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Matt Rempe To Have Phone Hearing For Illegal Elbowing

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New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe will have a phone hearing for an illegal elbow against New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. The elbow, which made direct contact with Siegenthaler’s head, earned Rempe a game misconduct and forced Siegenthaler out of the game. It also earned Devils utility man Kurtis MacDermid a 10-minute misconduct, as he dropped the gloves to retaliate against Rempe. On Siegenthaler’s status, interim head coach Travis Green said postgame, “He’s not doing great, obviously. He didn’t come back. You never like to see a player get hit like that, especially that’s happened twice now.”

A phone hearing will limit Rempe to a maximum five-game suspension. It’s his first encounter with the Department of Player Safety, coming just 10 games in to his NHL career. Rempe has quickly established himself as a modern-day goon, already racking up a whopping 54 penalty minutes. He leads the NHL  in penalty minutes-per-game, averaging 5:24 in penalties, compared to his average 5:38 of ice time. It’s the most penalty minutes a rookie has averaged through their first 10 games since Tom Sestito, Daniel Carcillo, and Gordi Dwyer – joining the company of legendary goons like Mike Peluso, Kelly Chase, and Darin Kimble. The stat is led by Steve Martinson, who averaged a daunting 8:24 in penalty minutes through his first 10 games.

While DoPS decisions are never easy to predict, it’s likely the New York Rangers are preparing for an extended stint without Rempe. They currently carry Jonny Brodzinski as their only extra forward. Brodzinski has played in 43 games this season, scoring four goals and 15 points. The Rangers could also recall Tyler Pitlick or Adam Edström – who have appeared in 34 and 11 NHL games respectively – though it would use up one of their three remaining recalls on the season.

Stars Sign Justin Ertel To Entry-Level Contract

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The Dallas Stars have signed right-winger Justin Ertel to an entry-level contract. The three-year deal will begin next season and carries a $925,000 cap hit, per CapFriendly. Ertel is currently in his second season in the OHL, scoring 25 goals and 66 points in 61 games with the North Bay Battalion. It’s a step up in scoring from his rookie year when he managed 36 points in 46 games.

The Stars drafted Ertel well before his OHL career began, though, selecting him in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft out of the Maritime Hockey League’s Summerside Western Capitals. Ertel, who was originally drafted by the Battalion in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection Draft, was spending the year in the MHL after the OHL canceled their season. And while the OHL returned for the 2021-22 season, Ertel instead opted to attend Cornell University in the United States, scoring one goal and nine points in 23 games. He’s likely now set to return to the States next season, after signing his first professional contract.

Ertel’s move to the pros should be interesting, with the 20-year-old winger boasting smooth skating, a strong understanding of how to get to open ice, and good grit along the boards – but showing room for improvement with the puck on his stick. He’s a hard-nosed forward who could fit well into professional systems. Dallas will hope that’s the case, as they look to continue profiting off their strong drafting as of late.

Blues Recall Zach Dean

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The St. Louis Blues have recalled top prospect Zach Dean from the AHL. Dean is in his first professional season, scoring eight goals and 13 points in 47 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. It’s been an up-and-down year for the rookie, who recently heated up after a 12-game scoring drought, managing nine points over his latest 12 games.

Dean was drafted 30th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL Draft, with Vegas dealing him to St. Louis ahead of last year’s Trade Deadline in exchange for forward Ivan Barbashev. The deal has proven fruitful for both sides, with Barbashev scoring 20 goals and 53 points in his first 87 games with Vegas – and adding 18 points in 22 playoff games last season as the Golden Knights chased their first Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, the Blues have landed a former first-round prospect who is now poised to make his NHL debut.

Dean is a lightweight centerman with swift skating and a strong ability to make plays from the middle lane. Much of his first year as a pro has been spent getting used to the physicality along the boards and in the corners, with Dean improving at making plays through contact. His call-up coincides with fellow top QMJHL prospect Zachary Bolduc’s NHL debut, as well as the recalling of 23-year-old Matthew Kessel, making it clear that St. Louis wants to assess their young assets. Bolduc has since managed one goal in nine career appearances, adding 11 shots, one penalty, and a -1.

Five Key Stories: 3/4/24 – 3/10/24

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The trade deadline has come and gone and as expected, it wound up being a busy few days across the league.  The full Friday activity is recapped here while several of the biggest swaps are specifically noted in our key stories.

