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Zack Kassian Announces Retirement

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Zack Kassian has officially ended his playing career, according to a release from the NHLPA.

As part of the release, Kassian issued a statement which reads:

To play in the NHL is one thing, but to make a 12-year career of it is pretty special. From coaches to equipment staff and fellow players I’ve met along the way, I’ve made so many relationships that are going to last a lifetime.

Kassian, 32, signed a PTO with the Anaheim Ducks in August with the hope of making the team and earning a full-time NHL deal.

He ended up released from the PTO, though, and rather than potentially play in the AHL or Europe (which may have been options open to him) Kassian has instead decided to hang up his skates.

The 13th overall pick of the 2009 NHL draft, Kassian’s career was defined by ups and downs. While he never quite became the impactful prototypical power forward at the NHL level that he was drafted to become, he still had a respectable 661-game NHL career with some memorable moments.

A two-time 15-goal scorer, Kassian scored a total of 92 goals and 203 points in his career, to go alongside 913 penalty minutes.

He played in the playoffs in six of his twelve seasons in the NHL and created some memories for Oilers fans in particular, such as with this memorable goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals.

Beyond just the NHL, Kassian was an accomplished junior player. Not only did he represent Canada at an IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship tournament, he also took home an OHL championship and a Memorial Cup title.

While Kassian slowed down considerably in recent years (he scored two points in 51 games last season) he did manage to carve out a steady role in the NHL for more than a decade, which is an impressive feat.

We at PHR would like to extend our best wishes to Kassian as enters his retirement.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Bennett, Guhle, Bruins Injuries, Pysyk

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The Florida Panthers got some good news this morning. Center Sam Bennett has returned to practice for the first time this regular season, per Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. Bennett sustained a lower-body injury during the preseason that’s kept him out through six games thus far.

If he can get back into playing shape within the next 48 hours, he could make his season debut Saturday against the Kraken. That would likely coincide with a return to the lineup for captain Aleksander Barkov, says Richards, who missed the Panthers’ Tuesday contest against the Sharks with an illness. Bennett, 27, is in the third season of a four-year, $17.7MM extension signed with the Panthers in 2021. Last season was arguably the best of his career, logging a career-high 17:24 while producing 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points in 63 games. The 2014 fourth-overall pick also finished fourth on the Panthers in playoff scoring, notching five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 20 games.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this Thursday morning:

  • Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle was a full participant in practice this morning and is nearing a return from an upper-body injury, notes The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. He will not enter the lineup tonight against the Blue Jackets, however, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie says. Guhle, who had an assist and a +4 rating through three games, has not played since October 17 against Minnesota. The Habs have gone 2-1-0 in his absence despite injuries also sidelining blueliner David Savard, forcing the emergency recall of Gustav Lindström from AHL Laval. The 16th overall pick in 2020 is in the second year of his three-year, entry-level contract, which counts $863K against the cap.
  • Despite still being on assignment to AHL Providence, Boston Bruins forward Jesper Boqvist is practicing with the NHL squad today, Bruins independent reporter Joe Haggerty relays. That comes with the news that forwards Jakub Lauko and Milan Lucic are both listed as day-to-day with injuries and will miss between one and two weeks, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters today. That means recalling Boqvist (or signing PTO invite Danton Heinen) will be necessary to fill out the Bruins’ roster for tonight’s game against Anaheim, as the team has just 11 healthy forwards even after recalling Patrick Brown from Providence this morning.
  • Another unsigned player still with a team on a PTO is defenseman Mark Pysyk, who has returned to practice after sustaining a lower-body injury in preseason, relays Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Shelly Anderson. The 31-year-old spent last season under contract with Detroit but missed the entire campaign with an Achilles injury. He last suited up in an NHL game nearly 18 months ago, logging 12:51 in an April 29, 2022, game for the Sabres against the Blackhawks.

Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers

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10/26/23: Mitchell has cleared waivers, according to Johnston, paving the way for his assignment to the Providence Bruins.

10/25/23: Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports Wednesday that the Bruins have placed defenseman Ian Mitchell on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence.

Mitchell, 24, made the Bruins’ opening night roster earlier this month after Boston acquired his signing rights in the Taylor Hall trade with the Blackhawks last summer. He’s appeared in just two of six contests this season, though, and can now be claimed by any team in the league after playing very limited minutes in his lone Bruins appearances.

Since turning pro with the Blackhawks in 2020, Mitchell has four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 84 games. He dealt with injuries last season that limited him to just 35 games in Chicago and only five games with AHL Rockford, although he did light up the minors with two goals and four assists in those five appearances.

