our guys are learning and it’s something I’m very confident that they are going to continue to grow at.” Shanahan speaks further about the team, noting how hard it is to sustain success in the NHL, but stating that he is confident that the Leafs can learn to be more consistent to make the most of their considerable talent.

  • Another name choosing to be positive in a tough situation is Drew Doughty, whose L.A. Kings face the Maple Leafs on Thursday. The Kings went from perennial Stanley Cup contender to a long-term rebuild quicker than anyone could have expected and Doughty, signed long-term in L.A., would obviously rather be back competing for titles every year. That doesn’t seem likely any time soon though and the veteran is just trying to take things day-by-day. “It’s very hard, but it’s the position I’m in, and I gotta try to stay positive every day, as hard as it is,” Doughty told TSN, “I have to make the best of it and just try to get better every day, both as a team and individually.” Doughty says that he is happy to see the talent of the prospects in the Kings’ pipeline, as well as the team’s numerous picks, and has already seen “flashes” from many of the current young players on the roster. However, no one is expecting a quick turnaround in L.A., Doughty included, so he will have to find a way to stay focused and positive for a while longer.
  • One major positive for Kings would be good luck at this year’s NHL Draft Lottery. L.A. dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 last season with the maximum three teams winning the lottery, and they hope for a different result as they currently sit with the second-worst record again this year. The Kings are undoubtedly hoping to move up to the top spot for the chance to take generational winger Alexis Lafreniere. So, when will we know the draft order for June? The Athletic’s Corey Pronman reports that the expectation is that the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery to be held on Thursday, April 9th. This would be the second night of the NHL postseason, which could see the lottery drawing again held in phases throughout a night of playoff action. More will be known soon on the details of this year’s lottery.

No Extension Talks Yet Between Toronto And Jason Spezza

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  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts that the Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza has yet to have discussions about a possible contract extension with the Leafs. He’s playing for the league minimum of $700K this season and will need to take a similar deal if he wants to have a chance to stay in Toronto given their contract structure despite producing relatively well given his low ice time with 25 points in 55 games while playing under 11 minutes a night.

Atlantic Notes: Protective Gear, Tatar, Sandin

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It was an outstanding start to his North American career for Ilya Mikheyev, who scored 23 points in his first 39 games in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just a few days after Christmas however, Mikheyev’s season was ruined when Jesper Bratt’s skate blade cut his wrist so bad that surgery was required to repair arteries and tendons in his right arm. The 25-year old forward has resumed practicing recently and could make a return before the playoffs, but his and other injuries like it have made the league take a closer look at protective equipment.

In fact, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the league is delivering equipment to every team around the league and that the Maple Leafs will force their young players to wear wrist protection. It hasn’t just been Mikheyev injured in this way recently, as speeds continue to increase in the NHL so does the damage that skate blades can inflict in the wrong situation. Hopefully the new changes keep players on the ice and out of the surgical unit.

  • Speaking of injury, the Montreal Canadiens’ season took another bad turn tonight when Tomas Tatar left their game with an upper-body injury. The team scoring leader will not return, though they are doing just fine without him at the time of this writing.
  • Rasmus Sandin is expected to be a healthy scratch for the Maple Leafs tonight after some recent struggles, which brings up some interesting questions about his contract status. Sandin has played in enough games to make his entry-level contract kick in, but with just 15 games remaining (after tonight) in the season for the Maple Leafs he may not get to the 40-game threshold that would get him a year closer to unrestricted free agency. The 19-year old defenseman has played in 26 so far, but both Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci are expected back soon, meaning another handful of scratches could keep that number down for the Maple Leafs.

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.

Atlantic Notes: Blashill, Krug, Ceci, Kinkaid

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The Detroit Red Wings find themselves at the bottom of the NHL this season with a dismal 15-47-4 record and already have been eliminated from a potential playoff spot on Feb. 21.

That could spell the end for head coach Jeff Blashill, who could find himself out of a job when the regular season ends. Both general manager Steve Yzerman and president and CEO Christopher Illitch have been supportive of Blashill recently. However, Illitch went a step further on Friday, stating that Blashill’s job will be completely in the hands of Yzerman, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press’ Carlos Monarrez.

