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Archives for March 2022

Injury Notes: Vrana, Blueger, Karlsson

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The Detroit Red Wings have officially activated Jakub Vrana from injured reserve, and expect him to play in tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Vrana has yet to play this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in late September, a procedure that has kept him out much longer than the initial four-month timeline. Vrana lit Detroit on fire last season after coming over from the Washington Capitals, scoring eight times in 11 games including a four-goal effort in his fourth appearance. He’ll try to continue that success now that he’s back, though it certainly may take him some time to get up to speed.

Interestingly enough, the Red Wings have actually moved Danny DeKeyser to injured reserve to make room. DeKeyser cleared waivers earlier today, which means he could have been assigned to the minor leagues. Instead, he’ll go to the injured list meaning he can stay with the team as he deals with whatever this new ailment is.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have their own forward returning, as they have activated Teddy Blueger from injured reserve. Blueger hasn’t played since he suffered a broken jaw in a January game against the Winnipeg Jets, but is expected to resume his spot as a checking-line center for the Penguins tonight. The 27-year-old was actually on track to blow by his career-highs in goals and points before the injury (and still likely will by the end of the season) after scoring eight goals and 17 points in his first 40 games. Blueger missed 16 games following his jaw surgery.
  • Erik Karlsson could be back this week as well, as San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that the veteran defenseman could suit up on Thursday. Karlsson was in the midst of a bounce-back season before undergoing forearm surgery in January and hasn’t played in nearly two months. In his first 33 games, the two-time Norris Trophy winner had 26 points, already eclipsing his total from the 2020-21 season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend Justin Danforth

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The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to ink contracts with depth options, this time signing Justin Danforth to a two-year extension. Danforth’s new deal will carry an average annual value of $975K and keep him under contract through 2023-24. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen released the following statement:

We’re very excited to sign Justin to this contract extension as he epitomizes the values we have as a team. Hard work, commitment, and determination. He has dedicated himself to becoming an NHL player over the past several years and his game has continued to grow throughout this season. He has become a trusted and valuable contributor on our team.

There aren’t many better stories of determination in the NHL than Danforth, who went from riding buses in the ECHL as an undrafted, overlooked forward, to becoming a regular in the Columbus lineup this season. Just 5’9″, the speedy forward spent four years at Sacred Heart University before spending nearly an entire season with the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2017-18. Three years overseas honing his game led to a one-year, $750K contract with the Blue Jackets organization last spring, his first NHL deal signed at the age of 28.

Now about to turn 29, he’s found some security and stability for the first time in his hockey career.

In 22 games with the Blue Jackets, Danforth–who is now a full-time winger–has five goals and seven points. While he started out with just a handful of minutes per game, head coach Brad Larsen has obviously felt more comfortable of late and has rewarded him with a ton more shifts. In the four games since the beginning of March, Danforth has averaged nearly 16 minutes a night, mostly skating on a line with Sean Kuraly and Max Domi. His place in the bottom-six seems secure enough for now with this new deal, a long-time coming for the former OJHL star.

Anaheim Ducks Claim Andrej Sustr

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The Anaheim Ducks are bringing back a familiar face, as they have claimed Andrej Sustr off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning according to Chris Johnston of TSN.

Sustr, 31, has only played for two NHL organizations in his pro career, the Lightning and the Ducks–though the latter was for a very brief stint. In 2018 the hulking defenseman signed a one-year, $1.3MM contract with Anaheim and was expected to be a full-time part of the blueline. Instead, he played only five games in a Ducks uniform and spent most of the season in the minor leagues. That season spent in the AHL led to his departure from North America, as he left for the KHL to play two seasons after that one year in the Anaheim organization.

Now he’s back, though it’s still unclear how much playing time he’ll actually get with the Ducks. Sustr has played in 15 games with the Lightning this season but averaged just over ten minutes of ice time, and has spent much more time in the minor leagues with the Syracuse Crunch. Because he was claimed on waivers he’ll remain in the NHL for now, though Anaheim’s defensive depth chart isn’t much easier to crack than Tampa Bay’s.

In fact, his acquisition will raise some eyebrows around the league, given the pending unrestricted free agency of Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm and general manager Pat Verbeek’s clear message that he will trade them if unable to reach extensions. Even with Manson on injured reserve the Ducks appear to have at least seven players that would be working ahead of Sustr, though perhaps head coach Dallas Eakins wants to insert some more size into the lineup.

