Bruins Sign Riley Duran To Entry-Level Deal
The Bruins have come to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with center prospect Riley Duran, per a team release. The contract carries a cap hit of $867.5K and will begin next season. Duran, who completed his junior season at Providence College last weekend, will finish the season on a tryout with the Bruins’ AHL club in the same city.
The 22-year-old Duran was drafted by the Bruins in the sixth round of the 2020 draft and had one season remaining of collegiate eligibility before his exclusive signing rights with Boston expired. The 6-foot-2, 181-lb Massachusetts native was selected straight out of high school and spent his post-draft season playing major junior hockey with USHL Youngstown before kicking things off with Providence in 2021-22.
Duran was relatively consistent through his three seasons with the Friars, although his play dropped off slightly in 2023-24. He recorded 55 points in 102 games with the school, a 0.54 points per game average, but produced only 0.46 per game this season (9-7–16 in 35 GP). He was an unexpectedly important piece of the United States contingent at the 2022 World Junior Championship, where he rattled off 2-3–5 in 5 GP en route to a quarterfinal loss.
His ceiling is that of a two-way, third-line center, but he will need some significant seasoning in the AHL before he’s considered for a recall. He’ll be an RFA when his deal expires in 2026.
Flames Sign Joni Jurmo To Entry-Level Deal
The Flames have signed Finnish defense prospect Joni Jurmo to a two-year, entry-level contract, per a team announcement Sunday. The deal carries an AAV of $850K.
Calgary picked up Jurmo’s signing rights earlier this season, acquiring them as part of the deal that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. As defense prospect Hunter Brzustewicz also signed his ELC earlier this March, both unsigned prospects acquired in the deal are now Flames property through at least 2026.
Jurmo, 21, carries appeal with his 6-foot-5, 209-lb frame. A strong skater for his size, he was a second-round pick of the Canucks in the 2020 draft but has had a rather tumultuous tenure since in various levels of the Finnish system.
However, he has been a mainstay in the pros since the 2021-22 campaign, when he logged 10 points and a +10 rating in 50 games for Jukurit in a strong first showing as a full-timer in the Liiga. He also represented Finland at the delayed World Junior Championships the following summer, recording an assist in seven games en route to a silver medal.
He’s played for three teams in the following two seasons, heading from Jukurit to Ilves over last offseason and being moved again to KooKoo in a midseason trade. He’s held a bottom-pairing role with all three clubs, posting 8-20–28 with a -2 rating in 168 Liiga games since his debut with JYP in the 2020-21 season. He finished his 2023-24 season with five points and a +3 rating in 46 games split between Ilves and KooKoo.
Jurmo will be eligible to suit up for AHL Calgary next season, but if his ELC holds a European Assignment Clause, he may also be loaned back to KooKoo, which holds his Liiga rights through next season. For the Flames, he’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2026.
Blue Jackets Modify Brendan Gaunce’s Recall, Reassign Trey Fix-Wolansky
The Blue Jackets are down to two post-trade deadline recalls after they covered Brendan Gaunce‘s emergency recall into a standard one Sunday, per a team release. The club also assigned winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to AHL Cleveland.
Gaunce, 29, has been in the majors since an emergency summons on March 12 in the wake of depth forward Justin Danforth exiting the lineup due to a suspected concussion and a brief illness sidelining Kirill Marchenko. The 6-foot-2, 217-lb center has played in all seven Blue Jackets games since, recording a goal and a -2 rating while averaging 12:19 per game.
The 2012 first-round pick is on his third NHL organization, ending up with Columbus in 2021 after stints with the Canucks, Bruins, and the Swedish Hockey League’s Växjö Lakers HC. He hasn’t been overtly impressive in major-league minutes while with the Blue Jackets, posting 7-5–12 in 50 games over the last three seasons with a -3 rating while averaging under 10 minutes per contest, but keeping him around allows younger prospects like Fix-Wolansky to play out the stretch run of the minor-league campaign with Cleveland and log high-end minutes.
