Stars Recall Mavrik Bourque
The Stars recalled forward Mavrik Bourque from AHL Texas, per a team announcement. After being named the AHL’s MVP for 2023-24 yesterday, he’s now eligible to dress in tomorrow’s Game 3 of their first-round series against the Golden Knights.
Bourque, 22, made his lone regular-season appearance on April 6 against the Blackhawks. The 5’10” pivot is in his second professional season after turning pro out of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes, whom he captained in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Dallas acquired his signing rights by making him the 30th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, signing him to his entry-level contract the following March.
The right-shot center has quickly cemented himself as one of the best in a deep Stars prospect pool. He played all but one of Texas’ 72 regular-season games, leading the AHL in points with 77 (29 goals, 51 assists). He has two goals and two assists in two games thus far in the Calder Cup Playoffs as Texas swept its best-of-three First Round series against Manitoba. As they don’t begin their Central Division Semifinal clash against Milwaukee until next Thursday, recalling Bourque doesn’t harm the Stars’ minor-league club.
Bourque, along with Ty Dellandrea and Craig Smith (both healthy scratches in Games 1 and 2), could enter the series if Radek Faksa and/or Mason Marchment are unable to play as action shifts to Las Vegas. Both are day-to-day due to undisclosed injuries sustained in Game 2 on Wednesday. The Western Conference regular-season winners dropped both games at home and are down 2-0 against the defending Stanley Cup champs.
Bourque has one season left on his ELC and will challenge for a roster spot out of camp next fall. He won’t require waivers for reassignment until he plays two more professional seasons or 159 NHL games, whichever comes first.
Hurricanes Recall Ryan Suzuki
The Hurricanes recalled center Ryan Suzuki from AHL Springfield on Friday, per a team release. He joins defenseman Ronan Seeley, who was recalled from the minors yesterday, as a player on Carolina’s expanded playoff roster without any NHL experience.
Suzuki, 22, managed to tread water in his development this season while other Hurricanes prospects struggled without a stable minor-league affiliate. Carolina loaned the 2019 first-round pick out to Springfield, the Blues’ top-level affiliate, for the entire season after they couldn’t reach a deal to extend their affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. He made a career-high 51 appearances, managing 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points with a -9 rating.
He hasn’t yet managed to be a true impact player at the minor-league level, though, and he’s still searching for his first regular-season NHL recall. The younger brother of Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was drafted as an expert playmaker out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts, and he made the jump to the pro ranks with AHL Chicago a year early when the OHL canceled the 2020-21 season entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s managed 39 goals, 47 assists and 86 points in 153 AHL games since turning pro.
They aren’t bad numbers, but they’re still disappointing for a first-round pick and not strong enough to force Carolina to disrupt one of the deepest offenses in the league. Since Carolina has options with more NHL experience (Max Comtois, Brendan Lemieux) and higher ceilings (Jackson Blake, Bradly Nadeau) ready to go if injuries strike, the chances of Suzuki making his NHL debut this postseason are slim to none.
The London, Ontario, native is in the final season of his entry-level contract. The Hurricanes owe him a $874,125 qualifying offer to retain his rights as a restricted free agent this summer. He’s not yet eligible for salary arbitration, although he would be in 2025 if he signed a one-year deal.
Predators Recall Juuso Parssinen
The Predators have recalled center Juuso Pärssinen from AHL Milwaukee ahead of tomorrow’s Game 3 of their first-round series against the Canucks, per a team announcement.
Pärssinen, 23, began the season on the Nashville roster but was assigned to Milwaukee in late January. He’s remained in the minors since, not appearing in an NHL game since a 3-2 loss to the Coyotes on Jan. 20. Before being sent down, the 2019 seventh-round pick had eight goals and 12 points in 44 games.
The quickly-rising Finn unexpectedly logged top-nine minutes for the Preds much of last season, posting six goals and 25 points in 45 appearances. It was his first full season in North America after two very productive campaigns with TPS in the top-level Finnish Liiga, where he scored the most points by a junior-aged player in 2020-21 and helped TPS advance to the championship series in back-to-back years, although they lost both times.
