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Archives for April 2023

Dallas Stars Recall Thomas Harley

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As announced by the team Monday morning, the Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Thomas Harley from the Texas Stars of the AHL.

Harley’s first recall of the season comes with just a few weeks left, much later into the year than most Stars fans were expecting. The 21-year-old played in 34 games with Dallas last season but saw limited ice time and limited production (one goal, three assists).

Extended time in the minors has seemed to be the right choice for Harley’s development, though. His defensive game has shown significant strides this season, and he’s added 10 goals and 34 points in 66 games to lead the team’s defense corps in goals.

Selected 18th overall in 2019, Harley will continue to push for more NHL looks over the next few seasons. With only depth veteran Joel Hanley slated for free agency this offseason, though, a significant full-time chance may not come until 2024-25. That’s likely fine with Dallas, who seems content to let Harley grow at his own pace into the capable top-four defender they expect.

With a three-game homestand on tap for the Stars, Harley could make his 2022-23 NHL season debut sometime this week.

Boston Bruins Extend ECHL Affiliation Agreement

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The Boston Bruins announced via a team release Monday morning that the team has signed a two-year extension of their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. The move locks in some organizational stability and will make Maine the team’s longest-tenured ECHL affiliate since a five-year partnership with the Atlanta Gladiators from 2015 to 2020.

While it’s a rare occurrence nowadays for NHL teams to send skaters multiple levels down to the ECHL, it remains a viable and well-tracked development path for netminders to get heavy workloads as they graduate from junior or college programs. The Bruins currently have one prospect under NHL contract assigned to Maine: 23-year-old netminder Michael DiPietro, acquired from Vancouver earlier this season.

It’s also an impactful choice for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, who make transactions with the ECHL much more regularly. The newly-minted general manager of Providence, Evan Gold, gave a statement on the extension:

We are thrilled to extend our affiliation agreement with the Maine Mariners. The collaboration between Boston, Providence and Maine has been instrumental in helping our prospects improve not only their hockey skillsets on the ice, but also their work ethic and approach to becoming professionals off the ice. We are excited to continue to partner with the Mariners’ coaching staff and front office as we strive to provide the best development opportunities for our players.

For Boston, the extension keeps its entire professional development system locked within New England, with its minor-league affiliates nearby.

The affiliation agreement, previously set to expire after this season, will now last through the 2024-25 campaign.

Five Key Stories: 3/27/23 – 4/2/23

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The month of March has come to an end and, as usual, college signings were plentiful throughout the NHL.  Some of those moves are included in our key stories.

Avs Sign Three: One team that was particularly active on the college free agent front was Colorado.  They made a trio of moves, signing winger Jason Polin to a one-year deal, defenseman Sam Malinski to a two-year contract, and center Ondrej Pavel to a two-year pact.  Polin was the leading goal-getter in the NCAA this season, scoring 30 goals in 39 games with Western Michigan which drew him considerable interest on the open market.  Malinski also had interest from multiple teams after a four-year stint at Cornell where he finished strong with 26 points in 34 contests.  Meanwhile, Pavel had a bit of a down year at Minnesota State University, seeing his production dip to just 15 points after putting up 22 in his sophomore year.  The Avalanche have moved several draft picks and these signings are a chance to replenish their prospect pool.

Livingstone To Nashville: This year’s college free agent class isn’t the strongest but one player that stood out was defenseman Jake Livingstone.  He received interest from numerous teams and ultimately chose to sign with Nashville who allowed him to burn his one-year, entry-level contract this season, paving the way for him to potentially play down the stretch.  The 23-year-old had a standout campaign with Minnesota State, picking up 35 points in 39 games, putting him tied for third among NCAA blueliners in scoring.  Because it’s a one-year deal that was signed late in the season, Livingstone is actually carrying a cap hit of over $2MM down the stretch for the Predators.  He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and won’t be capped by the entry-level system at that time.

