Western Notes: Vegas AHL Affiliate, Minnesota, Winnipeg
Just recently, the Vegas Golden Knights were reportedly working on purchasing an AHL team and bringing it to Las Vegas to be their new minor league affiliate as quickly as next season, possibly calling them the Henderson Silver Knights. While it looked to be just speculation, it looks to be true as the Chicago Sun-Times’ Brian Sandalow writes that Vegas’ current AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, are expected to find a new franchise to work with starting next season.
“The Chicago Wolves will be here next season,” chairman Don Levin told the Sun-Times before the Wolves beat the Manitoba Moose 5-2 on Saturday. “But I don’t know who we’ll be affiliated with.”
Levin went on to say that there is “no scenario at all” in which the Wolves would be affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights next season. He added that he’s heard that Vegas has talked to every independent team if they wanted to sell, but hasn’t heard whether the Golden Knights’ franchise has found a buyer.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that changes in Minnesota may be coming soon after the Minnesota Wild suffered an embarrassing 4-0 shutout loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. While the scribe is just conjecturing, he said that it might not be coincidence that the entire Minnesota front office is in town, including advisor Jack Ferreira and general manager Bill Guerin looked upset and stood for 10 straight minutes after David Pastrnak scored to give Boston a 4-0 lead. The team has quite a few issues to deal with, the most challenging is the fact that it has just one unrestricted free agent coming off the books this summer in Mikko Koivu.
- The Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will soon have to make a decision about whether the team will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. After a big victory over the first-place Blues Saturday, The Athletic’s Murat Ates (subscription required) writes that what the Jets need more than anything is secondary scoring. The team is without their top two checkers in Adam Lowry and Mathieu Perreault, both injured, meaning instead of sending out their checking line to stop the opposing team’s top line, Winnipeg is now forced to send their top line out instead. The team needs help in its secondary scoring, although the play of Jack Roslovic of late could make quite a difference if he can keep it up. The team could have some cap room to work if it’s true that Dustin Byfuglien will miss the season due to injury.
Minor Transactions: 02/02/20
The biggest game of the day obviously belongs to the world of football, with Super Bowl LIV taking place down in Miami. However, the NHL is also providing a pretty big game of their own, with the league-leading Washington Capitals hosting the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first meeting of the two teams this year. The Penguins trail the Capitals by just six points with a game in hand for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and possibly the NHL. The clubs will square off again in three weeks and for a final time two weeks after that in three crucial games for each. Interestingly, each team’s All-Star goalie will sit today, as Ilya Samsonov starts for the Capitals and Matt Murray goes for the Penguins. Pittsburgh is opting to go with experience, choosing Murray over standout rookie Tristan Jarry, while Washington will go with the hot hand, as Samsonov is 11-0-0 with a 1.73 GAA and .936 save percentage while serving as backup to inconsistent starter Braden Holtby. Penguins-Capitals is one of three games on the docket today, all of which begin this afternoon and should be over well before kickoff. Assuming NHL front offices aren’t totally consumed by the Super Bowl themselves, expect the 22 teams not in action to use the off day to tweak their rosters ahead of a new week of games. Keep up with all the action right here:
- After being recalled for last night’s game, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud has been sent back down to the AHL. He won’t be alone, as the team announced that both Whitecloud and forward Nicolas Roy has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves. Don’t be surprised if either is back up with the Knights shortly, sent down only as a means of cap savings.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have assigned defenseman Kyle Capobianco to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Capobianco was recalled Saturday to fill in against the Blackhawks last night, recording two shots and four hits in 14:44 of ice time.
- The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Phillip Di Giuseppe from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. The 26-year-old wing has received the call on several occasions this year, but has not gotten into a game. He has 14 goals and 26 points in 44 games this year with Hartford. He could have been added as extra insurance in case Chris Kreider has to miss some time after leaving the game on Saturday.
Pacific Notes: Doughty, Stastny, Ferland, Roussel
Up until recently, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty hadn’t missed a game since the 2013-14 season. Suddenly, due to an undisclosed injury, Doughty will miss his third straight game on Sunday. However, Kings head coach Todd McLellan said the team hopes he will return on Tuesday against Washington, according to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times.
“We thought he might sneak in today, but not enough practice time with the break,” said McLellan. “Get tomorrow’s skate in and potentially one Monday before we fly out and then counting on him Tuesday.”
