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Minor Transactions: 03/22/22

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After the rush and excitement of trade deadline day blows over, it’s always good to be reminded that hockey transactions do go on. Sure, there will be nothing close to matching the excitement of the deadline until later this summer with the NHL Draft and opening of free agency, but in the meantime there will still be signings involving undrafted college and junior players, prospects receiving entry-level deals, and perhaps some early European additions, not to mention the potential for some minor trades among non-playoff teams getting their offseason started early. There also continue to be roster operations ongoing outside the NHL, with the AHL and European leagues dealing with different rules and timelines. For those “minor” moves, make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action:

  • It’s hard to keep all of the NHL trades straight on deadline day, nevertheless noticing an AHL swap. It seems that future considerations had a busy day across both leagues, as that was the return for the Belleville Senators in a deal that saw veteran forward Tyrell Goulbourne head to the Stockton Heat. The team announced that they had acquired the 28-year-old forward, as they look to bolster their lineup for the Calder Cup playoffs. Goulbourne, a former member of the Philadelphia Flyers, has never possessed much offensive ability and is scoreless through nine AHL games this season, but continues to provide value with his defensive ability. Though not confirmed by any of the teams involved at either level, Goulbourne is believed to be future considerations himself, as the return of the NHL deal that saw goaltender Michael McNiven head to Ottawa.
  • Arizona State standout Colin Theisen isn’t going very far for his first pro experience. The AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners have signed the Sun Devils captain, his now-alma mater announced. A fifth year transfer from Notre Dame, Theisen enjoyed a breakout season to end his collegiate career, recording 19 goals and 42 points in 35 games with ASU. This was far superior than anything he did with the Fighting Irish; in fact, his goals and points totals were better than his two best marks at Notre Dame combined. Though hardly a young prospect at 24, Theisen did enough this year to earn a look in the pros and the nearby Roadrunners were happy to give him a shot. Perhaps the Coyotes will be next if he can prove his game translates to the next level.
  • Though far less common in Europe, the end of the playing season marks the beginning of buyout season and one Swiss club is making big cuts. The National League’s SC Bern has bought out a pair of former NHL forwards in Cory Conacher and Kaspars Daugavins as they begin a “remodel”. Conacher and Daugavins were both under contract through 2022-23 and seemingly seemed safe to stick around. Both were among the top six scorers for Bern, as was Vincent Praplan, a player who had already been bought out (with three year remaining on his deal). Though each is on the wrong side of 30, Bern is undoubtedly a worse team without Conacher and Daugavins who will attract interest from a multitude of other European clubs.

Arizona Coyotes Acquire Jack McBain, Sign Him To Entry Level Contract

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Monday, 7:53 pm: As expected, after acquiring him, the Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Jack McBain to an entry-level contract. The contract is for two years and carries a cap hit of $884K. What is most notable about this contract is that it begins this year, perhaps giving the Coyotes a chance to give McBain an NHL look this year. The 22-year-old just finished his fourth season at Boston College and was set to be granted free agency this summer if he did not sign. One wrinkle to this story, however, is that McBain is currently injured and is in a walking boot, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. Once healed, McBain can begin to work his way back and into an NHL lineup for the first time in his career.

Monday, 10:45 am: The deal has now been made official.  Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong had the following statement about his new center:

We are very pleased to acquire Jack McBain. He is a big, strong, highly-skilled center who had a tremendous season with Boston College. We are thrilled to have him join our organization.

Sunday: The Arizona Coyotes have acquired the rights to prospect center Jack McBain from the Minnesota Wild. They are acquiring the Vancouver Canucks’ 2022 second-round pick from the Coyotes in return, and McBain is expected to sign an entry-level contract with Arizona shortly. The trade was first reported by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. McBain’s name was first entered into the trade deadline conversation by Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and has been floating in deadline rumors ever since. McBain had made it clear that he would not be signing in Minnesota, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Wild and GM Bill Guerin were asking for a second-round pick from any interested party in return for McBain’s rights. They have gotten their asking price with this trade, as Arizona cashes in one pick from its impressive stockpile to acquire a player who many believe is ready to step into the NHL as soon as he signs his contract.

