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West Notes: Rantanen, Suter, Milne

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Colorado Avalanche reporter Adrian Dater wrote on his Substack today that forward Mikko Rantanen has said that he won’t hold contract extension talks with the Avalanche during the regular season. This disputes a report from earlier this summer that the two sides were close to a new deal, and it also is in stark contrast to what Meghan Angley reported yesterday when Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland said he didn’t have concerns about the extension talks with Rantanen spilling into the season.

Dater cites NHL sources for his reporting, but it is possible that Rantanen’s camp is posturing and using the threat of his impending free agency next summer to create some urgency around Avalanche management. However, if Colorado does feel that they can’t re-sign Rantanen it will certainly make for an interesting season as they could look to trade the 28-year-old to one of the teams that aren’t on his nine-team no-trade list.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Thomas Drance of The Athletic tweeted that Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter is questionable for the Canucks season opener against Calgary this evening. Suter has been dealing with an upper-body injury and will be a game-time decision tonight. He practiced on the Canucks third line the last few days but doesn’t appear to be fully healthy to start the regular season. If he can’t go, then Aatu Raty will likely take his spot. The 28-year-old is entering the second season of the two-year $3.2MM contract he signed with Vancouver last summer and was a bargain last year, tallying 14 goals and 15 assists in 67 games.
  • The Minnesota Wild have activated forward Michael Milne and assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Iowa. Milne was a third-round pick of the Wild back in 2022 and has yet to see NHL action in his first two professional seasons. The 22-year-old has dressed in 97 AHL games over the last two years, tallying 15 goals and 19 assists. Milne could be destined for Iowa’s bottom six this season where he will look to continue to be a force in the defensive zone and a puck retrieval machine.

Golden Knights Recall Brendan Brisson

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Brendan Brisson and he will reportedly be in the lineup tonight when they take on the Colorado Avalanche to open the 2024-25 season (as per Jesse Granger of The Athletic). The 2020 first-round pick will play on the third line with fellow winger Ivan Barbashev and center Nicolas Roy.

The 22-year-old didn’t make Vegas’ roster initially out of training camp but with the William Karlsson going on IR with an injury, it opened up room for the Golden Knights to make the recall and insert Brisson into the lineup.

The Los Angeles, California native had a run last year in the NHL with Vegas after making his NHL debut on January 15th. His offensive numbers were solid for a player who averaged just over 12 minutes of ice time per game, as he posted two goals and six assists in 15 games.

His underlying numbers weren’t sparkling, but they weren’t terrible either as he registered an even-strength CF% of 47.5% (as per Hockey Reference) while starting over half of his shifts in the defensive zone. He certainly appears ready to take a big step this year and utilize the offensive instincts that got him drafted 29th overall. The knock on Brisson is his strength and his skating, but there is no doubt that his passing and shot are ready for the NHL.

Penguins Notes: Malkin, Karlsson, Rust

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There’s some reminiscing in Pittsburgh today with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin starting their 20th and 19th years with the team, respectively. In his age-38 season, Malkin has retirement on his mind but rest assured it will be on his terms.

In an article from Josh Yohe of The Athletic (Subscription Required), Malkin explained that the final two years of his four-year, $24.4MM contract may be his last in the NHL. He said, “If I’m not playing right, if I’m not real happy with how I’m playing, then yes, these probably are my last two years. But I can’t say for sure that I’ll be done in two years. If I play well this year and next year, if I’m happy with how I’m playing, then maybe I’ll play a little more after that. That would be nice“.

Despite how his body may feel, he isn’t content with where the team has finished the past two seasons. Malkin explained that he wouldn’t retire before playing in the playoffs again saying, “I love the playoffs so much and I love our fans so much. I need to feel it again. I couldn’t leave if I never play in the playoffs again. Not until then“. Given where the Pittsburgh Penguins are in their contention window — the next time they make the playoffs may be the last they see of a franchise legend.

Other Penguins notes:

  • The organization received positive news on the injury front as Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports defenseman Erik Karlsson is medically cleared to play tonight. Karlsson missed most of Pittsburgh’s preseason nursing an upper-body injury. He’s primed for a big season, particularly on the team’s powerplay, with coach David Quinn taking over the team’s tactics with a man advantage.
  • On the flip side of the ’injury coin’, the Penguins will be without forward Bryan Rust for their regular season opener (X Link). He’s been on the team’s injured reserve retroactive to September 29th and was originally designated as day-to-day. He recently skated with the team in practice in a non-contact jersey indicating his imminent return.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Tavares, Benson, Peterka

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The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled goaltender Dennis Hildeby earlier this morning with Joseph Woll missing the next few days due to “lower-body tightness“. It’s official the latter goaltender will miss at least the next three games with PuckPedia reporting the organization has placed him on injured reserve.