Four For Chytil: Rangers center Filip Chytil has had a breakout season and was rewarded for his efforts as the team signed him to a four-year contract extension that carries a cap hit of $4.4375MM.  The deal, which begins next season, does not carry any sort of trade protection and gives New York an extra two years of team control.  Chytil entered this season having put up two straight 22-point seasons after two straight 23-point campaigns.  However, his output has nearly doubled in 2022-23 as he entered play Sunday with 22 goals and 21 assists in 68 games despite still averaging less than 14 minutes a night.  If this is the beginning of Chytil being able to take on a bigger role offensively, this deal could become a team-friendly contract fairly quickly.

Hobey Baker Finalists: Still with college hockey, the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award were revealed.  They are Michigan center Adam Fantilli (draft-eligible), Minnesota winger Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs), and Minnesota center Logan Cooley (Coyotes).  Fantilli leads all NCAA scorers this season with 64 points in just 35 games in his freshman year and is widely expected to go second overall at the draft in June.  Knies, meanwhile, had a strong sophomore campaign with 41 points in 38 games and there’s a strong likelihood that he’ll be foregoing the rest of his college eligibility to turn pro with Toronto once the Frozen Four comes to an end next week.  As for Cooley, the third-overall pick last year is second in scoring this season with 57 points in 37 games in what has been a dominant freshman year.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see him sign with Arizona before too long as well.

Knyzhov Rewarded: It has been a tough couple of years for Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov.  He missed all of last season with a groin injury, then suffered a torn Achilles while training for this season.  However, he was able to return to San Jose’s lineup last month and has gotten into nine games so far.  He was rewarded for his efforts to get back with a two-year extension that begins next season and carries a $1.25MM AAV.  It’s a move that carries a bit of risk for San Jose given Knyzhov’s history but he was a regular on their back end back in 2020-21 and if he can once again lock down a full-time spot, he should be able to live up to the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Mailbag: Larkin, Flyers, Blues, Penguins, Maple Leafs, Bedard, Goalies

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include a discussion of the potential rebuild coming in Philadelphia, possible changes for Pittsburgh next season, and whether we’ll see a goalie ever go first overall again.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.

HockeyBoz: Do you think the Red Wings will look to ADD a bona fide #1 center? I think Yzerman OVER-PAID big time on Larkin as he is NOT a #1 center and can not drive a team as all the homers here in Detroit think. He is the best player on an average at best team. They need goal-scorers!

I don’t expect them to be adding a middleman that’s better than Dylan Larkin in the near future.  The simple reason for that is this – I don’t think there will be any that are available.  Detroit isn’t in a position to be trying to go all-in here; they’re a few steps away from that.  The slow, steady build is clearly what they’re planning to do and with that, they can get away with the status quo with Larkin on the top line for a little while yet.

As for him being overpaid, I’m not sure I agree with that.  We saw what Bo Horvat got from the Islanders at $8.5MM.  His teammate Mathew Barzal checks in next year at $9.1MM.  Roope Hintz is at $8.45MM with similar numbers this season to Larkin.  Relative to market value at least, Larkin seems to fit in pretty close to where he should be on that scale.

Now, if you want to make the case that spending that type of money on a 1B type of center isn’t ideal, that’s fair.  But with a dearth of free agents available, Larkin would have been the best center on the market this summer.  Could they really afford to lose him?  How much of a step back would that be to their timeline?  Those are factors that I imagine Yzerman took into consideration when they handed out this deal.

In a perfect world, I think Detroit’s goal is to draft and develop a center that could one day supplant Larkin on the top line, pushing the captain down to the second trio.  But finding one from outside the organization is going to be tough as those players just aren’t available all that often.

Black Ace57: I know I ask this almost every time, but after Chuck being fired and what people at the top have said are the Flyers finally going to do the proper rebuild they need?

When it comes to the rebuild, I’m a lot more confident of it happening now than I was prior to the trade deadline.  Notwithstanding the odd timing of Chuck Fletcher’s firing (if you’re letting him go a week after the deadline, why not make the move before then to let Briere show what he could do?), the intended separation of duties into two positions should ease them into a rebuilding direction.

