Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for January 2021

Snapshots: Stempniak, Pettersson, Dubois

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Arizona Coyotes announced a pair of front office additions today, including one name familiar to fans. Joining the ’Yotes in the hockey operations department are Matt Perri, hired as Director of Analytics, and long-time NHLer Lee Stempniak as Hockey Data Strategist. While Perri will oversee the team’s analytics, Stempniak’s role is to translate that data into something that coaches and players can understand and use. In a capacity that is the first of its kind, Stempniak will combine his experience as a player in the NHL for 14 seasons with his Ivy League education in Economics from Dartmouth College to become a valuable communicator between analytics and those involved in the actual on-ice product. After elevating the “journeyman” role during his playing days as an effective player for ten different organizations, Stempniak may now be forging a new path for former players with a knack for analytics.

  • Looking ahead to negotiating his next contract this off-season, young Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson has switched agents, reports Patrick Johnston of The Province. Pettersson has joined CAA Sports and is now represented by super-agent Pat Brisson. Not only does Brisson’s track record lend some leverage to Pettersson’s side, but he is also the agent for Quinn Hughes, who will also be a crucial RFA for Vancouver this summer. Brisson will undoubtedly tie the two contracts together and ensure that both are well-compensated for a long time. In fact, the main beneficiary might actually be Hughes, who as a 10.2(c) free agent lacks the leverage of an offer sheet possibility, but gains the leverage of being linked to Pettersson. The two are the clear leaders of the Canucks and the club was unlikely to play hardball anyhow, but now Pettersson and Hughes are in even better shape this off-season (and so too will be Brisson).
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets and as such we may never get an answer as to why he was unhappy being a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois requested a trade out of Columbus, but never gave any of his teammates, coaches, or management a valid explanation, something that head coach John Tortorella publicly resented even before Dubois’ departure. While some speculated that this past off-season’s contract talks were the cause, GM Jarmo Kekalainen refuted that idea on TSN 1050 today, again begging the question of what drove Dubois out of town:

    That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that, because that’s not true… There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides…Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process… It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table… I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.

Minor Transactions: 01/25/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL season is still less than two weeks old with teams continuing to work out the kinks and find the right balance in their lineups. Down in the AHL, training camps are underway and the league is quickly approaching the start of the regular season. At the junior level, plans are still being made to get seasons re-started, and in the QMJHL in particular the trade deadline arrived all the same. Overseas, most leagues have been playing for quite some time and teams are already making preparations for the postseason, some of which begin as early as March. Everyone is currently making moves and several are notable to NHL fans without falling neatly into “taxi squad management”. Keep up with those transactions here:

  • The Bakersfield Condors, AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, have finalized their training camp roster ahead of their  season opener next Friday, February 5. In announcing the group, the team revealed a pair of late veteran additions. Defenseman Kevin Gravel, who played for the Oilers and did a brief stint in Bakersfield in 2018-19, has signed a one-year AHL contract. Gravel brings over 100 NHL games, including at least three in each of the past five season, to the Condors. Goaltender Angus Redmond, who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Anaheim Ducks this off-season, will join the team in camp on a PTO. Redmond’s performance through his first three pro seasons, spent almost exclusively in the ECHL, has been unspectacular, but he is a former NCAA standout that had his best season to date last year.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack’s training camp roster also included some surprise names. In addition to the usual names – New York Rangers prospects, signed and unsigned, and AHL contract holdovers from last season – Hartford will also take a look at forward Nolan Vesey and defenseman Jordan Sambrook. Vesey, the younger brother of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jimmy Vesey, became a UFA this off-season when the Edmonton Oilers declined to extend a qualifying offer. Vesey has split the past two seasons between the AHL and ECHL and is still looking to find his footing in the pros after a successful collegiate career. Sambrook, a former Detroit Red Wings prospect and OHL standout, spent last season in the USports ranks at Brock University but is now trying to get back on track and break into the pros.
  • The QMJHL’s Val d’Ors Foreurs continue to pile up talent this season. After trading for reigning Defenseman of the Year Jordan Spence earlier this month, the team has now added a pair of prominent NHL prospects in a deal with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Forward Samuel Poulin, a 2019 first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Sherbrooke captain, and defenseman Xavier Bernard, a 2018 New Jersey Devils selection, are headed to the Foreurs. In return, the Phoenix net a first-, second-, two third-, and sixth-round picks, including two 2021 selections.
  • Sherbrooke also added an exciting young piece to replace their outgoing veterans. The Phoenix traded first-round picks in 2021, 2022, and 2023 as well as a 2022 second-rounder to the Saint John Sea Dogs for forward Joshua Roy. Roy, a first-round hopeful in the 2021 NHL Draft, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 QMJHL Draft and recorded 17 points in his first 15 games earlier this season.
  • Colorado Avalanche prospect Alex Beaucage has also been traded in the “Q”, dealt by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to the Victoriaville Tigres. The 2019 third-round pick of the Avs had 14 goals and 20 points through 14 games to begin this season. The Huskies land a 2022 first-round pick and 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for the talented scorer.
  • Helge Grans, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings last year, will take at least one more season to develop at home in Sweden. The SHL’s Malmo Redhawks have announced a one-year contract extension with Grans to keep him with the club through 2021-22, featuring an interview with the young defenseman who appreciates how he has developed with the team. A valuable combination of size and skill on the blue line, Grans is yet another prospect that Kings fans have to look forward to.
  • After playing on a temporary contract to begin his tenure with the team, NHL veteran Vladimir Sobotka has officially earned a full-year contract with Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. The deal was well-earned, too; Sobotka’s 24 points in 25 games makes him the second-best per-game scorer on the team, behind only captain and former Florida Panther Michal Repik. While Sobotka, 33, clearly has plenty of game left in him, it remains to be seen if he will attempt a return to the NHL next season.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/25/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The Philadelphia Flyers are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Jesper Fast
Chicago – Adam Boqvist*, Alex DeBrincat*
Dallas – Blake Comeau
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Jon Merrill, Filip Zadina
New Jersey – Jesper Bratt, Mackenzie Blackwood
Tampa Bay –  Curtis McElhinney
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Tucker Poolman, Pierre-Luc Dubois

