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Lightning’s Conor Geekie Suspended One Game

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2:51 p.m.: Geekie has been suspended for one preseason game, the league announced. He’ll be eligible to play on opening night if he makes the team.

9:05 a.m.: If Lightning prospect Conor Geekie cracks the opening night roster, he may still have to wait to make his NHL debut. The pivot is facing a suspension today for violating league Rule 70.2, which prohibits leaving the bench “on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation,” the Department of Player Safety announced.

Midway through the second period of last night’s overtime loss to the Panthers, Geekie started a shift and immediately laid a hit on and subsequently fought Florida forward prospect Josh Davies. Geekie wasn’t tossed from the game, but he was given a total of 19 PIMs on the play – a 10-minute instigator misconduct, a fighting major, an instigator minor, and a cross-checking minor.

The altercation shortly followed a hit that Davies laid on Lightning captain Victor Hedman that violated no league roles and wasn’t penalized, although it did immediately draw the ire of Tampa star Nikita Kucherov, who attempted to drag Davies down to the ice during play immediately following the hit (video via Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times).

As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman points out, Geekie isn’t facing the automatic 10-game suspension levied for leaving the bench to join an active fight. Previous suspensions for violations of Rule 70.2 range from one to two games. The Lightning have two preseason games left on their schedule, so Geekie may be back for the season opener, although the league may up the suspension slightly to compensate for the much weaker punishment of being barred from exhibition play.

Geekie, 20, was the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Coyotes. After his entry-level contract was transferred to Utah, they traded him to the Bolts in this offseason’s Mikhail Sergachev blockbuster. He lit up the WHL last year for 99 points in just 55 games split between the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos.

Waiver Wire: 10/3/24

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All 12 players placed on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. PuckPedia relays that 17 new names hit the wire today for teams to claim over the next 24 hours:

Calgary Flames

F Walker Duehr
F Dryden Hunt
D Jarred Tinordi

Florida Panthers

F Rasmus Asplund
D Tobias Björnfot
F Zac Dalpe
D Jaycob Megna

Nashville Predators

D Nick Blankenburg

Seattle Kraken

D Cale Fleury

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Nicholas Abruzzese

Utah Hockey Club

F Andrew Agozzino
D Patrik Koch
F Ben McCartney

Winnipeg Jets

F Axel Jonsson-Fjällby
D Simon Lundmark
F Mason Shaw
F Dominic Toninato

Avalanche Release Pierre-Édouard Bellemare

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The Avalanche have released Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, per a team announcement. Bellemare was attempting to land his second contract in Colorado on a PTO as a fourth-line piece.

While this may mark the end of the road for Bellemare in the NHL, don’t expect him to hang up his skates. The 39-year-old said in August that if an NHL opportunity didn’t materialize, he’d likely head overseas to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, where he played from 2009 to 2014.

Bellemare has 64 goals, 74 assists, and 138 points over 700 career appearances, getting a late start to his NHL career with the Flyers at age 29 after spending the early part of his prime playing in Sweden. That includes 122 games over a previous stint with the Avalanche, where he had a career-high 22 points in 69 games during the 2019-20 campaign.

Despite a lengthy track record of being a serviceable fourth-line center over the past decade, it wasn’t surprising to see Bellemare settle for a PTO. The Frenchman looked like he lost a step last season after signing a one-year deal with the Kraken, limited to seven points in 40 games and serving as a routine healthy scratch for the first time since arriving in North America. He averaged a career-low 9:50 per game and had a diminished effect physically, laying 20 hits after a lengthy history of averaging at least one per game.

Still an international team fixture for his native France, Bellemare has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, with the Golden Knights in 2018 and with the Lightning in 2022, although he was on the losing end both times. He’d likely still be a decent depth piece for Skellefteå if he decides to return to Sweden (and if there’s a spot for him). He’d join a squad headlined by Red Wings first-round picks Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka that’s off to a strong 4-1-0 start in SHL league play.

As for the Avalanche, they’re still looking for a veteran to hold down their fourth-line center spot. Look for them to make a claim off waivers in the coming days to address that vacancy.