A second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2017, Mitchell was looking like a slam-dunk prospect after three strong seasons at the University of Denver, where he amassed 18 goals, 71 assists and 89 points in 116 games. He has been solid in the AHL since turning pro, but the point totals haven’t translated to NHL play yet. That’s partly because he’s yet to average more than 16 minutes a night in a single season, posting rather poor possession numbers against weak competition. He’ll need to improve his defensive game to earn an everyday NHL job.

That said, his strong showings in AHL play could be enough to convince a team to take a flyer on him and put in a claim. After all, he is making the league minimum salary of $775K on a one-year, one-way deal and will be under team control at the end of the season as a restricted free agent.

Whether or not the Bruins will make a corresponding transaction tomorrow after Mitchell’s stint on the waiver wire is over remains unknown. Losing Mitchell on waivers or assigning him to Providence leaves the team with just 13 forwards and six defensemen on the active roster, including injured forward Milan Lucic, who’s sidelined on a day-to-day basis.

Alexander Barabanov Placed On Injured Reserve, San Jose Sharks Recall Ryan Carpenter

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10/26/23: The Sharks have announced that Barabanov has been placed on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled veteran forward Ryan Carpenter to fill Barabanov’s spot on their roster.

Carpenter, 32, is a versatile and experienced depth forward who brings over 300 games of regular-season NHL experience and some playoff experience to boot.

10/25/23: It has been a rough start to the season for the Sharks as they are winless through the first six games.  They’ve also had a rough start on the injury front with Mikael Granlund injured in the season opener and Logan Couture yet to suit up.  Now, they’re down another key forward as head coach David Quinn told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that Alexander Barabanov will be out for a while; Peng reports that the winger sustained a broken finger.

The injury occurred near the end of Tuesday’s loss to Florida after a sequence that saw him block a high shot before taking two hits in quick succession.

Barabanov is off to a tough start himself as he has been held off the scoresheet for the first six games of the season, an unexpected outcome considering that he was coming off a career year that saw him record 47 points in 68 games.  The timing of the slow start plus the injury is hardly ideal as the 29-year-old is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

San Jose was carrying 13 forwards on their active roster prior to this news so they don’t necessarily have to make a move; Quinn noted to Peng that they won’t make a recall right away.  For now, Givani Smith figures to slot into the lineup or they could go with seven defenders.  But with Granlund recently suffering a setback in his recovery according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, it stands to reason that the Sharks may want to bring up another forward at some point in the coming days.

Shane Pinto Suspended 41 Games For Violating NHL’s Sports Wagering Rules

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11:35 a.m.: The NHL has officially announced Pinto’s suspension. The Senators issued a statement on the matter, including in it a statement from Pinto himself which reads:

I want to apologize to the National Hockey League, the Ottawa Senators, my teammates, the fans and city of Ottawa and most importantly my family. I take full responsibility for my actions and look forward to getting back on the ice with my team.

10:43 a.m.: Contrary to expectation, Pinto’s 41-game suspension has been applied retroactively to the Senators’ first game of the season, Friedman reports. That means the clock has already begun on his 41-game absence, and he does not need to sign a contract with Ottawa to begin serving the suspension. That means he will be eligible to return for Ottawa’s 42nd game of the season, a January 21 contest against the Flyers – assuming he’s signed to a contract by then. Coincidentally, Pinto will be eligible to play this season even if he does not sign a contract before the normal December 1 signing deadline for RFAs, says Friedman.

10:12 a.m.: According to reports from TSN’s Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun, Ottawa Senators restricted free agent center Shane Pinto is set to be suspended by the NHL “for activities related to sports wagering.” The suspension could be up to 41 games in length, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman later confirmed the 41-game penalty.

The clock on a suspension cannot start until Pinto is under contract and on the active roster. Garrioch adds that because of the looming suspension, the Senators have ended contract negotiations and “rescinded all previous offers.” That means Pinto will have to sign his qualifying offer – a one-year, $874,125 deal – to begin serving the suspension.

Friedman reports the league has not accused Pinto of wagering on NHL games but that a March 2022 memo from the league states that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is authorized to:

Discipline individuals determined to have engaged in improper gambling activities in any or all of the following respects: expulsion or suspension [for] a definite or indefinite period; cancelling any contract that such individual may have; and/or by imposing a fine. The League will act swiftly and aggressively in penalizing any League or Club personnel determined to have engaged in acts in violation of the NHL Gambling Policy.

An investigation into Pinto’s behavior began over the summer but did not intensify until the past few weeks when a hearing was held with the league, Friedman says. He also believes that Pinto has not asked for a trade despite the ongoing contract negotiations because “he appreciates the organization’s secrecy about the investigation.”

