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Minor Transactions: 12/29/20

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Training camp is just a few days away and things are heating up in the hockey world. With waivers open and rosters being announced, minor transactions will come fast and furious all across the league. We’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Jordan Schmaltz will be attending training camp on a professional tryout with the Arizona Coyotes according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Schmaltz, 27, last played in the NHL during the 2018-19 season, suiting up for 20 games with the St. Louis Blues. The 25th overall pick in 2012, he was never able to really translate his game to the NHL level.
  • Speaking of the Blues, the team has announced that Alexei Toropchenko and Nikita Alexandrov have both been loaned overseas. Toropchenko will stay with Kunlun Red Star in the KHL where he has been playing, scoring eight points in 25 games so far this season. Alexandrov will head to KooKoo in Finland, where he will spend the season at the Liiga level. The Blues’ release notes that both players could be recalled when their European seasons end.
  • Spencer Abbott, who played two games at the NHL level before heading overseas, will continue his playing career in Germany during the upcoming season. The 32-year-old winger has signed in the DEL after spending the last two seasons playing in the SHL.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Gabriel Fortier has been traded in the QMJHL. The slick forward, in his final season of junior eligibility, has been moved by the Moncton Wildcats to the Shawinigan Cataractes, the team announced. The return is only a conditional pick, as Fortier could join the Lightning or more likely a minor league affiliate this season, in which case Shawinigan would get their pick back. If Tampa opts to return him to juniors though, then the Wildcats would receive at least a 2022 third-round pick but it could grow as high as a 2021 first-rounder depending on production. Fortier is no stranger to change after initially being acquired by Moncton midway through last season, only to finish the year with better than a point-per-game pace, earning the team’s captaincy to begin this year.
  • Defenseman Ty Murchison of the U.S. National Team Development Program has made his college choice. The young blue liner announced his commitment to Arizona State University today, continuing the program’s pipeline from California. The former L.A. Jr. King is a talented two-way defenseman who plays an aggressive style, currently leading the USNTDP U-18’s in penalty minutes. Murchison is expected to be a middle round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft before beginning his NCAA career next year.

Snapshots: Voluntary Opt-Out, Senators, Stepan, Schneider

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The first significant day of the NHL’s new calendar for the upcoming 2021 season is upon us as today is the deadline for NHL players to voluntarily opt-out of the season, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

If a player wants to opt-out of the season, they must provide written notice to the league seven days before training camp starts, which means that the deadline has already passed for the seven non-playoff teams which start their training camps on Thursday. However, the rest of the league has until the end of the day today, if they don’t want to participate in the upcoming season.

Waivers are next, with it beginning Monday for the new season.

  • With many teams struggling to move out salary this year without requiring to include a sweetener to get the deal done, there were quite a few people surprised when the Ottawa Senators took on the contract of Derek Stepan last night and instead of receiving some type of sweetener, sent a second-round pick to Arizona instead. Quite a high price to pay. However, Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch points out that the move is very Ottawa-like as Stepan might have a $6.5MM cap hit for the upcoming season, but is only due $2MM in salary, as the Coyotes have already paid Stepan a $3MM salary bonus. The Senators have been well known to take on players who have less salary to be paid out than their cap hit. This trade is one of them.
  • Speaking of Stepan, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that there is going to be a bit of a delay for Stepan to report to training camp in Ottawa. Besides the 14-day quarantine that will require him to miss part of training camp, Stepan is also waiting for the pending birth of his child, meaning that the 30-year-old could very well miss the start of the regular season. LeBrun reports, however, that Stepan’s agent, Matt Oates, says that the veteran is excited about joining Ottawa’s team as a team leader and is eager to arrive.
  • The IIHF will have a disciplinary committee hearing regarding the illegal hit to the head by Team Canada’s Braden Schneider vs. Germany’s Jan-Luca Schumacher, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. A decision is expected before Canada’s game vs. Slovakia later today. Schneider, a 2020 first-round pick of the New York Rangers, could be suspended, considering the IIHF has a no-tolerance policy on hits to the head. He was issued a game misconduct after the incident. McKenzie adds that Austria’s Philipp Wimmer is also expected to receive a hearing after his hit against USA’s Patrick Moynihan. UPDATE: Schneider received a one-game suspension for the hit, according to the IIHF.