At any rate, it means for now the 31-year-old will continue to earn his NHL salary and get a chance at NHL action, instead of returning to Syracuse where he would make significantly less.

Danny DeKeyser Clears Waivers

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March 8: DeKeyser has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues. With Vrana already confirmed for tonight’s game, the team will need to move someone off the roster to make room for his return. If they do assign DeKeyser to the AHL, $1.125MM of his cap hit would be buried. Sustr meanwhile was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks.

March 7: After claiming Olli Juolevi yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings have placed a veteran defenseman on waivers. Danny DeKeyser has been waived, along with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr, according to Chris Johnston of TSN.

DeKeyser, 32, cleared waivers multiple times last season but has spent this year on the active roster while he plays out the end of his long-term contract. Signed to a six-year, $30MM deal in 2016, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this offseason. Where his career goes next is unclear, as the once stalwart two-way defender has found his role diminished in recent years.

Interestingly enough, at even-strength DeKeyser has played almost exclusively alongside rookie phenom Moritz Seider, giving the young defenseman a stable veteran partner to lean on as he transitions to NHL life. But it’s that even-strength ice time that has come way down, with DeKeyser averaging less than four other regular defensemen in Detroit. On the other hand, the penalty kill is where he still provides some nice value, logging the most short-handed time of any Red Wings player, but none of that would suggest that a team would take a chance on his $5MM cap hit through waivers. With Juolevi now in the fold–and a roster spot likely needed for Jakub Vrana’s impending activation–it’s not clear what role DeKeyser will have on the Red Wings down the stretch.

For Sustr, waivers is nothing new. He has already cleared them before the season began, and several other times throughout his NHL career. This season he has played in 15 games for the Lightning, basically serving more as a practice player and injury insurance than anything else. If he clears, he’ll likely be bounced up and down between the AHL and NHL for another chunk of the season.

Lias Andersson Recalled From Conditioning Loan

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March 8: After four excellent games with the Reign, Andersson has been recalled from his conditioning loan and activated from injured reserve. The young forward scored six goals in those four games, actually matching his previous minor league high in just a week’s time. To make room on the Kings’ active roster, Brendan Lemieux has been moved to injured reserve, retroactive to March 4.

March 2: Los Angeles Kings forward Lias Andersson has been sent to the AHL on a conditioning loan, suggesting he is nearing a return from the undisclosed injury that has kept him out for nearly two months.

The loan is of the long-term injury variety, meaning he does not need to be activated before sending him down and he will still not appear on the Kings’ roster while he plays in the minor leagues. He hasn’t played an NHL game since January 8 and has just 13 appearances this season.

Last season, when Andersson spent some time in the AHL, he dominated the competition, scoring 17 points in 15 games for the Ontario Reign. That success hasn’t carried over to the Kings this year though, as the 2017 seventh-overall pick still can’t seem to find any consistency at the NHL level. In those 13 appearances this season, he has just a single point, taking his career total to 16 in 102 games.

An arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the season, Andersson is getting dangerously close to going unqualified, given he will be 24 in October and has shown very rare flashes of NHL-quality play to this point. Perhaps the Kings believe he can still take that next step, but a good stretch run this season would be huge for the future of his professional career in North America.

Antoine Roussel Out Six Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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The Arizona Coyotes will be without Antoine Roussel for a good chunk of the remaining season, as the veteran forward has been ruled out for the next six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Coyotes recalled Hudson Fasching yesterday, a move that would likely be explained by Roussel’s absence.

While it’s not like the Coyotes were going to be competing for the playoffs, losing Roussel does still hurt given his status as a pending free agent. The team could have potentially flipped him at the deadline for an asset of some sort (even a late-round pick), given his experience and defensive ability. The 32-year-old certainly isn’t the player that was a rock-solid bottom-sixer for the Dallas Stars several years ago, posting double-digit goal totals in four consecutive seasons, but he’s still a decent penalty killing option that brings more than 600 games of NHL experience to the table.

