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Avalanche Sign Justus Annunen To Two-Year Contract Extension

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The Colorado Avalanche have reportedly signed goaltender Justus Annunen to a two-year, one-way contract extension, per NHL insider Kevin Weekes. Weekes adds that the deal will carry a cap hit of around $833K.

This move is a welcome bode of confidence in the 24-year-old Annunen, who has played in just 12 NHL games since debuting in the 2021-22 season. He’s managed an admirable seven wins and .908 save percentage in those appearances – including a .926 save percentage in eight games this season – but he’s still struggled to win out starting spots over backup competition Ivan Prosvetov and Pavel Francouz over the last few years- the latter yet to play this season. The matter isn’t helped by the fact that starter Alexandar Georgiev has played in an NHL-leading 56 games. But now on a one-way deal, Annunen can breathe a sign of relief knowing that starts are soon to come.

And Annunen has certainly earned the opportunity. He’s posted 60 wins across 114 AHL games since joining the league at the end of the 2020-21 season, recording a combined .903 save percentage. He’s seeing that success translate to the NHL for the first time this season, finally starting to find his footing at the top level. With the progress, Annunen joins fellow 2018 draftees Joel Hofer and Lukas Dostal as encouraging, young netminders fighting for starts from a backup role.

Five Key Stories: 3/18/24 – 3/24/24

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While there won’t be much in the way of activity on the transactions front for a while beyond prospect signings, there was still some news of note in the NHL over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Proposed Rule Changes: Each year, a handful of tweaks to the rules are recommended by NHL general managers.  That continued this year, albeit with a few more proposed changes than usual.  Among the suggested amendments are that goalies can be assessed a minor penalty for intentionally knocking the net off, allowing a coaches’ challenge for delay of game and high-sticking (for friendly fire), and bringing back a warm-up for goalies coming into a game when the starter is taken out due to injury.  They won’t be enacted right away as they still need to be ratified by the Competition Committee and the NHL Board of Governors.

Bowness Away From Jets: For the second straight week, a head coach has taken a leave of absence.  After Martin St. Louis left Montreal for family reasons, Rick Bowness is away from Winnipeg for the second time this season, this time for a minor medical procedure.  He left the Jets on their road trip for treatments while Scott Arniel is serving as interim head coach for the second time this season.  Winnipeg struggled over the weekend but finds itself in a tight battle for the top spot in the Central Division.

Wilson Gets Six: Capitals winger Tom Wilson has a lengthy history with the Department of Player Safety.  Another entry was added this past week as he received a six-game suspension for his high stick on Maple Leafs winger Noah Gregor.  It’s the sixth suspension of his career, bringing his total to 36 games cumulative while he forfeits more than $161K in salary, bringing that running total to a little over $1.5MM.  More importantly for Washington, they lose a key top-six winger as they try to chase down Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.  Wilson will be eligible to return to the lineup on April 4th and ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports (Twitter link) that no appeal will be filed.

Coyotes Likely To Stay At Mullett Arena In 2024-25: The future of the Coyotes in Arizona is once again in question after their planned arena site fell through earlier this year.  There’s another option that involves a public auction that won’t happen until June.  While the team’s fate might be better known at that time, the possibility of relocation that late into the offseason would be difficult to pull off.  Accordingly, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated that the team is likely to stay at Mullett Arena at Arizona State University for the 2024-25 season regardless of the outcome of that auction.  That will be the final year of the original three-season agreement although there are two one-year options to extend it.

Two Former NHLers Pass Away: We end on a sad note as a pair of players passed away.  Former Penguins winger Konstantin Koltsov died at the age of 42.  A first-round pick back in 1999, Koltsov played in 144 NHL games over parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh before spending the next decade playing internationally, primarily in Russia.  Soon after, it was revealed that Chris Simon passed at the age of 52.  He had a 15-year NHL career with seven different franchises and picked up a Stanley Cup title with Colorado back in 1996.  He was with that franchise after being part of the Eric Lindros trade back in 1992.  Simon had 1,824 penalty minutes in his career, good for 67th in NHL history.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Big Hype Prospects: Bourque, Levshunov, Fowler, Koivunen

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The hockey season is coming to a close across the world, bringing about the exciting time of year when top prospects are winning awards and loaded teams are winning championships. It’s the perfect time to borrow the Big Hype Prospects series from over at MLB Trade Rumors and break down some of the rising stars across the hockey world – including drafted prospects and U18 players eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft.