That showing earned him a deserved opening-night job this year, but his production and overall effectiveness took a step back despite receiving roughly the same amount of ice time (14:20 last year, 14:36 this year). His points per game rate dropped by over half, and he became nearly unusable in the faceoff dot, winning 37.5% of draws after being over 50% in 2022-23. Pärssinen’s possession metrics took a tumble, too, posting a 46.4 CF% at even strength compared to 47.2% last year despite Nashville being a much-improved team at controlling shot attempts.
He responded well to his demotion, though, racking up seven goals and 25 points in 39 games and a +12 rating in Milwaukee to end the season. including five points in his final three games. With Milwaukee finishing first in the Central Division and earning a First Round bye, their Calder Cup Playoff schedule won’t start until next week, so they’re not taking Pärssinen out of important action for their AHL club with today’s recall. He’ll be available for tomorrow’s Game 3 after Nashville tied the series with a Game 2 win Tuesday, but it’s unclear if he’ll draw into the lineup.
Blackhawks Sign Alex Vlasic To Six-Year Extension
11:10 a.m.: Per PuckPedia, Vlasic has a 10-team no-trade list in 2028-29 and 2029-30, the two seasons of the deal he’d otherwise be eligible for unrestricted free agency. The full breakdown of the contract is as follows:
2024-25: $1.5MM base salary + $4.5MM signing bonus
2025-26: $1.8MM base salary + $4MM signing bonus
2026-27: $4.3MM base salary
2027-28: $1.3MM base salary + $3MM signing bonus
2028-29: $1.6MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus
2029-30: $1.6MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus
10:04 a.m.: The Blackhawks have signed promising defenseman Alex Vlasic to a six-year extension with a $4.6MM cap hit, The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports Thursday. The deal, which will pay Vlasic $27.6MM in total, walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2030. The team later confirmed the terms of the deal as initially reported.
Vlasic, 23 in June, was the Blackhawks’ second-round pick in 2019 after they took Kirby Dach third overall. That year, he was the top shutdown defender for the USNTDP’s U-18 squad and was viewed as a consensus late first/early second-round choice. However, he fell a bit to Chicago at 43rd overall. He then embarked on a three-year stint at Boston University, where the 6’6″ blue-liner quietly continued to improve his shutdown game while managing four goals and 20 points in 82 games. His career +1 rating there wasn’t all that impressive, but BU was a rather middling program during his time there and never finished higher than fifth in the Hockey East conference.
The Chicago native turned pro with his hometown club after his junior season, inking a three-year entry-level contract in March 2022 that kicked in immediately. He played 15 games for the Hawks down the stretch, recording his first two NHL points (one goal, one assist) with a -2 rating while averaging 14:19 per game. His possession metrics were decent on a rebuilding club that won just twice in regulation in 20 games after he signed, posting a 44.0 CF% and 54.9 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference. It wasn’t enough to earn him a full-time spot on their 2022-23 roster, playing in only six games last year, but he did post a +12 rating to lead all AHL Rockford defensemen, along with 19 points in 56 games.
He landed an opening night roster spot this season and never looked back. Vlasic operated in a number-one capacity for stretches of the season when Seth Jones was sidelined with injury, finishing second behind Jones in average time on ice (21:29). He put up two goals and 16 points in 76 games in his first full NHL season, adding on a very respectable -4 rating, 44.9 CF%, and 47.7 xGF% while playing shutdown matchups for one of the weakest rosters in the league. When he wasn’t controlling possession himself, he was competent at keeping the puck out of dangerous areas, leading the team with 148 blocks.
Vlasic will never be a point producer, but his linear development and strong showing this season in difficult minutes are exemplary hints that he can be a high-end, top-four complementary shutdown defender for years to come. There haven’t been any major road bumps in his development since his draft day. He navigated the obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic quite well and hit his likely ceiling earlier than most defenders.
In getting Vlasic signed long-term early on, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson continues the recent trend of early long-term commitments to developing defenders. The Sabres’ Owen Power and the Senators’ Jake Sanderson both signed long-term deals after their first full NHL seasons in 2022-23, although they both had one year remaining on their entry-level deals at the time. Vlasic was headed for restricted free agency this summer. It’s an extremely comparable extension to another young Buffalo defender, 24-year-old shutdown man Mattias Samuelsson, who inked a seven-year, $30MM ($4.29MM AAV) agreement in October 2022.