With a six-week timeline, there likely isn’t a market for his services unless it’s as a long-term injury salary cap play. An acquiring team could potentially grab him, move him to LTIR and keep him out until the playoffs–six weeks from now gets him relatively close to the end of the current schedule–where his cap wouldn’t be an issue any longer. The Toronto Maple Leafs did a similar thing with Coyotes’ teammate Riley Nash last season, giving the Columbus Blue Jackets a conditional seventh-round pick for the injured forward, only to have him back in the lineup during their first-round playoff series.

Still, Roussel was never going to generate a ton of interest given how much his offensive game has deteriorated, meaning this is really nothing more than an opportunity for the younger players in Arizona to get some additional minutes. An unrestricted free agent in the summer, Roussel’s future in the NHL looks tenuous at best after recording just three goals and six points in 47 games this season.

Jared McCann Signs Five-Year Extension

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The Seattle Kraken have signed the first contract extension in franchise history, re-upping with Jared McCann for another five years. Avoiding restricted free agency, McCann’s new deal is worth $25MM and carries an average annual value of $5MM through the 2026-27 season. It will also include a modified no-trade clause in the final four years. CapFriendly provides the full breakdown:

  • 2022-23: $5.0MM
  • 2023-24: $6.0MM (10-team NTC)
  • 2024-25: $5.5MM (10-team NTC)
  • 2025-26: $4.25MM (10-team NTC)
  • 2026-27: $4.25MM (10-team NTC)

When an expansion team comes into existence, it is often an opportunity for players who have perhaps been a bit overlooked through the early part of their careers. William Karlsson and others found new life in Vegas with the Golden Knights, and McCann has blossomed into a top offensive player in Seattle. Through 50 games, the 25-year-old has already set a career-high with 21 goals, and will soon break his previous high of 35 points (he currently sits at 33). He’s averaging the most ice time of his career, has been moved all over the lineup and is one of the team’s top powerplay options.

It comes as no surprise then that general manager Ron Francis would want to keep McCann in the fold then. The executive released the following statement:

We’re thrilled that Jared has made this long-term commitment to the Kraken and the city of Seattle. Jared has proven this year that he can be a difference maker offensively, and we’re excited to have him as a core part of our organization moving forward.

At the end of this season, McCann was set to become an arbitration-eligible RFA for the final time and could have hit the open market in the summer of 2022. This deal buys out four years of unrestricted free agency and the biggest chunk of his prime. Given his versatility–McCann can play both wing and center–he should be a useful piece to help support young players like Matty Beniers as the Kraken transition away from some of the expansion picks.

Still, there will be some who criticize a decision like this to lock in another mid-twenties player for a big cap hit. The Kraken haven’t been anywhere close to competitive enough this season and are slowly chipping away at that future cap space flexibility. The team has five forwards on the books for at least $4.5MM in each of the next two seasons, despite being one of the lowest-scoring clubs in the league. Three of those–Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Wennberg, and now McCann–are on contracts signed outside of the expansion process, decisions they made free of any league-imposed restrictions.

There is an obvious desire to avoid the bottom of the league standings in the first few years, and extending McCann will certainly help that. But it also seems unlikely that he’ll provide a ton of excess value on a deal like this, meaning it won’t move the needle toward contender status by itself. The team will have to hit on more draft picks and build up the depth of the organization in order to support moves like this and help McCann lead a more dynamic forward group in the years to come.

AHL Shuffle: 03/08/22

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It’s an extremely busy Tuesday in the NHL, with 11 games on the docket. That includes a big eastern matchup between the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and an incredibly important match between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. Those two central teams are neck and neck in the playoff race, meaning any head-to-head action is a huge opportunity to gain ground. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have reassigned Dillon Heatherington to the AHL, after he failed to get into any games on this most recent recall. The veteran minor league defenseman last played for Ottawa in December but continues to be a depth piece that’s recalled as injury insurance. He has zero points in nine NHL games this season.
  • The Florida Panthers have sent Spencer Knight back to the AHL, after he stopped 29 of 30 shots yesterday against the Buffalo Sabres for his tenth win of the season. Knight continues to bounce up and down in order to get the most playing time possible, while the Panthers rely on Sergei Bobrovsky for the vast majority of the NHL action. Jonas Johansson, technically the NHL backup, has seen just a single game since being acquired in December.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs returned Mac Hollowell to the minor leagues today, as they welcomed Rasmus Sandin back to the ice after dealing with an illness. It’s unlikely Sandin plays tonight, though with him at least a possibility the team no longer needed Hollowell on the NHL roster.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Alec Regula to the NHL once again, and he was skating on the third pairing at practice according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago. The 21-year-old defenseman has played in four games for the Blackhawks this season and is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent Marian Studenic to the AHL on a conditioning assignment, something that’s understandable given he hasn’t played since the Stars claimed him off waivers last month. Studenic has appeared in 17 games this season, all with the New Jersey Devils, and has one goal.
  • Per The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, the St. Louis Blues have recalled forward Alexey Toropchenko from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (tweet). The forward has zero points in five games in the NHL this season, but does have a solid 20 points in 42 games at the AHL level.