Four Big Hype Prospects

Mavrik Bourque, C, Dallas Stars (Texas Stars, AHL)
60 GP – 23 G – 44 A – 67 TP – 18 PIM – 0 +/-

Dallas Stars fans are currently relishing in the success of first-year-pro Logan Stankoven, who has a dazzling six goals and 10 points through the first 12 games of his NHL career. But the best is still yet to come, with Stankoven currently separated from his partner in crime – Mavrik Bourque. The two formed an unstoppable pair in the AHL, battling each other for the league’s scoring title all season long. They simply played faster than anyone else, zipping around defensemen and creating plays in the blink of an eye. And Bourque has done plenty to show his capabilities in Stankoven’s absence, with 14 points in 14 games and a confident 12-point lead on the league’s scoring title. He can still look undersized amid a scrum and will certainly need to adjust to the NHL’s physicality before he’s able to bring his full tempo. But it’s just a matter of time before Bourque receives the first in-season call-up of his career and Stars fans should be eager to see if he and Stankoven can pick up where they left off when it finally comes.

 

Artyom Levshunov, RHD, 2024 NHL Draft (Michigan State University, NCAA Big Ten)
35 GP – 9 G – 23 A – 32 TP – 42 PIM – +25

Artyom Levshunov is living large right now – clinching a spot in the Big Ten Championship, the Big Ten Rookie of the Year Award, and the Big Ten Defenseman of the Year Award all in one week. And while the season isn’t over just yet, he’s already done more than enough to prove his draft value. Levshunov joined the Spartans late in the summer, announcing his departure from the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers just five weeks before the league’s pre-season. It was a well-choreographed surprise that paired Levshunov with second-year head coach Adam Nightingale. And it was a big adjustment – especially considering this is just the second season that Levshunov has played in North America. There were certainly growing pains, with the Belarusian defenseman showing an overeagerness to leave his position in favor of chasing the puck or joining the offensive rush. But Nightingale was able to reel in his protege quickly, helping Levshunov better wield his aggression and building his confidence in leading the offense. The mentorship gelled well with Levshunov’s eagerness to take on more and more responsibility, ultimately averaging 22:33 in ice time and scoring at a near-point-per-game rate. It’s been an impressive season that came from a surprise commitment – and Levshunov’s ability to make flashy plays in all three zones certainly has the attention of NHL execs. He’s expected to be one of the first names called in the looming 2024 NHL Draft, and he could continue to build acclaim with hot performances in the Big Ten Championship or the Frozen Four!

Jacob Fowler, G, Montreal Canadiens (Boston College, NCAA Hockey East)
34 GP – 28 Wins – .924 Save Percentage – 2.19 Goals-Against-Average

Jacob Fowler is running out of room in his trophy closet quickly, a finalist for Hockey East’s Goaltender of the Year award and competing for the Hockey East championship after winning the same award, and a league championship, in the USHL last season. He has made himself a focal piece of every team he’s played for, setting the record for save percentage as both a 17-year-old and 18-year-old across his two seasons in the USHL and now saving the highest percentage of shots for Boston College since Spencer Knight in 2020. It’s clear to see why Fowler is so effective when watching him play. He’s a powerful skater, keeping a wide frame and moving across the crease quickly. And he carries plenty of bravado, showing clear confidence in facing down opponents and staying locked in through the entirety of plays. As any fan of Jon Gillies will attest, a high save percentage and a stocked trophy cabinet aren’t always indicative of future stardom. But Fowler’s continued dominance certainly elicits plenty of excitement.

