Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for September 2023

Injury Notes: Timmins, Chytil, Kurashev

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan shared that Toronto Maple Leafs defender Conor Timmins sustained a lower-body injury in the team’s preseason matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. The duration of Timmins’ injury should be clearer following MRI testing, although Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe already shared that, “[Timmins] is going to miss some time, he is going to be out for a bit.”

This is an incredibly untimely injury for Timmins, who has been one of the brightest points of Toronto’s training camp. The 25-year-old defenseman has six points through three preseason games, leading the league by two points. This falls in line with the strong scoring Timmins exhibited in the NHL last season, netting two goals and 14 points through 25 games in the NHL. Previously the 32nd-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Timmins has yet to work his way into consistent NHL minutes, splitting time between the top league and the AHL. In fact, last season was his first time appearing in 10 or more NHL games since the 2020-21 season, when he appeared in 31 games with the Colorado Avalanche, recording seven points. Timmins was sent to the Arizona Coyotes following that season – a main part of the deal that sent Darcy Kuemper to Colorado. A little over a year later, Arizona sent Timmins to Toronto for Curtis Douglas. Now, the defender seems poised for an NHL opportunity; that is, if he can maintain his strong play after he returns from injury.

Other injury notes:

  • Filip Chytil skated individually prior to the New York Rangers practice, indicating that he’s progressing in his return from an upper-body injury sustained earlier in the week. The injury was labeled as an unserious, day-to-day injury and Chytil’s return to the ice seems to further indicate that he won’t be out for long.
  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev sustained a wrist injury that held him out of the team’s practices on Saturday. However, no further timetable was provided for the injury. The 23-year-old has become a consistent part of the Blackhawks lineup, appearing in 70 games with the club last season – his third year of 50 or more NHL games. The team will look for him to return to the lineup sooner rather than later.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/23

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With AHL camps set to start in the coming days, there will be some more cuts coming across the NHL today.  We’ll keep track of those moves here:

Anaheim Ducks (via team Twitter)

G Gage Alexander (to San Diego, AHL)
F Davis Codd (to San Diego, AHL)
F Ben King (to San Diego, AHL)
F Blake McLaughlin (to San Diego, AHL)
D Luka Profaca (to San Diego, AHL)
G Tomas Suchanek (to San Diego, AHL)
D Nick Wolff (to San Diego, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes (via team Twitter)

D Maveric Lamoureux (to Drummondville, QMJHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)

D Vsevolod Komarov (to Quebec, QMJHL)

Edmonton Oilers (via team release)

D Noel Hoefenmayer (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Alex Peters (released from PTO, to Bakersfield, AHL)
G Olivier Rodrigue (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Carter Savoie (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release)

F Owen Beck (to Peterborough, OHL)
D Tobie Bisson (to Laval, AHL)
F Gabriel Bourque (to Laval, AHL)
F Jared Davidson (to Laval, AHL)
D Stanislav Demin (to Laval, AHL)
F Isaac Dufort (to Laval, AHL)
G Zachary Emond (to Laval, AHL)
D Olivier Galipeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Brandon Gignac (to Laval, AHL)
D Noah Laaouan (to Laval, AHL)
F Nathan Legare (to Laval, AHL)
G Strauss Mann (to Laval, AHL)
F Riley McKay (to Laval, AHL)
F Filip Mesar (to Laval, AHL)
F Jan Mysak (to Laval, AHL)
F Jakov Novak (to Laval, AHL)
D Christopher Ortiz (to Laval, AHL)
D/F John Parker-Jones (to Laval, AHL)
F Joshua Roy (to Laval, AHL)
F Xavier Simoneau (to Laval, AHL)
F Ty Smilanic (to Laval, AHL)
D Jayden Struble (to Laval, AHL)
D Miguel Tourigny (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex-Olivier Voyer (to Laval, AHL)
G Joe Vrbetic (to Laval, AHL)
F Nolan Yaremko (to Laval, AHL)

New York Rangers (via team release)

F Alex Belzile (to Hartford, AHL)
F Anton Blidh (to Hartford, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Hartford, AHL)
D Connor Mackey (to Hartford, AHL)
F Riley Nash (to Hartford, AHL)
F Adam Sykora (to Hartford, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)

F Jordy Bellerive (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Elliot Desnoyers (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Jacob Gaucher (released from PTO, to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Helge Grans (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release)