- The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) breaks down the top trade chips of the Vegas Golden Knights as the team closes in on the trade deadline and notes that if Vegas opts to spend big once again like it has in the past two years of the team’s existence, then one name that might come up could be center Paul Stastny. The 34-year-old center has been a solid contributor with Vegas, but due to the fact the team has juggled him around the lineup, Stastny has struggled getting comfortable with any linemates as he has just 12 assists so far this year, which could be because he is one of the team’s top goal scorers at 15 already. However, with the development of Chandler Stephenson, the Golden Knights might actually be able to survive without him. Stastny has just one year remaining on the three-year deal he signed two summers ago at $6.5MM, although the veteran does have a 10-team no trade list.
- The Vancouver Canucks seem a step closer to getting forward Micheal Ferland back from injury. The forward has been skating on his own the last few days and Sportsnet’s Joey Kenward reports that Ferland is expected to report to Utica of the AHL this coming week and is expected to practice with the team. The hope is that he might be ready to play in a game or two with the Comets before the Canucks bring him back up.
- Sticking with the Canucks, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal (subscription required) writes that despite having returned from an ACL tear in December, forward Antoine Roussel recently stated that playing on that knee hasn’t felt the same and he hasn’t been pleased with the way he’s been playing since returning, which isn’t surprising, considering the injury. “I had no legs for ten games,” Roussel said bluntly. “I was rusty, my pop wasn’t there and then you slowly get back there and I’m at game 22 now. So 12 games where I felt pretty decent, I’m just trying to build on that.” Roussel does feel that his game is finally rounding into form and his best hockey could be coming in the second-half of the season, which is just another thing going well for Vancouver.
Vegas Recalls Zach Whitecloud, Assigns Oscar Dansk To AHL Chicago
- Late Friday, the Golden Knights made a pair of roster moves, per team releases. They returned goalie Oscar Dansk to Chicago of the AHL which comes as no surprise now that Marc-Andre Fleury has served his one-game suspension for withdrawing from the All-Star Game. The other was the recall of defenseman Zach Whitecloud. He played one game with Vegas in 2018 after signing with them but since then has played exclusively with the Wolves, where he has two goals and five assists in 35 games this season.
Ivan Morozov Signs KHL Extension
The Vegas Golden Knights are going to have to wait a little longer to get a look at Ivan Morozov, as the young forward has signed a two-year extension in the KHL. Morozov is now under contract through the 2021-22 season, meaning he won’t be coming over to North America anytime soon.
Selected 61st overall by the Golden Knights in 2018, Morozov has broken through recently into the KHL, scoring six points in his last three games. Those were his first points at the highest level in Russia, after playing sparingly over the last two seasons. A veteran for his country at international tournaments, Morozov was part of the bronze medal-winning World Junior squad in 2019, and the silver medal-winning group just a few weeks ago. He has also been a dynamic scoring threat in the lower Russian leagues, leading to high expectations in North America.
Because the NHL and KHL do not have a formal transfer agreement, the Golden Knights will retain Morozov’s draft rights indefinitely. That means they can try again down the road to bring him into their organization, though nothing guarantees he’ll ever want to come over. For now, the 19-year old will continue his development with one of the most successful organizations in the KHL, SKA St. Petersburg.
College Hockey Round-Up: 01/28/20
The NHL Trade Deadline doesn’t directly impact the college ranks, but there are usually one or two NCAA players whose rights are moved before the end of February. The Hockey News’ Steven Ellis recently wrote about the “under-the-radar” college players who enjoying breakout seasons, but at this time of year the article may as well be titled “Trade Bait”. The leading name, of course, is Hobey Baker hopeful Jack Dugan (VGK) of No. 9 Providence. Dugan leads the NCAA in points – total and per game – and assists, as he has all year, and looks like a steal as fifth-round pick. However, could the Vegas Golden Knights instead opt to sell high on the upstart prospect? The team desperately needs to improve on the blue line and dangling Dugan could help to land them a top-four defenseman.
A number of the others named by Ellis who could also be trade fodder over the next few weeks, including Dugan’s Providence teammate, defenseman Michael Callahan (ARI). The Arizona Coyotes are all in this season after trading for Taylor Hall and Callahan is an expendable piece given the team’s depth in young blue liners. If senior forward David Cotton (CAR) of No. 5 Boston College does not plan to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team could try to use him as piece to make a deal. The same goes for goalie Tyler Wall (NYR) of No. 14 UMass Lowell, as the New York Rangers have a logjam in goal and seem like a poor fit for one of the best keepers in college hockey. Could the Boston Bruins be convinced to part ways with Maine goalie Jeremy Swayman (BOS), another of the NCAA’s elite, if it helps them make a needed deadline deal? Finally, circling back to the Golden Knights, if Vegas deems Dugan to be untouchable, they have another rising star in Bowling Green forward Brandon Kruse (VGK) who they could offer up instead. The next few weeks could change the career path of these players and many more in the collegiate ranks, but they can at least take comfort in knowing that they’ll be closing out this season with their college team regardless.
