Dadonov Deal Still Uncertain
There is still no official decision on the trade between the Anaheim Duck and Vegas Golden Knights, though some sources have indicated to Jesse Granger of The Athletic that they believe it will be voided. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted a bit of an explanation, noting that not only did the Golden Knights not receive Evgenii Dadonov‘s no-trade list, but they and the NHL were also “led to believe” that the list had not been filed properly and thus expired.
Amadio, Whitecloud, McGill Placed In COVID Protocol
The Vegas Golden Knights announced that they have placed forward Michael Amadio, defenseman Zach Whitecloud, and assistant coach Ryan McGill in COVID protocol ahead of tonight’s game at the Minnesota Wild. In what would appear to be a related move, the team has also called up forwards Paul Cotter and Jonas Rondbjerg and defensemen Zack Hayes and Daniil Miromanov (link). While the team only placed two players in COVID protocol, the earlier trade of Evgenii Dadonov frees up some additional salary cap space to allow them to call two players up.
AHL Shuffle: 03/21/22
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.
Leschyshyn, Miromanov Reassigned To Henderson Of The AHL
- The Vegas Golden Knights assigned forward Jake Leschyshyn and defenseman Daniil Miromanov to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL. Leschyshyn has performed nicely this year in the face of adversity, being routinely shuffled between the NHL and AHL. (In fact, the shuffling continued today. Leschyshyn is already back in Vegas.) Though he has just five points through 27 NHL games this season, he has been a force for Henderson this year, posting 26 points in 32 games. It’s been almost the exact same story for Miromanov this season, shuffling between the NHL and AHL. Miromanov has just one point in nine NHL games this season as a defenseman, but has impressed with 30 points in 42 AHL games. The Golden Knights also called up defenseman Brayden Pachal. Pachal, 22, is an undrafted blueliner who has gotten into one game for the Golden Knights this year. He had seven points in 24 games for the Silver Knights last season.
Golden Knights Sign Isaiah Saville
7:45 PM: The Golden Knights officially announced the signing. PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the AAV of the deal is just under $850K.
6:47 PM: The Golden Knights have agreed to terms with one of their college prospects as Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports (Twitter link) that Vegas has signed goaltender Isaiah Saville to a three-year, entry-level contract. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Golden Knights back in 2019 (155th overall) out of Tri-City of the USHL and has played the last three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. This season, he suited up in 30 games for the Mavericks, recording a 2.52 GAA along with a save percentage of .907 for the third straight year. His college season came to an end last week and evidently, he decided to forego his senior year.
It’s unknown if Vegas elected to burn the first year of Saville’s entry-level deal now or if it will come into effect beginning next season in which case he’d ink an amateur tryout deal with AHL Henderson for the rest of 2021-22. There could be a bit of a logjam for the Golden Knights in terms of their signed goalie depth for 2022-23 with Saville joining Logan Thompson and Jiri Patera as young netminders under contract while Dylan Ferguson is a restricted free agent.
Golden Knights Sign Derrick Pouliot To NHL Contract
There’s a new addition to the Vegas Golden Knights’ list of players under NHL contract, but likely not as big a splash as some fans hope for right now. The team has signed veteran defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a one-year NHL deal after he spent the first part of the 2021-22 season on an AHL deal with their affiliate in Henderson.
Per CapFriendly, Pouliot’s two-way deal pays him a $750,000 salary at the NHL level and a $350,000 salary at the AHL level.
Pouliot, the eighth overall selection in 2012 by Pittsburgh, hasn’t been an NHL regular since 2018-19 with the Vancouver Canucks. He does have over 200 games of NHL experience, though, and the Knights likely hope a combination of that and his offensively-minded game can provide a limited boost to their defense core, which just hasn’t jived well this season.
This is his first year in the Golden Knights organization.
Additionally, the team also sent down Brayden Pachal back to Henderson, giving Daniil Miromanov another call-up in his place. They also activated forwards Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden from injured reserve, allowing for them to return to the lineup tonight.