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Jack Roslovic, Columbus Blue Jackets

The big additions today are the two Blackhawks players, who would be huge losses for the team moving forward. Brandon Cain of NHL.com tweets that Boqvist currently lives with DeBrincat, which of course would put them in close proximity to each other away from the rink. Both players took part in yesterday’s afternoon game against Detroit.

Also of note, Roslovic is already off the Blue Jackets list. The recently acquired forward was already in Columbus when the team traded for him and was at practice with the team today, working in on the third line. He is not expected to play tomorrow.

*denotes new addition

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Pavel Dorofeyev

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After terminating his contract in the KHL last week, Pavel Dorofeyev is coming to Vegas. The third-round pick signed his entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights and has been assigned to the Henderson Silver Knights for their upcoming season.

Dorofeyev, 20, was selected 79th overall in 2019 after making it all the way up to the KHL as a teenager. Though he didn’t score much when he got there, just being a regular at that age was impressive enough. After attending the Golden Knights development camp, he returned to Russia to once again play on a regular basis with Magnitogorsk Mettalurg, scoring four goals and seven points in 48 games. That return came with a contract extension, part of the reason why Dorofeyev fell down the draft board in the first place—some had even considered him a late first-round talent, but it wasn’t at all clear when he would come to North America.

Now, after a July 2020 trade took him from Magnitogorsk to Chelyabinsk and a season where he has been playing in the VHL (the KHL’s minor league), Vegas’ gambit pays off. He’ll now immediately become one of the players to watch for Henderson, armed with incredible puck skills and top-end skating ability. That’s not to say he’s ready to step in and be a contributor in the NHL, but having full control of his development for the next three years at a minimum is a clear with for the Golden Knights.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/25/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • After a loss last night, the Calgary Flames have moved Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad. The team continues to do this on off days to accrue cap space, but will eventually need to put Ryan through waivers again. After suiting up last night, the 34-year-old center has now played four games on the season; once he plays ten, he’ll have to clear again to go back to the taxi squad.
  • The New Jersey Devils have sent Nolan Foote from the taxi squad to the minor leagues, giving the young forward a chance to compete for an AHL role. The 20-year-old has still yet to make his professional debut, spending last season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.
  • After Connor Ingram took a leave to enter the player assistance program, the Nashville Predators recalled Kasimir Kaskisuo to serve as the team’s taxi squad goaltender. The move leaves them awfully thin at the position, with Devin Cooley (he of six career professional games) the only other goaltender in the minor leagues on an NHL contract. Should the Predators face any injury trouble to roster options Juuse Saros or Pekka Rinne, they could quickly see the bottom of their depth chart.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have moved Jonas Johansson to the taxi squad, a good indication that Carter Hutton is ready to return from his minor injury. The team has also moved Rasmus Asplund and Dustin Tokarski off the taxi squad, sending them to the Rochester Americans for the time being.

This page will be updated throughout the day as moves are officially announced. 

NHL Suspends John Chayka For Rest Of 2021

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka has been suspended through the end of 2021 for his actions last summer according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Chayka “engaged in conduct detrimental to the league, breached his obligation to the club and was properly terminated by the club” when he tried to resign after an offer was made by another organization (thought to be the New Jersey Devils’ parent company, which also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and Crystal Palace FC). Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports that the league will not be commenting or releasing any information on the ruling. Darren Dreger of TSN clarifies that the suspension means that Chayka cannot be involved in any NHL business until 2022.

