Capitals Sign Riley Sutter To An Entry-Level Contract
Washington has locked up another of their 2018 draft picks, announcing the signing of winger Riley Sutter to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry a cap hit of $817.5K.
The Capitals selected Sutter in the third round (93rd overall) back in June out of Everett of the WHL. While his regular season numbers weren’t particularly dominant (53 points in 68 games), he picked up his performance in the postseason, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 21 contests, good for fifth on the Silvertips in scoring.
The 18-year-old is part of the Sutter family that has plenty of NHL bloodlines. His father, Ron, played in nearly 1,100 NHL games while his uncles (Brian, Brent, Darryl, Duane, and Rich) all have NHL connections as well.
Sutter has already been sent back to Everett for the 2018-19 campaign and has a pair of assists in three games so far. As a result of his return to junior, his contract will slide a year and will still have three years remaining on it in 2019-20. The deal will have a slightly different AAV at that time based on how much of a signing bonus Washington gave him.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/28/18
With season-opening rosters due just a few days from now, quite a few more cuts are expected today around the league. We’ll keep tabs on these moves here and will update this post throughout the day.
Please note that this list does not include players placed on waivers today. That group of players can be found here.
Anaheim Ducks (via Eric Stephens of The Athletic)
D Simon Benoit (to San Diego, AHL)
G Kevin Boyle (to San Diego, AHL)
F Sam Carrick (to San Diego, AHL)
G Jared Coreau (to San Diego, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (to San Diego, AHL)
D Jacob Larsson (to San Diego, AHL)
D Steven Oleksy (to San Diego, AHL)
D Josh Mahura (to San Diego, AHL)
F Anton Rodin (to San Diego, AHL)
F Corey Tropp (to San Diego, AHL)
D Andy Welinski (to San Diego, AHL)
Boston Bruins (per team release)
F Ryan Fitzgerald (to Providence, AHL)
F Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (to Providence, AHL)
F Jakub Lauko (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
F Jordan Szwarz (to Providence, AHL)
D Jakub Zboril (to Providence, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)
D Dillon Heatherington (to Texas, AHL)
D Reece Scarlett (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
F Wade Megan (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)
F Kevin Rooney (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Brett Seney (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Spokane, WHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Lias Andersson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Steven Fogarty (to Hartford, AHL)
D Libor Hajek (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan Lindgren (to Hartford, AHL)
F Michael Lindqvist (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ville Meskanen (to Hartford, AHL)
D Rob O’Gara (to Hartford, AHL)
Ottawa Senators (per team Twitter)
F Filip Chlapik (to Belleville, AHL)
D Christian Wolanin (to Belleville, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)
F Tyrell Goulbourne (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Carsen Twarynski (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
Winnipeg Jets (per team release)
F Mason Appleton (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Mikhail Berdin (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Eric Comrie (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Sami Niku (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Jansen Harkins (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Skyler McKenzie (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Nelson Nogier (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Kristian Reichel (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Peter Stoykewych (to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (to Manitoba, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Maximilian Kammerer (to Hershey, AHL)
Capitals Hoping To Deal From Depth Of Defensive Prospects
The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan may have gotten more than she bargained for when talking to Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan today. The Stanley Cup-winning executive let slip some internal team building plans, a rarity in the tight-lipped NHL. MacLellan acknowledged that the Capitals currently have a surplus of defensive prospects, but took it even further, stating that he hopes to trade some away in exchange for forward prospects.
The first part of MacLellan’s statement is rather obvious and why Khurshudyan though to ask about his plans. The Capitals had struggled defensively for many years before putting together a solid unit en route to championship last season. Although it involved trading and later re-signing Brooks Orpik, the team was surprisingly able to keep the group together this year and moving forward, with seven of the nine defensemen who suited up in 2017-18 – most importantly the top six from the Cup run – returning. The top four of John Carlson, Michal Kempny, Matt Niskanen, and Dmitry Orlov are all signed through at least three more years, while Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey – both under 25 – are restricted free agents at the end of their current contracts. There isn’t much long-term opportunity for defensemen in the Capitals system, yet they are well-stocked in pro-caliber prospects. 2015 second-rounder Jonas Siegenthaler, 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, and promising righty Connor Hobbs would all be pushing for NHL play time on a majority of teams across the league. The team also used first- and second-round picks on blue liners in June, selecting Alexander Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary respectively. While it doesn’t hurt to have a redundancy of talent, it does seem as though the Capitals have too many mouths to feed on defense over the next five years or so.
As such, MacLellan revealed that he would ideally trade some of those players for forward prospects of a similar caliber. Seeing as Johansen, Alexeyev, and Fehervary are recent high picks with room to grow, Siegenthaler and Hobbs would likely be the leading candidates to be dealt away, with an even an off-chance that one of Djoos or Bowey are dealt. Forwards of equal quality to that foursome would be far more valuable to Washington, who has ample opportunity up front moving forward but far fewer players to compete. Outside of Jakub Vrana, who Khurshudyan calls the Capitals’ “last high-end forward prospect”, and Andre Burakovsky, the depth of talent among young forwards in the system is not overwhelming. Many could have good careers as bottom-six forwards, including 2018 second- and third-round picks Kody Clark and Riley Sutter, but none seem to have much in the way of great top-six upside. The Capitals also don’t plan to be in a draft position next year to land a forward with elite scoring potential. So, they’re left to trade from an area of strength in the organization to fill an area of weakness. At least that is MacLellan’s plan. The fact that it is now public knowledge could help or hinder his attempts to make it happen.
