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Pavel Gogolev Clears Unconditional Waivers

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March 9: Gogolev has cleared unconditional waivers and will see his contract terminated.

March 8: It seems as though Pavel Gogolev won’t be with the Chicago Blackhawks organization for very long. The young forward is on unconditional waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, for the purpose of a contract termination.

Gogolev, 23, was included in the recent Jake McCabe trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, coming over along with Joey Anderson. His inclusion was mostly about contract slots for Toronto but there was at least some hope that Gogolev could make the jump to the AHL in the Chicago organization.

After two games (and one goal) with the Rockford IceHogs, it appears as though he’s headed back overseas. A contract termination will leave him an unrestricted free agent, able to sign somewhere else to continue his hockey career.

While an overseas assignment is a usual outcome in these situations, it’s not like Gogolev is new to North America. The Russian forward came to Canada a decade ago to play hockey at various academies, before being the eighth overall pick in the 2016 OHL draft.

After a professional career that has been spent mostly in the ECHL, he’ll now have to catch on somewhere else to keep his hockey journey moving forward.

Injury Notes: Fabbri, Carlson, Hurricanes

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More than just Detroit Red Wings fans cringed when they saw Robby Fabbri limp off the ice last night with a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old has been through multiple major knee surgeries in his career, but keeps coming back and showing that he can contribute at the NHL level on reconstructed ACLs.

When he missed practice today, it seemed like it might be bad news for the talented winger, but head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters that Fabbri is only out day-to-day. The Red Wings will be cautious for obvious reasons, but the team is optimistic that he avoided a serious injury.

  • John Carlson was on the ice again today for the Washington Capitals, as he continues to recover from the head injury he suffered earlier this season. Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that the defenseman joined the scratches’ skate, albeit in a non-contact sweater. A more significant update is still expected in the next few days.
  • It’s finger-crossing days for the Carolina Hurricanes, who will have to hope their goaltending depth will stay healthy through a playoff run this time. Today, head coach Rod Brind’Amour explained that the team is hopeful the recent injury to Antti Raanta is “not too serious” but couldn’t give a more specific timeline. Jalen Chatfield, meanwhile, is getting evaluated today and is expected to miss some time.

Brandon Sutter Hoping To Resume NHL Career

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It’s been nearly two years since Brandon Sutter appeared in an NHL game. The former Vancouver Canucks forward finished the 2020-21 season with a loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and entered the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

After playing through a five-year, $4.375MM contract as an important leader and role player for the Canucks, he wouldn’t fetch a ton on the open market. He ended up signing a one-year, $1.125MM contract to stay in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t play a single game on that contract. After showing up to training camp in September 2021, Sutter experienced some unexplained fatigue and was given time to try and recuperate away from the group. By October, he was ruled out indefinitely with long-term symptoms of COVID-19. He would miss the entire season.

Last summer, as a UFA once again, Sutter admitted that he was still dealing with the symptoms and wasn’t sure if he would ever play again. Many assumed that would end his NHL career, given his age and situation.

Not so fast, says the 34-year-old veteran. Speaking with Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV today, Sutter explained that he is finally feeling better and that there is “light at the end of the tunnel.” He hopes to play again and will try to catch on somewhere in the fall.

Landing an NHL job will be difficult, but there was a time when Sutter was considered an integral two-way center. As a fourth-line option, perhaps he still has enough juice left to be a helpful addition to a club looking for leadership and work ethic, even in a part-time role.

Vegas Golden Knights Recall Jiri Patera

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The goaltending pipeline in Vegas is getting awfully thin. The Golden Knights have recalled Jiri Patera under emergency conditions, after Adin Hill suffered a lower-body injury.

That leaves the Golden Knights with Jonathan Quick and Patera as their healthy tandem, with Hill, Logan Thompson, Robin Lehner, and Laurent Brossoit all injured. Michael Hutchinson was traded out at the deadline, and the only other goalie under an NHL contract in the organization is 22-year-old Isaiah Saville, who has ten professional appearances above the ECHL.

It is the Henderson Silver Knights who are in even more trouble. Behind Saville, there is nothing but 50-year-old goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite, who dressed as the backup last night after signing an AHL PTO.

Somehow, even through all of this, the Golden Knights remain in first place for the time being. The club visits the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, before traveling to Carolina, St. Louis, and Philadelphia to finish out the road trip. Those two middle games, against the Hurricanes and Blues, are a back-to-back situation over the weekend, meaning Patera may have to make his NHL debut.

The 24-year-old netminder has a .916 save percentage in 27 games for the Silver Knights this season.

Arizona Coyotes Acquire Steven Kampfer

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The trade deadline, despite its name, is not exactly a full stop for NHL transactions. Players can still be dealt after it passes, but are then deemed ineligible for the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Ineligible, that is, at the NHL level.

Almost every year, there is a deal or two that comes in after the deadline that includes minor league players swapping clubs. This time, it’s the Detroit Red Wings and Arizona Coyotes hooking up on a trade that will see Steven Kampfer join the Tucson Roadrunners in exchange for future considerations.

Kampfer, 36, is no longer eligible to play for the Coyotes this season but can help the Roadrunners down the stretch, and potentially discuss an extension with Arizona. The veteran defenseman is a well-respected pro who started his career with the Boston Bruins in 2010, and wore an “A” for the U.S. at the 2022 Olympics.

Despite being just 24-26-6 on the year, Tucson is actually in a playoff position in the Pacific Division. That spot is only a hair ahead of the teams chasing them, though, meaning Kampfer’s help will be much appreciated over the next 16 games.