In July, the Coyotes released a statement saying the Chayka had “quit as the General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of the Arizona Coyotes” but the executive blamed a “situation created by ownership.” At the time, Chayka was less than a year removed from a contract extension with the team. Coyotes ownership filed a grievance with the league, which has now been ruled on.

The ugly, public exit came just before the team entered the playoff bubble, where they still managed to defeat the Nashville Predators in the qualification round only to be eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche. The team hired Bill Armstrong as their new GM in September and have made sweeping changes to the front office, particularly in the scouting department that was penalized by the league for prospect testing violations.

Chayka, who is still just 31, will now have to wait out his suspension if he intends on having anything to do with the NHL again.

Evan Rodrigues Out “Longer-Term”

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Injuries are starting to pile up once again for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had already lost several defensemen from the starting lineup. Today, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Evan Rodrigues would be out “longer-term with a lower-body injury.” Rodrigues collided with New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil on Sunday night, and appeared to injure his knee in the process.

The Penguins’ injured reserve already includes Zach Trotman, Zach Aston-Reese, and Mike Matheson, while Juuso Riikola and Marcus Pettersson could be moved there at any point while they deal with their own injuries. With Rodrigues also now out long-term, the team’s depth is being severely tested through the first part of the season.

For the most part, the Penguins have been able to navigate the injuries and keep their heads above water in the East Division. They sit at 4-2 on the season and are on a four-game winning streak, but still manage to have a negative goal differential. Jack Roslovic, one player they were interested in trading for, has now been moved to his hometown team in Columbus, meaning at least one name is off their radar. One option that could be enticing is Tyler Ennis, who was placed on waivers today by the Edmonton Oilers. The Penguins could potentially fit in his $1MM cap hit and it would give them another veteran to slot somewhere into the lineup.

Otherwise, the team’s reserves will get a chance. The taxi squad currently includes Drew O’Connor and Sam Lafferty, the latter having played 50 games for the team last season.

Mitchell Stephens Out Indefinitely

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Tampa Bay Lightning relayed some disappointing news today, announcing that Mitchell Stephens will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Stephens got tangled up with Columbus Blue Jackets defender David Savard on Saturday, appearing to have his ankle trapped underneath both their falling bodies. The team also announced that Erik Cernak, who fell awkwardly in the same game, is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Stephens, 23, became a semi-regular for the Lightning last season, playing in 38 games and recording six points. He had embraced his fourth-line center role, winning a huge portion of his faceoffs and generally limiting the damage against, even if he wasn’t producing much himself. With his absence, the team will have to figure out another option for that role, one that doesn’t really stand out among the team’s extra forwards. Perhaps Gemel Smith will get a chance to center that fourth unit, or the team could move someone off the wing and into the middle.

A team like the Lightning can certainly get by without Stephens, but these injuries to depth players can come back in a big way should one of the team’s more prominent players go down. Without a clear timeline, the Lightning will just have to hope for the best in Stephens’ case.

Scott Darling Signs AHL PTO

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Scott Darling is still working hard to find a job this season, this time inking a professional tryout agreement with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Darling had previously been in Florida Panthers training camp on an NHL PTO but was released from it just before the season began.

Darling, 32, spent last season playing in Austria after being bought out of his NHL contract, but is back in North America competing to try and get his career back on track. Once one of the most reliable backup goaltenders in the league, he posted a 39-17-9 record over three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks between 2014-17. After getting a chance to start in Carolina, everything seemed to crumble and Darling was out of the league in less than two seasons.

Perhaps returning to Rockford, where he first impressed the Blackhawks enough to call him up, will be exactly what the veteran goaltender needs to get things moving in the right direction. Darling posted a .927 save percentage in 26 appearances for the IceHogs in 2014-15.

Connor Ingram Enters Player Assistance Program

at CDT | by 4 Comments

One of the Nashville Predators’ depth goaltenders will not be with the team for the immediate future as Connor Ingram will be voluntarily taking part in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

No other comment has been made from the league or the Predators. The program, which is a confidential service provided by the league and union to help players and their families with mental health, substance abuse, and other issues, has seen several players take leaves over the last few seasons, most publicly Bobby Ryan, then of the Ottawa Senators.

Ingram, 23, was a star for the Milwaukee Admirals last season, posting a .933 save percentage in 33 appearances. He signed a new three-year contract with the Predators last March and looked like the team’s third-string option heading into this season. It is not immediately clear how long Ingram will be away from the organization.

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

scroll to top