Robert Bortuzzo Suspended For Preseason Games, Season Opener
St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo faced a disciplinary hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety and the results are in. For elbowing Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny, who remains sidelined, the league announced that they have suspended Bortuzzo for the Blues’ final two preseason games and one regular season game, the team’s season opener on October 4th against the division rival Winnipeg Jets.
Player Safety called Bortuzzo’s hit a blatant case of “elbowing”, describing the situation as the following: “Bortuzzo does not keep his arm close to his chest and deliver a full body check. Instead, he raises his arm up and away from his chest and his forearm and elbow are the only parts of his body to make meaningful contact with Kempny.” They go on to detail Bortuzzo’s previous record with suspensions and fines, acknowledging that he is not a first-time offender.
Curiously, the league did not really treat him as a repeat offender who intended to harm Kempny in this situation. Although it is a three-game suspension in total, the two preseason contests are meaningless. Essentially, Bortuzzo will lose just one real game and will forfeit $6,182.80 in salary, whereas Kempny may miss several games with an expected concussion. The decision isn’t as egregious as the recent mishandling of the Max Domi sucker punch case, but is another miss by the league when it comes to policing the game.
Travis Boyd (Lower-Body Injury) Listed As Week-To-Week
- Washington center Travis Boyd is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will likely not be ready to start the season, notes Mike Vogel of the Capitals’ team site (Twitter link). That will open up a spot for Nic Dowd to take the fourth-line spot down the middle to start the campaign, filling the vacancy created by Jay Beagle when he signed in Vancouver. The two had been battling for that position with the other likely to be an extra player on the roster.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/27/18
With the season now less than a week away, teams are getting closer to finalizing their opening rosters. We’ll keep tabs of the players getting cut here.
Note that this list does not include players that were placed on waivers today. Those can be found here.
Buffalo Sabres (per team release)
F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
D Will Borgen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Victor Olofsson (to Rochester, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
F Cody Bass (released from PTO)
D Sergei Boikov (to Colorado, AHL)
G Pavel Francouz (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ty Lewis (to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (to Colorado, AHL)
Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)
D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (per team release)
RW Colin Campbell (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Marcus Crawford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Matthew Ford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Trevor Hamilton (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Axel Holmstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Dominik Shine (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D MacKenze Stewart (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Chris Terry (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Trevor Yates (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter)
F Ryan McLeod (to Mississauga, OHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release)
F Bokondji Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
F Sam Anas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Justin Kloos (to Iowa, AHL)
D Carson Soucy (to Iowa, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Bobby Butler (released from PTO)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
D John Gilmour (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Gropp (to Hartford, AHL)
F Drew Melanson (released from PTO)
San Jose Sharks (per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)
D Ryan Merkley (to Guelph, OHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
F Adam Gaudette (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)
In addition, F Brendan Gaunce will be placed on waivers on Friday.
Vegas Golden Knights (per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)
D Erik Brannstrom (to Chicago, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
D Tyler Lewington (to Hershey, AHL)
G Ilya Samsonov (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Sergei Shumakov (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)
Robert Bortuzzo To Face Player Safety Hearing
St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is in trouble again. The big blue liner has earned a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for an elbow to the head of Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny in last night’s preseason contest, the league announced. Bortuzzo is not a first-time offender either, having received a maximum fine early last season for repeatedly cross-checking the New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson while he laid on the ice. Player Safety recently came under fire for being too lenient with Montreal Canadiens forward Max Domi and, given Bortuzzo’s history, seem likely to strike the bruising defender with a regular season suspension.
The hit in question occurred in the third period of Tuesday night’s game. Bortuzzo tracked Kempny to the corner behind his own net and led with his elbow on a high hit. Kempny took the blow and fell backwards into the boards and was slow to get up (video). Player Safety should be able to define this as elbowing at the very least, if not boarding. Bortuzzo hit with intent and was fully in control of his body throughout the check.
The league could also take Kempny’s status into account when deciding Bortuzzo’s punishment. Although he was able to skate off the ice under his own power, The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that early indications are that he suffered a concussion. It is unknown as to the severity of the head injury of whether or not Kempny could miss regular season time, but Bortuzzo hitting with the intent to harm and actually inflicting harm make his chances of staying un-suspended less than spectacular. Player Safety did not specify whether this was a telephone or in person hearing, which would dictate whether the suspension may be more than five games, but odds are Bortuzzo receives enough games to keep him out for the remainder of the preseason and then tack on another game or two to begin the year.