First-time general managers don’t often come in with win-now expectations and I suspect that trend will continue as, like many, I figure Briere will have the interim tag lifted and the new president will work with Briere to chart a new direction.

As for whether it’s a proper rebuild, I suppose that depends on your definition of the word proper.  Does that mean a five-year, burn-it-to-the-ground strategy?  I don’t think that’s their intention.  Instead, a shorter-term process that churns out some of their veterans and brings in some picks and prospects to add to their current young core is where I think they’ll lean.

DonnieBaseBallHOFer: Say the Flyers remove the interim tag from Briere, and name you Pres. of Ops…following Torts’ comments that subtraction is needed before addition, who are you keeping/cutting amongst these:

Keepers: Couturier, Laughton, Konecny, Tippett, Ersson, Frost, Foerster, Noah Cates, York, Seeler

Available for the right Deal: Frost, Hart, Provorov, Farabee, Ristolainen, DeAngelo

Time to Move on: JVR, Hayes, Bellows, Braun

On the Fence: Sanheim, Atkinson

Obvious caveat that some of these contracts are going to be hard to move…

Well, hiring me is one way to mess up the rebuild but I’ll play along.  I’ll leave the pending UFAs off my list as they’re almost certainly moving on already.

Keepers: Tippett, Frost, Foerster, York, Hart, Cates

Available For Right Deal: Laughton, Konecny, Ersson, Seeler, Ersson, Farabee, Sanheim, Provorov

Looking To Move: Hayes, Atkinson, Couturier, Ristolainen, DeAngelo, Sandstrom, Bellows (likely non-tender)

Some quick rationale on some of the revised placements.  I’m not sold that Samuel Ersson is their goalie of the future.  He has done decently in limited action but I’m not moving on from Carter Hart to anoint Ersson their new starter if it’s up to me.  24 isn’t too old for a rebuild, especially since goalies tend to hit their primes a little later than skaters.  I’m looking to extend him and if it winds up being a longer rebuild than planned, look at moving him then.

Travis Konecny only has two years left on his deal and if it’s an extended rebuild, is he part of the future plans?  If someone wants to pay up for the contract which is a below-market one, that’s going to be a pretty valuable return.  That return likely fits my timeline better than an extended Konecny two years from now.

The other big change from my list is Sean Couturier.  Nothing against him but that was a bad contract the day it was signed.  He still has some time left as a legitimate top-six middleman, assuming he’s back to full health next season.  I’d be looking to get out of that contract while he still has some short-term utility to a team before it becomes a deal that they’ll have to pay a high price to get out of down the road.

On the back end, Travis Sanheim’s extension basically locks him in as part of the plans for now.  Ivan Provorov would be the likelier of the two to move as he’s basically in the same spot as Konecny.  Anthony DeAngelo isn’t going to be part of their long-term plans for a rebuild and Rasmus Ristolainen is a contract they’d probably like to get out of but he’ll probably stick around for a while.

Gmm8811: So far, I like what Army has done with acquiring assets and the pickups of Vrana and Kapanen. I still believe he has to clear some cap space. Do you think Krug is the one to go assuming he’d waive his NMC? Would Parayko? Both? Binnington has become more of liability and is a head case. I’ve heard he would only waive in order to go to Toronto, but that doesn’t seem a likely option.

Let’s look at the cap situation first.  Per CapFriendly, they have $76.8MM committed to 18 players for next season, leaving $6.7MM in room to sign four or five players.  There aren’t many prominent pending free agents; I’d put Alexey Toropchenko as their best RFA and Thomas Greiss as their best UFA.  So, do they have to clear money?  Probably not, especially if they’re looking at taking a step back for a year.  There’s enough cap room in there to bring up Joel Hofer as the backup, re-sign Toropchenko, add/promote a few players making around $1MM, and call it a day.

I don’t think the right question around Torey Krug is whether he’d waive his trade protection.  The question is will anyone want him?  It has not been a good year for him, to put it nicely.  With four years left on his deal at $6.5MM and declining production, he’s not exactly going to be in demand; St. Louis would likely need to pay down the contract and incentivize a team to take him on.  That isn’t to say his value can’t improve and he’ll have trade value down the road but right now, he doesn’t.