For the Wild, this trade represents Guerin being able to take advantage of McBain’s development as a college prospect to recoup some value from his rights. As mentioned above, McBain had communicated to the Wild that he would be signing his entry-level contract elsewhere, and from that point, it became imperative for Guerin to gain something from holding McBain’s rights. In previous trades, such as Zach Hyman to Toronto in 2015, a low-value pick is all the rights-holding team can get in return, given that their leverage is low due to their player’s pending free agency. But more recently, as we saw with Adam Fox’s trade to the New York Rangers in 2019, teams have become more willing to part with valuable assets to acquire the rights to sign an NCAA prospect. So while Guerin and Wild fans may be disappointed that McBain chose not to sign in Minnesota, being able to get a second-round pick in exchange for a prospect’s soon-to-be expired rights is a good bit of business.

This trade is also good business for Arizona and GM Bill Armstrong. The Coyotes have built their team around a bold, scorched-earth plan to stockpile as much long-term value as possible. They have traded significant, in-their-prime, team-controlled players such as Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak, and have also weaponized their enviable amount of cap space to take on other teams’ unwanted contracts for draft pick compensation. The result of their efforts has been a stable of upcoming draft picks larger than any other franchise in the NHL. For the 2022 draft, before this trade, the Coyotes were set to have three first-round picks and five second-round picks. Now, they still have three first-rounders and four second-rounders. Second-round picks are assets that the team currently has an abundance of, but what they are lacking is quality talent at the center position. By trading for him, it is clear that Arizona believes McBain is exactly that, and through this trade, the Coyotes are subtracting from a position of strength to add to a position of pretty severe weakness. The Coyotes’ top four players down the middle are currently Travis Boyd, Riley Nash, Christian Fischer, and Barrett Hayton. Only Boyd is under contract for next season. By acquiring McBain, who had 33 points in 24 games this past season for Boston College, the Coyotes add a high-upside prospect who is ready to step in and bolster their lineup immediately. He might not have the tools to become a do-it-all star first-line center, but regardless of what role he ends up settling into his acquisition by the Coyotes is a shrewd move from Armstrong to help diversify the team’s immediate and long-term outlook down the middle.

It’s not often that a trade can truly please the fanbases of both teams involved, and given McBain’s reluctance to sign in Minnesota there still could be bitterness from that side. But that being said, this looks like a trade where both sides, given their respective situations, seem to come away on top.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Acquire Riley Nash

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have brought back forward Riley Nash from the Arizona Coyotes via trade in exchange for future considerations, the team announced today. Tampa Bay lost Nash on waivers to the Coyotes earlier in the season.

Nash, after clearing waivers today, will report to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

He’s bounced around this season, in large part, because his defensive game has slipped slightly from the elite pedestal where it once stood. While Nash hasn’t been a factor offensively for a few seasons now, he was still one of the game’s higher-end fourth-line centers because of his skill defensively.

Now, after the departures of Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk, Nash is likely Tampa Bay’s 13th forward for their playoff run. He has 34 games of playoff experience.

This season, Nash has just four assists in 49 games.

Washington Capitals Acquire Johan Larsson

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The Washington Capitals have added even more depth up front, acquiring Johan Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick. The Coyotes will also be retaining 50 percent of Larsson’s remaining contract.

Larsson, 29, hasn’t played since January 25 for the Coyotes but isn’t expected to be out the entire season. He underwent surgery on a sports hernia in early February and was given an eight-week timeline, meaning he’ll be an option for the Capitals at some point.

That injury history does make the third-round pick seem like a bit of a risk, but Larsson was playing well before he went down. With 15 points in 29 games he was going to blow past his previous career-high of 18, and he is still a strong defensive contributor. In Washington, he likely won’t be asked to play in very many offensive situations but does give the team some added depth down the middle.

At a $1.4MM cap hit he comes at a relatively inexpensive contract, and since it expires at the end of the season it won’t affect the Capitals moving forward. This is a go-for-it type trade, with Washington knowing they needed some added depth up front if they want to compete in the Eastern Conference playoffs–or even just the Metropolitan race.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the trade. 

Coyotes Making Progress On A Johan Larsson Trade

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While Red Wings winger Tyler Bertuzzi has been in some trade speculation as of late, he told reporters including MLive’s Ansar Khan that his desire is to stay with Detroit, the team that drafted him back in the second round in 2013.  The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal with a $4.75MM AAV and will become an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason.  He sits second on the team in scoring this season with 49 points in 51 games which means GM Steve Yzerman would be placing a very high price tag if a contender wants to take a run at adding Bertuzzi today.

