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College Notes: Galajda, Pelton-Byce, Becker

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When the Ivy League announced that they would not allow winter sports competition this year, college hockey lost out on one its best goaltenders and Matthew Galajda lost out on his fourth and final season at Cornell University. As Ivy League schools do not permit graduate student-athletes, the senior netminder knew he would have to depart Cornell to continue his NCAA career. This worked out to the benefit of Notre Dame University though, who announced today that Galajda has decided to join the Fighting Irish next season. While a year away from the game has quieted the buzz around Galajda’s game, there is no arguing that he has been one of the NCAA’s very best goaltenders in recent years. In three seasons at Cornell, Galadja was consistently outstanding. The 23-year-old has a stunning .930 save percentage and 1.60 GAA in his NCAA career to go along with a 60-15-9 record. With those numbers, Galajda will likely take on a workhorse role for Notre Dame and should be an upgrade to the departing Dylan St. Cyr. If the 2019-20 Mike Richter Award finalist can return to that same level of play after a year off and facing a more difficult Big Ten schedule, he will have plenty of NHL suitors this time next year.

  • Ty Pelton-Byce of the University of Wisconsin was expected to be one of the top college free agents available to NHL teams this spring, but the Winnipeg Jets have been able to secure the talented forward on a minor league deal. The Jets’ affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, have announced that Pelton-Byce has signed an AHL contract for the 2021-22 season and will join the club on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the year. The 23-year-old forward, who split his college career between the Badgers and the Harvard Crimson, is coming off a career year in which he recorded 31 points in 24 games. He helped to lead Wisconsin to the Big Ten regular season title and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year. With good size and a well-developed game, Pelton-Byce should adjust well to the pro game and could be pushing for an NHL deal in no time.
  • It was expected that Boston Bruins prospect Jack Becker would return to school for a somewhat unprecedented fifth season of college hockey and now the move is official. Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports that Becker has committed as a graduate transfer to Arizona State University. The Sun Devils add an experienced two-way forward who captained the University of Michigan this season and has 124 NCAA games under his belt. Whether Becker will try to turn pro – and whether the Bruins will still want him – after a fifth college season remains to be seen. The 2015 draft pick will turn 25 years old before the 2022-23 season begins.

Canadian Government Expected To Approve 7-Day Quarantine

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March 26: Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press reports that the 14-day quarantine period has been waived “under national interest grounds” and players coming from U.S. clubs ahead of the deadline will now be required to quarantine for just seven days. The quarantine change also applies to players called up from AHL teams in the U.S.

March 25: One of the biggest hurdles facing the seven Canadian NHL teams in the North Division when it came to the trade deadline next month was the two-week quarantine period any player coming from a U.S.-based team would need to go through. The player would need to complete travel to the new club north of the border, which is a little trickier these days anyway, and then wait 14 days to even join the team in practice. Missing that much time and then jumping back into NHL action could potentially lead to injury, meaning a “ramp-up” phase might also be required after the quarantine but before he actually plays.

With that much waiting around, trading for a player on April 12 didn’t even seem worth it if they were on an expiring contract. Even further, it’s hard to convince a player to waive a no-trade clause just to quarantine in a hotel room for two weeks. It was limiting the rental market teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets, or at least pushing them to get deals done earlier. Now, perhaps they can take a little more time.

David Cochrane of CBC is reporting that the Canadian government will soon approve a seven-day quarantine period for NHL players traded from American teams to Canadian teams. The change will come with added testing for those athletes, but according to Cochrane, has been approved by every province with NHL teams.

If approved, this would be a huge development not only for the Canadian teams but also those looking to sell at the trade deadline. Suddenly the Buffalo Sabres, for instance, have a few more teams that could push hard for rentals like Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, or Brandon Montour, knowing they could have them on the ice in just over a week.

Obviously, as with any other governmental decisions these days, until it is officially instituted this news should not be considered a lock. Things can change at any moment and public pushback could divert the plan. But for weeks now, if not months, Canadian teams have been pushing to try and get the quarantine period reduced to seven days. It seems that pressure has paid off.

Anton Forsberg Claimed By Ottawa Senators

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For the third time this season, Anton Forsberg has been claimed off waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This time he is headed to the Ottawa Senators where the team is dealing with injuries to both Matt Murray and Marcus Hogberg. Forsberg is coming from the Winnipeg Jets, meaning that while he will have to face some COVID protocols, he won’t have to deal with the full two-week quarantine reserved for players coming to Canada from the U.S.