Injury Notes: Lehner, Jenner, Oilers
Multiple reports over the past day suggest that Vegas Golden Knights netminder Robin Lehner could be in danger of missing the rest of the regular season with a knee injury, adding to the laundry list of injuries that Lehner’s had to deal with this season. Backup goalie Laurent Brossoit has gone into a free fall since Lehner’s injury, with his save percentage dipping all the way down to .895 after a solid start to the season. Third-stringer Logan Thompson has also really struggled in his few starts this season, so there seems to be no clear answer within the organization at the moment. It’s likely going to force Vegas’ hand to trade for a goaltender at the deadline, as the team is eighth in the Western Conference and out of the playoff picture in terms of points percentage.
Other injury-related notes from around the league today:
- Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner remains week-to-week, per head coach Brad Larsen. Jenner suffered a lower-body injury nearly a week ago now, putting a stop to what’s been a career season for him. His 23 goals through 59 games are tied for the team lead, he’s third on the team in points with 44, and he’s averaged over 20 minutes a night as the team’s best center.
- Jesse Puljujarvi and Kris Russell are both making their returns to the Edmonton Oilers lineup tonight against the Sabres, per the team. The return of Russell signals a fully healthy blue line in Edmonton, allowing youngsters Philip Broberg and Markus Niemelainen to return to the AHL for additional development time. Puljujarvi returns to his normal office in the team’s top-six, where he had 28 points in 46 games prior to his injury.
Injury Notes: Thornton, Laughton, Patrick
Florida Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette said today that forward Joe Thornton is close to a return to the lineup, and Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards says it’s likely the veteran forward is activated prior to Tuesday’s game against his former team in San Jose. Thornton has been dealing with an undisclosed injury since mid-February. He has four goals and two assists for six points in 24 games this year, remaining a solid depth option as he chases an elusive Stanley Cup ring in Florida.
More injury notes from around the league:
- Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton is “feeling better,” but head coach Mike Yeo says there’s still no timeline for his return to the lineup. The Flyers have been plagued with a laundry list of injuries this season, a trend that isn’t stopping anytime soon. The nine-year NHL veteran sustained a concussion earlier this week, disrupting a solid season for the depth center. He had 11 goals and 17 assists in 54 games.
- The NHL media website lists Vegas Golden Knights forward Nolan Patrick as being off injured reserve for tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Injuries have once again severely limited Patrick this year, getting into just 18 games and registering six points. As the Golden Knights continue to flounder, they hope he can remain a part of the team for the stretch run.
Daniil Miromanov Sent To AHL Henderson
- The Golden Knights have sent blueliner Daniil Miromanov back to Henderson of the AHL per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 24-year-old was recalled on Monday as injury insurance but hasn’t played since then. Miromanov has played in seven games with Vegas this season plus 41 with the Silver Knights where he has six goals and 24 assists.
Golden Knights Sign Ben Hutton To Two-Year Extension
3:40 PM: The team has officially announced the extension for Hutton.
2:25 PM: The Golden Knights added some defensive depth back in late October with the signing of Ben Hutton to a one-year, one-way contract worth the league minimum of $750K. It appears that Vegas likes what they’ve seen as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the team is expected to sign Hutton to an extension at some point today. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) it’s a two-year deal worth $800K next season and $900K in 2023-24, meaning his cap hit will be $850K.
The 28-year-old has wound up playing close to a regular role since joining them, suiting up in 35 games this season, collecting nine points while averaging just under 15 minutes a game. That ATOI is well below his career average (19:22) but it’s a reflection of how strong their defensive core is. Hutton has 414 career NHL appearances under his belt with five different teams and collected his 100th career point last night with a goal against Anaheim.
While Hutton could have opted to test free agency next summer, that didn’t go well a year ago which resulted in him signing a PTO deal with San Diego of the AHL (Anaheim’s affiliate) before joining the Golden Knights a few weeks later. Now, he’s rewarded for his efforts with a bit of job security and a small raise, a nice piece of business for both sides.