Ville Koivunen, LW/C, Pittsburgh Penguins (Kärpät, Liiga)
59 GP – 22 G – 34 A – 56 TP – 26 PIM – +7

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved on from a franchise staple at the Trade Deadline, sending Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a huge change, breaking up a Penguins top-line that’s been together for the better part of seven seasons. And while there’s no good way to rebound from a move that grand, Ville Koivunen represents a great consolation prize. The 20-year-old winger has been fantastic in Finland’s top league, the Liiga, this season – showing a great ability to read the ice and work with his teammates. He’s a smooth-moving forward that’s very tough to knock off the puck, thanks to beautifully-smooth puckhandling. And while he needs space to use it, Koivunen’s shot can be fantastic. He’s emerged as one of Kärpät’s key players this season, averaging nearly 18 minutes of ice time each game and ranked second on the team in scoring. Moving to North American pros poses a unique challenge, something Koivunen learned when he managed just one goal in 12 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season. But he’s found a new groove in his return to Finland. Koivunen has the wind behind his sails, a new NHL organization to embrace, and an open role to eye after Guentzel’s departure – making his return to the United States highly anticipated.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Senators Sign Stephen Halliday To Entry-Level Contract

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The Ottawa Senators have signed collegiate forward Stephen Halliday to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season, with Halliday joining the AHL’s Belleville Senators on an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season. Ottawa drafted Halliday in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft – his last year of draft eligibility. He earned the selection with a 95-point season in the USHL, becoming just the third player since 2000 to score 95-or-more points in one season. The dazzling year also earned Halliday the title of all-time leading scorer in the USHL, with a total of 215 points across 215 games in the league.

Halliday was drafted first overall in the 2018 USHL Draft, contextualizing his status as an all-time leading scorer a bit more. But his climb to the title wasn’t necessarily smooth. Halliday struggled to carve out an impactful role through his first two years in juniors, struggling to add finesse to his skating and direction to his aggressiveness. His career was also impeded by the disbandment of the Central Illinois Flying Aces, leading Halliday to an abrupt move to Dubuque in the summer after his rookie season. That left him learning a brand-new system for the second year in a row and it took time for him to adjust. He handled a modest role in his first year in Dubuque, but found his footing in the subsequent season, forming a formidable pairing with Tampa Bay prospect Connor Kurth on Dubuque’s top line.

Halliday has maintained that strong footing ever since, leading The Ohio State University in scoring in each of the last two seasons (77 points in 78 games played). While he can still look awkward at times, Halliday has found a way to control a beautiful finesse that his game has always boasted and becoming much more efficient with his movement around the ice. His game is lanky and slower, but Halliday’s puck skills and physicality more than make up for the deficit. He’ll now get the chance to carry his streak of strong performances into the next level, signing his first professional contract after his sophomore year of college.

Snapshots: Graves, St. Ivany, Krug, Oshie, Protas

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have shared that defenseman Ryan Graves will be stepping away for a paternity leave, opening the door for rookie Jack St. Ivany to make his NHL debut. St. Ivany has flirted with his inaugural game for much of March, getting moved between the NHL and AHL four different times in the last week. He was clearly motivated by the string of moves, recording a career-high three-point night in his latest AHL game – his first since receiving the first NHL call-up of his career. The performance broke a 10-game scoring drought and accounted for a fifth of St. Ivany’s 15 points on the season. He’ll now have a golden chance to build on the hot night, potentially poised for a big role with Graves’ average of 19 minutes a night now up for grabs.

Other notes from around the league:

  • St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is expected to return to the lineup on Friday after sititng out with a chest injury on Thursday, per NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It was Krug’s first absence of the year, after appearing in the Blues’ first 69 games. He’s managed three goals and 34 points in those games. This is Krug’s first time playing in more than 65 games since the 2017-18 season.  His return is expected to bump Scott Perunovich back out of the lineup.
  • The Washington Capitals will continue to be without T.J. Oshie and Aliaksei Protas, head coach Spencer Carbery told The Hockey News. Both players sat out of the team’s Wednesday night loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oshie is bearing with an upper-body injury, while Protas has a lingering lower-body injury suffered on March 9th. The team will eagerly anticipate their return, now left to lean on Michael Sgarbossa and Ivan Miroshnichenko as top-six fill-ins.