Shakeup In Colorado: Heading into the trade deadline, the Avalanche were thought to be looking for center help and perhaps a backup goalie.  They wound up being quite active.  They picked up Sean Walker from Philadelphia in exchange for Ryan Johansen and Colorado’s 2025 first-round pick.  With an extra defender and a hole down the middle, they then moved blueliner Bowen Byram to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt in one of the biggest moves of the week.  Byram, a former top-four pick, is a big loss but Mittelstadt gives them a legitimate offensive threat to anchor the second line.  GM Chris MacFarland then shook up his bottom six group with a trio of moves, acquiring winger Yakov Trenin from Nashville and winger Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota while moving Ben Meyers to Anaheim to cap a busy few days.  All that and they wound up not getting the goalie.

Vegas Goes All In: It has been a rough go as of late for the Golden Knights who have slipped to a Wild Card spot in the West.  That didn’t stop GM Kelly McCrimmon from going for it.  First, he picked up winger Anthony Mantha (with 50% retention) from Washington for a second-round pick and a fourth-rounder.  The Golden Knights then added defenseman Noah Hanifin from Calgary for a 2025 first-round pick, a conditional 2025 third-rounder, and blueliner Daniil Miromanov, then flipped a 2024 fifth-rounder to Philadelphia to get Hanifin’s cost down to 25% of his AAV.  That gave them enough room to make the most surprising move of trade deadline day, acquiring center Tomas Hertl along with a pair of third-round picks from San Jose in exchange for center prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick; San Jose retained 17.05% of Hertl’s AAV in the swap.  Hertl is out for a few more weeks at least but if Vegas is able to hold onto a playoff spot, they certainly have strengthened their lineup and could be a force in the West.

Devils Fire Ruff: The week wasn’t all about trade-related activity.  The Devils elected to make a coaching change, firing head coach Lindy Ruff while promoting Travis Green to the interim role.  Ruff, who had signed a multi-year extension back in October, was in his fourth season behind New Jersey’s bench with the team playing to a 128-125-28 record.  Last season, he helped lead the Devils to a 112-point campaign, their best in franchise history but this year, the team had underachieved and is on the outside looking in at a playoff spot which resulted in the change.  Green, meanwhile, was New Jersey’s associate coach this season and has head coaching experience from his time with Vancouver.  He’ll be in the role for the remainder of the season and GM Tom Fitzgerald will re-assess from there.

Extensions: At this time of year, there are often plenty of extension as players often find themselves in ’extend or be traded’ situations.  There were several of those as Nashville took center Thomas Novak off the market after signing him to a three-year, $10.5MM extension, a nice reward for a player who was a regular in the minors a year and a half ago.  The Flyers inked Nick Seeler to a four-year, $12.8MM extension, quite a raise for a player making the minimum on a two-way contract which helped pave the way for the Walker trade.  Seattle had one of the more tradable wingers on deadline day in Jordan Eberle but instead of moving him, they agreed to a two-year, $9.5MM extension, one that is a small pay cut but gives him full no-trade protection in return.

The extensions weren’t all just extend or be traded players, however.  The Capitals opted to not wait for the summer to work out a new deal with defenseman Rasmus Sandin, giving him a five-year, $23MM extension that buys them three extra years of club control.  Meanwhile, the Panthers took care of one of their key pending unrestricted free agents as they handed blueliner Gustav Forsling a max-term eight-year, $46MM extension.  Claimed off waivers in 2021, Forsling has gone from a depth defender to one of the anchors on the back end for Florida.

More Big Moves: There were several other big moves across the league.  The league-leading Panthers made a notable acquisition up front, acquiring winger Vladimir Tarasenko for a 2025 third-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-rounder.  Tarasenko had full trade protection and made it known that he wanted to go to Florida which didn’t help Ottawa in terms of maximizing his value.  The Hurricanes, not a team that typically goes after prominent rentals, broke that trend as they added winger Jake Guentzel (who is nearing a return from his upper-body injury) along with blueliner Ty Smith from Pittsburgh for winger Michael Bunting, forward prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, and Cruz Lucius, a conditional 2024 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick.  The first-rounder becomes a second if Carolina doesn’t make the Stanley Cup Final while the fifth only moves if Carolina wins the Stanley Cup.