“I think Steve had indicated that Jeff and Steve are going to talk after the season’s over and they’ll talk about the future and we’ll see where it goes,” said Illitch. “But at the end of the day, that’s Steve’s call. I support it, but I agree with Steve. I think Jeff’s done a good job in the situation he’s been given.”

Last Monday, Yzerman told the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James that the team can’t blame all the losing on Blashill and was supportive of a coach that he inherited last year when he took over as GM.

“It’s unfair to judge Jeff Blashill on our team’s record, it really is,” said Yzerman. “I put this team together. I had expectations for the year. I don’t think this is a playoff team honestly. A lot of things would have had to go right for us to be a playoff team at the start of the year. Obviously that hasn’t happened. A lot of things went wrong that we necessarily didn’t forsee, whether it be injury or what not.”

  • With rumors that Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, an unrestricted free agent this summer, could be looking for a $9MM per year on the open market and potentially asking for $8MM from the Boston Bruins, WEEI’s Matt Kalman spoke to Krug who said that he hasn’t changed his mindset on negotiations with the Bruins. “No, I’ve been in the same spot from Day One. Just obviously trying to respect the situation here and trying to find a balance of being paid fairly and obviously being part of a winning team too,” Krug said. Krug has eight goals and 45 points this year and is a key piece to the team, but at 28 years of age, the Bruins may be hesitant to hand him a long-term deal. The team did free up some cap room at the trade deadline, unloading the albatross contract of David Backes as well as moving Danton Heinen, but the team has a number of other players it needs to sign as well.
  • While there is no word on when Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Ceci might return, the blueliner did participate in Saturday’s morning skate, signaling he might not be that far away from returning, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. “It’s moving along pretty good. [Morning skate] was a nice step for me,” said Ceci, who is out with an ankle injury since Feb. 5. His next step is to take contact at a full practice.
  • In an unusual AHL transaction, the Laval Rocket announced they have re-assigned goaltender Keith Kinkaid to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Kinkaid signed with the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason as the backup to Carey Price. However, Kinkaid struggled in six appearances with a .875 save percentage. He has played with the Rocket for 13 appearances with little more success (.876 save percentage) and now will attempt to help out the Checkers, the AHL affiliate, who lost both Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic to the Carolina Hurricanes after their two starters went down with injury. Regardless, it’s an AHL transactions, which means his contract still belongs to the Canadiens.

Snapshots: Post-Deadline Moves, Thornton, Lindholm

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Even though it is referred to as the trade deadline in the NHL, this Monday was not actually that. In fact, teams are still allowed to make basically any move they want, with one caveat—players switching squads will not be eligible for the postseason. With that limitation in place it almost never makes sense for a team to make a trade in the weeks following the deadline but perhaps in one specific situation this year it could.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier today that Jake Muzzin will be out a month with a broken hand, leaving them with a handful of defenders that were almost all playing in the minor leagues a few years ago. Tyson Barrie stands as the only real defenseman with any experience, at least until Muzzin, Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci return down the road. Perhaps the Maple Leafs could break with tradition and acquire a depth defender just to help them for the next few weeks, given their precarious hold on an Atlantic Division playoff spot.

  • Speaking of Toronto, the latest edition of 31 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet includes an interesting nugget regarding the Maple Leafs. When examining the Joe Thornton situation and his recent comments about being disappointed he didn’t move at the deadline, Friedman speculates that the veteran forward could find his way to Toronto should he decide the San Jose Sharks aren’t in a position to compete next season. In fact, Friedman believes that the Maple Leafs considered adding him this year, though there were obvious obstacles in the way. In the summer of 2017 when the Maple Leafs signed Patrick Marleau as a free agent there were plenty of rumors about Thornton joining him there, but will there even be an opportunity for him next season at age-41?
  • After leaving last night’s game with an upper-body injury, Hampus Lindholm wasn’t at practice today for the Anaheim Ducks according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Brendan Guhle has been recalled in his absence. Losing Lindholm for any length of time would really test the rest of the Anaheim defenders, perhaps even giving them a chance to see what they have in some of their younger options. The 26-year old logs more than 23 minutes a night for the team, and has 22 points in 55 games.

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