Flames Reassign Jonathan Aspirot, Clark Bishop

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Oct. 3: Aspirot and Bishop were returned to the Wranglers today, the team announced.

Oct. 2: After they both cleared waivers on Sunday, the Flames have summoned defenseman Jonathan Aspirot and center Clark Bishop back from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, per team announcement.

They’ll be returned to the Wranglers before opening night rosters are due Monday. For now, they’ll get another brief look in exhibition play, presumably in tonight’s contest against the Jets.

Aspirot, 26, is entering the sixth professional season of his career, which has been spent entirely in the AHL. He spent four years in the Senators organization with Belleville before signing a contract with the Wranglers for 2023-24. Calgary brought him back to their affiliate for this season by signing him to a two-way deal ($775K/$140K) on July 3.

The 6’0″, 201-lb defender has also played left wing at points during his career but has consistently stuck on the blue line since arriving in Alberta. A decent minor-league two-way threat, he posted career highs across the board last year with 27 assists and 33 points in 66 appearances for the Wranglers. He likely isn’t very high on the list of potential call-ups, but a good showing tonight could help him make some headway.

Unlike Aspirot, Bishop has NHL experience, but none since skating in nine games with the Senators in the 2021-22 campaign. He’s appeared in 47 career contests at the top level with Ottawa and Carolina, scoring once and adding seven assists for eight points with a -6 rating. The 28-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Hurricanes back in 2014 and is entering his third season in the Flames organization. He posted 22 points (10 G, 12 A) in 57 games for the Wranglers last year with 72 PIMs and a -2 rating.

Robin Lehner Won’t Count Against Golden Knights’ Salary Cap

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Goaltender Robin Lehner will carry a $0 cap hit for the Golden Knights this season, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. They’d reportedly been exploring options to terminate his contract after he failed to report for his pre-training camp physical, which Lehner said was pre-planned.

The 33-year-old is entering the final season of a five-year, $25MM contract, but he’s missed all of the last two seasons after undergoing double hip surgery. He was expected to remain on long-term injured reserve for all of the 2024-25 campaign as well, but Vegas couldn’t have placed him there without him failing a physical.

Since he didn’t report, Vegas was in a tricky situation, requiring the league and NHLPA to step in. They’ve now reached a resolution that will still involve Lehner receiving his $4.4MM salary for this season, per Seravalli, but he’ll effectively be suspended without pay as it relates to Vegas’ salary cap picture.

That takes a ton of workload off general manager Kelly McCrimmon’s plate. The Golden Knights would have had no issues starting the season with a cap-compliant roster with Lehner on LTIR, but that wouldn’t have allowed them to accrue cap space throughout the year. They’ll now be able to accrue space by operating without LTIR. It’ll be a significant amount of flexibility, too – with a full roster, they’ll have $1.36MM in projected space on opening night with Lehner essentially off the books, per PuckPedia.

At this stage, if it wasn’t already, Lehner’s NHL career should be considered over. The Swedish netminder made 364 appearances in parts of 12 seasons with the Senators, Sabres, Knights, Islanders, and Blackhawks, posting a strong .917 career SV% and 2.71 GAA with a 152-141-49 record and 17 shutouts.

Bruins Recall Fabian Lysell

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The Bruins have recalled right-winger Fabian Lysell from AHL Providence, the team announced. It’s not an indication that their top forward prospect will make the opening night roster, rather, it allows them to give him another viewing in exhibition action, likely this weekend’s preseason finale against the Capitals, although he could also suit up tonight in Quebec City against the Kings.

Boston cut Lysell from its training camp roster last weekend, so unless an injury gives him an opening to land a job, he’ll be returned to Providence before rosters are due on Oct. 7. Lysell, 21, has yet to make his NHL debut since the B’s drafted him 21st overall in 2021. He’s impressed in AHL action, though, scoring 29 goals and 58 assists for 87 points in 110 appearances with the P-Bruins over the last two seasons.

While he took a step forward last year with 50 points in 56 games and had a goal in three preseason contests for Boston last month, it wasn’t enough to convince the Bruins he’s ready for NHL minutes. There was an opportunity for him to capture a middle-six wing role, potentially on the second line alongside Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand, but all indications point toward Morgan Geekie filling that role with PTO camp invite Tyler Johnson trending toward landing a contract.