Some Western teams made key splashes as well.  Edmonton elected to add to their center depth by bringing in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim in exchange for a 2024 first-round selection as well as a conditional 2025 fifth-round selection that becomes a fourth if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.  In order to get a total of 75% retention on Henrique, the Oilers also flipped Tampa Bay a conditional 2025 fourth-rounder.  Winnipeg made one trade of note last month with the addition of Sean Monahan but made another one when they sent a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-rounder to New Jersey for Tyler Toffoli.  All players acquired in this section by contenders are pending unrestricted free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Senators Notes: Bernard-Docker, Kubalik, Belleville

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The Ottawa Senators had a quiet deadline – only moving winger Vladimir Tarasenko – but it wasn’t from lack of trying, with Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reporting that teams called about defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker but weren’t willing to pay Ottawa’s high asking price. What that asking price was isn’t clear, though there’s no doubt that Ottawa highly values their former first-round pick, despite his struggles at the top level. Garrioch added that Ottawa likely wasn’t eager to move the 23-year-old, happy to continue letting him grow now in a full-time NHL role. Bernard-Docker, the 26th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is still searching for a groove in the league, with just four goals and 12 points in 53 games this season. It’s his first full season in the NHL, entering the season with just 32 career games across the last three years.

Other Senators trade notes:

  • Garrioch also reports that Ottawa continued to try and find a trade for winger Dominik Kubalik, who the team has been shopping around since December. Garrioch adds that Kubalik will likely be out the door when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The 28-year-old winger has 10 goals and 14 points in 58 games this season, netting double digit goals for the fifth-straight season, despite a down-year in overall production. Kubalik has managed 92 goals and 175 points across 341 career NHL games.
  • Tarasenko’s move opened up space on the Senators lineup that the team hopes to fill creatively. While they did claim bottom-six staple Boris Katchouk off of waivers, Senators general manager Steve Staios shared that the team could give top Belleville Senators prospects – including Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk, and Oskar Pettersson – a chance at the majors as well. He told Garrioch, “All of those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.” Ottawa currently sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with just 25 wins on the season. With a quiet deadline not providing much change, they could be well-poised to try out their top young names.

Devils Recall Nolan Foote From Conditioning Stint

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Left winger Nolan Foote led the New Jersey Devils onto the practice sheet today as he was officially recalled from his AHL conditioning stint. Foote has been working his way back from a preseason upper-body injury that held him out until February 26th, when he was assigned to the Utica Comets. Foote has appeared in four games with Utica, scoring three goals and four points. He’ll now have a chance to establish himself in the NHL, back with the Devils for the first time since late March of last season.

Foote is still new to his professional career, making his AHL debut in the 2020-21 season. He’s since spent the majority of his time in the minors, including 55 games in each of the last two seasons, though he’s received six or seven NHL games every year. In total, he’s managed 86 points across 134 career AHL games, on top of five goals and seven points in 19 NHL games.

Foote’s return comes at an apt time, coming right after the team traded top-scoring winger Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets. That’s left a hole in the lineup that’s currently being filled by utility player Kurtis MacDermid, who has just two goals in 33 games this season. Foote should be able to compete for that role, though he’ll need to take advantage of his opportunity, with the Devils on the tail ends of the playoff race.

Rangers Sign Louis Domingue To One-Year Extension

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The New York Rangers have signed veteran goaltender Louis Domingue to a one-year, one-way extension. The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K salary, per Renauld Lavoie of TVA Sports. This will continue Domingue’s tenure with the Rangers, after the netminder signed a two-year, $1.5MM deal with the club in the summer of 2022.

Domingue didn’t play in the NHL at all last season – marking the first time since the 2013-14 season that he was absent from the league. His debut with the Rangers didn’t come until November 9th of this season, when he saved 25 of 26 shots en route to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Domingue has otherwise spent all season in the minor leagues, where he’s managed 13 wins and a .910 save percentage in 24 games. He’s continued to perform well after posting 22 wins and a .911 in 45 games last year – serving as the Hartford Wolf Pack’s starter over prospect Dylan Garand. Those roles have since shifted this season, with the 21-year-old Garand barely beating out Domingue for the starter’s net, with the pair have working together to lead Hartford to a 29 wins in 54 games. They rank fourth in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and ninth in the league.

The Rangers mark the seventh team of Domingue’s career, making him one of the NHL’s biggest journeymen. Much of his career has been spent as a backup option or depth recall, though, with Domingue’s only seasons of 30 or more games coming in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. He recorded 39 and 31 games respectively in those years, adding a .912 and .908 save percentage. While big years, they weren’t enough to land Domingue a consistent role, with a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning kicking off his third-string placement. He has totaled 143 career games across nine different seasons, managing 60 wins and a commendable .905 save percentage. He will likely remain a depth option for the Rangers, though his veteran presence could prove invaluable as the Rangers approach a long playoff run.