The 28-year-old Forsberg hasn’t actually played a single minute of action this season, despite now being on his fourth team. Originally signing a one-year, $700K contract with the Edmonton Oilers in October, he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes at the start of the season. Two days later, after Alex Nedeljkovic cleared waivers, Forsberg was back on the wire. His NHL experience once again landed him a claim, this tie from the Jets, who then needed to wait for him to quarantine (though, he never actually did leave Canada during his short stop with the Hurricanes). He’s been with the Jets since the middle of January but failed to play in a single game for the team.

That opportunity may come with the Senators, who have been forced to go with Joey Daccord for the last several games. The 24-year-old rookie won his first NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after Murray suffered an injury in warmup, but has otherwise struggled to keep the puck out of the net. In seven appearances, Daccord is 1-3-1 with an .896 save percentage.

There’s no guarantee that Forsberg would fair better than that in Ottawa, but at least he comes with some experience at the NHL level. In 48 career games he has posted a .901 save percentage and actually appeared in 35 games during the 2017-18 season.

Several Players Placed On Waivers

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March 17: Vesey and Forsberg were claimed by the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators respectively, but both Byron and Grigorenko have cleared. The latter two can now be placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.

March 16: Several players have been placed on waivers today, including Paul Byron of the Montreal Canadiens. Byron is joined by Jimmy Vesey of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anton Forsberg of the Winnipeg Jets, and Mikhail Grigorenko of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Byron has already experienced this once this season, clearing waivers a month ago. Since then he had played more than ten games, meaning if the Canadiens want to place him on the taxi squad he’ll have to clear again. It’s been a disastrous two seasons for the 31-year-old forward, with just 17 points since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That includes just two goals in 27 games this season, a far cry from the player who was one of the most effective even-strength scorers in the league just a few years ago. With the development of other younger players on the Montreal roster, Byron finds himself either buried in the lineup or on the sidelines watching. His $3.4MM cap hit (through 2022-23) certainly makes him a tough target to claim.

Vesey hasn’t seen waivers before, but it doesn’t come as much of a surprise at this point. The 27-year-old forward has seven points in 30 games for the Maple Leafs and has been relegated to the fourth line in recent weeks. He has only cracked the 10-minute mark three times in his last ten games and played just 4:41 a few nights ago. With the Maple Leafs expecting Wayne Simmonds back soon and facing a delicate cap situation, Vesey’s time has come to be moved to the taxi squad.

Forsberg was already claimed off waivers twice this season, first by the Carolina Hurricanes and then by the Jets just a few days later. Now he faces another round that could change his destination as teams are still struggling to find NHL experience in net. Injuries all across the league make goaltenders like Forsberg valuable, if only because he could enter an NHL game in a pinch. It’s not like that’s actually happened this season though, through the first two months Forsberg hasn’t played a single game.

Grigorenko is an interesting name, after signing a one-year $1.2MM deal with the Blue Jackets as a return to the NHL. The 12th overall pick in 2012, Grigorenko left the NHL in 2017 to return to Russia and play in the KHL. After developing his game further there, his return was supposed to be a strong addition for Columbus. Unfortunately, with just seven points in 18 games and limited minutes, it hasn’t really worked out. Perhaps another team believes they can get the best out of him down the stretch, but a return to the KHL seems possible after this season concludes.

Bruins, Jets Among Teams Interested In Mattias Ekholm

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One of the top prizes of the trade deadline – if he ultimately gets dealt – is Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm.  A top-four blueliner is hard to come by at this time of year, especially one that’s on an affordable contract for next season.  Accordingly, there will be no shortage of suitors, even in a salary cap environment where most contenders can’t afford to add anyone of consequence without offsetting money.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Jets and Bruins are among the teams that are interested in Ekholm’s services.

The 30-year-old has been a minutes-eater for several seasons now, logging more than 23 per night over each of the last four seasons, a number that hasn’t dipped much this year as Ekholm is at 22:18 per game in 2020-21.  He’s playing at a 33-point pace offensively, a mark that he has reached in four of the last five seasons as well.  Often matched against top lines from other teams, he’s someone that can conceivably slot onto the top pairing which will have many contenders intrigued.