Ottawa Senators Acquire Derek Stepan

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The Arizona Coyotes have shipped out one of their veteran leaders, sending Derek Stepan to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick (originally belonging to the Columbus Blue Jackets). Ottawa will take on the entire $6.5MM cap hit for the final season of Stepan’s contract, though notably, the forward is owed just $2MM in actual salary this season.

Stepan, 30, was one of the big moves that former Coyotes GM John Chayka pulled off in the 2017 offseason, coming to Arizona from the New York Rangers along with Antti Raanta in exchange for Tony DeAngelo and the seventh-overall pick (which turned out to be Lias Andersson). In an attempt to get more competitive that summer the Coyotes added the two Rangers, Nick Cousins, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jason Demers. Though it won’t be remembered as a supremely successful summer, it’s not like Stepan didn’t do exactly what he was brought in for. In his first year in Arizona, Stepan scored 56 points, trailing only Clayton Keller for the team lead. His consistent presence in the middle of the ice is valuable and it’s exactly what the Senators were after.

Stepan is just the latest move by Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion to try and surround his young core with more veteran names. Evgenii Dadonov, Alex Galchenyuk, Erik Gudbranson, and Matt Murray all have plenty of NHL experience and could make the Senators a sneaky competitive team in the All-Canadian division. That said, it’s not clear exactly where Stepan fits into a lineup that already had several options down the middle.

For both clubs, this is a nice move, as the Coyotes desperately needed some cap room and the Senators are just hoping to start turning a few losses into wins. Arizona now figures to have a little more than $3MM in space even before moving Marian Hossa to long-term injured reserve and could potentially have more moves coming. In Ottawa, after several years of turmoil, a respected leader like Stepan can provide some stability not only on the ice but in the locker room as well.

Coyotes Sign Zane McIntyre To Tryout Contract

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With training camps beginning in the near future, PTO season is basically upon us.  The Coyotes had already put one player on their invite list in center Frederik Gauthier but GM Bill Armstrong confirmed to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports (Twitter link) that goaltender Zane McIntyre has signed a tryout deal as well.

The 28-year-old was once viewed as one of Boston’s goaltenders of the future after a stellar three-year NCAA career at North Dakota but it didn’t really translate to much success at the professional level.  He got into eight games with the Bruins back in 2016-17 but that’s it for his NHL experience.  Last season, he spent most of the year in Vancouver’s system before being flipped to New Jersey for Louis Domingue at the trade deadline.  Between the two minor league teams, he had a 15-10-2 record with a 2.80 GAA and a .908 SV%.

After not receiving any NHL interest early in free agency, McIntyre opted to go to the KHL, signing with Dinamo Riga.  However, after posting a 4.65 GAA and a .796 SV% in six appearances, he was released on Monday which allows him to go to camp with Arizona.

On the surface, it would appear that the Coyotes are either eyeing McIntyre for the taxi squad role or to have him in the minors with Adin Hill serving as the mandatory third goalie.  With only 44 contracts used out of 50, they’ll have ample room to sign him if he has a good showing when their training camp begins on January 3rd.

Morning Notes: Chara, Gauthier, Nolan

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Zdeno Chara remains unsigned with just a few weeks until the regular season, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking anywhere other than Boston for his next deal. Matt Keator, Chara’s agent, told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic yesterday that more than 20 teams have reached out on the veteran defenseman, but his focus is still on the Bruins.

Given Keator even mentioned that Chara “still has the option to retire,” it seems very unlikely that the 43-year-old plays for anyone else this season. Still, it’s not a guarantee that the Bruins even have room for him. Team president Cam Neely told reporters including Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com that they “do want to take a look” at some of the younger, left-shot defensemen in the system, while also wavering on whether he thinks Chara would even want to return for the condensed season.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs decided not to give Frederik Gauthier a qualifying offer this offseason, bringing in more veteran options like Joe Thornton as depth down the middle. Now, the 25-year-old center could be heading for a professional tryout with the Arizona Coyotes, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Gauthier was never expected to be much of an offensive threat, even when picked 21st overall in 2013, but he has just 31 points in 176 NHL games and doesn’t skate well enough to be a true checking center. If he decides to take the PTO, he’ll have a tough battle on his hands in a crowded Arizona bottom-six.
  • Another player that will be fighting for an NHL job is Jordan Nolan, who signed an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earlier this month but will be invited to training camp with Pittsburgh according to GM Jim Rutherford. Nolan could earn himself another NHL contract with a strong camp, despite not playing a single game above the AHL last season. The powerful winger does have more than 400 games at the NHL level in his career but has never recorded more than ten points in a single season.