Recent Results
It has been a tough couple of weeks for just about every team at the top of the national rankings. Over the past two weeks – four games for most teams – only two teams among the top 15 came away with more than two wins, No. 3 Minnesota State and No. 12 Arizona State, and even those teams suffered a loss to go with their three wins. No. 1 Cornell stays atop the charts despite a mediocre 2-0-2 stretch, while No. 2 North Dakota stays put as well, despite a tie to unranked Miami and a loss to No. 10 Minnesota Duluth. The defending champs were happy to get the win after being swept by unranked St. Cloud State the weekend prior. Rounding out the top five are still No. 4 Denver and No. 5 Boston College, despite both struggling through weekend series with unranked teams: two ties for Denver against Nebraska-Omaha and two losses for BC versus Maine.
Hockey East could not be much tighter right with Maine and UConn tied for eighth in the conference, but trailing top seed No. 7 UMass by just six points with a game in hand. Wedged in between are Boston College, No. 14 UMass Lowell (one win in last four games), No. 9 Providence College, Boston University, No. 13 Northeastern, and New Hampshire, who has been red-hot with wins over Northeastern, Providence, and UMass in recent weeks and is on the verge of cracking the national rankings. There’s no telling how Hockey East will shake out, but it’s making for a great conference tournament.
The same can’t be said for the Big Ten, which continues to disappoint this year. No. 8 Penn State and No. 11 Ohio State continue to be ranked among the best in the NCAA, but do they belong? Both teams won just one of their four games over the past two weeks, with each losing at least one game to an unranked opponent. As for their conference competition, preseason darlings Wisconsin and Notre Dame have disappeared from the national rankings and only No. 17 Michigan State is left. Compared not only to Hockey East, but the NCHC, ECAC, and even the WCHA, the Big Ten is looking weak in 2019-20.
Marc Michaelis Sidelined
The formula for No. 3 Minnesota State has been pretty straightforward for the past few year: dominate the WCHA, stay healthy, and try your luck as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks are well on their way to such a result again this season, but have been dealt a blow in the health department. Senior forward Marc Michaelis suffered a leg injury back on January 17 after a collision with a Bowling Green opponent. Michaelis left the game and did not return and did not play the second game on Saturday, nor the team’s most recent weekend series versus No. 19 Bemidji State, which featured a rare loss. So far, there has been no time line given for his return to action. Even though Minnesota State is a defense-first team centered around goalie Dryden McKay and defenseman Connor Mackey, Michaelis’ absence is a major loss. Michaelis, 24, is the team’s captain and leading scorer and the German forward is an all-situations player for Mankato. If the team hopes to avoid another early exit from the NCAA tournament, they will need a healthy Michaelis.
Luke Reid Commits To UNH
Not only has the University of New Hampshire been making big moves in the standings of late, they have been doing so in the recruiting game as well. UNH landed a major commitment this past weekend in USHL defenseman Luke Reid. Reid, an Illinois native playing for the Chicago Steel, has nevertheless decided to take his talents to Durham, New Hampshire. The right-shot defenseman plays a balanced game and has been a nice piece on a strong Chicago team. However, he is much more than just a complimentary player. Reid is ranked No. 77 by Future Considerations in their 2020 NHL Draft rankings and is considered by many to be a mid-round pick. While UNH has housed many NHL prospects over the years, including current defensive ace Max Gildon (FLA), top recruits have been less frequent in recent years for the Wildcats and Reid will be a welcome addition to the program.
Golden Knights Hire Steve Spott As Assistant Coach
Tuesday: The Golden Knights have made the hiring official, announcing that Spott has joined DeBoer’s staff. The team’s release acknowledges the important role that Spott played in DeBoer’s successful tenure with the rival San Jose Sharks and they can only hope that the duo find more success in Las Vegas.
Saturday: When the Vegas Golden Knights shook up their coaching staff earlier this month, they let both head coach Gerard Gallant and assistant coach Mike Kelly go. At the time, they only replaced Gallant with new bench boss Peter DeBoer. It appears that Vegas has filled their other vacancy as Ken Boehlke of SinBin.Vegas reports that veteran assistant Steve Spott will join the team following the bye week.