The easy parallel to draw in terms of what the cost will be is Toronto’s acquisition of Jake Muzzin two years ago.  Muzzin’s contract situation was similar to Ekholm’s deal ($3.75MM this season and next before being UFA-eligible) and Friedman notes that Nashville is using Muzzin’s return as a template for these talks.  That would include a first-round pick plus a pair of quality prospects.

There is definitely a case to be made for both Boston and Winnipeg to pay that price.  The Bruins never replaced Torey Krug who left for St. Louis in free agency last summer which has left a vacancy in their top-four.  Their younger blueliners have held their own in that role but if they have eyes on contending, they’d be in better shape with a proven veteran in that spot.  Jarred Tinordi, a recent waiver claim to cover for some recent injuries, suffered an upper-body injury tonight against Pittsburgh as well.

As for the Jets, defense has been a considerable weakness for them the last couple of years with the exodus of talent they’ve had.  Two years ago, Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot were all fixtures on their back end but all four are gone now with Neal Pionk being the only impact blueliner added since then.  Ekholm would form a nice one-two punch on the left side with Josh Morrissey and give that unit some stability.  Of course, there is the quarantine period to contend with but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff indicated yesterday that it’s not a concern for him; they’ve already made one big move this season with that in place as it is.

Ekholm has made it known that his preference is to remain in Nashville but as Friedman puts it, the veteran may be the ‘belle of the trading ball’ at the moment.  If that’s the case, GM David Poile may eventually be offered an offer that’s too good to pass up on between now and next month’s trade deadline which means the defenseman may not get his wish.

Snapshots: Jets, Americans, Kallionkieli

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The Winnipeg Jets are in action tonight against the Montreal Canadiens after going 7-2-1 in their last 10, climbing all the way to second in the North Division. One might assume that the team is looking to supplement their imposing roster in a trade and do it soon, given the two-week quarantine any newcomer will require if he comes from a U.S.-based team.

Speaking with reporters including Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff explained that he is willing to make another deal to improve the club if the fit is right, regardless of COVID protocols and the wait. Mattias Ekholm has been linked to the Jets in recent days, but Cheveldayoff wouldn’t comment on any specifics.

  • The Rochester Americans are still not playing thanks to at least one positive coronavirus test and have announced a new postponement for this week. The team’s Wednesday game against the Syracuse Crunch has been postponed with no current makeup date, while Saturday’s game that was already pushed will now be played on May 3. The Americans players continue to be unavailable for the Buffalo Sabres as they stay in the protocol.
  • The Henderson Silver Knights have a new player to use after Marcus Kallionkielli was reassigned from Finland to the AHL today. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2019 and spent part of last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. In nine games with HIFK’s junior squad in Finland this season, he recorded five points.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Islanders, Stastny, Yamamoto

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to trade away center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who demanded a trade. Their return was very good in Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, however, neither player fulfilled the team’s biggest hole — the one that Dubois left — the No. 1 center. And now, the Blue Jackets are looking for a way to fill that hole, which could be challenging, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required).

The team has a history of looking for a No. 1 center in the past as they struggled to find a top center to put next to Rick Nash. Not much has changed as the team has looked like they found their answer in Ryan Johansen and eventually Dubois. However, with Dubois gone and Max Domi playing on the wing at the moment, there again is quite a hole in the top of their lineup. However, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he’s looking outside the organization for help.

“We’ll keep searching and doing our job and building a team. We have some very good potential center ice men growing into that role within our team. But we’re also going to look for ways to strengthen that position from the outside.”

  • The New York Islanders are looking for some help for their third line, according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. The team is looking for a left wing they can pair with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom. However, the problem for New York and general manager Lou Lamoriello is that New York has little to no cap space to work with. So, in order to acquire that forward, the team will have to move out equal salary which will be challenging. Up until now, there has been no interest in Leo Komarov. According to Pagnotta, there had been some discussion of swapping Komarov for Brett Connolly, but talks stalled since Florida wasn’t willing to retain some of Connolly’s salary to make the money fit.
  • When asked in his most recent mailbag whether the Winnipeg Jets should consider trading Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe was quick to answer ’no.’ Stastny, who has moved to the wing and suddenly finds himself next to Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, has played quite well in that role. With his quiet leadership and stability on the team, Wiebe believes the team will attempt to sign Stastny to a one-year extension to bring him back next year at a cheaper cost rather than trade him away.
  • Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto has been fined $3,854 by the Department of Player Safety for tripping Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. The fine is the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. The incident (video here) occurred at 14:12 of the first period when Yamamoto pulled the legs out from underneath Andersson in front of the Flames net. He was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping.