Gaunce, who remains third on Cleveland in scoring with 19-20–39 in 46 games, is in the back half of a two-year, $1.525MM extension signed in June 2022. He carries a cap hit of $762.5K but earns a slightly higher base salary of $775K in the NHL due to the league minimum increasing by $25K last offseason.
Fix-Wolansky was the first post-deadline standard recall for the CBJ, coming up to the majors on March 8 after lighting up the minors at over a point-per-game pace (23-31–54 in 51 GP). The 5-foot-8 winger could not convert that success to the majors, however, posting one assist in eight games with a -2 rating. His only other NHL appearance this season came during a brief recall in November, and he was held without a point in a loss to the Coyotes.
The 24-year-old will return to spark Cleveland as they jockey for playoff positioning in the AHL’s North Division, in which they sit second with a 35-21-3-3 record. He’s appeared in NHL games in three straight seasons, a solid feat for the 2018 seventh-round pick.
Fix-Wolansky is in the first season of a two-year, $1.55MM extension he inked shortly before reaching restricted free agency last summer. He earns a $350K salary while in the minors but is guaranteed at least $425K in salary this year.
Bruins Reassign John Beecher
Bruins forward John Beecher is back on the farm with AHL Providence after being reassigned Sunday, per CapFriendly.
The 22-year-old center/winger has spent most of the season in the majors, landing a spot on the opening-night roster and making his NHL debut over four years after Boston selected him with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He was designated for the minors for the first time this season on Jan. 20 and remained there through the trade deadline until being recalled on three separate emergency loans earlier this month. He’d been on the NHL roster without reassignment since Mar. 16 after being papered between leagues five times in six days.
Beecher had played in four consecutive contests before being scratched due to illness in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Flyers. He scored once on three shots on goal and added an assist and a +1 rating in that timeframe, playing solid bottom-six minutes while averaging 12:28 per game.
He wouldn’t have lasted much longer on the active roster anyway, at least as an emergency recall. Winger James van Riemsdyk returned from an illness that kept him out for most of mid-March against Philadelphia, ending the conditions that required Beecher to have 12 healthy forwards. If the Bruins want to bring Beecher up without any other absences from their forward group, they would need to utilize one of their three remaining post-deadline standard recalls.
After an injury-plagued collegiate career with the University of Michigan and middling offensive results in the minors, it seems unlikely the 6-foot-3 pivot will reach the ceiling Boston hoped for by selecting him in the first round. Overall, early returns on his impact in a fourth-line role aren’t terribly promising outside of his 54.7 FO%, as he’s managed only six goals and three assists through 43 games.
He’s also recorded the worst even-strength CF% (37.7) of any Bruins skater with at least 10 games played. His -6.3 expected rating is also the lowest on the team. Beecher’s point totals likely aren’t sustainable either, as he’s shooting at an unusually high 20% rate.
Beecher has shown some improvement with Providence this season, posting 4-4–8 with a +9 rating in 17 games compared to 9-14–23 and a +9 rating in 61 games last year. The New York native is in the second season of his three-year, $2.775MM entry-level contract, which pays him a $70K salary at the minor-league level.
Capitals Reassign Matthew Phillips
The Capitals have returned forward Matthew Phillips to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, according to a statement from the team’s PR department. He was listed as a scratch on the league’s roster report for Sunday’s game against the Jets.
Phillips, 25, had been on the Caps’ roster for only two days since being summoned from Hershey on an emergency loan Friday. However, with T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) returning from their respective injuries for today’s contest, the conditions necessitating Phillips’ presence in the NHL were no longer met.
Washington needed to either convert Phillips’ recall into a standard one or return him to the minors, choosing the latter option. He played 4:15 against the Hurricanes in Friday’s 7-6 shootout loss, posting a -1 rating and one shot on goal.
However, despite logging the least time on ice of any Capitals skater, he managed to record three individual scoring chances, tied for second in the game, per Natural Stat Trick. Still, Phillips has gone 13 games without a point, last getting on the scoresheet with an assist in a shootout loss to the Stars on Dec. 7.