Training Camp Cuts: 9/26/18
After a handful of preseason games last night and with another set of contests coming later today, teams have begun to ice lineups more similar to what they could look like on Opening Night. Most teams are working to trim their roster to 30 players or less for their final preseason games and those efforts will be evident today. Follow along here for all of the camp cuts across the NHL:
Boston Bruins (per team release)
F Anton Blidh (to Providence, AHL)
F Colby Cave (to Providence, AHL)
D Cody Goloubef (to Providence, AHL)
F Mark McNeill (to Providence, AHL)
G Dan Vladar (to Providence, AHL)
F Jack Studnicka (to Oshawa, OHL)
Buffalo Sabres (per team Twitter update)
G Jonas Johansson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Danny O’Regan (to Rochester, AHL)
F C.J. Smith (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (per team release; Twitter update)
F Spencer Foo (to Stockton, AHL)
F Glenn Gawdin (to Stockton, AHL)
D Oliver Kylington (to Stockton, AHL)
F Ryan Lomberg (to Stockton, AHL)
D Adam Ollas Mattsson (to Stockton, AHL)
G Tyler Parsons (to Stockton, AHL)
F Matthew Phillips (to Stockton, AHL)
F Brett Pollock (to Stockton, AHL)
F Gilbert Brule (released from PTO)
D Justin Falk (released from PTO)
G Jeff Glass (released from PTO)
F Henrik Samuelsson (released from PTO)
D Duncan Siemens (released from PTO)
F Logan Shaw (released from PTO)
D Ryan Sproul (released from PTO)
D Viktor Svedberg (released from PTO)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
D Jake Bean (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Clark Bishop (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Charlotte, AHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (per team Twitter update; second update)
F Victor Ejdsell (to Rockford, AHL)
F Alexandre Fortin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matthew Highmore (to Rockford, AHL)
D Adam Boqvist (to London, OHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
F Travis Barron (to Colorado, AHL)
F A.J. Greer (to Colorado, AHL)
G Spencer Martin (to Colorado, AHL)
D Nicholas Meloche (to Colorado, AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Michael Prapavessis (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Sam Vigneault (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Liam Foudy (to London, OHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Byron Froese (to Laval, AHL)
D Brett Lernout (to Laval, AHL)
F Michael McCarron (to Laval, AHL)
F Hunter Shinkaruk (to Laval, AHL)
D Rinat Valiev (to Laval, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per team release)
F Eeli Tolvanen (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Brian Cooper (released from PTO)
New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter update)
D Egor Yakovlev (to Binghamton, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (per team release)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (to San Jose, AHL)
F Noah Gregor (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jayden Halbgewachs (to San Jose, AHL)
F Maxim Letunov (to San Jose, AHL)
F Jonathan Martin (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jacob Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
D Keaton Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Francis Perron (to San Jose, AHL)
F Vincent Praplan (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jeremy Roy (to San Jose, AHL)
F Alex True (to San Jose, AHL)
F Manuel Wiederer (to San Jose, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to San Jose, AHL)
F Sasha Chmelevski (to Ottawa, OHL)
G Zachary Emond (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (per team Twitter update)
D Andrew Nielsen (to Toronto, AHL)
D Rasmus Sandin (to Toronto, AHL)
F Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (to Peterborough, OHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter update)
D Connor Hobbs (to Hershey, AHL)
F Juuso Ikonen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (to Hershey, AHL)
F Garret Pilon (to Hershey, AHL)
D Colby Williams (to Hershey, AHL)
Winnipeg Jets (per team Twitter update; release)
D Charles-David Beaudoin (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Simon Bourque (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Jacob Cederholm (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Luke Green (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Tye McGinn (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Matt Ustaski (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Ken Appleby (released from PTO)
Capitals Don't Intend To Terminate Devante Smith-Pelly's Contract Despite Conditioning Issues
Although Devante Smith-Pelly’s absence from Washington’s lineup so far this preseason has been conditioning-related, Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that the Capitals won’t be taking the same route that Tampa Bay did with Jake Dotchin by seeking to terminate his contract. GM Brian MacLellan noted last year that Smith-Pelly’s conditioning level wasn’t ideal in his first training camp with the team but the 26-year-old wound up being an important contributor for them in the postseason. It certainly appears that his second campaign with the team will start in a similar manner.
Capitals Sign Alexander Alexeyev To A Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract
Sept. 24: The Caps have officially announced the deal and revealed that the contract will carry an AAV of $925K.
Sept. 23: The Capitals have inked their top pick from the draft back in June, signing defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to a three-year, entry-level contract. The blueliner announced the contract himself via his Instagram page. Financial terms of the deal are not yet known.
The 18-year-old was the final pick of the first round (31st overall) of the draft following an impressive season with Red Deer of the WHL. Injuries limited him to just 45 regular season games but he still led the Rebels in scoring from the back end with 37 points (7-30-37) while collecting five more (2-3-5) in three postseason contests.
Alexeyev has already been returned to Red Deer for the upcoming season so it’s extremely unlikely that he will reach the ten NHL games required to actually start the contract in 2018-19; he can now only be recalled under emergency conditions. Accordingly, his deal will slide a year and will still have three years left on it starting in 2019-20. He’s already off to a good start to his junior campaign with a pair of goals in as many games with the Rebels.