Loan Roundup: 01/06/22
After Team Canada put gold medals around their neck last night to conclude the 2023 World Junior Championship, a variety of prospects under NHL contract were loaned back to their minor or junior teams today. We’ll keep a running list of those transactions right here.
All transactions are provided by CapFriendly.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets returned defenseman Stanislav Svozil to the WHL’s Regina Pats. Drafted 69th overall in 2021, Svozil had an incredible tournament with eight points in seven games for Czechia, winning a silver medal — the country’s first medal since 2005. Quickly looking like a draft steal, Svozil has 37 points in just 28 games, and he’ll return to playing with presumptive 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard.
- Also from Columbus, 2022 sixth-overall selection David Jiricek is returning to the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’ AHL affiliate. Jiricek also helped dominate from the Czech blueline, recording seven points and a staggering +10 rating in seven games. He played his first two NHL games before the tournament and has an impressive 20 points in just 19 games with the Monsters.
- The Dallas Stars returned dynamic Canadian forward Logan Stankoven to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. Stankoven, who has a decent shot at making the team out of training camp in 2023-24, had three goals and 11 points in seven games with the Canadians. He was a second-round pick of the Stars in 2021, another budding draft steal.
- Gritty forward Reid Schaefer, selected with the last pick of the first round in 2022 by the Edmonton Oilers, is returning to the WHL-leading Seattle Thunderbirds. Schaefer played at the bottom of the Canadian lineup and managed one assist in seven contests. He’s fourth on Seattle in goals with 15 in just 22 games.
- Nashville Predators right-shot defense prospect Jack Matier was loaned back to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. The 124th overall selection in 2021 is amidst a breakout season in Ottawa, recording 26 points and a +24 rating through 26 games. He had one assist at the World Juniors.
- The Vegas Golden Knights returned Czech forward Jakub Brabenec to the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. Drafted 102nd overall in 2021, Brabenec was just dealt to the Phoenix today from the Charlottetown Islanders. His scoring had taken somewhat of a dip before the trade with 25 points in 28 games, but a strong World Juniors performance should instill some confidence.
- Vegas also sent forward Zach Dean to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. Taken 30th overall in 2021, Dean has 35 points in 27 games with Gatineau and recorded a goal and two assists for Canada at the tournament.
Connor McDavid Named Second Star For December
With the calendar turning to January, the NHL announced its Three Stars for December. Taking home the top spot was Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, whose 13 goals last month moved him up into second in all-time NHL goals as he now sits at 806, 88 behind Wayne Gretzky for the record. Oilers center Connor McDavid was the second star after leading the league in goals (14) and points (31) while tying for the lead in assists (17) and is the first player this season to record 30 points in a month. Sabres center Tage Thompson was the third star after picking up 22 points in 11 games while helping Buffalo pick up eight wins to get back within striking distance of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Leon Draisaitl Unlikely To Play Saturday
- Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl, who missed last night’s game against the Seattle Kraken, is unlikely to play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, says TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Draisaitl, who Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said was nursing some bumps and bruises, didn’t practice Thursday either. The 27-year-old has 21 goals and 36 assist through 36 games this season. With Edmonton’s struggles, despite having Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the lineup, they’ll need the former back in the lineup as soon as possible to keep things rolling.
Edmonton Oilers Activate Ryan McLeod
The Edmonton Oilers have announced that forward Ryan McLeod has been activated off of injured reserve. In order to clear the roster spot necessary to complete this activation, the Oilers have placed defenseman Ryan Murray on injured reserve.
McLeod has been out since November with an undisclosed injury. The 23-year-old forward is in his second season as an NHL regular and has largely found a role as the team’s top penalty-killing center and as a third-liner at even strength.
McLeod scored 21 points in 71 games last year and has upped those numbers so far in 2021-22 with eight points in 21 games, a 31-point pace.
The 2018 second-round pick’s high-end speed sets him apart, and his return to the Oilers’ lineup is likely to be welcomed by head coach Jay Woodcroft, his penalty-kill has surrendered a power play goal in three straight games.
To clear a spot for McLeod, Murray heads to injured reserve. Unfortunately, this isn’t a surprising development for Murray, as missing time due to injuries has been one of the common themes of his career since being drafted second overall at the 2012 draft.