North Division Champion May Need To Adopt U.S. Home For Semis, Cup Final

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While progress is being made against the spread of the Coronavirus daily, there are still concerns about the restrictions that may still be in place even months from now. Speaking on TSN’s “Insider Trading” on Thursday night, Pierre LeBrun expressed that there remain worries that the Canadian borders will still be closed in June. By that time, the NHL regular season will be over and the four North Division playoff teams will have battled each other and produced a winner. At that point, the Canadian team can no longer be separated from their American counterparts as they have been during the regular season. The team will need to play on the road in the U.S. as well as host an American team in the semifinal round as well as possibly in the Stanley Cup Final. If crossing the Canadian border still requires a 14-day quarantine, or really any multi-day quarantine, by that time then a playoff series cannot occur in Canada.

Of course, given the progress being made LeBrun hopes that Canada will have loosened its border policies over the next three months. Even if the COVID climate in Canada has improved to the point that the national and provincial governments are willing to make an exception and put together specific protocol for NHL travel, that would work. Otherwise, the only alternative solution that LeBrun has heard to this point would see the Canadian winner relocate to the nearest American city that would be a suitable home. While not an ideal option for the team or its fans, this would allow the series to occur normally. Selecting a close city would also require the least amount of travel for the Canadians and would make the logistics of setting up a temporary home easier. LeBrun notes that the league would likely have the cities for selected for each of the four North Division finalists when the postseason begins so to allow time to set up their new home.

While LeBrun offered Buffalo as the new location for the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, Minneapolis for the current second-place Winnipeg Jets, and an early introduction to the NHL for the city of Seattle in the event of an epic comeback for the Vancouver Canucks this season, that is where the easy relocations end. The closest American city to the Montreal Canadiens is Boston, an unlikely destination not only due to the age-old rivalry but also because the Bruins are a potential finalist and even opponent. Would Montreal also call Buffalo home? They could also move to a current or former AHL city like Portland, Manchester, Albany, Utica, or Syracuse. The closest potential home may even be Burlington, Vermont, home of of the University of Vermont. Montreal has options, albeit not without work to do. However, the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are more difficult. The Alberta cities are not “close” to any American NHL or AHL cities. Seattle could be the best bet for these teams as well, if the arena is ready to go. However, Grand Forks, North Dakota, home to the University of North Dakota, made a strong pitch to the NHL to be a hub city for last season’s re-start and could make a similar offer to house the Oilers or Flames (or the neighboring Jets). Either way, the Alberta teams would be traveling quite far from home to close out the postseason. The plan would work, but surely the league and its Canadian contingent are hoping it won’t come to that when the time arrives in June.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Winnipeg Jets

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We’ve made it past the holiday season but there is still plenty to be thankful for. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this season comes with a bit of a change. Typically at this time of the calendar year, the trade deadline is fast approaching but now, we’re only at the one-quarter mark.  Still, we’ll analyze what they’re happy about so far and what they can be hoping for in the months to come.

What are the Jets most thankful for?

For years, Winnipeg has been looking to improve their depth down the middle which resulted in several trades for rental players including adding Paul Stastny for the second time last fall.  With Mark Scheifele established as a legitimate number one center, Stastny gave them a bit of insurance with Bryan Little out for the season.  That’s good but not great.

That changed with last month’s acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois from Columbus.  Dubois, who was the top pivot with the Blue Jackets, gives Winnipeg a second high-quality option down the middle.  Perhaps more importantly, Dubois is team-controllable for three more years which lines him up with Scheifele.  There are some strong one-two center punches in the North Division and Winnipeg now has one of them and will have them in place for a while yet once Dubois moves to the middle (he has started on the wing for the time being).

Who are the Jets most thankful for?