This is the first online sports gambling-related suspension in NHL history. Typically, players suspended without pay for off-ice conduct are not counted against the salary cap – meaning Pinto’s likely prorated $874,125 cap hit for this season won’t factor in until after the suspension has been served.

Ottawa selected Pinto, 22, with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he played in all 82 games, far eclipsing his previous career-high of 12, and notched 20 goals and 15 assists for 35 points. Those totals came in some heavy minutes – averaging nearly 16 minutes per game with normal second-line center Joshua Norris missing nearly all of 2022-23 with a shoulder injury. Pinto has also dealt with a significant shoulder injury during his development, which sidelined him for nearly all of 2021-22.

Pinto was expected to play a major depth scoring role on the team this season, anchoring their third line with the help of offseason additions Dominik Kubalík or Vladimir Tarasenko. Yet again, however, the Senators have deviated from expectations early on in the season, failing to get an agreement with Pinto due to cap constraints and now involuntarily being without his services. After losing 6-4 to the division-rival Sabres on Tuesday, the Senators are 3-3-0 through six games and sit sixth in the Atlantic Division.

If Pinto signs his qualifying offer later today before the Senators’ game against the Islanders, the earliest he would be eligible to make his season debut is February 10, 2024, against Toronto. If a qualifying offer signing comes tomorrow, Pinto would need to wait until February 13 against Columbus.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Calgary Flames Recall Ilya Solovyov

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The Calgary Flames have announced that defenseman Ilya Solovyov has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. The move puts Solovyov, 23, in a position to potentially make his NHL debut.

Solovyov has been a nice developmental success story so far for the Flames, who selected the six-foot-three Belarusian defenseman 205th overall at the 2020 draft. Solovyov had gone undrafted the prior two seasons but after a 40-point performance in the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit he finally heard his name called at the NHL draft.

Solovyov then spent 2020-21 playing regular minutes for Dynamo Minsk in the KHL, before coming to North America in 2021-22. Solovyov has been a regular presence for the Stockton Heat and now Calgary Wranglers since that point, and by weathering heavy minutes he has shown his readiness for a shot at playing in the NHL.

The Flames have now lost three straight contests and surrendered a total of 12 goals in that span. With Rasmus Andersson still serving a suspension, the Flames were forced to rely on 26-year-old depth defenseman Dennis Gilbert to play a top-four role next to Chris Tanev. Perhaps with this recall, Solovyov will get a shot to handle that job instead.

In terms of creating the necessary cap space to facilitate this recall, no corresponding move was included in the Flames’ announcement.

But FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike writes on X that the Flames moving Kevin Rooney from standard injured reserve to long-term injured reserve would allow the Flames to exceed the cap by an additional $1.3MM, which would create the necessary space for this Solovyov recall.

Bruins Recall Patrick Brown

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Oct. 26: Per the AHL transactions log, Brown is right back up on Boston’s NHL roster. It’s unclear why Brown’s stint in the minors was so short-lived.

Oct. 25: It hasn’t been the best of starts to Patrick Brown’s tenure with Boston.  He passed through waivers unclaimed at the end of training camp but managed to stay on the roster to start the season.  Now, per the AHL’s transactions log, he has been assigned to AHL Providence.

The 31-year-old split last season between Philadelphia and Ottawa, notching a dozen points in 61 games between the two teams.  A physical fourth liner, he earned himself a two-year, one-way deal this summer as the Bruins rebuilt their forward depth with the hope he’d be a regular on their fourth line.  But he has been scratched three times already and logged just 9:30 per game.

It’s worth noting that Danton Heinen remains on a PTO with the Bruins; freeing up Brown’s $800K cap charge by assigning him to the minors would open up the cap room for them to convert that tryout into a full contract as soon as Thursday once the 1 PM CT waiver period passes.  The assignment would also get him playing a bit more regularly so that he’ll be better suited to contribute if and when injuries arise.  If he suits up in Providence, it will be Brown’s first AHL action since the 2020-21 campaign.

Flyers Assign Emil Andrae To Minors; Recall Louie Belpedio, Victor Mete

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Oct. 26: The Flyers have confirmed the move this morning, also announcing they’ve recalled defensemen Louis Belpedio and Victor Mete from Lehigh Valley. Recalling the two veterans will give them an extra defenseman on the active roster.

Oct. 25: Earlier this week, Flyers head coach John Tortorella told Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he wasn’t sure if their current approach with defenseman Emil Andrae was the best for his development.  It appears a decision has been made on that front as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Philadelphia has assigned the young rearguard to AHL Lehigh Valley.

