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Ryan Reaves Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has decided on a two-game suspension for Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves. The suspension comes after Reaves was given a match penalty last night for his actions in the third period, kneeling on the head of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that this incident is retaliation for an earlier hit that Graves threw on Golden Knights’ forward Mattias Janmark, which knocked Janmark from the game. Reaves and the Golden Knights acknowledge that, angered by the earlier hit, he takes this opportunity to send a message to Graves as payback. And while some of the actions taken by Reaves could be sufficiently penalized by the on-ice officials, the totally of Reaves’ actions, combined with the game situation and the retribution involved in the play, necessitates supplementary discipline. 

Reaves has been suspended twice before, with the latest coming in late-2020. He has also earned two fines, meaning there were four previous incidents considered for this discipline. Graves did not suffer a serious injury on the play.

With the Golden Knights down after game one in the series, they’ll have to find someone else to add the physicality that Reaves brings. He’ll miss the next two while serving this latest ban.

Coaching Notes: Sullivan, Ducks, Lambert

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins went down in the first round, losing to the New York Islanders after a brutal game six by Tristan Jarry, the question emerged whether head coach Mike Sullivan would be back. It’s now been four straight early exits for the Penguins since their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, but Sullivan isn’t going anywhere just yet.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Sullivan will be back behind the bench next season and is a likely candidate to lead the U.S. Olympic team next year. Sullivan still has three years left on his contract, but will have to perform for his new president and GM.

  • The Anaheim Ducks will also bring back their head coach next season, confirming earlier this month that Dallas Eakins is staying. That doesn’t mean there won’t be change though, as Friedman notes that the Ducks are looking to mix up their assistant coaches.
  • One name that continues to come up in regards to coaching searches is Lane Lambert of the New York Islanders, including for the Arizona Coyotes according to Friedman. Lambert is off-limits for as long as the Islanders continue to battle in the postseason, meaning if a team is really interested in interviewing him they’ll have to put their search on hold.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/31/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in the COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:

Colorado – Jayson Megna
Vegas – Brayden McNabb

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: None

Still no changes today, meaning McNabb is still unavailable to the Golden Knights. The defenseman has now been on the list for six days. The team has today and tomorrow off before resuming their series against the Avalanche, but it is unclear if McNabb will be removed by game two.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Mason Primeau

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There’s another Primeau on the way. The Vegas Golden Knights have signed Mason Primeau to a three-year, entry-level contract that will begin in 2021-22. The young forward split the season playing for the Henderson Silver Knights and Fort Wayne Komets, waiting for the OHL to return to action.

Primeau, 19, was the Golden Knights’ fifth-round pick in 2019 and would have become an unrestricted free agent if not signed by tomorrow’s deadline. He comes from a very established hockey family as the son of Wayne Primeau, nephew of Keith Primeau, and cousin of Cayden Primeau.

Like his dad and uncle, Primeau is a big, physical center that uses a 6’6″ frame to protect the puck or remove it from a defender. While he has never really broken out offensively with a career-high of just 33 points in the OHL, his physicality, defensive ability, pedigree, and leadership still make him an interesting prospect to follow. In ten games for the Silver Knights this season, he registered three points but is still looking for his first goal at that level.

Because he will turn 20 later this summer, Primeau will not be forced back to the OHL next season and can stay with the Silver Knights for 2021-22.

Prospect Notes: Plasek, Walli Walterholm, Westerlund

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There are more than two dozen prospects that will see their draft rights expire if not signed by tomorrow afternoon, but for some of them the decision is already made. The Vancouver Canucks for instance are expected to sign Karel Plasek according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Drance notes that it’s Plasek’s hockey IQ that the team believes in and wants him to join their AHL team in Abbotsford next season.

The 20-year-old forward had six goals and ten points in 44 games with Brno Kometa this season and is two years removed from going 175th overall in the 2019 draft.

  • Not everyone is signing though, as Craig Morgan of AZ Hockey Now reports that Erik Walli Walterholm will not ink a deal with the Arizona Coyotes. Walli Walterholm was a seventh-round pick in 2017 and has experience at the SHL level, but played this season in the Swedish second tier. Though he scored just 14 points during the regular season, the 22-year-old forward turned things around in the playoffs, recording nine points in 15 games for Timra.
  • Perhaps more significant is the news on teammate Filip Westerlund, the Coyotes’ second-round pick, 44th overall in 2017. Morgan reports that he is also not expected to sign, making him a free agent. The 22-year-old defenseman had 21 points in 52 games during the regular season and was once regarded as a top prospect, even ranked 15th among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting in 2017. Of the nine players selected by the Coyotes that year, only two—Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Mackenzie Entwistle—have played in the NHL, but neither for Arizona.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Wyatt Newpower

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The Detroit Red Wings have snapped up a prospect from under a division rival’s nose, signing Wyatt Newpower to a two-year entry-level contract. Newpower spent this season playing with the Clevland Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets on a minor league contract. The Blue Jackets of course were only division mates of the Red Wings for this season, but it still is interesting to see the young defenseman jump to another organization.