PuckPedia also shared that the organization has moved forward Connor Dewar to long-term injured reserve which puts their available cap space at $337K after today’s moves. Dewar has been nursing a shoulder injury suffered at the end of last season but did skate during training camp in a non-contact jersey.

The news doesn’t bode well for the organization as injury concerns have plagued Woll since he became the full-time goaltender last season. An ankle injury suffered last year lost him nearly two months of the regular season limiting him to only 25 games played. The Maple Leafs brought in a solid insurance option this summer in Anthony Stolarz but the team prefers to have both netminders healthy and available.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Although many of the headlines will be taken by Mitch Marner’s extension negotiations, the Maple Leafs have another big one to focus on. Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic that the organization has begun contract talks with center John Tavares who will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. LeBrun shares that there’s mutual understanding between Tavares and Toronto that there will be a pay cut upon his $11MM salary but the scale factor of change is still up in the air. That will make the extension negotiations more delicate but there is still a desire between both parties to extend their relationship.
  • The Buffalo Sabres shared a report from the team’s practice earlier today showing forwards Zach Benson and John-Jason Peterka were back on the ice. They are both options for the team tomorrow night in their regular season opener in North America after sustaining minor injuries in the team’s games in Prague against the New Jersey Devils.

Mark Friedman Clears Waivers, Reassigned To AHL

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10/9: Vancouver was able to pass Friedman through waivers unscathed. The organization announced they have reassigned Friedman to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.

10/8: The Canucks announced today they’ve placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers for the purpose of assignment, opening up a roster spot ahead of tomorrow’s home opener against the Flames.

Friedman, 29 in December, has emerged as a quality No. 7/8 option on the blue line in his prime. After spending most of his 20s as a true farmhand, he’s played in at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons.

He’s never avoided AHL action entirely, though, aside from the 2020-21 campaign he spent mostly on the Flyers’ and Penguins’ taxi squads. He started last season in Pittsburgh but was traded to the Canucks early on, posting an assist and a +4 rating in 23 games in Vancouver uniform while averaging 12:14 per night. He inked a one-year, one-way league minimum extension in June to keep him with the Canucks for 2024-25, but he’ll now land on waivers a year to the day after he was last on the wire with the Penguins. One way or another, he won’t be rostered for tomorrow night’s game – he’ll either be in Abbotsford or with a new team if one claims him.

Friedman has serviceable possession metrics and has demonstrated value as a cheap plug-and-play guy who won’t be a defensive liability, even if he lacks any legitimate long-term upside. That could convince a team dealing with injuries on the blue line to submit a claim.

Panthers Recall Spencer Knight, Reassign Chris Driedger, MacKenzie Entwistle

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As expected, Spencer Knight will start the year with the Florida Panthers. The organization announced they recalled Knight from their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers while sending goaltender Chris Driedger and forward MacKenzie Entwistle back the other way.

The move was primarily made for salary cap implications thanks to Knight’s $4.5MM salary. The organization signed him to a three-year, $13.5MM extension in 2022 while Knight was in the midst of the best season of his young career. The deal would prove premature with Sergei Bobrovsky taking back the net and Knight exclusively seeing AHL action last season.

He still carries significant prospect pedigree as the 13th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. He holds a 32-17-6 record in 49 starts since the start of the 2020-21 NHL season with a .906 save percentage and 2.91 goals-against average. The numbers may look fairly solid for an NHL backup but according to HockeyReference, Knight has a .421 quality start percentage, a 100 GA%-, and a -0.7 goals saved above average showing him as fairly pedestrian at the NHL level.

Last season with the Checkers didn’t do much to inspire confidence either with a 25-14-5 record in 45 games with a .905 SV%. He’s still the best option for the Panthers behind Bobrovsky despite being fairly expensive.

Driedger will immediately become the starting netminder in Charlotte after an impressive season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He finished with a 24-7-7 record in 39 games with a .917 SV%. He backstopped the Firebirds to a second straight Calder Cup final on the heels of a .906 SV% in 18 postseason contests.

Florida signed Entwistle this past summer after being non-tendered by the Chicago Blackhawks. He’ll likely be a bubble player for most of the year in the Panthers organization with 15 goals and 35 points over 193 appearances in four years at the NHL level.