F Adam Gaudette (to Springfield, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release)

G Ben Gaudreau (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Bennett MacArthur (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Cole Koepke (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walcott (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Daniel Walker (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Declan Carlile (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Devante Stephens (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Emil Lilleberg (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Felix Robert (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gabriel Dumont (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gabriel Szturc (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Gage Goncalves (to Syracuse, AHL)
G Hugo Alnefelt (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Ilya Usau (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jack Finley (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Jack Thompson (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Jaydon Dureau (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Joe Carroll (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Logan Brown (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Louka Henault (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Lucas Edmonds (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Maxwell Crozier (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Maxim Groshev (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Mitchell Chaffee (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Philippe Myers (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Roman Schmidt (to Syracuse, AHL)
D Sean Day (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Shawn Element (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Tristan Allard (to Syracuse, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release)

D Layton Ahac (to Henderson, AHL)
F Tyler Benson (to Henderson, AHL)
D Jake Bischoff (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jakub Brabenec (to Henderson, AHL)
D Daniil Chayka (to Henderson, AHL)
D Lukas Cormier (to Henderson, AHL)
F Adam Cracknell (to Henderson, AHL)
F Jakub Demek (to Henderson, AHL)
F Mason Morelli (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jiri Patera (to Henderson, AHL)
D Christoffer Sedoff (to Henderson, AHL)
G Jesper Vikman (to Henderson, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via team release)

F Brad Lambert (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Daniel Torgersson (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Nikita Chibrikov (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Simon Lundmark (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Dmitri Kuzmin (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Artemi Kniazev (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Tyrel Bauer (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Dean Stewart (released from PTO, to Manitoba, AHL)
G Oskari Salminen (to Manitoba, AHL)
G Thomas Milic (to Manitoba, AHL)

This post will be updated throughout the day.

PHR Mailbag: Calder Trophy, CHL-NHL Agreement, Bonuses, Hellebuyck, Goalies, Primeau, PWHL

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the Calder Trophy battle for Rookie of the Year, a look at potential bonuses available for players on entry-level deals, and much more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.

DevilShark: Review of Luke Hughes’ Calder chances, please! Convince me he is not next to Bedard as a top-two favorite or, if you agree, explain why he doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar for this award. Thanks!

Cyclone: Hypothetical… If Bedard underwhelms, Hughes, Cooley, or Fantilli for the Calder?

The reason Hughes isn’t on the radar for the Calder is that his name isn’t Connor Bedard.  It’s really as simple as that; it’s him versus the field.  If Bedard stays healthy, it’s his award to lose.

Should he be second?  I don’t think I’d have him there, to be honest.  This isn’t a bad thing in reality but the fact he’s on a good team will hurt him.  He’s not going to be getting top power play time, not with Dougie Hamilton in the fold.  I’m not sure he plays higher than fourth at even strength at the start of the year, barring injuries.  That’s not going to give him prime opportunities to rack up the points.

Logan Cooley will have that opportunity in Arizona.  He could be their top center right away.  Adam Fantilli might get that chance in Columbus.  More minutes should lead to more power play time and scoring opportunities.  The Calder Trophy is often numbers-dependent and while Hughes should be a very important piece for the Devils this season, I’m not sure he’ll put up enough numbers to really get him near the top of the radar.

I feel like there’s one other player that warrants a mention here, Buffalo’s Devon Levi.  If the Sabres finally snap their playoff drought and he’s the number one goalie that helps get them to the postseason, I think there’s a good chance he’ll appear pretty high on some ballots as well.

KRB: The CHL and NHL have a rule that 18-and 19-year-olds drafted out of juniors can’t play in a North American professional league unless it’s the NHL. I understand why the rule was put in place: to keep professional leagues like the AHL and ECHL from stripping Canadian juniors of high-end talent. But the rule can hurt some players, for example, Shane Wright. Do you see this rule continuing, or do you think perhaps they may grant “exceptional status” to certain 18-and 19-year-olds to play in professional minor leagues, similar to that granted to 15-year-olds like Connor Bedard, to play in major juniors?

I do see this rule continuing for the foreseeable future.  As unpopular as it might be, the presence of those top players in major junior helps make those leagues as strong as they are from a competition perspective.  If they’re out of the league and the competition level goes down, it’s going to be harder to attract the top players that have NCAA or USHL options as well.

