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Minor Transactions: 05/11/23

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As the NHL season has drawn to a close for most of the league, free agency periods for other leagues are entering their frenzy. Many North American minor leagues and European pro leagues are making significant transactions, and as always, we provide a daily running list of the most notable ones from around the men’s hockey world.

  • Vancouver Canucks 2017 draft pick Petrus Palmu has signed a two-year agreement to return to TPS in the Finnish Liiga after an extremely disappointing SHL campaign in 2022-23. Palmu’s high-end European scoring production made him an appealing prospect early on in his development, but he was never able to make a dent professionally in North America after playing junior hockey with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. Returning to Finland after his draft year, Palmu only ever played 12 games in the Canucks system with the AHL’s Utica Comets in 2018-19, recording just one assist. Now, he’ll head back home to the Liiga, where he scored at a point-per-game pace with Jukurit in 2021-22. He split the 2022-23 season between two SHL clubs, Örebro HK and Linköping HC, but scored just one goal and nine points in 41 games.
  • AHL mainstay Garrett Wilson is staying with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the next two seasons after signing a contract extension today. Wilson, 32, does have 84 NHL games under his belt with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s been exclusively in the minors since 2019-20, however, and this will be Wilson’s fourth and fifth seasons with the Phantoms. Last season, he scored 43 points in 68 games and led the AHL in penalty minutes (195).

This page will be updated throughout the day.

PHF’s Boston Pride Sign Alina Müller

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1:05 pm: The Boston Pride have officially announced the signing, bringing Müller to the PHF.

12:09 pm: There have been rumblings of a major news drop in women’s hockey over the past few days, and it appears we have some clarity this morning. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian confirmed reports that the PHF’s Boston Pride have signed Swiss forward Alina Müller, arguably the best European forward in the sport, to a one-year contract.

Müller’s career resume is impressive in its own right, but when you consider the 25-year-old hasn’t even made her North American professional debut yet, it becomes even more jaw-dropping. After recording 60 points and a staggering +45 rating in 38 points in her fifth and final season with Northeastern University this year, though, she’s ready to make her splash in North American pro hockey.

She’s already made three Olympic appearances, cracking Switzerland’s roster as a 16-year-old in 2014. With three points in six games, she provided a key depth role as Switzerland took home the bronze medal at that year’s tournament. The Swiss haven’t medalled at the Olympics since, but she’s recorded well over a point per game at both tournaments.

Müller was also named a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the top women’s collegiate player, in all of her five seasons at Northeastern. She wraps up her career there with 98 goals, 156 assists, and 254 points in 159 games, a 1.60 points-per-game pace.

She joins a Pride team hungry to rebound after losing in the PHF’s semifinal round last season. The Pride captured back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022, making it three total championships for the team since the league’s inception. They’ll be a much different-looking squad next season, though, especially without the services of Rookie of the Year netminder Corinne Schroeder, who posted a 19-1-0 record and a .955 save percentage in 22 games. She’s rumored to have signed a contract in free agency with the second-year Montreal Force.

Injury Notes: Samsonov, Knies, Raanta

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are still in Stanley Cup contention after staving off elimination, winning last night’s Game 4 against the Florida Panthers 2-1. The victory came in large part due to the strong play of rookie netminder Joseph Woll, who stopped 24 of 25 shots and saved 2.02 goals above expected (MoneyPuck).

They’ll have to turn to Woll again for Game 5, as head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters this morning that starter Ilya Samsonov remains unavailable with an upper-body injury. Samsonov left early in the second period of Game 3 after Maple Leafs defender Luke Schenn barrelled into him while defending a Panthers rush. Toronto’s starter for much of the season, Samsonov had been largely passable in the postseason, making key saves despite a .898 save percentage on the whole during the postseason. While Woll has just 14 combined regular-season and playoff games in his NHL career, he has a combined 10-3-0 record and has posted save percentages well over .900.

Other injury notes from the playoff landscape this morning:

  • Keefe also revealed to reporters forward Matthew Knies’ concussion symptoms are improving after missing Games 3 and 4, but he’s not yet ready to return to the lineup. Knies was knocked out of Game 2 in the first period, sustaining the concussion on a hit from Panthers center Sam Bennett. The rookie forward had cemented himself in a top-six role by the time of his injury, recording four points in his first seven playoff games.
  • Carolina Hurricanes netminder Antti Raanta said he’s recovered from an illness that kept him out for the past three games, meaning he’ll back up Frederik Andersen tonight for a potentially series-clinching Game 5. Raanta started the first five games of Carolina’s First Round series against the New York Islanders but has since been superseded by Andersen, who’s posted a 4-0-0 record and .930 save percentage in five starts.