Lysell should still be near the top of Boston’s list for in-season recalls, so he shouldn’t have to go much longer before making his NHL debut. He’s still got two seasons left or 160 NHL appearances, whichever comes first, before he requires waivers to head to the minors.

Blue Jackets Place Gavin Brindley On Season-Opening Injured Reserve

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Blue Jackets prospect Gavin Brindley sustained a broken finger in Tuesday’s exhibition win over the Blues and will miss four to six weeks in recovery, general manager Don Waddell said. He’s been placed on season-opening injured reserve and won’t count against the 23-man limit to start the season. The Jackets also assigned defenseman Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm to AHL Cleveland, cutting him from their training camp roster.

It’s a tough break for Brindley, who was in the running to crack Columbus’ roster in his first training camp with the club. A spectacular 2023-24 season at the University of Michigan vaulted the 19-year-old up the organizational depth chart, leading the Wolverines in scoring with 25 goals and 53 points in 40 games while being named the Big Ten’s player of the year. He signed his entry-level contract following Michigan’s elimination from the national tournament and made his NHL debut in the Jackets’ final game of the season against the Hurricanes, posting zeros across the board in 12:20 of ice time.

The diminutive 5’9″, 168-lb forward was viewed as a potential first-round threat in 2023 but fell to Columbus in the early second at 34th overall, largely due to concerns over his size. It hasn’t stopped the high-end playmaking winger from making a major impact at the collegiate and international junior levels, though. Brindley also scored six goals and 10 points in seven games at this year’s World Juniors en route to a gold medal with the United States. He also made his senior national team debut with a goal in five games at the World Championship.

Brindley’s timeline for a return puts his potential season debut during the first half of November. Whether that comes with the Jackets or AHL Cleveland remains to be seen. He doesn’t require waivers, so upon returning to health, he can be ferried directly to the minors without any hassle.

With Justin Danforth still likely on the shelf to start the year due to a wrist injury, there’s one forward spot open in Columbus that Brindley was in contention for. That competition is now down to a more experienced list of Dylan Gambrell, Owen Sillinger, and 23-year-old Mikael Pyyhtia to open the season as the Jackets’ fourth-line left wing.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/3/24

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We’re still five days away from opening night, but the regular season technically kicks off tomorrow, with the Devils and Sabres taking each other on in Prague. Most teams have trimmed over a third of their initial training camp rosters by this point, and most have no more than five to 10 cuts left to make – if that – before they reach their final form. Today should mark some of the last minor moves involving players who never had much of a shot, with the weekend signaling an end to much fiercer camp battles. All of Thursday’s cuts will be listed here:

Last updated 5:03 p.m.

Buffalo Sabres (per team announcement)

F Tyson Kozak (to AHL Rochester)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

D Hunter Brzustewicz (to AHL Calgary)
F Martin Frk (to AHL Calgary)
F Justin Kirkland (to AHL Calgary)
F Sam Morton (to AHL Calgary)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

D Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm (to AHL Cleveland)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Zachary L’Heureux (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Ozzy Wiesblatt (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Adam Wilsby (to AHL Milwaukee)

New York Rangers (per team announcement)

F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (to AHL Hartford)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)

D Mac Hollowell (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Jimmy Huntington (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Marc Johnstone (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

D Cale Fleury (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)

F Nicholas Abruzzese (to AHL Toronto, pending waivers)
D Matt Anderson (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Matthew Barbolini (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
D Jacob Bengtsson (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Jacob Frasca (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
G Jon Gillies (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Mathieu Gosselin (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
G Dennis Hildeby (to AHL Toronto)
F Braeden Kressler (to AHL Toronto)
F Brandon Lisowsky (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Robert Mastrosimone (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
D Ryan McCleary (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
D Tommy Miller (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
D Rhett Parsons (released from ATO to AHL Toronto)
G Vyacheslav Peksa (to AHL Toronto)
D Chas Sharpe (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Marko Sikic (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Zach Solow (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
F Sam Stevens (released from PTO to AHL Toronto)
D William Villeneuve (to AHL Toronto)
F Ty Voit (to AHL Toronto)