Other news and notes around the league:

  • The Coyotes have made some progress on a trade involving center Johan Larsson, reports PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has been out for nearly two months with a lower-body injury but is nearing a return. Larsson has 15 points in 29 games this season but has been a checker for most of his career which is the role contending teams would have in mind for him.  With a $1.4MM AAV, he’s someone several teams will be able to afford.
  • Boston is hoping that center Patrice Bergeron will be able to return from his arm injury for Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay, note Elaine Cavalieri and Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team site. The veteran will miss his third straight game tonight against Montreal and has 45 points in 56 games this season.
  • Senators center Colin White is someone that a couple of league executives believes in play, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 25-year-old recently returned to the lineup after missing the first 50 games of the year with a shoulder injury.  He has six points in a dozen contests but with three years remaining on his deal with a $4.75MM AAV, it would be surprising to see him moved unless Ottawa is willing to take a similar-sized deal in return.
  • The Oilers are among the teams to check in on Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara, Chris Johnston reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 45-year-old is still averaging more than 18 minutes a night and with a base cap hit of just the league minimum of $750K, he’s someone that they should be able to afford with their limited cap space.  Chara also has another $750K in undisclosed performance bonuses which an acquiring team may become responsible for absorbing although that can roll over to next year’s cap if necessary.

Arizona Coyotes Acquire Bryan Little

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The Arizona Coyotes have made a bit of a creative move. The team has acquired Bryan Little and the rights to prospect Nathan Smith from the Winnipeg Jets for a fourth-round pick. Both teams have announced the deal. Little, 34, has only played in seven games since 2018-19 and does not figure to play in the NHL again due to injuries. He was on long-term injured reserve for the Jets and has a contract worth $5.29MM against the cap through 2023-2024.

For the Jets, this move paves their path to being able to avoid the use of long-term injured reserve in the future. Long-term injured reserve (LTIR) is an incredibly complex area of the NHL’s salary cap and one that is difficult for many to wrap their heads around. One of the major reasons a team would want to avoid the use of LTIR is so they could accumulate cap space throughout a season. The Jets now only have Kristian Reichel and Cole Perfetti on LTIR, two players that are not going to be long-term fixtures on that list, so moving Little allows them to get away from relying on LTIR to be cap compliant.

For the Coyotes, this move is designed to help them navigate what should be a tricky financial situation for the foreseeable future. The team is set to move into an arena far smaller than NHL teams are typically used to, meaning their revenues will likely be hurt by the lower amount of tickets they can sell. The Coyotes have a significant amount of their team on expiring contracts, meaning they have very little money tied to their roster for next season. With that in mind, the team still needs to be able to clear the salary cap floor for next season. By acquiring Little, the Coyotes gain a contract of a player costing over $5MM against the cap, a decently large amount, who will also cost them a relatively minimal amount of actual dollars paid. Little’s contract, according to Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press, is covered by insurance, meaning that the Coyotes will not be on the hook for paying Little most or even potentially all of the cash he is owed. As a result, the Coyotes can inch closer to the required cap floor while minimizing the number of dollars they themselves need to pay.

For their trouble, the Coyotes also receive an intriguing prospect in Smith. By getting Smith as part of the deal, GM Bill Armstrong adds another NCAA prospect on the back of yesterday’s trade for Jack McBain. Smith, 23, was the 91st overall pick in 2018 and has had an immensely productive season at Minnesota State University. He has 18 goals and 49 points in 34 games and is likely close to NHL-ready given his age and college production. Getting potentially NHL-ready NCAA prospects seems to be the strategy for Armstrong, whose team is set to share an NCAA arena as their home for the next few years.

The trade was first reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was first on the compensation.

AHL Shuffle: 03/21/22

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It’s certainly a busy day in the NHL today with the trade deadline just hours away plus four games on the schedule.  There will be considerable roster movement on the trade front while there will be plenty of paper moves made prior to the 2 PM CT deadline made to give players eligibility to play in the minors down the stretch.  We’ll keep track of those moves here.

Atlantic Division

 

Metropolitan Division

  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that they’ve sent winger Radim Zohorna to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. The 25-year-old has three points in a dozen games this season with Pittsburgh while adding 15 points in 31 minor league contests.
  • The Washington Capitals re-assigned forward Brett Leason to the Hershey Bears of the AHL (link). Leason had just been recalled by the Capitals yesterday, but the re-assignment could be to simply keep Leason’s AHL eligibility for the remainder of the season intact.

