Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Golden Knights Rumors

Ottawa Senators To Forfeit First-Round Pick

at CDT | by 30 Comments

The NHL has announced that the Ottawa Senators will forfeit a first-round draft pick for their role in the July 2021 trade of Evgenii Dadonov from the Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights and the subsequent, invalidated March 2022 Dadonov trade between the Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks.

According to the league’s announcement, the Senators will have 24 hours after the conclusion of the NHL Draft lottery to determine if they will surrender their first-round pick in that given year, and they will be able to choose between giving up a pick in either the 2024, 2025, or 2026 drafts.

The Vegas Golden Knights issued a statement regarding the Senators’ punishment, stating:

We appreciate the league’s diligence on this matter and respect the decision. The club will have no further comment.

This issue originates from 2021, when the Golden Knights acquired Dadonov from Ottawa. No official statement regarding how exactly the Senators mishandled that trade has been released, but The Athletic’s Jesse Granger writes on X that the issue relates to the Senators’ handling of the no-trade list in Dadonov’s contract.

While the league did not elaborate on any specifics as to what the Senators did that merited such a punishment, the fact that a first-round pick has been docked sends a signal that the league deemed serious punishment in order for the Senators.

Per the league’s statement, the NHL nor any of the involved clubs will comment further on this matter, meaning no official explanation of the reasons for this punishment will come.

Thankfully, reporting from Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch sheds some light on the situation. Garrioch reported that today’s punishment has come “as a result of general manager Pierre Dorion giving the Knights the wrong information about the existence of Dadonov’s 10-team ‘no move’ clause.”

The Golden Knights, seemingly believing that Dadonov did not possess no-trade protection, attempted to trade the player to the Anaheim Ducks in a move that was eventually vetoed by the league.

Garrioch added: “The Knights were under the impression that Dadonov hadn’t entered a 10-team no-trade list before the 2021-22 campaign so he no longer had one.”

This appears to have been an issue for Golden Knights management, as Garrioch cites a source who said: “Vegas president of hockey operations George McPhee and GM Kelly McCrimmon refused to let this matter go and appealed to the NHL’s head office to look into it,” a move that resulted in today’s punishment.

Garrioch also laid out the Senators’ argument in defense of their actions, stating that at the time of the trade, the Senators “argued that Vegas had the contract on its books for eight months” and had not looked “at the details” of the contract. While it’s true that the Golden Knights had employed Dadonov for quite a bit of time before the trade, it seems this argument was not sufficient to stave off punishment from the league.

This reported chain of events has not been officially confirmed, and the league’s statement today makes clear that no official confirmation is set to come. But regardless of what exactly happened in Ottawa to merit this kind of punishment, the reality the Senators now face is that they have lost a key asset for their future.

Their right to choose which draft pick they surrender does offer them some crucial flexibility in the matter, especially if the team misses the playoffs this season and ends up in the draft lottery. Just a few years after the Senators had to watch the Colorado Avalanche draft Bowen Byram fourth-overall with a draft pick that once belonged to them, the Senators will not want a repeat of that situation.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Paul Stastny Announces Retirement

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Free agent forward Paul Stastny has confirmed his retirement from the NHL after a 17-season, 1,145-game career in an interview Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic published Tuesday.

The 37-year-old was a key two-way center for most of his career.  Drafted in the second round by Colorado back in 2005, Stastny went on to play in eight seasons with the Avs where he made an immediate impact offensively, averaging nearly a point per game in his rookie season, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting.  By the time his tenure with Colorado wrapped up, he was more of a defensive threat than an offensive one but that didn’t stop him from having a long career.

Stastny signed with St. Louis in time for the 2014-15 season where he spent parts of four seasons before being traded to Winnipeg as a rental at the trade deadline in 2018.  After a two-year stop in Vegas in 2018-19 and 2019-20, he went back to Winnipeg for two more seasons before joining Carolina last season where he was down to 22 points in 73 games while playing exclusively in their bottom six.

Stastny acknowledged to LeBrun that there was some interest in him during the summer but he decided he wanted to wait it out for a bit to see how he felt.  Then, as time progressed, he felt that retirement was the right choice for him.  It wasn’t his intention to make his decision public, telling LeBrun that “I kind of came into the league quietly and I’m leaving the league quietly. That’s the way I like it.”  He hasn’t ruled out returning to hockey in some sort of front office capacity down the road but that’s not on the immediate horizon.