Vlasic joins Jones as the only Blackhawks skaters signed past 2026. Their deals will expire simultaneously after the 2029-30 campaign. Before today’s news, Jones and veteran Connor Murphy were the only Chicago defenders signed to one-way contracts for next season. Vlasic and Jones are expected to reprise their role as Chicago’s top defense pairing in 2024-25.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Golden Knights Add Nine Players To Playoff Roster
Now up 2-0 in their first-round series against the Stars, the Golden Knights have recalled nine players from AHL Henderson to serve as Black Aces for the remainder of their playoff run, per CapFriendly’s transaction log. Forwards Brendan Brisson, Grigori Denisenko, Byron Froese and Mason Morelli; defensemen Kaedan Korczak, Dysin Mayo and Christoffer Sedoff; and goaltenders Isaiah Saville and Jesper Vikman are now all immediately available to Vegas if injuries force them to reach deep into their pool of depth players.
There was no postseason action in store for any of these players in the minors. Henderson failed to qualify for the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs after going 28-36-3-5 in the regular season, missing out for the second year in a row.
Many of these players, including all of the forwards mentioned and Korczak on the blue line, played in NHL games with the Knights this season. Mayo had 82 NHL games of experience across 2021-22 and 2022-23 with the Coyotes but didn’t suit up for Vegas in 2023-24. Saville, Sedoff and Vikman have yet to make their NHL debuts.
Brisson, 22, is the most likely of these recalls to see game action in the playoffs. The 2020 first-round pick did well in his first NHL season, recording two goals and six assists for eight points in 15 games across a spattering of late-season recalls. Averaging 12:20 per game, he played a handful of different units but spent most of his time on the wing with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. The trio controlled 65.2% of expected goals in 43 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. The former University of Michigan standout also had 19 goals and 38 points in 52 contests with Henderson, his second full season in the pros.
Denisenko, 23, was picked up in the first round by the Panthers two years before Brisson. After failing to crack Florida’s opening night roster, he was nabbed off the waiver wire by Vegas in October. He was assigned to Henderson after there were no takers for him on waivers a second time – including his former team. The 5’11” winger still doesn’t have an NHL goal to his name in 32 appearances, six of which came in a Golden Knights sweater this season. However, he did have a breakthrough campaign in the minors, recording career-highs across the board with 20 goals, 36 assists and 56 points in 65 games. That led the club in assists and points, and only veteran Sheldon Rempal had more goals (27).
Froese, 33, recorded an assist in 16 appearances for Vegas this year, marking his first time playing in back-to-back NHL seasons since playing in three straight from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The longtime farmhand has suited up 141 times in parts of six seasons for the Canadiens, Flames, Golden Knights, Maple Leafs and Lightning. An alternate captain with Henderson, Froese finished fifth on the club in scoring with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 53 games.
Morelli, 28, earned his first NHL contract with the Golden Knights last July after spending three years on minor-league deals with the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate. Fresh off a Calder Cup win in 2023, Morelli made his NHL debut in February while injuries decimated the Knights’ forward group. He put up a goal and an assist on his first try against the Sharks and finished his callup with four points in nine games. The North Dakota native also had a career-high 13 goals in 56 games with Henderson, adding 16 assists for 29 points on the year.
On the blue line, Korczak will be head coach Bruce Cassidy‘s first choice to insert into the lineup if Vegas needs to reach past the two extra defenders they entered the postseason with. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in 2019 and played a career-high 26 games for the Golden Knights this year, posting nine points and a +12 rating while averaging 16:30 per game. He mirrored those stats in Henderson with a goal and eight assists in 26 games there and still carries significant NHL upside as a smooth-skating, 6’4″ right-shot defender. His entry-level contract is up this summer, but his next deal shouldn’t cost more than $1MM just yet and will be a cheap, reliable call-up option with an outside chance to crack next year’s opening night roster.
Mayo, 27, was picked up by the Knights in a February 2023 trade with Arizona that sent a fifth-round pick and the contract of defenseman Shea Weber, who won’t play again due to various injuries, to the Yotes. An adept shutdown defender with depth NHL upside, Mayo had a career-high 25 points in 67 games with the Silver Knights this season with a -6 rating and 79 PIMs, his most in a single season since his junior hockey days.