The 29-year-old defenseman is expected to be out for some time, but with Markus Niemelainen already up from the Bakersfield Condors the Oilers could add McLeod to their roster and lose Murray and still have seven defensemen.
Latest On Edmonton’s Search For Defense
The Edmonton Oilers haven’t been able to stop many teams this season, allowing goals at an alarming pace for a club that started the year with plans to contend for the Stanley Cup. After three straight 4-3 losses, their search for defensemen has hit the hot stove once again. In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, the insider reports that Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov is on the Oilers’ radar.
Gavrikov, 27, is likely to draw interest from a number of teams as he continues to play solid (if unspectacular) defense for the Blue Jackets. The sixth-round pick has nine points in 32 games this season while averaging over 22 minutes a night, and brings a size/mobility combination that is very desirable for contenders at the deadline. Friedman even notes the prices of David Savard and Ben Chiarot in recent years as an indication of what it might cost to acquire Gavrikov.
In 2021, the Blue Jackets sent Savard to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a three-way deal that included the Detroit Red Wings, for the cost of a first, third, and fourth-round pick. The double salary retention involved dropped Savard’s cap hit to just over $1MM, allowing him to fit into the eventual Stanley Cup champions’ tight budget. Gavrikov, who currently carries a $2.8MM cap hit, could actually get even lower than that, if the same middle-man structure were to take place.
Chiarot landed a similar package from the Florida Panthers last year, as the Montreal Canadiens received first and fourth-round picks along with the rights to recent third-round prospect Ty Smilanic. The Canadiens retained half of Chiarot’s deal, taking his cap hit down to $1.75MM for the Panthers.
It should be noted that while Savard did win a Stanley Cup with the Lightning, neither one of these trades really worked out all that well for the acquiring team. Savard did very little on Tampa Bay’s run, dressing for 20 of the 23 games but averaging just over 14 minutes a night. Chiarot’s Panthers were swept in the second round while he was averaging just 17 minutes a night. Neither player re-signed with the acquiring teams.
Gavrikov, like Savard and Chiarot, is a pending unrestricted free agent that will likely be after a multi-year deal on the open market – one that should increase his cap hit significantly. Though he isn’t a star, he has shown the ability to play big minutes against top players and is a bargain at his current $2.8MM hit.
Edmonton Oilers Extend Stuart Skinner
The Edmonton Oilers have rewarded Stuart Skinner with an extension, inking the goaltender to a three-year, $7.8MM contract. Skinner was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and will now be signed through 2025-26. The breakdown is:
- 2023-24: $2.3MM
- 2024-25: $2.5MM
- 2025-26: $3.0MM
Without Skinner, the Oilers wouldn’t be anywhere near the playoff race this season. The 24-year-old goaltender has been ultra reliable as Jack Campbell, the team’s big offseason free agent signing, continues to struggle. Through 19 appearances, Skinner has a .915 save percentage and a 2.83 goals-against average. Campbell, on the other hand, sits at an .875 and 4.04 through 14 games.
While the Oilers defense is certainly to blame for some of Campbell’s struggles, the former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder hasn’t been anywhere near worth the five-year, $25MM contract that Edmonton gave him in the summer. With a less capable backup, the team might have thrown away this season over the first two months. Skinner’s play has kept them afloat, even if there are still some obvious holes that need to be filled on the Oilers roster.
One might wonder why, then, the young netminder would agree to a multi-year deal at this point, knowing that he holds a lot of leverage after his early play. While the cap hit of $2.6MM isn’t outstanding, this deal will leave Skinner an unrestricted free agent at the age of 27, putting him in a great spot for a huge payday down the line. It also compares rather well to recent deals from other inexperienced goaltenders. Dan Vladar signed a two-year extension worth $2.2MM per season, and Pyotr Kochetkov signed a four-year deal worth $2MM per.
While his cap hit may be less than Campbell’s, realistically Skinner could be the team’s starter moving forward. The test for Edmonton now will be to try and get the veteran playing better, so they can share the net and the combined $7.6MM on goaltending doesn’t look like a huge waste of precious resources.