Wild Notes: Leipold, Boldy, Middleton, Chisholm

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The owner of the Minnesota Wild, Craig Leipold, took part in a lengthy interview with Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic carrying a wide array of topics. Despite not making the playoffs last year and not advancing past the second round since 2003 Leipold assures Wild fans the organization is firmly committed to bringing a Stanley Cup to the State of Hockey.

Leipold shared that Minnesota was never interested in a full-scale rebuild and the organization is now in year two of a five-year plan to win a Stanley Cup. The major factors in this rebuild are extending star player Kirill Kaprizov next summer and bringing in some marquee free agents when they have more financial flexibility.

The longtime Wild owner touched on the importance of the inevitable negotiations with Kaprizov saying, “Am I convinced that we can (persuade him to stay)? No. Am I convinced that we will have a better offer than anybody else can do in the league? The answer is yes. I told you that this five-year plan is not a straight line. He’s the most important piece of our five-year plan. I think I can say that“.

Minnesota is still financially reeling from the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter from a few years ago with $14.74MM owed to the players this season. That number will drop to only $1.66MM next summer giving the Wild a ton of room to work with as the cap continues to rise.

Other Wild notes:

  • The injuries that limited forward Matt Boldy and defenseman Jacob Middleton during training camp will not extend into the regular season. Jessi Pierce of the NHL reports that both players are expected to be in the Wild lineup tomorrow for their regular season opener. Boldy was suffering from a lower-body injury and was originally designated as week-to-week on September 23rd before being downgraded to day-to-day on October 1st.
  • One player confirmed to not be in the lineup tomorrow night is defenseman Declan Chisholm who is battling an illness (X Link). There was no guarantee Chisholm would have been in the lineup if healthy as the team may have opted for Jonathon Merrill and Zach Bogosian on the bottom pairing regardless. Minnesota did use Chisholm more than he ever has in his career last season averaging 16:52 of ice time in 29 contests after being claimed on waivers.

Oilers Re-Claim Raphael Lavoie Off Waivers

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The Oilers have re-acquired Raphael Lavoie off waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was lost on the wire to the Golden Knights just two days ago. If Edmonton was the only team to submit a claim, they can now assign him directly to AHL Bakersfield.

Even if Edmonton wasn’t the only team to submit a claim, they can still get away with having him on the active roster for now. They had two open spots and were up to $1.06MM in cap space before the claim after moving Evander Kane to LTIR, per PuckPedia, enough to shoulder Lavoie’s league minimum cap hit.

It’s good tidings for the Oilers, who never wanted to lose Lavoie in the first place. A victim of roster math, he’s on the cusp of a full-time NHL role after posting 50 points in 66 games for their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield last season. The 2019 second-round pick has intriguing size at 6’4″ and 216 lbs and can play both center and wing – an appealing mix for a depth scorer.

He’s especially so on a contending and cap-strapped Oilers club, who would likely insert him into the lineup the first chance they get if an injury strikes. The Golden Knights were hoping to see what they had in him by giving him some runway with their AHL affiliate in Henderson, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Kings Recall Andre Lee, Place Drew Doughty On LTIR

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The Kings have recalled forward Andre Lee from the AHL’s Ontario Reign, per a team release. Los Angeles had an open roster spot but didn’t have the cap space to execute the transaction, so they’ve moved Drew Doughty to long-term injured reserve in a corresponding move. He remains month-to-month after undergoing ankle surgery last month.

Lee, 24, had a strong camp by all accounts. He’s looking to make his NHL debut tomorrow in the Kings’ season-opener against the Sabres, potentially in a fourth-line role alongside youngsters Akil Thomas and Alex Turcotte while veteran Trevor Lewis sits in the press box.

A seventh-round pick back in 2019, Lee is entering his third professional season. The 6’4″ Swede signed his entry-level contract in 2022 after three years at UMass-Lowell, where he totaled 64 points (31 G, 33 A) in 87 games. The voracious checker can play both left wing and center. While he hasn’t put up big numbers on the scoresheet since turning pro, he’s shown he can be a strong enough complementary physical player to log NHL minutes (or at least earn a brief look). He posted a career-high eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 38 games with the Reign last year, adding 23 PIMs and a +2 rating.

Lee signed a two-way extension ($775K/$100K) to remain in the Kings organization in June. He’s set to be an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.

Meanwhile, Doughty’s LTIR placement doesn’t affect his timeline for a return. He was already expected to miss the 10 games and 24 days required for an LTIR stint.

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