Spott is no stranger to working with DeBoer as he was with him in San Jose before they shook up their coaching staff last month. On top of that, the two worked together from 2002-2008 with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL; when DeBoer left to begin his NHL coaching career, Spott took over as the head coach of the Rangers.
Before joining San Jose in 2015, Spott spent two seasons with Toronto – one as the head coach of the AHL Marlies and one as an assistant with the Maple Leafs. He has experience coaching both forwards and defense from his time with the Sharks and that type of coaching versatility is something that is certainly desirable and likely had a role in him only being out of a job for roughly six weeks.
Vegas Golden Knights Working To Purchase AHL Franchise
At yesterday’s press conference, AHL president David Andrews suggested that the Vegas Golden Knights may soon be interested in purchasing a minor league franchise. That idea is more than just a suggestion, as Jesse Granger of The Athletic (subscription required) reports the Golden Knights are working to bring a team in as soon as October. The AHL club would be called the Henderson Silver Knights if all goes according to plan.
While this is obviously not a done deal at this point, more and more teams have begun to bring their AHL affiliates as geographically close as possible. Having a team in the same city (or very close, should the team eventually move to Henderson) allows for numerous benefits, including easier game-day call-ups. The Chicago Wolves, currently affiliated with the Golden Knights, would not be the franchise to move and issued a statement yesterday explaining that they would find a new NHL partner.
Vegas Interested In Buying AHL Franchise
- David Andrews will retire from his position as AHL President and CEO in a few months, but held a press conference today to discuss the state of the league. Patrick Williams of NHL.com tweeted out several of the biggest news items, including the fact that the Vegas Golden Knights are interested in buying an AHL franchise. The Golden Knights are currently affiliated with the Chicago Wolves. Palm Springs is set to become the 32nd franchise in the AHL when they begin play in the 2021-22 season as the affiliate for the Seattle NHL expansion.
Minor Transactions: 01/22/20
With just two games remaining on the schedule before the entire league breaks for the All-Star Game festivities, there will be many minor moves today seeing players head down to the AHL. Anyone that isn’t tied down by waiver eligibility will be heading down to get some extra work during the break and save their NHL club a few cap dollars. As always, we’ll keep track of those moves right here.
- The New York Rangers have sent down Igor Shesterkin and Phillip Di Giuseppe, though the former is still not expected to take part in the AHL All-Star event. Shesterkin was selected for the minor league game after going 15-4-3 with a .932 in his first taste of North American professional hockey, but was replaced earlier this week as he continued to play with the Rangers.
- Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy have both been sent back to the AHL by the Vegas Golden Knights, a trip both of them got used to earlier in the season. While Roy has continued to bounce up and down between the two leagues, Hague has been in the NHL since the middle of November and playing regularly for the Golden Knights. The 21-year old defenseman has 11 points in 38 games.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have returned Brandon Hagel and Dennis Gilbert to the AHL. Hagel still hasn’t suited up for an NHL game, but he’s obviously getting closer to that dream after several call-ups in recent days.
- Andrew Agozzino, Joseph Blandisi, Sam Lafferty and Kevin Czuczman have all been assigned to the AHL by the Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing the NHL club to bank a little extra cap space as they continue to push for the playoffs. The Penguins have quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to deadline additions thanks to some savvy saving and the potential long-term injured reserve cap room created by Jake Guentzel‘s injury.
- The Penguins cross-state rival have also sent several players to the minors, as Alex Lyon, German Rubtsov and Connor Bunnaman are all leaving the Philadelphia Flyers for now. The Flyers don’t play again until January 31st, giving them a chance to sort out their roster in a week’s time.
- Sebastian Aho, no not that Sebastian Aho, has been sent to the minor leagues by the New York Islanders. The young defenseman has been brought up a few times as injury insurance since Adam Pelech went down earlier this month, but still hasn’t found his way into an NHL game this season.
- The Detroit Red Wings are one of the few teams in action today, and have recalled Dennis Cholowski ahead of their game against the Minnesota Wild. Cholowski has split his time between the NHL and AHL this season, suiting up 29 times for the Red Wings.
- Karson Kuhlman, Jeremy Lauzon and Dan Vladar have all been returned to the AHL by the Boston Bruins. Lauzon, 22, scored the second NHL goal of his career last night for Boston, even while playing his off-side.
- The Florida Panthers have returned Riley Stillman and Sam Montembeault to the minor leagues over the break. Stillman has played in 16 games with the Panthers this season, but is still looking for his first career NHL goal.