Including Friday’s contest, Phillips has one goal, four assists, and five points in 31 games split between the Capitals and Penguins. Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers in mid-February after Washington attempted to send him to the minors for the first time this season. He went pointless in three appearances before ending up on the waiver wire again in early March.
The Caps took the opportunity to bring him back to the organization, claiming him off waivers from the Pens shortly before the trade deadline. As they reclaimed him within 30 days of initially losing him on waivers, they could assign him directly to AHL Hershey.
Phillips was strong in limited action with the league-leading Bears this month, posting 1-2–3 with 2 PIMs and a +2 rating in four games. The 2016 sixth-round pick of the Flames has developed into an elite producer at the minor-league level, recording 67-77–144 in 131 games with Calgary’s AHL affiliates between 2021 and 2023 before reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency last summer.
Signed to a one-year, one-way deal, the 5-foot-7 Phillips will continue to earn his $775K base salary while on assignment to Hershey. He will be an RFA with arbitration eligibility if the Caps issue him a qualifying offer this offseason.
New Jersey Devils Recall Isaac Poulter, Send Down Tyler Wotherspoon
Circumstances have changed quickly for goaltender Isaac Poulter over the last week, as the New Jersey Devils have recalled him after being demoted to the ECHL only five days ago. In the same transaction, the team also announces they have returned Tyler Wotherspoon to the Utica Comets of the AHL after recalling him on an emergency loan less than a week ago.
Poulter originally joined the Devils organization by way of an AHL contract after his tenure with the Swift Current Broncos came to an end after the 2021-22 WHL season. Primarily playing for the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL last year, Poulter produced a 10-8-2 record in 22 games, posting a .910 SV% and a 2.93 GAA.
Continuing to improve this season, Poulter has gotten off to a strong start with the Comets, putting up a 17-8-1 record in 28 games, while also managing a .911 SV% and a 2.55 GAA. Poulter played so well for Utica that New Jersey opted to sign him to a two-year, two-way NHL contract on February 15th of this year, taking him to the end of next season.
Unfortunately, even with Poulter’s strong record and four shutouts this season, poor play from Akira Schmid and Erik Kallgren has capped the Comets at 27 wins in 60 games, causing them to sit in last place in a strong North Division. Now, with his second callup of the season to the NHL level, Poulter will have the chance to practice with the Devils before their game today against the New York Islanders.
In Wotherspoon, it will be his second straight recall to New Jersey on an emergency basis in which he was unable to play in any games. Only suiting up for Utica this year, Wotherspoon has scored four goals and 19 points in 54 games.
Anton Wahlberg Joins Buffalo Sabres Organization
Earlier this morning, the Buffalo Sabres officially brought over one of their top forward prospects to North America, announcing that Anton Wahlberg has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Wahlberg recently wrapped up his season with the Malmö Redhawks of the SHL after his team failed to qualify for the 2023-24 SHL playoffs.
Drafted 39th overall by the Sabres in the 2023 NHL Draft, Wahlberg has shown decent production for an 18-year-old at the SHL level, as well as in international events. Scoring five goals and 10 points for the Redhawks this season, Wahlberg also chipped in one goal and three points for Team Sweden in the most recent IIHF World Junior Championships, en route to a silver medal finish.
At still such a young age, it is tough to ascertain exactly where Wahlberg will end up in the Sabres lineup, but has shown the makings of an above-average third-line center. Having a key ability to hold on to the puck, Wahlberg has the capabilities to extend possession for his teams, as well as work the puck into the offensive zone.
Now moving to the AHL, Wahlberg will have the opportunity to help the Americans in their playoff hunt. Currently tied with the Toronto Marlies for third in the North Division, the Americans are right on the cusp of being a top-three team in their division, which would automatically bypass them into the Division Semifinals of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Maple Leafs Notes: Barbolini, Bertuzzi, Lyubushkin
In what has become a typical transaction over the last several years, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies, has brought in an undrafted collegiate free agent on a two-year deal. The team announced a short while ago they had agreed to terms with forward Matthew Barbolini, who will finish the remainder of the season on a PTO.