Central Division

  • The Predators have sent defenseman Jeremy Davies back to Milwaukee, per the AHL’s transactions log. Davies was brought up on Saturday but with Nashville adding Jeremy Lauzon from Seattle late on Sunday, the 25-year-old can head back to the minors.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent goaltender Adam Scheel back to the AHL after acquiring Scott Wedgewood yesterday. Scheel, 22, has up as an emergency backup and never actually saw any NHL action. The young netminder is in his first full season of professional hockey.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have reassigned Ville Heinola, Jeff Malott, and Kristian Reichel have all been reassigned to the minor leagues, making them eligible. Notably, Cole Perfetti is not with this group, suggesting that his time in the minor leagues is over after impressing so far.
  • After making several trades in the past 24 hours, the Arizona Coyotes have recalled two players from the Tuscon Roadrunners of the AHL: forward Michael Carcone and goaltender Josef Korenar. Carcone has played just two games at the NHL level, both coming this season, however he has been a productive AHL player, tallying 24 goals and 17 assists in 48 games with Tuscon this season. Korenar has not played in the NHL yet this season, but did play in 10 games for the San Jose Sharks in 2020-21 and was moved to Arizona this offseason as part of the Adin Hill trade.
  • Having traded goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Minnesota Wild, the Chicago Blackhawks have recalled goaltender Collin Delia from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Delia has had a solid season playing for Rockford, but has only appeared in two NHL games thus far in 2021-22.

Pacific Division

  • The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Kole Lind from AHL Charlotte. Lind has played in seven games with Seattle this season after being their pick in expansion from Vancouver but has spent most of the year in the minors.  Seattle has also activated winger Joonas Donskoi off injured reserve.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled Brad Malone from the AHL after he played a game with the Bakersfield Condors over the weekend. The 32-year-old is actually the captain of the minor league club, but after converting his contract to an NHL deal has played six games for the Oilers.
  • Jake Leschyshyn and Brayden Pachal are heading back up to the Vegas Golden Knights. Leschyshyn’s seen a lot of NHL opportunities this year, getting into 27 games this year and notching his first five NHL points. Pachal made his NHL debut recently before immediately getting sent back down, but he may get another chance here in some NHL games.
  • The San Jose Sharks announced they have re-assigned goaltender Zach Sawchenko to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. In addition to this, the team recalled forward Sasha Chmelevski and defenseman Ryan Merkley from the Barracuda, and activated Radim Simek off of injured-reserve.
  • After placing Michael Amadio and Zach Whitecloud in COVID protocol and trading away Evgenii Dadonov, the Vegas Golden Knights announced they have called up four players: forwards Paul Cotter and Jonas Rondbjerg and defensemen Daniil Miromanov and Zack Hayes. Of this group, only Hayes does not have any NHL playing experience, spending this season and last in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights, and the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL before that.
  • The Vancouver Canucks also made a flurry of AHL assignments, primarily for the purpose of keeping players’ AHL ability alive. The organization announced it assigned forwards Sheldon Rempal, Vasily Podkolzin, and Nic Petan, as well as defenseman Noah Juulsen to the Abbotsford Canucks. Podkolzin and Petan were immediately recalled back to Vancouver.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have recalled forward Danny O’Regan from the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. O’Regan, 28, has played parts of four seasons dating back to 2016-17, including four games this season with Anaheim.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Coyotes Agree To Three-Year Extension With Karel Vejmelka

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On Sunday, the Coyotes parted ways with one of their goalies in Scott Wedgewood.  Today, they’re ensuring that Karel Vejmelka will be sticking around as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that Arizona has agreed to a three-year extension with the netminder.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (via Twitter) that the deal will carry a $2.725MM AAV.

The 25-year-old has certainly been a pleasant surprise for Arizona this season.  He signed a one-year entry-level deal back in May after playing in the Czech Extraliga and at the time, he was viewed as organizational goaltending depth and not a serious candidate to make the NHL roster.  However, a strong training camp earned him a spot with the Coyotes and he has taken off from there.

Vejmelka quickly took over from the since-traded Carter Hutton as Arizona’s starter and has done well, considering the circumstances.  His save percentage of .905 is particularly impressive considering that the Coyotes’ roster is geared more towards draft lottery success than on-ice success this season.  His performance has picked up in recent games as over his last ten starts, his save percentage is up to .912 while the Coyotes have won four of those contests.

With this agreement, Arizona will have at least part of their goalie tandem intact for the next three seasons.  They’ve yet to recall someone to take Wedgewood’s spot following his trade with Ivan Prosvetov and Josef Korenar being the likely candidates to fill that spot down the stretch.  Neither of them project to be full-time NHL goalies, however, so the Coyotes will likely be shopping for a new partner for Vejmelka in the offseason.