Those top players also help drive revenues.  While there are a handful of big teams across Canada, many CHL squads are in smaller cities where the profit margins are small.  Fewer star players means less merchandise, ticket sales, etc.  That would also be quite detrimental to the league.

I’ve wondered about what an exemption could look like.  In my mind, it’d have to be limited to one 19-year-old player per team at a time (an exception being if a prospect on an AHL exemption gets traded to a team that is already using it).  And if the team uses it, the developmental fee paid is substantially higher.  Instead of it being paid out as part of the pool the CHL receives now from the NHL, the team using the exemption has to pay two or three times that amount to at least help offset some of the financial element.  But still, I don’t see it happening.  I’m not sure it could be done by “exceptional status” though as those cases are judged case-by-case; there won’t be any set criteria.  Anything that is judged as it pertains to an NHL team could carry the appearance of bias.

I’m honestly a bit surprised Wright was granted an exemption even though there was a logical case for it. I suspect he will be the last to get one for a while.

Zakis: What are the ‘A’ and ‘B’ bonuses for ELC’s based on position?

Let’s start with the A bonuses.  For forwards, it’s the following categories:

1) Top six among forwards in ATOI, minimum 42 GP
2) 20 goals
3) 35 assists
4) 60 points
5) 0.73 points per game, minimum 42 GP
6) Top three among forwards in plus/minus, minimum 42 GP
7) Makes the All-Rookie Team
8) Selected to the All-Star Game
9) All-Star Game MVP

For defense, it’s the following:

1) Top four among defensemen in ATOI, minimum 42 GP
2) 10 goals
3) 25 assists
4) 40 points
5) 0.49 points per game, minimum 42 GP
6) Top three among defensemen in plus/minus, minimum 42 GP
7) Top two among defensemen in blocked shots, minimum 42 GP
8) Makes the All-Rookie Team
9) Selected to the All-Star Game
10) All-Star Game MVP

And for goalies:

1) 1,800 minutes played
2) GAA is equal to or below the median GAA of all goalies who play 25 or more games
3) SV% is equal to or above the median SV% of all goalies who play 25 or more games
4) 20 wins, minimum 30 minutes played in each victory
5) Shutouts are equal to or above the median number of shutouts of all goalies who play 25 or more games
6) Makes the All-Rookie Team
7) Selected to the All-Star Game
8) All-Star Game MVP

Individual games played bonuses can also be negotiated.  The maximum ‘A’ bonuses in a deal are capped at $1MM, or $250K per bonus for deals signed since 2022.  Before that, the limits were $850K and $212.5K, respectively.

The ‘B’ bonuses I’m not going to go into as much detail here as it’s basically four pages in the CBA.  Here’s the quick version.  Bonuses can be negotiated based on end-of-season awards.  For forwards, there are potential amounts for finishing in the top ten in goals, assists, points, or points per game (minimum 42 GP).  For defense, it’s those four plus ATOI.  For goalies, it’s top five in GAA, SV%, or wins (minimum 25 games played).  The value of any of these can’t exceed $2.5MM, previously $2MM.  These ones aren’t anywhere near as common as ‘A’ bonuses and generally, only the top few picks get them.

Unclemike1526: The Blackhawks have immensely upgraded their forward group since last year. Their defensemen will go as far as Korchinski, Vlasic, Allan, and Kaiser will take them. The obvious weakness is G where Soderblom, Commesso, and Stauber are untested and Mrazek is just plain horrible. What do you think the odds are Davidson speeds up the rebuild by trading for Hellebuyck? He’s supposedly on the market and the Hawks are probably one of the few teams that have both the Prospect, Draft, and Salary Cap Capital to get a deal done. I think Davidson could get a deal done for just about anyone they want. The Hawks could take on half of Mrazek’s contract back as it’s an expiring deal and would give the Jets something to maybe flip at the deadline for something anyway to add to the kitty. Thoughts?

You’re correct in identifying that Chicago is one of the few teams that could afford Connor Hellebuyck’s contract now and have the capital to make a compelling offer.  But there are two key issues with the idea of the Blackhawks making a move for him.

First, the addition of Hellebuyck to the Blackhawks doesn’t really expedite the rebuild.  Instead of being a really bad non-playoff team, they’d be a non-playoff team with good goaltending.  If Chicago was only a goalie away from being a playoff-caliber squad, I’d say this makes sense for them.  But they’re nowhere close to pushing for a postseason spot so why trade assets for a rental goalie that doesn’t get you to the playoffs?