As for Colton Parayko, the long injury history would scare me off if I was a GM, as would a $6.5MM cap hit through 2029-30.  But his combination of size and skill is hard to come by so there would be some interest.  But unless St. Louis is planning on going through an extended rebuild, I don’t think GM Doug Armstrong will be actively looking to move him.  If this is a quick turnaround, he’ll be part of their future plans.

Then there’s Jordan Binnington.  The on-ice antics certainly aren’t helping things but the on-ice performance is hurting him even more.  He’s making $6MM for four more years and has a save percentage that doesn’t crack the top 40 among qualifying netminders.  Forget the other things and just look at his performance, it’s not going to have anyone wanting to trade for him.  He might want to play for his hometown team although that’s straight-up speculation at this point.  But, like Krug, Binnington is going to have to be a lot better next season to have a chance of moving.

bapthemailman: What will the Penguins roster look like next year?

I expect the core will mostly stay in place.  With their long-time veterans locked up, I don’t think they’re heading for any sort of rebuild.  However, there will be some changes.

To me, Tristan Jarry is a legitimate starting goalie in the NHL.  However, his propensity for injuries is going to make it awfully difficult to commit a long-term contract at starter money this summer.  I expect them to take a look at the trade market in June and I wouldn’t be shocked if their opening night starter is someone that currently isn’t in their organization.  That’s one change.

On the back end, I could see the team moving on from Brian Dumoulin.  While Ty Smith plays a completely different style, Dumoulin’s departure would open up a full-time spot for Smith who should be an important part of their future.  Having spent the bulk of this season in the minors, Smith’s next contract shouldn’t be more than $1.5MM which would give Pittsburgh a chance to shift some spending elsewhere.  If Dmitry Kulikov is willing to sign for close to what the Penguins are covering on his deal ($1.15MM), I think they’d happily do that in the hopes of having to avoid trying to trade for more depth at the deadline next season.

Up front, I think they’ll take a run at extending Jason Zucker, albeit at a price tag that’s lower than his current $5.5MM AAV.  If they can’t re-sign him, they’ll have space to look for another forward.  I could see them focusing on a center.  Yes, Mikael Granlund, their big deadline acquisition, can play down the middle but he’s much better off on the wing.  Adding someone to that third line that can take some pressure (and playing time) away from Jeff Carter would be nice.  Off the top of my head, someone like Lars Eller would fit that bill.

I don’t expect the Penguins to have a lot of cap space heading into next season as I believe they will be looking to keep this team in the playoff mix.  There could be a few changes among the veterans in an effort to try to shake things up but for the most part, there should be a lot of familiarity with this group heading into 2023-24.

Grocery Stick: How is Toronto looking if they don’t give a new contract to their GM this offseason? Selling off hugely for a new start? Or will they still try to find a way to be a contender next season?

In this scenario, I believe the Maple Leafs would have several quality executives trying to land that job while saying that they have a plan to win now without blowing up that core group.  There is simply too much talent on Toronto for someone to turn around and say that it’s time to blow it all up.

Could there be a coaching change if Tampa Bay ousts them in the first round again?  Sure, it’s possible.  Is it even possible that whoever is running the team – Kyle Dubas or someone else – decides to move one of their core four players?  Yep.  Extension talks with Auston Matthews and William Nylander (which can happen this summer) will give them an idea about the potential ability (or inability) to keep this group together with those discussions potentially shaping their plans this summer.  But even at that, that’s one piece being traded for another key piece, not a drastic change.

The other reason I can’t see them beginning a full-scale rebuild is this – they don’t have many of their own draft picks.  If you’re going to rebuild and finish low in the standings, you lose the benefit of doing so by not having those selections.  Toronto’s 2025 first-round pick has limited protection and they don’t have a second-rounder until 2027.  The last thing they’d want is them struggling and other teams reaping the benefits.

I think Toronto can win with this core group even with their previous playoff performances.  I’m sure many others around the league do as well.  Whoever is in charge next season is likely to have that same mindset.