Pacific Division

  • The San Jose Sharks have reassigned Jasper Weatherby and Santeri Hatakka to the AHL, suggesting that some players–particularly Erik Karlsson—could be available to play in the coming days. Weatherby, meanwhile, has spent most of the season with the Sharks, playing in 45 games so far and racking up ten points. The 24-year-old forward is still waiver-exempt, meaning he can move up and down without issue whenever the team needs him again.
  • Earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers sent defenseman Markus Niemelainen down to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The 23-year-old has split time between the NHL and AHL this season, tallying 7 points in 23 games at the AHL level and just one assist in 20 games at the NHL level.

This page will be updated throughout the day

NHL Suspends Agreement With KHL

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After the NHL cut business relations with Russia recently, they’ve taken things even further in a memo sent to teams yesterday. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to report that the league has cut ties with the KHL following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, telling teams to cease contact and suspending the memorandum of understanding between the two leagues.

Bill Daly told clubs in the memo that they will now “have only limited contractual information regarding players who are currently or last played in the KHL.” Teams will now have to go through the Central Registry to request contract information on a player’s contractual status and produce “independent written evidence” that shows a player is entirely free of KHL obligations, before signing them for the 2022-23 season.

Previously the two leagues did not operate under a transfer agreement but had an MOU indicating that they would respect contract terms. According to Seravalli, the NHL has told the KHL that it will continue to respect existing and future contracts, though communication will now be cut off.

This will certainly complicate not only free agency but the upcoming draft, which was already a point of discussion given the possibility that young Russian athletes would be denied work visas to enter Canada and the United States. Danila Yurov, for instance, was expected to go near the top of the 2022 draft but is still under contract with Magnitogorsk for the 2022-23 season at least. Without continued communication, it’s hard to know whether an NHL team that drafts him will be able to even speak with the young forward, though the memo does indicate that teams are still allowed to work with North American-based agents.

There are also several pending KHL free agents like Andrei Kuzmenko who were expected to sign after the KHL playoffs are completed. Kuzmenko was drawing the attention of many NHL teams around the league after an outstanding season, where he scored 20 goals and 53 points in 45 games. It is now completely unclear whether his immediate future lies in North America or if he will re-sign in Russia and stay with SKA.

Trade Candidate: Braden Holtby

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With the trade deadline now a few weeks away, we continue our look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and March 21st.

Braden Holtby’s first season away from the Washington Capitals, the only team he had ever known, the team he backstopped to a Stanley Cup in 2018, did not go well. Holtby signed a two-year contract worth $4.3MM per year with the Vancouver Canucks, and the team was optimistic that he would replace Jacob Markstrom’s starts and help ease Thatcher Demko into his role as a starting goaltender. Holtby’s play was far poorer than those expectations demanded, and he was eventually bought out by the team after only one season, a season where he posted a .889 save percentage and an eye-popping 3.67 goals against average in 21 games. But this season, Holtby has been impressive for the Dallas Stars, and he owns a .913 save percentage in 24 games as the Stars battle for position in the Western Conference’s playoff race.

Contract

Holtby is in the lone season of his one-year $2MM contract with the Stars. His entire contract is in base salary, no signing bonus, and he will be an unrestricted free agent in July. He has no protection against trades in his contract.

2021-22

Holtby began the season brilliantly, with save percentages between .926 and .964 in his first four starts, with the Stars winning three out of those four. Holtby’s numbers came down to earth a bit after that, but overall he has remained steadily above .910 as a whole for his season’s numbers. Holtby faced a minor lower-body injury in early February and largely has ceded the starting role to Jake Oettinger, but despite those two factors he has still provided the Stars with excellent value for the contract they signed. Holtby’s season represents his first venture above the .900 mark in save percentage since 2018-19, and the Stars have to be satisfied with the performance he has given them so far this season.