The 21-year-old originally started the year rotating games with Yegor Zamula but with Marc Staal now set to miss the next six weeks or so with an upper-body injury and Rasmus Ristolainen having a setback in his recovery from an undisclosed injury, both youngsters have been in the lineup for the last couple of games.  Rather than continue using Andrae in limited action – he’s logging just 13 minutes per game – the decision has been made to get him more playing time with the Phantoms.  He only played in ten games there late last season after spending most of the year in the SHL.

At the moment, Philadelphia has just five defensemen on its active roster but, with an extra forward, they’re still compliant with the minimum roster requirements.  The Flyers are back in action on Thursday, however, so someone will need to be recalled.  Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, and Victor Mete were among their final cuts earlier this month which could have one of them poised to get the promotion.

Penguins Recall Vinnie Hinostroza, Radim Zohorna; Reassign Corey Andonovski

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The Penguins have recalled forward Vinnie Hinostroza from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per a team announcement. In a corresponding transaction, Pittsburgh also reversed the Corey Andonovski and Radim Zohorna flip they made yesterday (as expected), bringing Zohorna back up to the NHL and returning Andonovski to the minors. The Penguins had recalled Andonovski temporarily to help optimize their salary capture when placing netminder Alex Nedeljkovic on LTIR yesterday.

Hinostroza is a new addition, however, earning his first recall since clearing waivers before the season started. The 29-year-old has been an effective volume point-producer in limited action over the past few seasons, but his grasp on an NHL job has slipped after suiting up in just 26 games with the Sabres last season. He’s off to a hot start in the minors, notching two goals and two assists through five games, tying for the team lead with four points.

By placing Nedeljkovic on LTIR, the Penguins now have the cap space for a 21st skater on the roster – which will be Hinostroza. He’s in his first season with the Penguins after signing a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K over the summer. A sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2012, Hinostroza has gone on to appear in 360 NHL games with Chicago, Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida, recording 53 goals and 95 assists for 148 points – a very respectable 0.41 points-per-game pace. The Notre Dame product’s possession numbers have been quite average throughout his career, too, making it a bit puzzling that he hasn’t received longer looks in teams’ lineups. He is prone to inconsistency, but he does have a pair of double-digit goal seasons under his belt. He’s a premier option to have stashed in the minors for a call-up.

Zohorna, 27, will stay in the NHL after notching a goal through his first two contests this season. He’s replaced Jansen Harkins on the Penguins’ third line after Harkins was waived a few days back, lining up with Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor.

Coyotes’ Jason Zucker Out Week-To-Week

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Wednesday: The Coyotes announced that Jeník was returned to Tucson while CapFriendly reports that Sanford has also been sent back down.

Monday: Coyotes winger Jason Zucker is expected to be out for at least a few games with a lower-body injury, as the team says he’s been listed as week-to-week. In a pair of corresponding transactions, the Coyotes recalled forwards Jan Jeník and Zach Sanford from AHL Tucson, while CapFriendly reports Zucker was moved to injured reserve to accommodate two recalls. Zucker sustained the injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Ducks.

With two goals in five games thus far as a Coyote, Zucker has been decent after inking a one-year, $5.3MM contract in free agency last summer. He’s averaging 2.8 shots on goal per game and is currently shooting at 14.3%, nearly two points higher than his career average. He’s been paired mostly with Logan Cooley and either Matias Maccelli or Alexander Kerfoot on the opposite wing so far, a line that’s driven a lot of scoring chances when Maccelli is the third member. However, Zucker’s usage has not been advantageous – just 36.4% of his zone starts at even strength have come in the offensive zone, far below his 52.4% career average.

Hopefully, for the Coyotes, this is not a sign of things to come for the remainder of Zucker’s tenure. The 32-year-old has become rather injury-prone, most recently missing half of the 2021-22 campaign with lower-body and core muscle injuries. He also missed a significant chunk of the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season with a lower-body injury. Dating back to 2020, Zucker has played in 157 of 220 possible games, or about 71%.

With Zucker now on IR, the 23-year-old Jeník could get the chance he’s been hoping for. Arizona’s 65th overall pick in 2018 has been on the rise since his draft year, posting a pair of strong offensive campaigns with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs before turning pro in 2020. He’s posted solid numbers with Tucson since, including a career-high 47 points in 51 contests in 2021-22. A contract dispute this summer stretched until mid-September when Jeník finally agreed to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL with a $125K salary guarantee. Jeník was reportedly seeking trade options over the summer in search of a clearer path to an NHL role. He’s off to a strong start in the minors, posting three points in three games.

The Coyotes are off to a decent 3-2-0 start, largely in part due to spectacular netminding from both Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka, who’ve posted a combined .943 SV% and 1.80 GAA. Secondary scoring outside of Cooley, Maccelli, Clayton Keller, and Nick Schmaltz has been a major issue, one that will be tough to fix with Zucker out of commission for the foreseeable future.

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