Penguins Recall Jack St. Ivany, Assign Jonathan Gruden

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have reversed their minor league moves once again, recalling defenseman Jack St. Ivany and assigning forward Jonathan Gruden (Twitter link), undoing the moves they made on March 18th and 19th. Gruden appeared in Pittsburgh’s March 19th loss to the New Jersey Devils, recording one shot and one hit in just under seven minutes of ice time.

St. Ivany played in just his second game in nine days on Monday – also marking his first game since receiving his first NHL recall. And he was clearly excited to prove himself, recording three assists and breaking a 10-game scoring drought. The hot night brought his scoring up to four goals and 15 points in 53 AHL games. He’ll now return to the NHL roster with the hope that his strong performance on Monday can earn him his NHL debut.

Meanwhile, Gruden will return to the AHL, where he’s already managed 13 goals and 24 points in 43 games this season. Gruden has received his first extended look at the NHL this season, playing in 12 games after earning his first three games in the league last season. He’s managed just one goal in those 15 games, though he’s added 35 hits and five blocks – doing what he can to earn the fourth-line role he’s been assigned.

Jesse Puljujarvi will slot back in to the lineup with Gruden now assigned to the minors. Puljujarvi is on a redemption tour, signing with Pittsburgh in February of this season. He’s since struggled through 11 NHL games, managing just one goal, two penalty minutes, and a -1. Puljujarvi is continuing to search for his scoring groove after undergoing bilateral hip surgery this summer. He managed four goals and nine points in 13 AHL games before signing with the Penguins, showing the potential for high-scoring could still be there. Puljujarvi, the fourth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, managed a career-high 36 points in 65 games during the 2021-22 season, but has since struggled to find his footing in the NHL.

Florida Panthers Recall Uvis Balinskis

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The Florida Panthers have recalled defenseman Uvis Balinskis from the AHL, per the AHL Transaction Logs (Twitter link). Balinskis joins the Panthers following Dmitry Kulikov’s two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Tampa Bay’s Conor Sheary. That suspension could give Florida the ability to use an emergency recall on Balinskis, preserving their few remaining recalls this season.

Balinskis, 27, signed with the Florida Panthers as an undrafted free agent last April, making his move to North America after three seasons in the Czechia Extraliga and five years in Russia’s KHL. He went on to make the Panthers roster out of training camp this year, representing the only first-year player on the opening-day lineup. Balinskis would appear in his first 18 career NHL games to start the season, scoring his first goal and assist, before getting sent to the minor leagues, following the full-time return of Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. The move represented Balinskis’ first trip to the AHL, and he’s since played in 35 games – scoring three goals and 21 points, ranked second among Charlotte Checkers defensemen in scoring despite playing in 18 fewer games than leading scorer Lucas Carlsson.

It’s been a successful first year in North America for Balinskis and he’ll now be rewarded for his strong AHL play, rejoining the Panthers as soon as opportunity presents itself. He’ll likely immediately step into a gameday role, taking over for Kulikov’s absence on the team’s third pair. Florida also has Tobias Bjornfot serving as a healthy scratch, which could make Balinskis’ path to the lineup a bit more challenging.

Evening Notes: Trouba, Foote, Pelletier

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New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba has returned to the practice sheet after missing the last five games with a lower-body injury. It’s Trouba’s first significant absence of the season, after playing in 60 of the team’s 63 games up to the point of his injury. Head coach Peter Laviolette told The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (Twitter Link) that the team wants to take their time with transitioning Trouba back into the lineup, wanting to make sure he’s fully healthy first.

Trouba is managing another strong season, despite seeing a dip in his scoring – netting just three goals and 22 points in 60 games this year and likely to miss the 30-point mark for the first time in three years. His value has instead come on the other side of the puck, with Trouba ranking third on the Rangers in hits-per-game (2.73), behind William Cuylle and Matt Rempe. Laviolette has employed a physical presence in his first year with the Rangers and Trouba has been happy to comply, leaning into the presence that’s made him one of the league’s most divisive players. The Rangers will need to make sure Trouba is fully ready to go before returning because there’s no doubt he’ll jump right back into his heavy-hitting role.