Second, Winnipeg has no intention of throwing in the towel this season.  At least not yet.  That’s why Hellebuyck is still there.  So a package of some futures and Petr Mrazek isn’t going to move the needle for them.  They want someone who can help them win now and Mrazek isn’t that netminder.

I could see a scenario where Chicago goes after Hellebuyck next summer in free agency.  At that point, their cap space is a big asset and maybe a year of Bedard helps up interest in Chicago as a market across the league.  He still might not get them to the playoffs right away but at that point, he’s only costing money, not other assets.  But in terms of trading for him now, no, I don’t think that would be a wise move for them.

pawtucket: Has Vegas’ recent Cup win using four goalies set the future of the position? Are NHL goalies going to be treated like running backs in the NFL (where teams are starting to roster 4-5 on cheaper contracts as they are replaceable) and will we see their contracts affected in a similar way?

For the Golden Knights, last season felt like they were a victim of circumstance more than a legitimate strategy to go with extra goalies.  Part of the reason they went and got Adin Hill in camp last year was the Robin Lehner injury that they didn’t necessarily trust Laurent Brossoit who had struggled considerably in his first season with the team.  Then, when more injuries arose, they opted to bring in Jonathan Quick as insurance.

But in a perfect world, their tandem last year would have just been Hill and Logan Thompson with Brossoit waiting in the wings as an experienced third option.  That is the trend I think we’ll start to see more of.  The value for third-string netminders went up a lot this summer as teams see the value of having an experienced option that has had some success in their system.  Vegas showed that a team can have success going four deep into their goaltenders but I don’t expect teams will be trying to duplicate that exact strategy.

Read more

Latest On Shane Pinto’s Contract Talks

at CDT | by 6 Comments

With the Senators not being able to afford even a two-year bridge deal for Shane Pinto, some had wondered if they might try a lower-cost one-year offer for the unsigned middleman.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Ottawa did attempt to go that route this week and it was not received well by Pinto’s camp with the offer coming in the $1MM range.

Even that offer would be difficult for them to afford as they currently have a little over $120K in cap space, per CapFriendly with a projected 21-player roster.  That doesn’t leave them much in the way of wiggle room to re-sign Pinto or to try to sign veteran Josh Bailey who is in camp on a PTO agreement.

Pinto doesn’t have much in the way of leverage here as he is ineligible to sign an offer sheet as he doesn’t have enough service time for one having not met the games played criteria in each of his first two seasons.  That basically means his options are to hold out until he gets a contract he wants or ask for a trade, an option that he doesn’t have any interest in pursuing at this time, Friedman reports.

The 22-year-old’s first full NHL season was a strong one as he netted 20 goals along with 15 assists while averaging just shy of 16 minutes a night.  He also won a little over 52% of his faceoffs.  That has the Sens rightly viewing Pinto as an important part of their future.

On the surface, there are three mid-tier contracts that would appear to be candidates to be dealt to open up cap space.  Winger Mathieu Joseph has been the one most speculated about but with three years left on his deal at $2.95MM and the fact he’s coming off a season that saw him score just three goals in 56 games, the price for teams to take on the contract would be high.

Meanwhile, winger Dominik Kubalik is in the final year of his contract with a $2.5MM cap charge that might be easier to offload.  He’s also coming off a career season that saw him put up 20 goals and 25 assists with Detroit so there could be some positive trade value although subtracting him from their offense would certainly hurt.

The other contract in that range is defenseman Erik Brannstrom who is on a $2MM deal and will be arbitration-eligible again next summer.  When he was first acquired, he was viewed as an important part of their then-rebuild and while he has become a regular player, he hasn’t had the impact they were hoping for.  He’s likely earmarked for the third pairing which could make him expendable.  But with Pinto’s likely contract to come in the $2.5MM range, moving Brannstrom alone wouldn’t create enough cap space to re-sign Pinto.

With the regular season starting in ten days, pressure is starting to pick up on GM Pierre Dorion to find a solution to this situation.  But with only a few teams having cap space, finding a suitable trade to open up cap flexibility to get Pinto signed is going to be easier said than done.  For now, the waiting game continues.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Alex Killorn Suffers Fractured Finger

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Alex Killorn’s regular season start to his time in Anaheim is going to be delayed as the team announced today (Twitter link) that the winger suffered a fractured finger on Wednesday night against San Jose.  He is expected to miss the next four to six weeks.