Utah Hockey Club (per team announcement) – waivers separate

F Andrew Agozzino (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)
F Miloš Kelemen (to AHL Tucson)
D Patrik Koch (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)
D Maveric Lamoureux (to AHL Tucson)
F Ben McCartney (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)
F Aku Raty (to AHL Tucson)
D Maksymilian Szuber (to AHL Tucson)

Winnipeg Jets (per the team’s Mitchell Clinton)

D Tyrel Bauer (to AHL Manitoba)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjällby (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
D Dmitry Kuzmin (to AHL Manitoba)
D Simon Lundmark (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
G Thomas Milic (to AHL Manitoba)
F Mason Shaw (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
F Dominic Toninato (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)

Evening Notes: Yakemchuk, Lizotte, Ponomarev

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Ottawa Senators 2024  first-round pick (seventh overall) Carter Yakemchuk is making a bid to make the team this season (as per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia). The Fort McMurray, Alberta native was expected to be shuttled back to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL but has made things interesting with his terrific play in the preseason, leading the Senators with five points.

The 19-year-old has shown good offensive instincts and could earn himself a nine-game NHL audition if his strong play continues. The one issue he might face is that his defensive game needs work, and the Senators have been a team that has struggled defensively in recent seasons which might give management, and the coaching staff pause as they try to assemble the best possible lineup for opening night.

In other evening notes:

  • Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Blake Lizotte has a concussion and will be sidelined indefinitely. Lizotte took a puck to the face in a game on Sunday and may miss the Penguins season opener next Wednesday against the New York Rangers. Lizotte signed a two-year $3.7MM deal with the Penguins on July 1st and remains likely to start the season as the Penguins fourth line center. Lizotte had seven goals and eight assists in 62 games last season with the Kings but is just a year removed from posting 34 points in 81 games.
  • Rossi is also reporting that Penguins forward Vasily Ponomarev will be out of the lineup for the next few days with an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old likely won’t play tomorrow night against the Blue Jackets and might miss Friday’s game as well. Ponomarev has been good in the preseason but remains a long shot to make the NHL roster. His injury likely squashes his opportunity to make the opening night roster, but it shouldn’t hinder him from being called up later in the regular season. The former second-round pick was acquired by the Penguins back in March as part of the package Pittsburgh received from the Hurricanes for Jake Guentzel.

Wild Intend To Outbid Teams On Kirill Kaprizov

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Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold spoke this week about the future of star forward Kirill Kaprizov saying that the Wild will offer more money and term than any other team may offer in free agency when the former Calder Trophy winner is eligible for an extension next summer (as per Michael Russo of The Athletic). Kaprizov has registered three straight 40-goal seasons and will certainly hit the jackpot whenever he does put pen to paper on his next deal. Whether that is with Minnesota or not remains to be seen, but according to Leipold, that is certainly the Wild’s intention.

Leipold is aware that Kaprizov’s focus is on winning, and while the Wild have been a perennial playoff contender for the past decade (last year aside), the team hasn’t had much playoff success to speak of. Minnesota hasn’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2014-15 and will have their work cut out for them if they want to prove to their 27-year-old star that they are serious about winning.

The Wild do have an opening though, and it begins next summer when the pain of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyout begins to dwindle. This season the Wild are dealing with $14.7MM in dead money on their salary cap, but next year that dead money drops to just $1.7MM from 2025-29. That reduction opens the door for Minnesota to have more than $20MM in cap space to make moves to improve their team, and given the list of potential free agents next summer the Wild could be positioned to make a splash. Whether or not that will entice Kaprizov to sign long-term remains to be seen, but the Wild appear set to make the best possible push that they can with Leipold acknowledging that the team might have to give out large signing bonuses, something they’ve been hesitant to do in recent years.

The other variable that will work in Minnesota’s favor is that they can offer an eighth year on a long-term contract and will be the only team positioned to do so as other teams will only have the option to offer seven-year contracts in unrestricted free agency.

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