Sedoff, 22, was an undrafted free-agent signing by Vegas from the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels last year. The Finnish blue-liner managed to stick in the AHL the whole season, avoiding a demotion to the ECHL, but didn’t score in 46 appearances. He tallied 10 assists for his first-ever professional points and posted a -1 rating, the second-highest on the team behind Brisson among qualified skaters.
Saville and Vikman split backup duties for Henderson behind the more experienced Jiří Patera, although neither won the job outright. The 23-year-old Saville had slightly better numbers, going 7-12-1 with a .893 SV%, 3.27 GAA and one shutout in 22 appearances. The Alaska native was a Vegas fifth-round pick in 2019. Vikman, 22, was a fifth-round pick a year after Saville. The 6’3″ Swede split the year between Henderson and ECHL Savannah, failing to cross the .900 SV% plateau at either level.
Kraken Sign Caden Price
While Seattle’s season is over, they’ve been keeping busy on the transactions front in recent days with some of their prospects. That continued today as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Caden Price to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $908K.
The 18-year-old was a third-round pick by the Kraken last June, going 84th overall after a productive year with WHL Kelowna that saw him collect 40 points. Price built on those numbers this year, tallying 13 goals and 42 assists in 62 regular season games with the Rockets, plus a goal and ten helpers in 11 playoff contests. That was good enough to earn him a spot on the All-WHL Second Team after the season.
With Kelowna being eliminated in the WHL playoffs, Price is eligible to join AHL Coachella Valley for their playoff run. However, he will not be eligible to play for the Firebirds next season; his options will be to play with Seattle or go back to junior with the Rockets. The latter is the likeliest scenario and as long as Price doesn’t play in ten or more NHL games next season, his contract will slide and still have three years left on it heading into 2025-26.
Avalanche Reassign Three Players
The Avalanche have assigned defenseman Brad Hunt, forward Chris Wagner and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement.
None of the three played in last night’s 5-2 win in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Jets to tie the series. Hunt and Wagner were scratched, while Prosvetov served as the backup to starter Alexandar Georgiev. Rookie Justus Annunen, Georgiev’s backup for much of the last few months, has missed both postseason contests so far due to illness.
They’ll provide significant reinforcements to the Eagles, who begin their best-of-three First Round series against the Abbotsford Canucks tonight. Hunt, 35, spent all of the regular season there, leading the offensively challenged club in points with 49 (16 goals, 33 assists) in 70 games. It marked the undersized blue liner’s first regular season without NHL action since 2012-13. He suited up in 47 games for the Avs last season, notching 10 points despite averaging only 11:13 per game. The British Columbia native is wrapping up a two-year, two-way deal worth $1.525MM that he signed with Colorado in 2022 and will be a UFA in July.
Wagner heads back to the minors after being placed on waivers yesterday, meaning he’s cleared. The 32-year-old played sparingly for the Avs down the stretch, notching a goal and an assist in 13 appearances while averaging 7:27 per game. He has 14 points in 21 AHL contests this season, held out of the lineup until January due to an Achilles tear sustained during training camp. A former fourth-line fixture with the Bruins and Islanders, Wagner has played primarily in the minors for the third year in a row. He inked a one-year, two-way extension ($775K/$400K) early this month that will keep him with the Avs or Eagles through next season.
Prosvetov, 25, has likely dressed for his last game in Colorado if Annunen can suit up for Game 3 on Friday. A report out of Russia late last week indicated he’ll sign a three-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League this offseason. He made a career-high eight starts and three relief appearances for the Avs in the regular season after the club claimed him off waivers from the Coyotes, posting a 4-3-1 record with a .895 SV% and 3.16 GAA. The Arizona 2018 fourth-round pick will likely get the start for the Eagles tonight after going 11-7-2 with a .921 SV% in 21 games down the stretch.
The Avs’ Game 3 coincides with the Eagles’ Game 2 of their respective series, so Colorado is unlikely to reverse these transactions if they can help it. If the AHL squad is eliminated, though, expect all three to come back to the NHL roster as Black Aces for the remainder of their stay in the postseason.