The 34-year-old was one of the top forwards available in free agency and ultimately landed the richest deal when the Ducks gave him a four-year, $25MM agreement.  He’s coming off another career year with Tampa Bay, one that saw him record 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games while adding five points in six playoff contests against Toronto.

While Anaheim isn’t expected to be a playoff contender for a little while as they navigate through their rebuilding process, GM Pat Verbeek saw fit to add some veterans to his roster to help work with their young core.  Killorn was expected to be a big part of that and likely would have lined up on the top line on opening night but now, he’ll miss at least the first month of the season.

Killorn will be LTIR-eligible but Anaheim isn’t anywhere close to needing to rely on that.  With Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale still unsigned, the Ducks currently have over $16MM in cap space, per CapFriendly.  Even when those two sign, they’ll be far enough below the $83.5MM cap to not need to dip into LTIR.

There was some good news on the injury front for the Ducks today, however, as John Gibson was a full participant in practice.  He had left Friday’s contest at the midway mark due to an upper-body injury but it appears that the issue was a minor one.

Waivers: 9/30/23

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the start of the NHL season now just ten days away, daily waiver activity will be continuing league-wide.  Here is a listing of the players that are on the wire today per various team announcements and TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Buffalo Sabres

G Devin Cooley
F Justin Richards
G Dustin Tokarski

Edmonton Oilers

F Drake Caggiula
F Greg McKegg

Montreal Canadiens

D Nicolas Beaudin
F Lucas Condotta
D Brady Keeper
F Mitchell Stephens

Nashville Predators

F Anthony Angello
D Kevin Gravel
G Troy Grosenick
D Jordan Gross

New York Rangers

F Jake Leschyshyn

Ottawa Senators

F Josh Currie
D Dillon Heatherington
F Garrett Pilon
D Lassi Thomson

While Ottawa’s players were announced as being waived on Friday, it was after the 1 PM CT cut-off which means their waiver clock starts today.

Vegas Golden Knights

F Byron Froese
D/F Mason Geertsen
D Dysin Mayo
F Gage Quinney
F Sheldon Rempal
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Most of the forwards on this list have cleared waivers in the past with Condotta being the lone exception as this is his first time eligible for waivers.  He spent most of last season in the minors but scored in his lone NHL appearance.  Quinney and Rempal were productive in the minors last season, averaging just shy of a point per game while Caggiula had over 50 points as well.

Among the defensemen, Thomson could be one to keep an eye on for a potential claim.  The 23-year-old was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and is still on his entry-level contract.  He hasn’t had much success at the NHL level so far but as a young right-shot defender, a rebuilding team or two might be inclined to take a flyer on him.

Mayo logged nearly 21 minutes a night on the back end for Arizona back in 2021-22 but cleared waivers last season and was eventually traded to Vegas in exchange for Shea Weber’s LTIR-eligible contract.  He has two years left on a one-way deal worth $950K per season which could scare teams off.  Beaudin is a former first-rounder himself back in 2018 (27th overall) but has just 22 NHL games under his belt, none of which came last season between Montreal and Chicago.

Grosenick and Tokarski are no strangers to the waiver wire.  Tokarski has cleared all five times while Grosenick has cleared six out of eight times he has been waived over the years.  This will be Cooley’s first time on waivers but while he had a decent season in Nashville’s system last season (posting a .909 SV% with AHL Milwaukee), it would be surprising to see him picked up.

Each player will be available to teams until 1 PM CT on Sunday.

Sharks Claim Ty Emberson Off Waivers From Rangers

at CDT | by 4 Comments

There was one player claimed from Friday’s batch of waivers as Chris Johnston of TSN reports (Twitter link) that the Sharks have claimed blueliner Ty Emberson off waivers from the Rangers.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Arizona back in 2018 (73rd overall) out of the U.S. National Team Development Program.  He was the player who came to New York when they dealt two draft picks to the Coyotes to take on the remainder of Patrik Nemeth’s contract (which has since been bought out).  The change of scenery seemed to work quite well for Emberson as he went from 11 points in his final season with Tucson to 27 points last season with AHL Hartford although it didn’t land him an NHL look.