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Travis Hamonic Hopes To Re-Sign With Senators

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Last season, it came as a bit of a surprise that the Senators acquired Travis Hamonic from Vancouver.  They wanted him to be a reliable veteran to work with a younger group of defensemen and it’s a role that has suited him well.  Earlier this year, it seemed like there was a chance that the veteran would be on the move but he wound up staying put with Ottawa.

While Hamonic is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, he’s hoping it doesn’t come to that point, telling Ian Mendes of The Athletic (subscription link) that he wants to re-sign with the Sens before getting to the open market.  To that end, he indicated that preliminary discussions on an extension have started but not to the point where talks could be considered as serious.

The 32-year-old is having one of his stronger seasons in recent years.  Offensively, he has his highest point total (21) since 2015-16 while defensively, he leads the team in blocks with 143 in 75 games although those numbers won’t be going up for now as he will miss the next few games at least due to a lower-body injury.  Hamonic also leads the Senators in shorthanded ice time, logging 3:16 per contest.  All in all, he has been a steady and stable defensive presence which is exactly what he was brought in for.

However, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll be able to afford Hamonic at a similar price to what he’s making this season.  A $3MM AAV for a fourth or fifth defender is fair market value but the Sens already have over $69MM in commitments for next season to just 16 players, per CapFriendly.  Alex DeBrincat is a high-profile restricted free agent who will eat up most of that cap room as he’s owed a $9MM qualifying offer if they can’t reach an agreement on a long-term pact before then.  Between that deal and filling out the rest of the roster, will there be room for Hamonic on a market-value contract?

Of the five blueliners on Ottawa’s current roster that are signed beyond this season, Artem Zub is the oldest at 27 so there is definitely room for someone like Hamonic to stay on the roster in his current role.  But if he’s going to get his wish to stay in Canada’s capital, he’s either heading for a sizable cut in pay or GM Pierre Dorion is going to have to find a way to trim some salary first to try to make that happen.

Injury Notes: Penguins, Hart, Schenn

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently locked in a battle against the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, and they sit just one point behind Florida with a game in hand at the time of writing. They’ve kept themselves in the race despite facing some major injury losses, although it now seems that reinforcements could be on the horizon.

Today, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh, that four significant injured Penguins all skated today and could return before the conclusion of the regular season. Those four Penguins are Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson, Jan Rutta, and Nick Bonino. The additions of Kulikov, Pettersson, and Rutta back into the lineup in particular could help Pittsburgh as goaltender Tristan Jarry struggled in the month of March, and adding three significant contributors back to the defense in front of him could help Jarry return to form in time for some crucial late-season games or even the first round of the playoffs, should they make it.

Some other injury notes:

  • Philadelphia Flyers netminder Carter Hart has been out since his March 25th shutout over the Detroit Red Wings, but don’t expect Hart’s absence to extend for the rest of the season. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was asked if Hart’s injury would be season-ending, and he responded with a definitive “no,” per The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. While Hart’s absence has given the team the opportunity to take an extra look at Felix Sandstrom, getting Hart back into the crease before the end of the season would allow him to put some finishing touches on what has been an impressive season.
  • St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn had a bit of an injury scare during today’s game against the Boston Bruins, but seems to have moved past it. As covered by The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Schenn took a skate to the hand, and then left to the locker room with a team athletic trainer to repair some damage caused by what may have been a high stick. Schenn did return to the ice, though, and managed to notch an assist on teammate Jordan Kyrou’s goal despite a cut finger and having stitches on his face, per Rutherford. It seems what has hurt Schenn this game won’t keep him out of any future contests, but given his importance to the Blues as a whole (he has 21 goals and 59 points this season) his status may be worth monitoring.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Judd Caulfield

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signing of college prospect Judd Caulfield to a two-year entry-level contract set to begin next season. The team has also signed him to an ATO agreement so that he can play with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, for the rest of the season.

The Ducks acquired Caulfield two days ago in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, sending prospect Thimo Nickl back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return. Caulfield was originally selected by the Penguins at the 2019 draft, in the fifth round 145th overall.