Grand Rapids, on the other hand, is likely going to miss the postseason, unless they can orchestrate an incredible turnaround over the last part of the season. They sit last in the Central, 11 points behind the Iowa Wild for the final playoff spot.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Anthony Richard

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without Christian Dvorak this evening as he deals with a lower-body injury. In his place, the team has recalled Anthony Richard from the Laval Rocket.

Richard, 26, has been Laval’s best player this season, scoring 24 goals and 55 points in 49 AHL games. Mix in seven games with the Canadiens, where he scored his first NHL goal and registered his first NHL assist, and it’s been quite the year for the minor league veteran.

Dvorak is just the latest in a long line of Montreal injuries, including Jordan Harris, who is out tonight. Harris is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron both took part in the morning skate, the former in a regular jersey and the latter in a no-contact capacity. It’s been a carousel in Montreal this season, with players constantly moving in and out of the lineup due to injury. Thirty-three skaters have played at least one game; when Dvorak misses tonight, only Nick Suzuki will have suited up for all 65.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Elliot Desnoyers, Tyson Foerster

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The Philadelphia Flyers, just trying to play out the stretch and get to the offseason, will give a couple of young players another opportunity. Elliot Desnoyers and Tyson Foerster have been recalled from the minor leagues under emergency conditions.

That last part means these will not count toward the Flyers’ four post-deadline recalls, though both players will have to return to the minor leagues once Philadelphia has enough healthy (and eligible) players to suit up.

For Desnoyers, it was only a week ago that he was sent down to help in an AHL playoff run, after making his first two NHL appearances. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2020 that found immediate success in the AHL, and continued to climb up the organizational depth chart with consistent play.

Selected more than 100 picks earlier was Foerster, who went 23rd overall in 2020 and has yet to make his NHL debut. The 6’2″ winger has 18 goals and 38 points through 56 games for Lehigh Valley this year, after seeing the last few development seasons disrupted by COVID restrictions.

Eighteen games remain in the Flyers nightmare season, and the best thing they can do now is to see which young players will be challenging for full-time spots next year.

Cam Talbot To Miss Several Weeks

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5:00 PM: TSN’s Darren Dreger has added some more detail to Talbot’s injury situation, reporting that the veteran netminder has suffered an oblique strain.

1:51 PM: Cam Talbot will leave the Ottawa Senators’ road trip early and return for treatment after being a late scratch on Monday. Head coach D.J. Smith told reporters, and explained (link via TSN radio) that the veteran goaltender will be out for three weeks with what he called a “mid-body injury.”

That means it’s up to the kids in Ottawa, as Kevin Mandolese and Mads Sogaard are the active tandem for the Senators. The pair, both 22, are up under emergency conditions while Talbot and Anton Forsberg are out of the lineup.

Mandolese has just two appearances in his NHL career, though both have gone well. The young netminder won his debut by stopping 46 of 48 shots against the New York Islanders a few weeks ago, and then allowed just three goals against the Boston Bruins in his follow-up appearance.

Sogaard has played seven times this season, taking his career total to nine NHL appearances. He has won four times for the Senators this year, but was blown out by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after being the last-second replacement for Talbot. That 5-0 loss to Chicago was a brutal blow to the team’s playoff chances, though they aren’t eliminated just yet.

Ottawa heads to Seattle next for a game tomorrow, before going through the Western Canada trip starting on Saturday night in Vancouver. There aren’t many easy nights coming for the upstart club, as once they return home they run off a series of games against Colorado, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Boston, Tampa Bay, and New Jersey that could decide their postseason fate.

Three weeks would mean Talbot isn’t available for any of those opponents.

Tony DeAngelo Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has given a two-game suspension to Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that DeAngelo does not engage with Perry in any way prior to spearing him, choosing to deliver this strike when Perry is not looking at him.

What causes this play to rise to the level of a suspension is the premeditated nature of the foul against an unsuspecting opponent well after the whistle, the area of the body where the spear was delivered, and the force of the blow. 

The DoPS notes that DeAngelo has no relevant history in this case, with a previous suspension coming automatically for abuse of an official in 2017. He did receive a five-minute major and game misconduct for the spreading incident last night.

DeAngelo admitted that he was “trying to give [Perry] a little shot” but did not try to hit him in the groin. He’ll miss games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins in what has been a tumultuous season for the Flyers.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Will Zmolek

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4:54 p.m.: CapFriendly reports Zmolek’s one-year ELC carries a cap hit of $920K, broken down across a base salary of $825K, a signing bonus of $95K, potential performance bonuses up to $30K, and a minor salary of $82.5K.

9:35 a.m.: College free agent signing season is upon us, as seasons end across the country for the unlucky programs that did not advance in their conference playoffs. Today, the Philadelphia Flyers have gotten in on the action, inking Will Zmolek to a one-year entry-level contract.

The deal will begin in 2023-24, but Zmolek is headed to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL on a tryout contract for the rest of this season.

Coming off an impressive senior season with Bemidji State, Zmolek is a 23-year-old undrafted free agent who brings a little of everything to the table. He’s big, standing 6’4″, 209 lbs, physical, has shown an improved offensive game, and was a locker room leader for the Beavers.

Nominated for this year’s Hobey Baker, Zmolek recorded 21 points in 36 games and led the club in blocked shots. He enters a Philadelphia system that once looked full of defensive prospects but has seen several fail to take the next step. With his age and experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Zmolek play NHL minutes next season in a limited, or part-time role.

He’ll turn 24 in April, meaning only a one-year contract was possible. Zmolek will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024.

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