That helped secure Emberson a qualifying offer from the Rangers although he ultimately accepted less than that in exchange for a higher AHL pay.  He’s on a one-year deal that pays $775K in the minors and $85K at the minor league level.  He’ll be a restricted free agent once again next summer.

San Jose is an interesting landing spot for Emberson since they already have seven blueliners on one-way deals plus Jacob MacDonald who is on a two-way deal but played in 58 NHL games last season.  However, the Sharks are a team that’s squarely in the middle of a rebuild so from that standpoint, it makes sense that they would want to take a look at a young right-shot defender.

Atlantic Notes: Primeau, Zboril, Heinen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau has struggled at the NHL level so far with a 4.11 GAA and a .871 SV% in 21 games but has shown enough in the AHL that he’s still viewed as a possible goalie of the future.  He now requires waivers to get back to the minors but TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (video link) that the team believes he won’t make it through unclaimed.  Accordingly, they’re giving serious consideration to carrying three goalies to start the season with Primeau joining holdovers Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen.  Primeau has two years left on his one-way contract which carries a cap hit of $890K but with the price of third-string goalies going up a lot this summer, even the one-way element might not dissuade a potentially interested team from taking a flyer on him.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril returned to practice yesterday for the first time since being injured in Boston’s preseason opener, relays Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner was in a non-contact sweater but it was still a step in the right direction.  This is an important camp for the 26-year-old who is entering the final year of his contract, one that carries an AAV of $1.1375MM.  Boston could opt to waive Zboril, giving them some much-needed cap flexibility so he’ll be looking to get into some games to try to lock down his spot.
  • Still with Boston, Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston argues that the Bruins should keep winger Danton Heinen who is in with the group on a PTO. While he’s not a prototypical fourth-line player, he would give them a bit more offensive punch.  With the firepower they lost over the summer, they could stand to benefit from carrying a bit more of an offensive-minded depth player.  Speculatively, Heinen would wind up with a deal at or close to the league minimum of $775K if he got a contract offer but they would need to open up some room before they could even offer that.

Penguins Hire Trent Mann

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It didn’t take too long for Trent Mann to find his next organization.  The Penguins announced today that they’ve named Mann as a Player Development and Scouting Advisor.

Mann had been with Ottawa since 2011 in a few different roles including their Director of Amateur Scouting for the past six seasons.  The Sens certainly had some strong draft picks during that stretch including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, and Shane Pinto although it hasn’t been a perfect stretch with Tyler Boucher’s stock dropping lately while Lassi Thomson, a former first-rounder himself, is going on waivers later today.  Mann, who also served as assistant GM for the Sens last season, was relieved of his duties in mid-July.

Now, he joins a Pittsburgh front office that has undergone some significant restructuring under Kyle Dubas.  While he’ll hold an advisory role for the time being, with a dozen seasons under his belt in the scouting ranks, it stands to reason that he should assume a bigger role with the club before too long.

The hire also adds a small new wrinkle to the cross-state rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as Mann’s son, defenseman Matteo Mann, was drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round back in June.

Examining Tampa Bay’s Goaltending Options

at CDT | by 7 Comments

One hallmark of Tampa Bay’s success in recent years has been strong goaltending from veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy.  The team has had so much confidence in their starter that they’ve gone quite cheap with their backups over the last few seasons.  The risk to that approach, of course, is Vasilevskiy getting injured, a reality they’re now facing for at least the next two months after he underwent back surgery.

At the moment, the Lightning have Jonas Johansson as their projected starter, a netminder who has seen action with Buffalo, Colorado, and Florida but has a save percentage of just .886 in 35 career appearances.  Sure, that should improve behind a strong Tampa back end but his track record shouldn’t be particularly confidence-inspiring for management.  An upgrade would certainly be helpful.

Of course, an upgrade is quite difficult for them to be able to afford.  While Vasilevskiy will be LTIR-eligible, the fact he’ll return means that Tampa Bay is basically limited to replacing him with a low-cost netminder that can be waived and sent down upon Vasilevskiy’s return.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the low-cost options that are out there.

Waiver Candidates

Magnus Hellberg (PIT): Hellberg is no stranger to being in this situation as he was plucked off waivers twice last season by teams in this very situation, looking for a bit of short-term veteran depth.  His NHL track record is limited and his numbers are no better than Johansson’s but he’d at least give them a bit more of an experienced option.

