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Archives for April 2023

Minnesota Wild Sign Frederick Gaudreau To Extension

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The Minnesota Wild announced that they’ve taken care of some offseason business early as they have inked forward Frederick Gaudreau to a five year $10.5MM extension. Gaudreau was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, but his extension will keep him with the Wild for the next five seasons.

Gaudreau originally signed a two year $2.4MM contract with the Wild in July 2021 after spending a single season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While that contract carried some risk, it turned out to be an absolute bargain for Minnesota. The 29-year-old has put up 80 points in 157 games for Minnesota and added some cheap depth scoring.

Minnesota has been hamstrung by the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The veterans buyout will account for nearly $15MM of the Wild’s salary cap space next year. Despite the cap issues, GM Bill Guerin has been able to bargain shop on multiple occasions and hit more often than he misses.  Even more impressive for Guerin is that he’s been able to build a competitive team without cap space and while also not mortgaging the future. Minnesota has all their first and second round draft picks for the near future.

While getting the Gaudreau contract done early is a tidy piece of business for the Wild, they do have some other pending free agents who will be much more difficult to extend and just $6.8MM in cap space to do it. John Klingberg, Matt Dumba, Gustav Nyquist and Oskar Sundqvist are all unrestricted, while defenseman Calen Addison and goaltender Filip Gustavsson are restricted free agents. Minnesota will likely have to make some tough decisions this summer, but with one of the best farm systems in the NHL, they should be able to remain competitive while getting younger and cheaper.

Patrice Bergeron Leaves Game For Precautionary Reasons

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The Boston Bruins have announced that Patrice Bergeron will not be returning to tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. Bergeron left the game in the first period with an apparent upper body issue. The Bruins stopped short of calling the issue an injury and the team’s official Twitter account tweeted that he would not return for precautionary reasons. The move makes sense given the fact that Boston has very little to play for at this point. The Bruins have already locked up the Presidents Trophy and will have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. CBS Sports is reporting that they don’t expect his absence to affect his availability in the playoffs.

The Bruins have had to try and strike a delicate balance these last few weeks between resting players and staying sharp for the playoffs. Bergeron was recently quoted by Boston Hockey Now saying, “as we got closer to the playoffs, we thought maybe it was a good idea to play some games. Get involved in some of those because it’s a quick turnaround and you want to stay sharp.” While it makes sense to stay sharp, there will be a lot of criticism if Bergeron misses any of the playoffs with the ailment.

The Bruins have had very little to play for the last little while after a historic season. It’s rare to see a team display such utter dominance for an entire season. But the Bruins don’t have to look back far to find a 60+ win team that faltered in the playoffs. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning won 62 regular season games and were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. One might wonder if that playoff debacle for the Lightning played into Boston’s decision to dress their stars for meaningless games down the stretch.

Arizona Coyotes Recall Michael Kesselring

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The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. The Coyotes finish their season with a game against the Vancouver Canucks tonight, so Kesselring will have the chance to tack on one last NHL appearance before likely heading back to play for the Roadrunners tomorrow against the San Jose Barracuda.

Kesselring, 23, last played in the NHL in a March 26th loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He registered an assist and just under 16 minutes of ice time in that game, and overall this year has just that one point in eight NHL games. Kesselring has spent most of this season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, having been acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in the Nick Bjugstad trade.

The Coyotes were likely intrigued by the upside Kesselring might have, as he’s an ever-valuable right-shot defenseman and stands six-foot-four, 190 pounds. Offensively, Kesselring’s had an interesting season as he’s scored 14 goals and 14 assists in 59 games.

It’s not often that you see defensemen scoring the same amount of goals and assists, though it’s worth noting that before this year Kesselring had only scored single-digit goals in each prior season of his prospect career.

The Roadrunners have clinched their playoff spot, so it’s likely that Kesselring heads back there after tonight’s game. Kesselring plays a top-pairing role in Tucson, meaning if the Roadrunners go on any sort of run in the Calder Cup playoffs, it’s likely that he’ll be a major reason why.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Lucas Condotta On Emergency Basis

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The Montreal Canadiens are rewarding a hard-working AHLer during the final game of their season. 25-year-old undrafted forward Lucas Condotta has been recalled on an emergency basis, allowing him to make his NHL debut tonight against the Boston Bruins.