Stastny hangs up his skates after 1,195 career NHL games where he had 293 goals and 529 assists.  His 822 points put him in 20th place among U.S.-born players in league history.

Golden Knights Recall Jonas Rondbjerg, Place Nicolas Roy On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

10/29: Vegas has sent Rondbjerg back to the minor leagues.

10/28: The Golden Knights have brought up some extra forward depth in advance of their game tonight against Los Angeles, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve brought up winger Jonas Rondbjerg from AHL Henderson.

The 24-year-old had a brief stint with Vegas earlier this month, picking up a goal and an assist in two appearances.  It’s the third straight season that Rondbjerg has seen action with the big club.  Combined, he has 45 games with the Golden Knights where he has three goals and six helpers.

Rondbjerg has also played in five games with the Silver Knights this season where he has three assists.  He has been more productive at that level, tallying 32 goals and 39 assists in 137 games over parts of five years.  He’s in the second season of a three-year contract which actually carries a cap hit below the NHL minimum salary, checking in at just under $767K.

He will be taking the place of Nicolas Roy on the roster as the Golden Knights have placed the center on injured reserve on Friday.  The 26-year-old missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury and had already been ruled out through the weekend.  Roy is off to a nice start to his season with three goals in seven games but that will be on hold, at least for a few days.  He’ll have to stay on IR for seven days but Vegas can back-date the placement to Wednesday if they so desire.

Injury Notes: Golden Knights, Boldy, Nedeljkovic

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy issued updates on two players today, as relayed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Ben Gotz. According to Cassidy, Alex Pietrangelo will likely be in the Golden Knights’ lineup tomorrow when the team takes on Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Pietrangelo is one of the Golden Knights’ two most important defensemen, but he has not played since October 12th.

Cassidy also said that center Nicolas Roy is “going to miss a little time.” He’s out for this weekend’s games and is considered day-to-day. Roy has centered the Golden Knights’ fourth line this season in between Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier. He scored 30 points in 65 games last season and has four points through seven games in 2023-24.

Some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported today that Minnesota Wild scorer Matthew Boldy will travel with his team on their East Coast road trip, though he is unlikely to play tonight’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boldy, 22, is one of the Wild’s most important scorers but hasn’t seen game action since October 14th. Getting him back into the fold would give a major boost to the Wild, who are currently playing Patrick Maroon in Boldy’s vacated second-line right winger role.
  • Yesterday, the Penguins placed netminder Alex Nedeljkovic on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo relayed word from head coach Mike Sullivan today, who confirmed Nedeljkovic’s placement on IR and clarified that the player’s status is currently considered “week-to-week.” Nedeljkovic had seized the Penguins’ backup goalie job behind Tristan Jarry and begun the season with a .914 save percentage through two starts. Now, in his absence, the Penguins will turn to Magnus Hellberg as their backup.

Roster Notes: Drysdale, Pietrangelo, Kurashev, Bonino, Kochetkov

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Although no official announcement has come from the team, CapFriendly indicates that the Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactively to October 15th. Drysdale has not played in the following three games for the organization, as he has put up two assists while carrying a +2 rating.

As expected, the Ducks are not getting off to a hot start to this season, carrying a 1-4-0 record into tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, there is still plenty to be excited about in Orange County, as the team was able to sign both Drysdale and Trevor Zegras to separate three-year contracts shortly before the start of the season, as well as seeing the second-overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft, Leo Carlsson, score a goal in his first ever professional game.

Nevertheless, even without indicating any effort to compete for the playoffs this season, Drysdale’s presence will be missed on the blue line. Thin on depth throughout the defensive core at the top level of the organization, there is an argument to be made that Drysdale represents the best of what the Ducks have to offer on defense.