Barbolini recently wrapped up a four-year career with Miami University of Ohio, becoming a significant point producer along the way. Overall, Barbolini will finish his career with 125 games played, scoring 36 goals and 86 points.
Now joining the Marlies system, Barbolini will join a team that is currently in a heated battle for playoff positioning in the AHL’s North Division. Currently sitting in third place, Toronto is only five points ahead of the sixth-place Laval Rocket.
Other Maple Leafs notes:
- The Maple Leafs are set to be without winger Tyler Bertuzzi on Saturday due to illness (Twitter link). Bertuzzi has been on a hot streak lately, with five points in his last five games. His hot streak comes thanks to great chemistry alongside Auston Matthews and Max Domi, who he’s played with over the last few games. Toronto is expected to ice Matthew Knies in Bertuzzi’s top-line role on Saturday – a prime opportunity for the Leafs’ prodigal rookie.
- Joining Bertuzzi on the list of Maple Leafs’ players who will not be present for the game this evening is defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who is still out with an illness according to TSN’s Mark Masters. Since coming over from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline, Lyubushkin has suited up in seven games for Toronto, tallying two assists while averaging 16:07 minutes of ice time. Battling this current illness, however, Lyubushkin has been unable to enter the Maple Leafs lineup for the past three contests.
Blue Jackets Assign David Jiricek To AHL, Recall James Malatesta
David Jiricek‘s stint with the Blue Jackets was short-lived. Two days after being recalled under emergency conditions, the team announced that they assigned the blueliner back to AHL Cleveland while bringing up forward James Malatesta. Malatesta’s recall is on an emergency basis and thus won’t count against their post-deadline recall limit.
Jiricek has split this season between Columbus and Cleveland with a small majority of his games coming at the NHL level. He has played in 36 games with the Blue Jackets so far, collecting nine points and 39 blocked shots while logging a little under 15 minutes a night. In the minors, meanwhile, the 20-year-old has been much more productive, collecting seven goals and ten assists in 24 games.
Jiricek has now officially burned the first year of his entry-level contract but there is still a milestone to watch for. If he’s on the active roster for 40 games, he would accrue a season of service time toward UFA eligibility. Accordingly, the Blue Jackets haven’t brought him up much lately; his two-day recall from earlier this week was his first in nearly two months. It wouldn’t be surprising to see his NHL action be limited down the stretch for that reason.
As for Malatesta, he’s in his first full professional campaign after wrapping up his junior career on a high note, winning Memorial Cup MVP with QMJHL Quebec. The 20-year-old leads the Monsters in penalty minutes with 79 through 53 games so far while chipping in with a dozen goals and nine helpers. It’s unclear which forward’s availability is in question for their game tonight against Vegas which created the emergency conditions for Malatesta to be recalled.
Metropolitan Notes: Nedeljkovic, Blue Jackets, Devils
Heading into the trade deadline, many expected that the Penguins would move pending UFA goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. However, they instead moved third-stringer Magnus Hellberg. Nedeljkovic told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that there weren’t any discussions about a contract extension before the deadline but that he’d be very happy to return for next season if Pittsburgh showed interest. After spending a good chunk of last season in the minors, the 28-year-old inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Penguins last summer and has done relatively well, posting a 2.98 GAA and a .904 SV% in 24 appearances. At a minimum, even if he doesn’t wind up staying with Pittsburgh, Nedeljkovic should be able to land a raise in the coming months.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Blue Jackets have made a very deep preliminary list of candidates for their vacant GM position. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun indicated that the team has between 30 and 40 candidates on their initial list and more could be added depending on how things go early in the playoffs. Columbus has been without a GM since Jarmo Kekalainen was fired five weeks ago with John Davidson serving in an interim capacity since then.
- The frequent shuffling of Max Willman and Tyler Wotherspoon continues. A day after sending them back to AHL Utica, the Devils have recalled both players today, per the AHL’s transactions log. Both recalls are once again on an emergency basis. The reason for New Jersey sending them down between games could have to do with their waiver exemption; once they play in ten games or are on the NHL roster for 30 days, they’d have to clear to return to the Comets. By papering them down here and there, they can delay getting to that point with both players.