Drake Caggiula Signs With Arizona Coyotes

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6:15pm: The Coyotes  have made the deal official, announcing the signing of Caggiula. The team also confirmed the reported one-year and one-way terms, but did not disclose financial details. New Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong called his latest addition a “hard-working, versatile forward and a strong skater” in the team’s release.

4:00pm: The Arizona Coyotes are expected to sign unrestricted free agent Drake Caggiula to a one-year deal according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds that the deal will likely be for $700K, a nice bargain for a useful depth player.

Caggiula, 26, was left unqualified by the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason, making him a UFA. He scored just 15 points in 40 games during the 2019-20 season, but nine of those were goals. The undrafted forward has shown a knack for scoring despite limited minutes, registering seasons of 13 and 12 goals previously.

A $700K salary will be less than half of what Caggiula made last year, another example of how the COVID-19 financial climate is affecting players on the fringes of NHL rosters. Where Caggiula really fits in Arizona isn’t clear, but with taxi squads, he is a perfect depth option for the league minimum.

Philip Broberg Named Captain For Team Sweden

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Team Sweden was released from quarantine today at the World Juniors and will be practising later today. Yesterday, the team announced the leadership group for the tournament which will be led by Edmonton Oilers prospect Philip Broberg. Broberg will wear the “C” as captain of the squad and will be joined by alternates Tobias Bjornfot, Victor Soderstrom and Albin Sundsvik.

Broberg, 19, is set to spend this season in Sweden again after the tournament concludes but is a top prospect to keep an eye on for the Oilers. Selected 8th overall in 2019 he has already represented Sweden twice at the WJC and should be a force on the blueline once again. An incredible skater, Broberg has been criticized at times for his decision making but shows signs of quickly turning into a top defenseman for Edmonton. He was so impressive this summer that he actually made the Oilers postseason bubble roster, playing in one of the exhibition games. Though he didn’t actually suit up for his NHL debut, it’s not far off.

Bjornfot meanwhile has already made that debut, suiting up for three games with the Los Angeles Kings at the start of the 2019-20 season. The 19-year-old was the 22nd overall pick in 2019 and is also a returning member of the Swedish WJC team. Bjornfot spent last season with the Ontario Reign as one of the youngest defensemen in AHL history, scoring 19 points in 44 games. He has been playing with Djurgardens IF this year and has three points (and 33 penalty minutes) in 15 games.

Soderstrom, another defenseman, is also one of the top prospects in the world, selected 11th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2019. He was a dynamic offensive presence for the Swedes at last year’s tournament, recording six points in seven games. He’s been on loan this season to AIK in the Swedish second tier and has six points in 12 games. Alongside Broberg and Bjornfot, Soderstrom forms a trio of outstanding defenders who could take over the tournament.

Sundsvik is perhaps the most interesting choice, given he was not at the tournament last year and isn’t a top prospect. The 19-year-old center was selected 160th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in this year’s draft (his second year of eligibility) and has just three points in 23 games at the SHL level this year. Perhaps this honor is a sign of things to come and the Ducks landed a steal in the late rounds.

San Jose Sharks Expected To Open Season In Arizona

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With the NHL and NHLPA inching closer to a resolution on the 2020-21 season, teams are beginning to prepare for the reality of a forthcoming campaign. While the Canadian clubs have issues to work out before the season can begin, the San Jose Sharks are another team facing questions. Santa Clara County has banned contact sports locally through at least January 8, a policy that was recently extended and could be extended again as Coronavirus numbers remain high. This proves problematic for the Sharks, who as a reigning non-playoff team would be eligible to begin training camp on December 31 and may need to host games as early as January 13.

The Sharks’ solution appears to lie in following a fellow Bay Area team south. An anonymous source tells the Associated Press that San Jose will open their season in Arizona, much like how the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers have moved to Arizona to conclude their own season. While there is no word on whether the Sharks will share a facility with the Arizona Coyotes as the 49ers have done with the Arizona Cardinals, that is the expectation. Fortunately, this move will not disrupt the NHL’s current plan for realigned divisions and exclusive inter-division play this season, as both teams have been slotted for a new-look Pacific Division.