Alex Pietrangelo To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has decided that some supplemental discipline is warranted after last night’s Vegas Golden Knights-Edmonton Oilers game. Alex Pietrangelo will have a hearing today regarding his slash on Leon Draisaitl.

Near the end of the game, as Draisaitl tried to extend Edmonton’s lead with a backhand shot on an empty net, Pietrangelo skated toward him and delivered a hard slash after the puck had already been released.

The Vegas defenseman was penalized for slashing and given a game misconduct, as the officials tried (and failed) to keep order on the ice. He’ll now likely face a suspension, as hearings generally result in at least a one-game ban.

However, Edmonton could be without their own impact defenseman, as Darnell Nurse’s late instigator penalty does come with an automatic suspension. As Darren Dreger of TSN tweets, the league can decide to rescind the instigator or the automatic suspension. There has not yet been any indication from the DoPS on Nurse’s status.

Any discipline could have a significant effect in a heated series now tied at 2-2. The teams will battle again tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

Gustav Rydahl Returns To SHL

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His North American hockey career is over as quickly as it began, as Gustav Rydahl has officially signed a new contract in the SHL. Reports emerged in March that the 28-year-old would be inking a multi-year deal with Frolunda, and today the club announced a five-year contract.

That effectively ends any chance of him playing in the NHL, after failing to make it with the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche this season. Rydahl signed a one-year, $750K deal last summer to join the Rangers after developing into one of the SHL’s most well-rounded power forwards, but would see only minor league action before being shipped to Colorado at the deadline.

After 52 unspectacular AHL contests, he’ll return to Sweden to continue his strong international career. Rydahl was part of his country’s 2022 Olympic squad, and is a significant addition for Frolunda through 2028.

Given his age, Rydahl was headed to unrestricted free agency, meaning there will be no qualifying offer or rights retained by the Avalanche.

Prospect Notes: Mock Draft, WHL, Knies

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The 2023 NHL Draft has an order, at least for the first part of the first round, and analysis continues to pour out. Today, Corey Pronman of The Athletic released his latest mock draft, with an interesting name creeping into the third spot behind Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli.

William Smith, the top USNTDP prospect, is Pronman’s projected pick for the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving them another talented young forward to build around. Smith’s stock has continued to rise after his incredible season, though he is committed to Boston College and won’t be entering the NHL right away.

  • Speaking of drafts, the WHL is set to pick the next wave of junior talent today, and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic reports that Daxon Rudolph is expected to go first overall to the Prince Albert Raiders. The 15-year-old defenseman will be one of three top-seven picks the Raiders have, as they rebuild their squad with an eye on future Memorial Cup appearances.
  • Young Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matthew Knies is “feeling better day to day,” according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The young forward suffered a concussion in his seventh playoff game for Toronto after signing out of college and making an immediate impact. With the Maple Leafs still fighting for their lives, down 3-1 to the Florida Panthers, it remains to be seen whether Knies will get another opportunity this spring.

Flyers Hire Keith Jones As President Of Hockey Ops

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May 11: The Flyers have made it official, hiring Jones and removing Briere’s interim tag.

May 10: Sportsnet is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers are set to name Keith Jones as President of Hockey Operations. Elliotte Friedman first broke the news this evening that will see the long-time broadcaster Jones move from the studio to the boardroom. Earlier today Frank Seravalli had reported that the Flyers were down to two options: Ed Olczyk and Keith Jones, with the Flyers electing to go with the latter over the former.

The Flyers are expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday at which time they will also drop the interim tag from Daniel Briere’s general manager position. Jones and Briere will take over from Chuck Fletcher who was fired March 10 as the Flyers were on the cusp of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Jones has been in broadcasting booth or between the benches since 2005 and is currently employed by the NHL on TNT as well as local Philadelphia broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He is also a former Flyers player having been with the team for parts of three seasons from 1998-2001.

Jones, Briere, and company have a tall task in front of them. As mentioned earlier the Flyers haven’t made the playoffs in three seasons and have won just a single playoff round in the last 11 years. It’ll be interesting to see the path the Flyers go down and whether Jones and his management group elect to embrace the rebuild that the Flyers have desperately needed for the past half decade. The Flyers don’t have a particularly good prospect pool and haven’t been able to cash in on any of their pending free agents at the last two NHL trade deadlines. Their NHL roster is saddled with several bad contracts, and they are lacking in top end talent. If they do go for a rebuild, it will be long and painful and something that the Flyers organization haven’t had the stomach to do for quite some time.