Snapshots: Bengtsson, Lomberg, Lorentz, Broberg
After his college career came to an end in the 2024 National Championship, defenseman Jacob Bengtsson has found his new home. Earlier today, the Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced they had signed Bengtsson to a one-year AHL contract beginning in the 2024-25 AHL season.
One of the more unheralded members of the Boston College Eagles, Bengtsson had spent the last three years playing for Lake Superior State University. In those three combined seasons, Bengtsson played in 100 games for the Lakers, scoring six goals and 57 points while earning a role as an assistant captain in his junior season.
Transferring to Boston College for his senior year, Bengtsson played in 40 games for the Eagles, scoring three goals and 14 points in total while earning a +21 rating. Even though the Marlies were able to sneak into the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Bengtsson will have to wait until after the conclusion of summer to make his debut with the organization.
Other snapshots:
- In today’s Game 2 matchup against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers will be without forward Ryan Lomberg as he is out with an illness (X Link). Taking his place in the lineup will be forward Steven Lorentz, who managed 38 games for Florida over the regular season. It will mark Lorentz’s first postseason matchup since the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, as he skated in five games as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.
- After being recalled earlier today by the Edmonton Oilers, defenseman Philip Broberg was able to skate with the team in practice as they prepare to take a two-game lead over the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow night. Unfortunately, it does not appear as if Broberg will get to have that opportunity with the team, as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports Broberg has been loaned back to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Fortunately for Broberg, he should not miss playoff action entirely, as the Condors begin their opening-round matchup against the Ontario Reign tomorrow evening.
Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Alex Pharand, Samuel Savoie
With their regular season coming to an end against the Chicago Wolves this past Sunday, the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be receiving some solid reinforcements for the 2023-24 Calder Cup playoffs. In an announcement coming from the team, the Blackhawks have reassigned forward prospects Alex Pharand and Samuel Savoie to Rockford in preparation for the playoffs.
Pharand, who was selected with the 99th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, just wrapped up his third season with his hometown team, the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League. In 68 games for the Wolves, Pharand scored 17 goals and 30 points in total, tied for 11th on the team in scoring. Although he is a strong skater and can create offensive opportunities with his deking ability, Pharand is more well known as a defensive forward with the ability to backcheck better than most of his peers.
Savoie, on the other hand, was a higher-drafted player compared to Pharand, going 81st overall to the Blackhawks in the 2022 NHL Draft. Carrying a higher-upside offensive potential, Savoie just completed his fourth season in the QMJHL and his first as a member of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Limited to only 21 games due to a broken femur suffered in Chicago’s training camp on September 30th, Savoie still managed to score 10 goals and 22 points in total.
With the IceHogs set to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Central Division Semifinals, each player will have an opportunity to make an impact at the AHL level. Nevertheless, even if the team is unable to make a deep run in the Calder Cup playoffs, it will be an invaluable experience for two prospects looking to aid the Blackhawks organization in their return to competitiveness.
Washington Capitals Recall Hardy Häman Aktell
With defensemen Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin still out of the lineup for Game 2, the Washington Capitals were put in a position to recall some depth from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. According to a team announcement, the Capitals recalled defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell earlier today, and he was with the team for practice.
Even after the recall, it is more than unlikely that he will play this evening against the New York Rangers, as all signs indicate defenseman Lucas Johansen will enter the lineup instead. Johansen, who only has Calder Cup playoff experience under his belt, suited up in six games for the Capitals this season, tallying one assist in total.
If there are any more injuries to the blue line, Washington may find themselves in a precarious enough position to require Aktell to make his postseason debut with the team in his first year playing for the organization. Even though Aktell was drafted with the 108th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL Draft, he decided to play professional hockey in his native Sweden before signing an entry-level deal with the Capitals towards the end of last summer.
Aktell’s first season in North America has been decent but he has seen his scoring drop precipitously compared to his last season in the SHL. Over 55 games spent with the Bears this year, Aktell scored two goals and 11 points in total, sitting sixth on the team in scoring amongst defensemen. In early October, Aktell made his NHL debut, scoring one assist in six games for the Capitals.