Newpower, 23, was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of Connecticut, where he spent four seasons prior to this year. In his senior year the 6’4″ defenseman posted 22 points, a strong offensive performance that carried over to his first season of professional hockey. In 24 games for the Monsters, Newpower scored three goals and 10 points, finishing first on the team at +10.

It’s not like this is a dramatic signing that brings in an impact player for the Red Wings, but it’s clear that GM Steve Yzerman is willing to look just about anywhere to add talent and depth to the organization. At worst, Newpower can continue to develop and be a strong contributor for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Ryan Reaves To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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With the match penalty that was given to Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in last night’s game for kneeling on the head of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves comes an automatic review from the Department of Player Safety. The incident has risen to the level of supplementary discipline and Reaves will have a hearing with the league today. Of note, it does not appear to be an in-person hearing, meaning Reaves will not face a suspension greater than five games.

The incident occurred in a game that was already basically over, with Colorado holding a 6-1 lead in game one of the second-round matchup. Reaves first contacted Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer, which drew a scrum, with Graves falling to the ice. Reaves appeared to force his knee down onto Graves’ head and was given a match penalty for intent to injure and two roughing penalties. The result of the incident, which included several other penalized players, was a nine-minute powerplay for the Avalanche in the third period.

Notably, Graves did not suffer a serious injury on the play. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog believes that wasn’t for a lack of trying, telling the media including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that Reaves is “on a mission to go out there and hurt someone in the third. That’s what he does.” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar wasn’t quite as convinced, telling Baugh “I don’t think he’s out there trying to injure people on purpose” but suggested that the incident was “out of the context of the game” at that point.

Reaves was suspended in September of last year for a check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Motte. He was also suspended three games in 2016 for boarding Matt Tennyson, then of the San Jose Sharks.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Jeff Malott

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It was an impressive rookie campaign with the Manitoba Moose for undrafted forward Jeff Malott, and he’s going to get rewarded for it. The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with Malott on a one-year entry-level contract for the 2021-22 season. The two-way deal will carry an NHL salary of $780K.

Malott, 24, played four seasons at Cornell University period to this year but never experienced anything quite like the offensive success he had for the Moose. In 34 games playing on an AHL contract, he recorded 14 goals and 20 points while also bringing a level of physicality every night. The 6’3″ forward had one fighting major and 35 penalty minutes in his debut season.

A teammate of Cale Makar with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL, Malott went undrafted despite dominating the league in 2015-16. He scored 25 goals in 46 games that season but failed to record more than six goals in any of his four years at Cornell. It seems that scoring touch has returned to Malott and it brings the promise of an NHL deal.

Emil Larmi Signs In Finland

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have some question marks at the goaltending position after a rough playoff performance and at least one member of the depth chart won’t be there next season. Emil Larmi, who signed an entry-level deal with the team in 2019, is on his way back to Finland after inking a new two-year contract with the Lahti Pelicans.

Larmi, 24, has spent the last two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, though his performance there has been less than stellar. In six appearances this season he posted just an .845 save percentage, allowing nearly five goals per game. That follows the .883 he put up in 2019-20, certainly not what the Penguins were hoping for when they signed the undrafted netminder.

The team could potentially retain his restricted free agent rights with a qualifying offer, but there may not be much need after he struggled so much in North America. Larmi would technically still be an RFA after this new two-year deal expires, but would be arbitration-eligible, a relatively risky situation for a Penguins team that doesn’t want to commit any contract slots or salary unnecessarily. More likely he will go unqualified this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, perhaps never to play in North America again.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Vasily Podkolzin To Entry-Level Contract

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May 31: Podkolzin told Sport24 in Russia that he is willing to play in the AHL if that’s what the Canucks management wants him to do and is not considering a return to Russia or using a European Assignment Clause. That’s good news for Vancouver, who can bring the teenaged forward along slowly if he’s not quite ready to make an impact at the start of the season.

May 30: The Vancouver Canucks announced they have signed top prospect Vasily Podkolzin to a three-year, entry-level contract. The winger was the team’s 10th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reports that the deal will be for the full $925K cap hit along with full Schedule A bonuses, making it a $1.775MM actual cap hit.

“Vasily is a competitor who plays an aggressive game,” said Canucks general manager Jim Benning. “He’s effective using his size and skill to get to the net and produce offensively. We’re pleased to sign him today and look forward to adding him to our young core of skilled players.”

The winger should provide the team with an impressive power forward for years to come, although his height is debated with his KHL team listing him as 6-foot-3, while the Canucks have him at 6-foot-1. Regardless of his exact size, his high-end skating and his physical make-up present the team with one of their more interesting prospects. He likely will be an immediate fit in Vancouver’s top-six and will be a top Calder Trophy candidate.

The 19-year-old Podkolzin is coming off a full season in the KHL where he scored five goals and 11 points in 35 games with SKA St. Petersburg in limited minutes. He also captained Team Russia in the World Junior Championships, scoring two goals and four points in seven games as Russia lost in the bronze medal game to Finland.

There was speculation during the season that Podkolzin might come over to Vancouver in April after his KHL season ended and burn the first year of his entry-level deal. However, the youngster opted instead to stay in Russia and focus on making Russia’s World Championship roster, which he did not make. However, the chances that Podkolzin would have seen much action after having secured a work visa and sat through quarantine seemed unlikely.

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