Trade Notes: Sharks, Toffoli, Johansen

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The San Jose Sharks plan to scratch forwards Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov for trade-related reasons, per team reporter Sheng Peng and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

Both players have seen their names heavily mentioned throughout Trade Deadline season, though interest around them has seemed to flux. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported on Wednesday that extension talks broke down between the Sharks and Barabanov, leading to the team exploring the open market. Duclair shared in late February that he hadn’t yet discussed an extension with the Sharks, setting him up as a trade candidate.

Barabanov has taken a noticeable step back this season, managing just 10 points and a -23 in 38 games – a far cry from the 10 goals and 39 points he scored in 2021-22, or the 15 goals and 47 points he managed last year. The 29-year-old winger made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season, after a seven-year career with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. He played in 13 games with the Leafs before being flipped to the Sharks for Antti Suomela. He’s since totaled 104 points across 198 career games.

Duclair is in his first season with the Sharks, joining the team via trade on July 1st, with San Jose sending Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round pick back to the Florida Panthers. Duclair previously spent three fruitful seasons in Florida, totaling 99 points in 137 games with the club – including a 31-goal, 58-point season in 2021-22. That year marked Duclair’s career-highs in all three scoring stats, though he’s broken the 40-point mark two other times in his career. Duclair has become an established journeyman, playing with seven different clubs across his 10-year career. He’s totaled 288 points in 546 combined games, since making his debut in the 2014-15 season.

Duclair carries a $3.0MM cap hit, while Barabanov has a slightly cheaper $2.5MM cap hit. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, making them rental options at this Trade Deadline. While they’ve each shown flashes of prowess over their careers, it’s likely that neither will fetch a particularly compelling return on the open market – instead serving as strong contingency plans for teams who fall out of the race for other top scorers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils are also planning for a move, scratching top winger Tyler Toffoli for trade-related reasons. Toffoli currently leads the Devils with 26 goals in 61 games, adding 18 assists as well. It’s a continuation of the red-hot season he had with the Calgary Flames last year, scoring 34 goals and 73 points in 82 games. With one more point this season, Toffoli will cross the 45-point mark for just the fifth time in his 11-year career. He’s in his first season with New Jersey – the fifth club he’s been a part of. Much of Toffoli’s career was spent with the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him 47th-overall in the 2010 NHL Draft and won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season of 2013-14. Toffoli scored 14 points, split evenly, through 26 games on that Cup run. New Jersey hasn’t yet ruled out signing Toffoli to an extension, though his healthy scratching suggests the two sides weren’t able to come to a deal.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers will continue to shop around centerman Ryan Johansen, per general manager Daniel Briere. Briere added that Johansen was, “probably not” a part of the team’s future plans. Johansen joined the Flyers alongside a 2025 first-round pick in the trade that sent Sean Walker and a fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia proceeded to place Johansen on waivers, which he cleared, likely thanks to his hefty $4MM cap hit. Philadelphia will likely look to leverage their cap space once again, with the team capable of retaining salary on one more contract. The Flyers previously served as a broker on the deal that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights, receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick to retain 25 percent ($1.2375MM) of his salary.

Trade Notes: Edmundson, Byram, Rangers, Panthers

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Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson is once again preparing for a trade, with TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that multiple teams are interested in the 30-year-old. Dreger shares that the Boston Bruins likely lead the pack right now, though the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are also interested.

Edmundson has been traded three times since 2019, though he’s never been moved in-season before. The Capitals brought in Edmundson on July 1st, sending the Montreal Canadiens a third and seventh round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Washington marked the fourth team of Edmundson’s career. He’s served in a modest role for the club, scoring six points in 44 games and averaging just 16-and-a-half minutes of ice time – though he’s played as much as 22 minutes a night when Washington needs him.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun pointed out that Edmundson could carry a cap hit as little as $875K, if Washington retains half of his salary. That’s a cheap price to pay for a defenseman with over 500 NHL games and one Stanley Cup under his belt. Edmundson is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, likely making him a depth rental for a playoff contender.

Other trade notes from around the league:

  • Bowen Byram will join the Buffalo Sabres in Nashville for their Thursday night game against the Predators, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Head coach Don Granato also shared that Byram will be paired with star defender Rasmus Dahlin when he’s ready to play. Byram missed the Colorado Avalanche’s last game with an illness, something that could limit him on Thursday as well, though Lysowski reports that Byram is feeling better. The Sabres brought in the 22-year-old defenseman in a one-for-one trade with Colorado, sending Casey Mittelstadt the other way. Byram has 20 points in 55 games this season, playing in nearly 20 minutes a night for the Avalanche.
  • Alexander Wennberg was just the start of the New York Rangers’ deadline moves, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Rangers still have their first-round picks in both the 2024 and 2025 drafts, as well as $2.91MM in cap space, per CapFriendly. That’s likely more than enough to land them some of the market’s top names. While the Rangers haven’t been tied to any specific names, they draw a clear connection with interdivision-rival Jake Guentzel and former Ranger Pavel Buchnevich. Both players are garnering plenty of interest ahead of the deadline, each offering dominant, point-per-game scoring on the wing. With the assets and cap space to make most moves work, it will be interesting to see if the Rangers once again shoot for the stars.
  • Seravalli also reported that the Florida Panthers were still searching for a scoring winger, mentioning Max Pacioretty as a potential option. The Panthers were also tied to Guentzel by Pierre LeBrun. Florida just acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators, giving them five forwards in their top-six with at least 40 points this season. They also have Evan Rodrigues and Sam Bennett sporting 36 and 30 points respectively. Adding yet another scoring winger to the mix would give Florida high-production through their third-line, something they may deem necessary to get over teams like Vegas or Carolina. Pacioretty, who has 15 points in 25 games since returning from an Achille’s Tendon injury, would likely be one of the cheapest options on the market and carries a modest $2MM cap hit that would fit into Florida’s books.

Five Key Stories: 2/26/24 – 3/3/24

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The trade deadline is just days away.  We’ve seen a couple of moves so far which are included in our key stories along with some other notable news across the NHL.

Kuznetsov Returns, Gets Waived: Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was cleared to resume practicing with the team as he reached the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  However, the team he’ll actually practice with is AHL Hershey after Washington waived him, sending him down after he cleared on Sunday.  The 31-year-old has struggled this season with just six goals and 11 assists in 43 games, hardly a good return on a $7.8MM contract that runs through 2024-25.  Now the highest-paid player on a regular AHL assignment in league history, the Capitals will continue to look to find ways to give him a chance at a fresh start with another organization.

Tanev To Dallas: Another big domino from Calgary came off the trade board as the Flames moved defenseman Chris Tanev to Dallas as part of a three-team trade that also saw New Jersey pick up a fourth-round pick for retaining 25% of Tanev’s salary.  Calgary, who retained 50% of Tanev’s $4.5MM price tag, picked up defense prospect Artyom Grushnikov, who was a 2021 second-round pick, along with Dallas’ 2024 second-round selection.  If Dallas wins the Stanley Cup, the Flames would also get their 2026 third-round choice.  Tanev, who is still dealing with visa issues, gives the Stars a quality shutdown defender who will undoubtedly log big minutes on the penalty kill and help bolster their top four in general while having a minimal effect on their cap at only a quarter of his actual price tag.

Eight For Pettersson: While Elias Pettersson’s original plan was to wait until the offseason to sign his next contract, it didn’t play out that way.  As speculation started to mount about his potential future with Vancouver, which even included trade discussions with Carolina, Pettersson opted to give the green light to his camp to work out a new deal now.  Those talks ended with an eight-year, $92.8MM extension, the richest contract in franchise history.  The deal contains no-move protection starting in 2025-26, the first year he’s eligible for it.  Pettersson has certainly earned the deal, becoming one of the top two-way centers in the league over the past couple of seasons while he has a shot at back-to-back 100-point seasons.  As things stand, he’s set to be the fifth-highest-paid player in the league next season with an AAV of $11.6MM.

Another Year For Quick: When the Rangers brought in Jonathan Quick as their backup last summer, there were some question marks as he was coming off a rough 2022-23 campaign.  However, things have gone quite well for him this season and he was rewarded for his efforts with a one-year, $1.275MM extension, one that carries a 20-team no-trade clause.  The 38-year-old has fared quite well this season, posting a 2.45 GAA along with a .916 SV% in 21 games so far.  If that holds, those would be his best numbers since the 2017-18 campaign with Los Angeles.  All told, it has been a nice bounce-back year and he’ll be staying in New York for a little while longer.

Back To Toronto: Two years ago, Ilya Lyubushkin had a good run down the stretch with Toronto before departing for Buffalo in free agency.  The Maple Leafs are hoping that history will repeat itself as they acquired the blueliner from Anaheim in a trade that also saw Carolina hold back 25% of his contract in exchange for a sixth-round pick.  The Ducks, meanwhile, retained the maximum of 50% of his $2.75MM price and received a 2025 third-round selection.  Lyubushkin has four assists along with 138 blocks and 116 in 56 games this season and gives Toronto a much-needed right-shot option.  However, he suffered an upper-body injury in his first contest with the Leafs on the weekend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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