Dallas Stars Acquire Scott Wedgewood

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The Dallas Stars have added another goaltender to help in their playoff race. They have acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a conditional 2023 fourth-round pick. The pick becomes a 2023 third-rounder if the Stars make the playoffs this season. Both teams have announced the trade. This is now the second time in his career that Scott Wedgewood has been traded by the Coyotes. In 2018, he was part of the team’s trade for Darcy Kuemper, and now he finds himself likely experiencing a bit of deja vu.

This seems to come as a bit of a disappointment for Wedgewood, as according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports he “desperately wanted to stay in one place” after having moved so much over the course of his career so far. But what can’t be disappointing for Wedgewood is the fact that a team in the middle of a playoff race values him highly enough to trade as much as a third-round pick to acquire him. The Stars clearly believe he can help them, and it’s easy to see why. Wedgewood has a .911 save percentage in 26 starts this season, backstopping one of the league’s worst teams. He has received little help from the defense in front of him far too often this season and has come out of those difficult games with highly respectable numbers. Wedgewood is 29 years old and has an expiring $825k cap hit, meaning he is unlikely to be a long-term fixture in Dallas, but he certainly will help them right now. Their need for Wedgewood is exacerbated by the recent injury trouble that has hit Jake Oettinger’s usual partner in net, Braden Holtby. Holtby is battling a lower-body injury, and Jeff Marek of Sportsnet speculates that Holtby could be headed for long-term injured reserve. So if Holtby’s injury does prove to be more significant than one may have previously anticipated, this move for Wedgewood is an important one to help protect Oettinger as he backstops the Stars in his first real season as a number-one goaltender.

For the Coyotes, getting a fourth-rounder that can potentially become a third-rounder is solid value for Wedgewood, a pending UFA. The Coyotes’ crease seems to belong to Karel Vejmelka for the near and potentially long-term future, so for a team that is in the NHL’s basement adding a decent draft pick to their already impressive stockpile is a shrewd move. Perhaps they could have been more accommodating to the journeyman Wedgewood’s wish to have more stability in his career, but this trade is one more reminder of the businesslike nature of NHL roster-building, and how valuable draft picks have become to rebuilding clubs. Overall, the Coyotes get good value for a player they likely didn’t have as part of their long-term plans, and the Stars get a goaltender in the middle of the best season of his career to help as they desperately try to make the playoffs in what is a win-now season for the club.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report Wedgewood being traded to Dallas. Matthew DeFranks had the conditions on the pick being sent to Arizona. 

Rangers Have Looked Into Phil Kessel

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The Rangers are among the teams that have done some research into Coyotes winger Phil Kessel, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports.  The 34-year-old is in the final season of his contract with Arizona carrying a $6.8MM cap hit, one that few playoff-bound teams other than New York can actually afford without requiring retention.  Kessel has just six goals in 60 games but has chipped in with 31 assists to sit fourth in team scoring.  Kaplan notes that Arizona’s asking price earlier in the season was a third-round pick which would be a reasonable price to pay to add some extra offensive depth on the wing.  The Rangers already made a move like that this week with the acquisition of Frank Vatrano but they still have cap and roster space to add more help on that front.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While Hurricanes defenseman Brendan Smith returned to the lineup on Thursday after suffering a broken skull, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal notes that the veteran still hasn’t fully regained his hearing in his left ear. It is expected to gradually improve over time and shouldn’t require surgery but it’s something Smith will have to play through for the time being.
  • The Blue Jackets haven’t had much interest in goaltender Joonas Korpisalo so far, notes Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Earlier in the season, they had hoped to pick up a second-round pick or a third rounder for his services but Seravalli pegs their asking price at a late-round selection now.  It has been a tough year for the pending UFA as he has a save percentage of just .880 in 20 games this season, 22 points below his career average.
  • Islanders winger Zach Parise told reporters, including Newsday’s Andrew Gross, that he’s hoping to return to the team next season. The 37-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and with a base cap hit of just $750K, he’s someone that could be moved to a contender looking for extra forward depth.  After a quiet start to the season, Parise has improved offensively in recent weeks, collecting a dozen points in 21 games since the start of February.
  • Capitals winger T.J. Oshie was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Carolina. The team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.  This is now the sixth instance that has caused Oshie to miss time this season and as a result, he has been limited to just 28 games although he has managed to record 20 points.

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