Other roster notes:

  • Having not played since the second game of the season for the Vegas Golden Knights, Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Pietrangelo is back at practice with the team, skating in a non-contact jersey. In the two games he has played, Pietrangelo has put up one assist, averaging nearly 23 minutes a night. Remarkably, even without the presence of Pietrangelo in the lineup, the Golden Knights are one of only three teams who remain undefeated to start the season.
  • After taking the entire summer to rehab a shoulder injury sustained towards the end of last season, Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Philipp Kurashev, suffered a wrist injury during training camp before the start of this season, keeping him out of the lineup up to this point. With a serious need for more secondary scoring in their lineup, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports-Chicago is reporting that Kurashev is looking to make his debut for the team on Tuesday, as they take on the Boston Bruins for the second time this season.
  • Per a team announcement, depth forward for the New York Rangers, Nick Bonino, is considered day-to-day with an illness, and will not practice with the team today. In five games so far with the Rangers, Bonino has gone scoreless, primarily centering the fourth line between fellow teammates Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.
  • After returning him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL last night, CapFriendly is reporting that the Carolina Hurricanes have called goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov back up to the NHL. Suffice it to say, Kochetkov did not get off to the best start with the Hurricanes this season, allowing six goals on 28 shots in his only start against the Colorado Avalanche.

Connor McDavid Suffers An Apparent Injury

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It has been a bumpy start to the season for the Edmonton Oilers, and things could become even more difficult. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN is reporting that Oilers superstar center Connor McDavid suffered an apparent injury in the third period of Edmonton’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night.

McDavid’s last shift occurred with 4:20 left in the third period as he remained on the bench through the final minutes of regulation as well as all of overtime. The 26-year-old phenom’s final two shifts were 33 and 34 seconds long, a huge decrease from his usual shift length of 56 seconds. McDavid could be seen in visible discomfort on his final shift as he grabbed at his side on a rush play.

After the game Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said he had yet to speak with the trainers, but he believed McDavid’s ailment was a muscular issue. He added that the team would likely have more information later today or tomorrow.

The Oilers can ill afford to lose McDavid for any length of time. Edmonton is viewed as a cup contender by many pundits, although they haven’t started the season like one. The Oilers already sit nine points behind the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights and have only collected three points through five games.

Even with McDavid in the lineup Edmonton has struggled. They’ve posted a record of 1-3-1 on the season and have twice blown leads including a two-goal lead last night against Winnipeg. McDavid has done his part thus far with eight points in five games, however, the rest of the team has been outworked and overmatched throughout much of the season.

If McDavid is out for any length of time the Oilers start to the season could go from bumpy to rocky very quickly.

Snapshots: Golden Knights, Sharks, Sabres, Capitals

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy shared that defenseman Alec Martinez is likely to make his season debut in the team’s Thursday night matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Martinez has carried a day-to-day injury designation for the whole month, coping with an upper-body injury and remaining on the team’s injured reserve. He returned to practice in a no-contact jersey on Tuesday and is traveling with the team for a two-game road trip.

Martinez appeared in 77 games with Vegas last season, recording 14 points and 29 penalty minutes. It was the most he’s played for the Golden Knights since joining them midway through the 2019-20 season, with each of his last two seasons being limited by an injured reserve designation. Martinez has played 166 career games with Vegas, tallying 62 points and 51 penalty minutes.

Other notes from around the league:

Pacific Notes: Carrier, Martinez, Vlasic, Carlsson, Soucy/Friedman

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Golden Knights forward William Carrier will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Stars, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed today. Carrier, 28, missed Vegas’ last two games with an upper-body injury.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are picking up where they left off, receiving spectacular goaltending from Adin Hill and Logan Thompson en route to a 3-0-0 record and league-high +9 goal differential. Carrier hasn’t been a part of that, however – he played just over five minutes in the season opener against Seattle before leaving with the UBI and sitting out their following two wins against San Jose and Anaheim. He’s entering the final season of a four-year, $5.6MM contract that’s paid dividends for the Knights. Carrier has become one of the more dependable fourth-liners in the league since Vegas claimed him in the 2017 Expansion Draft, and he’s now played well over 300 games as a Knight. He posted a career-high 16 goals and 25 points last season and added six points in 18 postseason contests, playing a crucial depth role en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup win.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Cassidy also said defenseman Alec Martinez practiced in a non-contact jersey today and will travel with the team on their upcoming road swing through Winnipeg and Chicago. The 36-year-old defender has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury since the beginning of the month and has remained on injured reserve since the season began one week ago. Entering the final season of a three-year deal earning him $5.25MM per season, the veteran of 763 NHL games was arguably Vegas’ most important shutdown defender last season, posting a team-high +30 rating and blocking 244 shots – the most in the NHL by far. His absence has meant increased ice time for the younger Nicolas Hague, who’s stepped up to the plate with three points in three games while averaging 21:20 per game.
  • Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic practiced with the team this morning but is not expected to suit up Tuesday night against the Hurricanes, The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports. Vlasic did not play the final two periods of the Sharks’ shootout loss at the hands of the Avalanche Saturday and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. 22-year-old Henry Thrun will step into Vlasic’s place on the Sharks’ second pairing alongside Matt Benning after the former was scratched against Colorado.
  • 2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson has returned to practice for the Ducks after missing the first two games of the season with a leg injury, writes Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Carlsson told The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee Tuesday that he wants “to be 100% [for] the first game,” of course referring to his first NHL appearance. He hopes to be ready for the Ducks’ next game, a Thursday showdown against the Stars. Carlsson is currently on season-opening injured reserve but can be activated at any time.
  • Tuesday’s trade acquisition Mark Friedman will join the Vancouver Canucks on their upcoming road trip, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. His recall likely spells the end of 24-year-old Akito Hirose’s time on the NHL roster, as he does not require waivers to return to AHL Abbotsford, and Vancouver is now carrying eight healthy defensemen on the roster with Carson Soucy now expected to make his season debut today against the Flyers. Friedman has appeared in two games thus far in 2023-24, both with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording no points and a -1 rating.

Pacific Injury Notes: Vlasic, Vegas, Vancouver

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

William Carrier was spotted in a no-contact jersey at Vegas’ Monday practice, taking reps in his usual fourth-line role. He’s been announced as a game-time decision for the team’s next game. Of note, fellow Golden Knight Alex Pietrangelo was absent from the practice. Pietrangelo had a scary moment in the team’s Thursday night game against the San Jose Sharks when a high hit from Nicolas Hague left the defender bloodied.

Pietrangelo missed the team’s subsequent game and was announced as day-to-day, although the exact nature of the injury wasn’t disclosed. It appears he’s still grappling with this ailment as the team prepares for their October 17th game. Pietrangelo has recorded one point through two appearances so far this season. Kaedan Korczak stepped in for the injured Pietrangelo, playing in 14 minutes in the alternate captain’s absence.

Vegas has also sent Jonas Rondbjerg to the AHL, now that Brett Howden’s suspension has expired.

Other Pacific Division injury notes:

Canucks Injury Notes: Blueger, Soucy, Mikheyev

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Patrick Johnston of The Vancouver Province is reporting that Vancouver Canucks center Teddy Blueger injury status has been changed to week to week. Blueger was originally thought to have a bruised knee, but apparently will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Blueger originally suffered the injury when he blocked a shot back on October 6th in a preseason game against the Calgary Flames. He joined the Canucks two days later for practice but lasted just 15 minutes before the injury caused him to leave.

The injury will force Blueger to further delay his regular season debut with the Canucks after a solid preseason had fans feeling optimistic about his upcoming season with the team. Blueger signed a one-year $1.9MM contract with the Canucks on July 1st after a disappointing season last year split between the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins. Blueger posted just four goals and 12 assists last year in 63 games while being deployed largely as a fourth-line center and penalty-kill specialist.

In other Canucks injury notes:

  • The Canucks injury news isn’t all bad. The Vancouver Province posted that injured defenseman Carson Soucy skated with the Canucks yesterday in a non-contact jersey and will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Soucy also took part in extra skating drills before practice as he tries to get into game shape. Soucy was originally injured a week ago in a preseason game against the Flames and was thought to be out week to week but could be back sooner than later.
  • The Vancouver Province reported that Canucks forward Ilya Mikheyev has gone from practicing with the team in a regular jersey to a non-contact jersey. The 29-year-old had been in a regular jersey for almost a week but was downgraded yesterday for an undisclosed reason. The Canucks thought earlier in the week that Mikheyev might be ready for the Canucks October 17th game against the Philadelphia Flyers but given the setback that return now seems unlikely. Like Soucy, Mikheyev took extra skating before the team’s practice yesterday as he tries to get into game shape.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top