Martin Jones (TOR): Jones was a late signee in free agency, eventually accepting a cheap one-way deal with an eye on being Toronto’s AHL starter.  He played in 48 games with Seattle last season and while he had a save percentage of just .886, his career numbers are a bit better.  If they want someone that can still handle a short-term starters’ workload, he’ll garner some consideration.

Alex Lyon (DET): The veteran impressed down the stretch last season with Florida and actually went into the playoffs as their starter before Sergei Bobrovsky got on his run partway through the first round.  His NHL numbers last year (2.89 GAA, .912 SV%) came in less than a three-month span which is around how long Vasilevskiy will be out.  Could those numbers be repeatable (or close to it) in Tampa Bay?

Cayden Primeau (MTL): This one would be a bit more of a gamble considering his very limited NHL experience.  However, he has been a multi-year starter in the minors now and at 24, it’s possible there’s still some upside.  Could he be this year’s Connor Ingram where a change of scenery helps him to unlock his potential?  If Tampa Bay thinks so, he could be an under-the-radar option if Montreal doesn’t opt to carry three goalies instead.

Alex Stalock (ANA): If Anaheim decides to start Lukas Dostal in the minors, this one won’t be an option for Tampa.  However, if he is on waivers, he could be an intriguing option after putting up a .908 SV% in 27 games with Chicago last season, his first extended NHL action since 2019-20 after dealing with myocarditis.

Anthony Stolarz (FLA): Stolarz is coming off an injury-riddled season but he’s only a year removed from posting a .917 SV% on an Anaheim team that had struggled considerably.  His cap hit would make it quite difficult for them to potentially keep him after Vasilevskiy returns but he is one of the more proven goalies likely to hit the waiver wire in the coming days.

All of these players are on contracts that can be fully buried in the minors without any salary cap penalty.

Trade Options

Eric Comrie (BUF): With Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the fold, it’s quite possible that the Sabres decide to go with the young duo which would leave Comrie as the odd one out.  With a $1.8MM AAV, Tampa Bay would need the Sabres to retain a decent chunk of that (if not the 50% maximum) so it’d be understandable if Buffalo asked for a draft pick in return.  Given that there will be other goalies available for free (and Comrie himself could be waived, too), this might not be their preferred route at this time.

Dan Vladar (CGY): This has been a popular speculative option but it’s not necessarily the most viable for Tampa Bay since he has a two-year deal and a $2.2MM cap hit which is something they can’t afford when Vasilevskiy returns.  Tampa Bay would need to come close to matching money in a trade as a result, meaning they’d have to part with a regular on their roster although he’d give them a higher-upside second-string option.

Free Agent Options

Brian Elliott: Elliott is no stranger to the team as he served as the backup over the past two seasons.  Things went quite well in 2021-22 but that certainly wasn’t the case last season with numbers that were among the worst in his career.  If familiarity with the organization and systems is important to the Lightning, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them at least consider the possibility of a reunion.

Jaroslav Halak: Last month, Halak indicated that he wants to keep playing but doesn’t want to be in a third-string/reserve role.  This short-term vacancy would seemingly fit him well.  He’d be guaranteed some consistent playing time and if he can outplay Johansson, it’s possible that he could push for a season-long opportunity.  He had a .903 SV% in 25 games with the Rangers last season, a better mark than many others on this list.

Internal Options

Tampa Bay has two other goalies on NHL deals, neither of which have made an NHL start.  Hugo Alnefelt is viewed as a possible goalie of the future but didn’t have a great year with AHL Syracuse.  Ideally, he needs frequent playing time and that’s easier to get with the Crunch.  Matt Tomkins is the other goalie in the system.  He exercised an opt-out in Sweden to sign with the Lightning back in May.  The 25-year-old hasn’t been more than an AHL backup in North America and it would be tough to rely on him in the NHL for any sort of extended stretch.

With Vasilevskiy’s surgery occurring now instead of in-season, Tampa Bay will have considerably more options over the next couple of weeks if they decide to add someone from outside the organization.  At this point, their best bet might be via the waiver wire where the list above certainly isn’t exhaustive; there will be plenty of netminders for them to choose from to give them a bit more stability in the short term.  They just might have to wait a week or two for the better options to become available.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top