A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Caulfield has spent the last four seasons playing college hockey for the University of North Dakota. He finishes his collegiate career with 62 points in 133 career games, including this past season where he scored 10 goals and 19 points in 39 games, ranking fourth on his team in both goals and points.

Caulfield turned 22 on March 19th and brings size and a powerful game to the Ducks’ system. Caulfield was not ranked inside the top 15 prospects of the Penguins’ 29th-ranked system earlier this year according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, (subscription link) but he does bring some intriguing qualities for their development staff to get to work on.

The Ducks selected six-foot-three QMJHL pivot Nathan Gaucher in the first round of last year’s draft, and all four forwards the Ducks selected at the 2023 draft stand at least six-foot-two.

With just one player above six feet tall in the team’s top-five scoring forwards this season, it could be that this acquisition of Caulfield adds to some growing indications that GM Pat Verbeek has made acquiring bigger forwards a heightened organizational priority.

Minor Transactions: 04/02/23

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It’s another busy day across the hockey world as we reach an important stretch of the NHL season with several teams in the thick of tight playoff races, especially in the Western Conference. The New York Islanders take on the Carolina Hurricanes in what could be a first-round playoff preview, while the Los Angeles Kings take on the Vancouver Canucks in a game that could push L.A. ahead of the Edmonton Oilers in the race for the Pacific Division’s second seed.

In Europe, multiple playoff semifinals are underway, and today Frolunda HC captured a crucial victory against Vaxjo in Sweden, tying the SHL’s semifinals at one game apiece. In Germany, Grizzlys Wolfsburg tied their DEL semifinal against EHC Red Bull Munchen 1-1, while an important third-period tie-breaking goal by former New York Rangers prospect Ty Ronning helped ERC Ingolstadt win 6-3 over Adler Mannheim and tie their side of the DEL semifinals. As fans take in all of the hockey on offer today, teams around the world are making tweaks to their roster or preparing for next season. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Stanley Cup champion and former NHL top prospect Brett Connolly is among the players leaving Swiss club HC Lugano, according to a team announcement. Connolly signed in Switzerland over the summer after spending most of last season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The Canadian forward, who is still just 30 years old and was a decent NHL goal-scorer as recently as 2019-20, did well in his first year overseas, scoring 12 goals and 38 points in 45 games. He was sandwiched between two other former NHLers, Markus Granlund and Mirco Mueller, in Lugano’s scoring rankings, and he helped his side reach the Swiss playoffs.
  • Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Philip Samuelsson, the son of two-time Stanley Cup champion Ulf Samuelsson, is among the players announced not to be returning to the DEL’s Fischtown Pinguins. Samuelsson, 31, has 13 NHL games on his resume, the last few coming in 2015-16 with the Arizona Coyotes. Samuelsson played three straight seasons exclusively as an AHLer before heading overseas in 2019-20 to play most of the year in his native Sweden. He split the last three seasons between Leksands IF and IK Oskarshamn in the SHL before signing last summer in the DEL. He scored 31 points in 47 games for Fischtown, helping lead them to a playoff series win over the Nurnburg Ice Tigers.
  • 2008 Minnesota Wild first-round pick Tyler Cuma has signed a two-year contract with Austria’s EK Zell am See, a club in the AlpsHL, a league with many second-tier Austrian clubs as well as teams in Italy and Slovenia. The 33-year-old blueliner has played in one career NHL game, which took place in 2011-12 with the Wild. Since then, he spent two more seasons in the AHL before deciding to head to Austria, and has now played nearly 300 games at the highest level of Austrian pro hockey. He’ll be moving down a level with this move after a season spent with Innsbruck HC, where he scored nine points in 43 games.
  • Former New York Rangers prospect Andrew Yogan will not continue his career with the IceHL’s Graz99ers, per a team announcement. The 31-year-old has been a star in the ICEHL since leaving North America, with 247 points in 236 career games. Yogan made the choice to leave Austria in 2021 to play with HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak league, and the 52 points in 48 games he scored propelled the team to a Slovak Extraliga championship. Yogan split 2022-23 between Slovakia and Austria, scoring 15 points in 16 games for Poprad before transferring and scoring 13 goals and 20 points for Graz.
  • Dylan St. Cyr’s tryout with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins is over, per the team. The 23-year-old former Michigan State Spartan appeared in one game with the Griffins, saving seven shots in relief of Jon Lethemon during a March 31st loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The son of famous women’s hockey goaltender Manon Rheaume, St. Cyr will now look for his next chance in professional hockey with some valuable first experience under his belt.
  • 2013 San Jose Sharks fourth-round pick Fredrik Bergvik will not be returning to HockeyAllsvenskan’s Sodertalje SK for next season. The 28-year-old has been a tandem netminder for the second-tier Swedish side for the past four seasons, spending the last two as the backup for Nikita Tolopilo, who signed with the Canucks on Friday. Bergvik posted 2 shutouts and a 5-2 record in 10 total games played, with a .902 save percentage, and will now hit the open market for the first time in several years.
  • Michal Jordan is leaving the Lakers. The former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman is among the players not returning to Switzerland’s SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, per a team announcement. The 32-year-old spent 19 games in Switzerland after transferring there in December. Before that point, he had captained the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk, playing over 250 games there. Jordan last appeared in the NHL in 2015-16 and will now look elsewhere to continue his pro career.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Eastern Notes: Marner, Abruzzese, Capitals