Condotta signed with the Canadiens last March, inking a one-year entry-level deal. He earned the contract after a strong final season at UMass-Lowell, a year where he captained the team and scored 10 goals and 23 points in 33 games. Condotta had scored 10 points in his previous two seasons of college hockey and just nine points his freshman year, meaning his senior campaign represented a significant increase in both responsibility and production.

He made his pro debut last season with the Laval Rocket and skated in seven regular-season contests and 10 playoff games. While he struggled early and failed to leave a mark in the regular season, Condotta’s three points in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Springfield Thunderbirds nearly helped lift the Rocket to their first-ever Calder Cup Final.

This year was Condotta’s first full year as a professional, and he’s carried the momentum he built against Springfield to the Rocket’s regular season. He’s scored 16 goals and 30 points in 71 games, tied for fourth on the team in goal scoring with surprise standout Rafael Harvey-Pinard. Condotta stands six-foot-one, 223-pounds and brings the type of energy and physicality to the ice that quickly endears him to coaches.

While Condotta’s stay in the NHL might be brief, this recall serves as a concrete recognition of how well his debut pro season has gone. Should the Rocket make the playoffs this season, it’s likely that Condotta will be a forward to watch.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Dominic Toninato

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The Winnipeg Jets have recalled forward Dominic Toninato from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After playing 77 games last season, Toninato has spent most of this season in the AHL, save for a run of four games in November that he spent with the Jets.

The move puts the veteran forward back on the Jets’ roster in advance of tonight’s regular-season finale against the Colorado Avalanche, and serves as a nice reward for the quality season he’s turned in with the Jets’ farm squad. In 49 AHL contests this season Toninato has scored 19 goals and 33 points, and he’s helped the Moose land comfortably as the third seed in the AHL’s Central Division.

At the NHL level, Toninato registered one assist in the four-game run he had in November, although he played under seven minutes of ice time in three of the four games he drew into. Last season, Toninato spent almost the entire season at the NHL level and ended up playing in 77 games, registering 14 points.

He did average about a minute and a half of short-handed ice-time per game, but seeing as the Jets had the fourth-worst penalty kill last season it’s understandable that Winnipeg’s new coaching staff under Rick Bowness didn’t see Toninato occupying the same role this season.

Toninato’s stay on the Jets’ active roster could extend into the team’s first-round playoff series, assuming the organization prefers keeping him around as a reserve player for their NHL squad rather than having him return to the Moose to play in their AHL playoffs.

For what it’s worth, the Moose added two forwards to their roster today (Thomas Caron via recall from the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions and Carson Golden via an ATO from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets) though those additions should not be seen as any sort of barrier to Toninato being sent back down for the AHL playoffs.

Assuming Toninato draws into the lineup tonight against the Avalanche, his game and any minutes he plays in the playoffs represent an important opportunity for his playing future. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in a few months after the expiry of his league-minimum two-way deal, and any quality games he has from this point forward will help him earn his next NHL contract.

Gabriel Landeskog Will Not Return For Playoffs

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A significant blow has been dealt to the Colorado Avalanche’s hopes of defending their 2022 Stanley Cup championship. Per a team announcement, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog’s knee injury will keep him from returning to the active roster and playing in the playoffs.

The announcement makes it official that Landeskog will miss the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign. He underwent knee surgery in October, and at the time his recovery was expected to take around 12 weeks.

Obviously, Landeskog’s recovery hasn’t been quite as fast, and in early March Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar called Landeskog’s recovery a “slow-moving process” that hadn’t yet resulted in his return to practice.

The 30-year-old is, when healthy, among the Avalanche’s most important contributors and when paired with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen can give Colorado what is likely the best line in hockey.

While Colorado hasn’t taken a major step back in his absence (they’re just one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Central Division title with a game in hand) his production has been and will continue to be a challenge to replace.

Landeskog scored 30 goals and 59 points in just 51 games last season and added 11 goals and 22 points in the Avalanche’s successful playoff run last season.

In recent games, the Avalanche have played Evan Rodrigues in Landeskog’s traditional first-line left wing spot, and while Rodrigues is a solid, productive middle-sixer (15 goals and 36 points in 67 games this year) he can’t offer nearly what Landeskog can.

At the very least, Avalanche fans can take solace in the fact that their team has had since the start of the season to find a way to survive without Landeskog, and as mentioned they’ve done more than just keep their heads above water this season.

So while this announcement confirming Landeskog will not return for the playoffs certainly makes winning a second-straight Stanley Cup more of a challenge, it’s still entirely possible that the Avalanche still find their way to hockey’s summit once again.