Looking a bit deeper into his numbers, Holtby has a .922 even-strength save percentage, higher than many goalies considered to be quality starters such as John Gibson, Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Connor Hellebuyck. But his save percentage on the penalty kill of .827 is one of the lower marks in the league and brings down his save percentage as a whole. The Stars do not have a great penalty kill, ranked 19th in the NHL at 78.9%, so one has to wonder if Holtby’s numbers could be even better on a team that is stronger in that area.

Season Stats

22 games started, 10-10-1 record, .913 save percentage, 2.78 goals against average, 3.0 goals saved above expected.

Potential Suitors

Goaltending is an interesting situation when it comes to the trade deadline, because it can be far easier to determine a team’s need in that position compared to others. That being said, so much of successful goaltending is mental, so much relies on a goalie’s confidence and belief in himself. So acquiring a goalie at the deadline can be tricky. High-profile goaltending trades at deadlines have sometimes borne fruit, like when the Vegas Golden Knights acquired their current starting goalie in Lehner, but it has also backfired in the past, like when the Los Angeles Kings traded Erik Cernak, among other assets, to acquire Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s a mixed bag, so historically speaking acquiring Holtby has some risk. But looking across the league, there are definitely teams in need of goaltending.

The team getting the most attention surrounding its goaltending right now is the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are a star-studded team and are in a market that desperately wants to see them make their first playoff run with this core of players. It was believed that Jack Campbell would be the guy to get them there, and Campbell is truly a beloved player in Toronto, but his play recently has not been inspiring. Nor has the play all season of backup Petr Mrazek, who has an .890 save percentage. For a team that so badly needs to make noise in the playoffs, adding a Stanley Cup-winning goalie could be the move they need to shore up the side of the game that has decided many a playoff series on its own.

Another potential suitor for Holtby is one that would excite many fans of the team and neutral observers alike- the Washington Capitals. Vitek Vanecek has been brilliant this season, to the tune of a .921 save percentage, but the team has also started Ilya Samsonov in 28 games and gotten a .901 save percentage from him. For a team that expects to make the playoffs, that won’t cut it. The Capitals should be comfortable with Vanecek starting in the playoffs, but uncomfortable at the prospect of Samsonov playing should Vanecek be unavailable, as he was in the team’s playoff loss to the Bruins last season. So what better player to cure the Capitals’ discomfort than Holtby, the goalie who in 2018 cured their longstanding discomfort over having never won a Stanley Cup?

One clear potential suitor for Holtby is the Edmonton Oilers. Much has been made about the struggles of their goaltending, and for good reason. They have a team with high-quality players but no goalie to give them the saves they need to win. They don’t have much room to work with under the cap, but with retention they could definitely fit Holtby in. He would be a major upgrade over both of the incumbent goalies in Edmonton and would also provide them with much-needed playoff experience. It’s a match that makes a lot of sense, and the acquisition cost should definitely fit GM Ken Holland’s desire to retain his team’s first round pick.

A final potential suitor for Holtby may come as a surprise: the New York Rangers. It may surprise a few readers because the Rangers are currently backstopped by a Hart Trophy candidate in Igor Shesterkin. But the move could make sense. The team’s backup, Alexandar Georgiev, owns a .897 save percentage this season. He is simply not a viable insurance policy to a Shesterkin injury come the playoffs. The Rangers have had too strong of a season to lose it all if Shesterkin goes down. Adding Holtby at a price that would not be unreasonable (goalies rarely get traded for significant assets, especially at the deadline) could be a smart bit of business for GM Chris Drury.

Likelihood of a Trade

The Stars are still in the mix for a playoff spot, so potentially subtracting a goalie like Holtby would in theory hurt their odds of making it. But the team seems set on Oettinger as their number-one goaltender, and they have Anton Khudobin waiting in the wings to take Holtby’s role as a backup in case of a trade. Khudobin hasn’t been great this season, but he’s an experienced player who the Stars would trust as a backup, given their prior commitments to him. Holtby isn’t an overwhelmingly likely candidate to be traded, like the Montreal Canadiens’ Ben Chiarot is, but it’s not difficult to see why he could be on the move

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