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As the Toronto Maple Leafs square off against their original six rival Detroit Red Wings, they will be without several familiar faces in the lineup. Mark Masters of TSN was the first to report that Mitch Marner would be sitting out of tonight’s game. Furthermore, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reports that defensemen Jake McCabe and Mark Giordano will be sitting out tonight as well.

Most of this is load management as Toronto gears up for their quest for the Cup, as none of these players are expected to be out longer than a game or two. Although the Maple Leafs will not reach as many points as they did last season, they are still playing extremely good hockey. As the team looks to finally make it out of the first round, they are resting some of their top players in the stretch run. When the playoffs officially start on April 17th, the Maple Leafs will likely be facing off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Filling in tonight for the Maple Leafs is defenseman Conor Timmins, and veteran forward Wayne Simmonds. Both Timmins and Simmonds have been used sparingly this season, as neither player has played over 30 games this season.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Continuing with the Maple Leafs, the team announced that they have recalled forward Nicholas Abruzzese from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies. Abruzzese suited up in nine games for Toronto last year in the NHL, scoring a total of one goal. Playing the entirety of this season in the AHL, Abruzzesse has put up 44 points in 65 games for the Maple Leafs’ top minor league team.
  • Tom Gulitti from the NHL reports that Sonny Milano will return to the ice for the Washington Capitals in today’s game. Milano had been sidelined with an upper-body injury since the Capitals took on the Chicago Blackhawks on March 23rd. Unfortunately for Washington, forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk are both sidelined with upper-body injuries. Both players have been out since the team’s March 30th game against the Lightning.

Dallas Stars Recall Scott Wedgewood

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From a press release earlier this morning, the Dallas Stars announced they have recalled goaltender Scott Wedgewood from his conditioning assignment. In a corresponding move, the team has sent down Matt Murray to their AHL affiliate Texas Stars.

The return of Wedgewood will be an important one for the Stars. The team has been without him since their February 18th game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wedgewood will not be the primary starter in Dallas, but his presence allows their regular netminder, Jake Oettinger, to get more rest before the playoffs begin. Oettinger currently sits third amongst all goalies in games played, as Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck have both played one more.

This season, Wedgewood has made 16 starts, going 7-8-3 in the process, posting a save percentage of .913% and a GAA of 2.92. As the season winds down for the Stars in the regular season, expect Wedgewood to make several more stars to allow for a fully rested Oettinger come playoff time.

In their last 10 games, the Stars are 5-4-1, moving back to 3rd place in the incredibly tight Central Division playoff race. Losing a big game last night to the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars only play one playoff team in their remaining six games.

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