Jeff Marek of Sportsnet was first to report the deal was close, with colleague Elliotte Friedman providing the salary details moments later.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Jason Demers
The Edmonton Oilers announced that they have signed defenseman Jason Demers to a one-year, two-way contract. After signing Demers, the Oilers have placed him on waivers for the purposes of loaning him to the Bakersfield Condors, their AHL affiliate. The contract is worth $750,000 at the NHL level, which is the league minimum. The move comes one day before the NHL’s temporary roster freeze takes effect.
For Demers, the contract should give him a much clearer path to an NHL job this season after not playing in the league since 2020-21. Unless he’s claimed on waivers, the signing, waiving, and loan to Bakersfield will more or less be a formality for the veteran, who has been playing with the Condors this season, tallying nine points and 32 penalty minutes in 24 games. Demers had actually been in training camp with Edmonton this preseason and impressed in that time, but salary cap constraints prevented the organization from giving him an NHL deal until now.
In the case of the Oilers, signing the 34-year-old should, if he clears, give them more reliable depth on the backend and a player they know they can trust if and when he gets into the lineup. Although their jobs certainly are in no danger, the Oilers have had some glaring issues defensively this week, headlined by Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard. For now, nothing will change on the ice for Edmonton or Bakersfield, but the team will be able to recall Demers at a moment’s notice when they feel the timing is right.
Woodcroft: Philip Broberg Missed Saturday's Game With An Injury
- Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg, who was scratched for today’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks, missed the game with an injury he suffered yesterday, head coach Jay Woodcroft confirmed postgame, via The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Given Broberg’s play in 11 games this season, a healthy scratch wouldn’t be confusing, but certainly wasn’t deserved either, so news of an injury does make sense. It also further explains the decision to recall fellow defenseman Markus Niemelainen yesterday. Woodcroft did not elaborate further on the details or severity of Broberg’s injury.
Brad Malone Clears Waivers
Saturday: Malone has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. He has been assigned to AHL Bakersfield while Foegele has been activated off injured reserve.
Friday: The Edmonton Oilers have placed Brad Malone on waivers after being scratched for last night’s game.
Malone was replaced by James Hamblin, who ended up playing just over five minutes as the Oilers once again relied heavily on their top six. The reason for the waiving, though, is likely the imminent return of Warren Foegele, which will give the team a more reliable option.
Foegele has been out since November 26 and was averaging a little more than 12 minutes on the year. While that may not sound like a lot, the way the Oilers deploy their forwards makes it relatively significant. Last night, for instance, Hamblin, Derek Ryan, Jesse Puljujarvi, Devin Shore, Klim Kostin, and Dylan Holloway each played fewer than 11 minutes, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl approached 30.
Malone, in his ten games with the Oilers this season, hasn’t scored a point. Should he clear, the 33-year-old will return to the Bakersfield Condors, where he serves as captain. Despite more than 200 games of NHL experience, he is an unlikely claim even for clubs looking at reinforcing their bottom six.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Markus Niemelainen
The Edmonton Oilers have made a roster move, recalling defenseman Markus Niemelainen from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Niemelainen was sent to Bakersfield in late November, and now finds himself back on the Oilers’ roster after a 10-game stint in the AHL.
Niemelainen, 24, was a third-round pick of the Oilers at the 2016 draft, and has developed steadily since that point. The rangy six-foot-six Finn played two seasons in the OHL before making the jump to professional hockey in Liiga. Niemelainen crossed the Atlantic once again in 2020-21 to play for Bakersfield, and he made his NHL debut last season.
In 20 games last year Niemelainen had one assist, skating just over 13 minutes per night with over a minute on the penalty kill. So far this year, Niemelainen’s usage in 15 NHL games played has been light. He averages under ten minutes of ice time per night, and his time on the penalty kill has declined as well.
At the AHL level, though, Niemelainen’s overall role reflects what the Oilers are likely hoping he can develop into on their NHL squad. Niemelainen plays top-four minutes in Bakersfield with a heavy dosage of penalty-killing time, and that reflects the Oilers’ faith that he can potentially develop into a shutdown specialist at the NHL level.
Now back with the main roster, Niemelainen will hope to earn more ice time from coach Jay Woodcroft and continue his development at the game’s highest level.