Other notes from around the league:

  • New Jersey Devils forward Nolan Foote is facing an undisclosed injury and did not join the team on their three-game road trip last week, per Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com. Foote was assigned to the AHL on a four-game conditioning stint in early March, scoring three goals and four points in four games. He was formally activated off of season-opening injured reserve on March 12th, though he’s yet to make his season debut in the NHL. It’s unclear when fans can expect him to work his way into the Devils lineup.
  • The Calgary Flames have sent Jakob Pelletier to the AHL (Twitter Link) after placing him in the press box for their last two games. Pelletier is playing out his formal rookie season in the NHL, with one goal and three points in 13 NHL games on the year. He appeared in 24 games with Calgary last year, netting three goals and seven points. Despite scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace in the minors – 102 points in 105 games since 2021-22 – Pelletier is still searching for his scoring groove at the top level. He’ll get another chance to hone his craft, now again with the Calgary Wranglers.

Dallas Stars Sign Luke Krys

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4:04 PM: The Stars have made the signing official via a team announcement. It will be a two-year entry-level agreement for Krys in Dallas, and the contract will begin in the 2024-25 NHL season.

3:47 PM: The Dallas Stars are reportedly set to sign Providence College defenseman Luke Krys to an entry-level contract, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter Link). The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro noted that this signing isn’t yet official, though he’s also heard it is likely. Krys just wrapped up his graduate year of college, and his first year with Providence, after previously playing for Brown University. He signs with Dallas as an undrafted free agent. His father, Mark, played 284 AHL games in the 1990s and his brother, Chad, was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2016’s second round.

Krys’ collegiate campaign was impacted by the 2020-21 COVID-19 season that saw the defenseman moving to the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for five games with Brown not icing a team. He returned in the following season, managing a combined 55 points in 127 NCAA games. He also added 129 penalty minutes and a combined -53. Those stats include his performances with Providence this season, which saw Krys score a career-high six goals and 17 points across 35 games.

Krys is a stout, right-shot defenseman who makes effective plays in the dirty areas of the ice – showing a knack for playing physical and boasting strong passing that makes him effective in tight spaces. He never strays too far out of position, though he’s certainly aggressive. Krys will need to continue improving on his ability to make the right choice his first choice and learn when and how to seamlessly join the offensive rush. But even still, he’s a gritty and impactful defender on his own side of the red line. That fact alone will make him a welcome addition to the Stars’ depth chart.

Former Capital Chris Simon Passes Away At Age 52

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Long-running NHL enforcer Chris Simon has passed away at age 52, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link). Simon was a mainstay of the NHL’s bruiser era, playing 15 seasons in the NHL. Seven of those came with the Washington Capitals, where Simon remains one of the club’s most penalized players, with 666 penalty minutes in 320 games.

Simon was originally drafted 25th overall in the 1990 NHL Draft, going to the Philadelphia Flyers in what was then the second round. He was selected just ahead of 1000-game pros Doug Weight and Geoff Sanderson. But Philadelphia knew what they were getting in Simon, who recorded 36 goals, 74 points, and 146 penalty minutes in 57 OHL games during his draft year.

Two years after his draft day, Simon would be part of one of the biggest trades in NHL history – making up the ’future considerations’ aspect of the trade that sent Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers. Simon was moved to the Quebec Nordiques alongside Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, $15MM in cash, and more.

The Nordiques awarded Simon with his NHL debut in the subsequent 1992-93 season, with Simon netting two points and 67 penalty minutes in just 16 NHL games. He’d go on to break the 100-penalty minutes mark in 1993-94, a feat he’d achieve in each of the next four seasons and pull off nine total times in his career. His most penalized year in the NHL came in 1995-96, when Simon totaled 250 penalty minutes in 64 games, the sixth-most in Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche history. Simon was also a major piece of Colorado’s 1996 Stanley Cup win, providing a physical presence and grit that pushed the Avalanche down the stretch.

Simon built a legacy as a hard-nosed enforcer, with 101 fighting majors across his 15-year career. PHR sends its condolences to Simon’s family and friends, as well as to all of the organizations he’s played for.

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