Linus Omark Signs In SHL

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Not all influential hockey careers are spent in North America. One of his generation’s most creative and exciting players, Linus Omark, has spent the last decade overseas, playing for various clubs. At the age of 36, he’ll now head back to the SHL after signing a new contract with Luleå HF.

A fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2007, Omark had one of the most memorable NHL debuts by scoring a wild shootout goal—a talent he would showcase for the rest of his career. While his time in the NHL would last just 79 games (and include 32 points), Omark has continued to have an offensive impact where he’s gone, whether it be the KHL, SHL, or Swiss National League, where he won a league title with Geneve-Servette this season.

Though often credited to Pavel Datsyuk, it was Omark who first pulled off the “flip goal” in competition, scoring it against Switzerland in a pre-tournament game for the 2009 IIHF World Championship.

At his age, there’s virtually no chance of a return to North American pro hockey. But Omark’s career has been impressive either way.

2023 Ted Lindsay Award Finalists Announced

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The NHL has announced the 2023 Ted Lindsay Award nominees. The award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL and is voted on by the players. The Ted Lindsay Award is very similar to the Hart Trophy, with the unique feature of the award being that is that it is voted on by members of the NHLPA. Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs won the award last year and was the fourth different winner in as many years.

This year the finalists for the award are San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, and right winger David Pastrňák of the Boston Bruins.

McDavid continues to be widely regarded as the best player in the world and it is hard to argue with the numbers. The 26-year-old put up video game like numbers this year with 64 goals and 89 assists in 82 regular season games on his way to a third consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. McDavid outpaced the entire league by 25 points this season, with the second leading scorer being teammate Leon Draisaitl. He outscored fellow Ted Lindsay nominee Pastrňák by 40 points.

Pastrňák has a career year putting up 61 goals and 52 assists in 82 games as he led the Boston Bruins to a historical President’s Trophy winning regular season. The soon to be 27-year-old put up an incredible 43 even strength goals and 76 even strength points. Pastrňák nearly lapped his own team in scoring as he outscored the second leading Bruins scorer Brad Marchand by 46 points. Maybe the most impressive feat of all for Pastrňák was that he put up this incredible season in a contract year. Somehow the winger was able to keep out the noise and put-up terrific numbers before signing an eight year $90MM contract extension on March 2nd .

Speaking of historical seasons, defenseman Erik Karlsson eclipsed the 100 points mark this season finishing the year with 25 goals and 76 assists in 82 games. The smooth skating Swede was the first defenseman to top 100 points in 31 years. Even more impressive than that was the fact that Karlsson did it playing on a bad Sharks team while also dealing with his name being in trade talks all season. Karlsson topped his career high point total by 19, and quieted a lot of his harshest critics in what was an incredible offensive display.

It’ll be interesting to see who comes away with the Ted Lindsay award come June when the ceremony will be held in Nashville. McDavid is likely the favorite to pick up the award, however I wouldn’t discount a 100-point defenseman in this era as Karlsson is just the sixth defenseman ever to accomplish the feat.

Evening Notes: Voit, Hildeby, Teravainen

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to stave off elimination this evening against the Florida Panthers. While the team on the ice is trying to keep their season alive, management was busy today making a couple of small moves. The Toronto Marlies announced that the Maple Leafs have assigned forward prospect Ty Voit to them via the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Voit finished second in OHL scoring this year with 105 points in 67 games and just wrapped his OHL season this past Sunday when Sarnia was eliminated from the OHL playoffs by the London Knights.

Voit was drafted by the Leafs in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL entry draft and has seen his stock rise in the past two seasons. He finished eighth in OHL scoring in 2021-22 with 80 points in 67 games and followed it up with 24 goals and 81 assists this year. It’ll be interesting to see how the Pittsburgh native adjusts to professional hockey as he is undersized at 5’9” tall and 150 pounds.

In other notes this evening:

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs announced another move earlier today calling up Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Marlies to serve as the team’s playoff emergency backup goaltender tonight behind Joseph Woll and Matt Murray. The 21-year-old spent almost all the 2022-23 season in the Swedish Hockey League with Farjestads BK Karlstad. He dressed in just two regular season games for the Marlies posting an 0-1-0 record with 5.28 goals against average and a .849 save percentage.
  • Carolina Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff reported today that head coach Rod Brind’Amour ruled out any possibility that forward Teuvo Teravainen could return in their second round series against the New Jersey Devils. Teravainen suffered an injury to his hand after taking a slash in a game against the New York Islanders, he had surgery back in mid-April and has been rehabbing the injury ever since. He skated today with the club but is “a long way away,” according to Brind’Amour. Teravainen put up 12 goals and 25 assists this season in 68 games this season and would provide a good depth scoring option for Carolina if the Canes advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

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