They remain a deep squad with some of the best high-end talent in the NHL, and they’ve already spent the last few months proving to rival teams that they can still dominate games even without their captain on the ice.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Devils Recall Akira Schmid

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Tom Gulitti, a reporter for the NHL, announces that the New Jersey Devils have recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from their AHL affiliate Utica Comets. In preparation for tonight’s game, Amanda Stein, the lead reporter for the Devils, announces that Schmid will backup for Mackenzie Blackwood.

In order to give regular starting netminder, Vitek Vanecek, some rest before the Devils begin their playoff run, the choice was made to recall Schmid for the final game of the regular season. It was the best possible situation for the Devils organization, as the Comets will look to keep their season alive tomorrow night against the Cleveland Monsters, a game they should be able to have Schmid in the net for.

Last season, Schmid had an underwhelming season in the NHL, playing six games, the young goaltender posted a record of 0-4-0, holding a SV% of .833 and a GAA of 4.83. Understandably, it should be remembered that Schmid was not operating with this year’s much-improved Devils’ lineup. Although playing much better for New Jersey this season, Schmid has played a majority of this year in Utica once again.

Drafted 136th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft by New Jersey, Schmid has become a prime candidate to become the new full-time backup for the Devils next year. Vanecek is signed beyond next season, and although Blackwood is only a restricted free agent at the conclusion of this year, his injury history in the last several seasons may give the Devils a reason to go another direction between the pipes.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Zach Metsa

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Freshly off leading his team to an NCAA National Championship title, now-former Quinnipiac University Bobcat captain Zach Metsa has decided to sign a 2-year contract with the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. For the remainder of this season, Metsa will join the Americans on a professional tryout agreement.

Metsa finished off his five-year career with Quinnipiac in impressive fashion, scoring nine goals and 28 assists in 40 regular season games. During this year’s Frozen Four, Metsa helped his team to the National Championship, scoring one goal and three assists through the Frozen Four. In total, the young defenseman played in 177 regular season games in the NCAA, scoring 31 goals and 90 assists.

Currently 35-25-6, the Americans have already clinched a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs. Being one of the most historic franchises in the AHL, Metsa will help Rochester in their attempt to win their seventh Calder Cup in franchise history.

If the season were to end today, the Americans would have a first-round bye into the division semifinals, where they would take on the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Syracuse Crunch. With nine defensemen already on the roster in Rochester, it will be interesting to see how Metsa fits into the lineup down the stretch, and especially during the playoffs.

Washington Capitals Reassign Henrik Borgstrom

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April 13: Borgstrom has been returned to the AHL after making his season debut and seeing just eight minutes of ice time.

April 11: The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Henrik Borgstrom from the AHL’s Hershey Bears, the team announced Tuesday.

Borgstrom joins the Capitals due to a rash of injuries as their season draws to a disappointing close. T.J. Oshie, Nic Dowd, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Anthony Mantha will stay out of the lineup tonight against the Boston Bruins, per head coach Peter Laviolette. Alex Ovechkin will also sit out of the lineup, not traveling with the team due to an upper-body injury. He remains day-to-day.

With just a few days left on the 2022-23 regular season calendar, this is Borgstrom’s first recall since clearing waivers at the beginning of the year. The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with Washington in free agency after the Chicago Blackhawks did not issue him a qualifying offer.

He’s recorded 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 54 games with Hershey this season, disappointing production for the 2016 23rd overall pick. The 6-foot-3, 199-pound forward had seven points in 52 games as a full-time Blackhawk last year.

Borgstrom’s offensive production has trailed off since leaving the University of Denver in 2018, where he recorded 52 points in 40 games during his sophomore campaign. He’s managed just over 100 NHL games since then, failing to make any notable impact.

Ryan Murray Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had Ryan Murray in the lineup since late November, but they could be getting him back just in time for some added depth in the playoffs. The veteran defenseman has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors on an AHL conditioning assignment, suggesting he’s ready to get back into a game after missing the last several months.

Murray has played just 13 games this season after signing a one-year, $750K contract with the Oilers last summer. He averaged just 13 minutes a night in those appearances and will likely receive even less than that if Edmonton’s current group can stay healthy.

As most teams have discovered, though, the Stanley Cup playoffs are a war of attrition, and teams that go on deep runs usually need eight, nine, or even ten defensemen. With over 400 games of NHL experience, Murray can fill the role of practice player until they need an extra body.

It’s a role he’s familiar with, given he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche last season without appearing in the postseason.

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