The AP source remained anonymous on this issue as details both on the league’s return to play and on the Sharks’ move have not been finalized nor have they been made public. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly took the same approach, telling the AP that he would not discuss details related to the Sharks’ plans as details of the restart still need to be papered and voted upon by the NHL Board of Governors and NHLPA both. The Sharks have additionally declined to comment on the relocation proposal. However, given the lack of any contrary reports, the restrictions facing San Jose, and the path already paved by the 49ers, it is a safe bet that the Sharks are Arizona-bound at least to open training camp and to begin their 2020-21 season.

Markus Hannikainen Signs With Jokerit

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Former Columbus Blue Jacket and Arizona Coyote Markus Hannikainen is headed home to Finland and to the club he grew up with. Seemingly unable to find a new NHL contract, Hannikainen has signed with the KHL’s Jokerit of his hometown of Helsinki. The veteran forward appears to be fully committed as well; the team has announced that Hannikainen has returned on a “long-term” contract. The 27-year-old has spent the past five seasons in the NHL and AHL but previously spent six years with Jokerit at various levels of Finnish hockey.

Were it not for the flat salary cap and the current lull in the NHL free agent market, perhaps Hannikainen may have been able to find another contract in North America. However, his return overseas should not come as a surprise as his career appeared to be trending in that direction. A hard-working, two-way winger whose defensive zone ability far exceeded his point totals – even as a younger prospect – Hannikainen finally broke out offensively as a pro after leaving Jokerit to join the Liiga’s JYP in 2014-15. He turned that success into an entry-level deal with Columbus, the first of three contracts he would sign with the club over three years. Hannikainen even played in four games with the Jackets in his first season in North America. As the years went on, Hannikainen began to carve out a regular role for himself in Columbus – or so it seemed. Even as his games played jumped four to 10 to 33 and finally to 44 (and a full season in the NHL) in 2018-19, the forward’s role with Columbus was always limited to meager fourth line minutes and very little offensive opportunity. As a result, the Blue Jackets did not hesitate to leave Hannikainen in the AHL this past season when they were able to upgrade their forward corps. After months without an NHL appearance, Hannikainen was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in February and the ’Yotes also opted to leave him in the minors. A two-way contract this off-season would not have been out of the question for the veteran, but between his limited NHL results and lack of offensive ability he was always going to have to prove himself in the AHL to get back to the top level.

Instead, Hannikainen has decided to return home where a guaranteed role is waiting and where he can maximize his offensive potential. While Hannikainen has a long history with Jokerit, this will be his first experience in the KHL after the club shifted leagues during his NHL absence. The level of competition should be higher this time around, but the experienced winger has several NHL seasons to his credit now as well. He also joins a talented team whose roster includes a laundry list of NHL vets including recently re-signed leading scorer Brian O’Neill and the likes of Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder, Jesse Joensuu, Iiro Pakarinen, Henrik Haapala, Saku Maenalanen, Peter Regin, Viktor Loov, Alex Grant, and Anders Lindback. The rich get richer with the addition of Hannikainen to a team that should compete for years to come in hope of winning their first Gagarin Cup.

Arizona Coyotes Expected To Hire Cory Stillman

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Dec 15: The Coyotes have officially announced the hiring, bringing Stillman in as an assistant coach. In the release, GM Bill Armstrong explains just why they believe Stillman can help the team:

We are very pleased to have Cory join Rick Tocchet’s coaching staff. Cory was a great player who won back to back Stanley Cups during his career. He is a very good coach who has a strong work ethic and a passion for the game. I’m confident that our players and staff will benefit from his knowledge, insight and expertise.

Dec 14: The Arizona Coyotes have rebuilt the front office and are about to add to their coaching staff as well, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Cory Stillman is expected to be hired as an assistant coach, leaving his job with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL where he served as head coach the last two seasons.

Stillman, 46, had previously worked with the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, serving as director of player development with the latter. As Jeff Marek of Sportsnet points out on Twitter, a move like this comes at an interesting time, given that Stillman coaches his draft-eligible son with the Wolves.

Of course, there is more than just a few years of OHL experience in Stillman, who played more than 1,000 games in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup twice. A member of the hall-0f-very-good, Stillman managed to rack up 727 points in the regular season and even hit the 80-point mark in 2003-04. He has another son, Riley Stillman, who is an NHL player in his own right, playing 34 games this season for the Panthers.

In Arizona, Rick Tocchet remains head coach after managing to lead the club past the Nashville Predators in this summer’s qualification round. While the Coyotes went out with a whimper against the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche, Tocchet has been reasonably successful, posting winning records with Arizona the past two seasons.

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