Connor Hellebuyck.  Last year’s Vezina-winning goaltender hasn’t had the best of defenses playing in front of him (more on that shortly) and with some inconsistent performances from his backups, he has had to log a heavy workload, leading all netminders in games played in two of the last three seasons and facing the most shots in each of the last two years.  Despite that, Hellebuyck has been able to provide the Jets with steady, above-average goaltending on a regular basis for a reasonable price; his $6.167MM AAV is eighth in the league and is only about $1MM higher than the median price tag among starters.  He’s still signed for three more years after this one so Winnipeg doesn’t have to worry about their goaltending anytime soon.

What would the Jets be even more thankful for?

One of their young defensemen stepping into a top-four role.  Josh Morrissey is a capable core blueliner and Neal Pionk has thrived since coming over from the Jacob Trouba trade.  After that, the depth starts to go down in a hurry.  Dylan DeMelo is a capable third-pairing option which is nice to have but right now, Derek Forbort is logging more than 21 minutes a night just one season removed from being limited to all of 20 games, most of which were on the third pairing.  He’s a serviceable blueliner but in an ideal world, he’s not playing anywhere near that much.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg has several young defenders with some upside in Tucker Poolman, Sami Niku, Logan Stanley, and Ville Heinola that have all seen NHL action this season.  The latter two were both first-round selections and are key cogs of their back end of the future but haven’t shown that they’re ready yet for a top-four spot; Heinola also has contract considerations in terms of extending team control to factor in.  Unless they’re able to add someone via trade over the next six weeks, the improvement is going to have to come from within.  One of these four stepping up would give them a huge boost heading into the playoff push.

What should be on the Jets’ wish list?

Let’s stick with the defense.  A top-four blueliner is a piece that would really elevate the Jets to another level for the stretch run.  They do have some LTIR space at their disposal – about $2.8MM worth – and with Little out for the year, they can safely spend without having to plan about getting into compliance.  It’s not a situation where it will increase in value on a daily basis like regular cap room so if GM Kevin Cheveldayoff finds the right fit, he can pull the trigger sooner than later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Eichel/Krueger, Sutter, Wheeler, Grzelcyk

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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger isn’t having a good week. The team has lost three straight, including a 3-0 shutout loss to Philadelphia Sunday. When star Jack Eichel went down with an injury and was expected to miss time earlier this week, Krueger told the press, including The Athletic’s John Vogl that Eichel got hurt during warm-ups on Thursday and his injury was not related to the fact that he missed the morning skate that day.

Eichel, who played Sunday, said after Sunday’s game that the injury didn’t happen in warm-ups like Krueger said. Eichel said the injury occurred during Tuesday’s game against New Jersey, contradicting Krueger’s statement three days earlier.

When Vogl asked about his job status, Krueger said he wasn’t worried.

“Absolutely not, John,” said Krueger. “If you do, I don’t know. But I’m not wired that way, just so you know. I’m wired to work on solutions and take responsibility, and I do both right now.”

Not a good sign in Buffalo.

  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter is having a solid season in the final year of his five-year, $21.9MM contract. The 32-year-old has scored six goals in 24 games so far this year. Despite being a logical trade chip for the upcoming trade deadline on April 12th, Sutter says he wants to stay with the Canucks past this year, according to The Province’s Ben Kuzma. “You know when your contract is up there’s always going to be speculation and talk,” he said. “For me, I’m just focused on this group and this team. I want to be here and this is where I want to stay. Really no secrets there from me.”
  • Just because the Winnipeg Jets asked defenseman Toby Enstrom to waive his no-movement clause so the team could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie in the 2017 Vegas expansion draft, don’t expect Winnipeg to do the same with Blake Wheeler this year for the upcoming Seattle expansion draft. The Athletic’s Murat Ates (subscription required) writes that Wheeler would fit the profile of someone the Seattle Kraken would pass on if he were left exposed, considering he’s 35, has three more years at $8.25MM and is no longer a dominant top-line forward (although still a solid top-six player). The scribe notes that the Jets would never ask him to waive his no-movement clause. Winnipeg intends to use Wheeler as well as Mark Scheifele as examples to other Jets’ players that the team will stick with their stars for their entire career.
  • Joe Haggerty of BostonHockeyNow writes the Boston Bruins could see the return of top-four defenseman Matt Grzelcyk soon. The 27-year-old blueliner practiced Saturday, but wasn’t ready to go Sunday against the Rangers. Grzelcyk has been out with a lower-body injury and has missed all but two games since Jan. 21. He has tried to come back twice when he obviously wasn’t ready. Grzelcyk has only appeared in six games this year.

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