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Alex Goligoski

Evening Notes: Savoie, Holland, Pinto

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Scott Powers of The Athletic tweeted tonight that Chicago Blackhawks forward Samuel Savoie had successful surgery today on his right femur and is expected to fully recover. The 19-year-old prospect was injured yesterday after colliding with defenseman Alex Goligoski in a game against the Minnesota Wild and had to be stretchered off the ice. He was unable to travel with the Blackhawks and reportedly had surgery in Minnesota this morning.

Savoie has been ruled out of action indefinitely and appears to have a long recovery ahead of him after suffering a very scary injury. The 2022 third-round pick was expected to return to the QMJHL to be a big piece of the Gatineau Olympiques this season, but his season might have ended before it even began. Savoie had 26 goals and 33 assists in 60 games last year for the Olympiques and was expected to take a big step forward offensively this season.

In other evening notes:

  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic tweeted that forward Peter Holland has elected to continue his PTO with the Colorado Avalanche and report to their AHL affiliate the Colorado Eagles. Holland will join the AHL camp as he continues his quest to get back to the NHL for the first time since 2017-18 when he dressed in 23 games for the New York Rangers. Holland was always a long shot to make the Avalanche as he did not play professional hockey last season. Despite the setback, one must admire his determination to make it back to the NHL.
  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes about the latest in the Ottawa Senators negotiations with restricted free agent center Shane Pinto. Garrioch believes that the two sides will need to find common ground as Pinto is looking for $2.5MM per year on a two-year bridge contract, while the Senators are looking for a Morgan Frost type contract at $2.1MM per season. Garrioch adds that his belief is that Pinto wants to remain a member of the Senators and that the team wants to keep him long-term. Pinto had 20 goals and 15 assists last season in 82 games and is seen by many as the long-term solution for the Senators in the third-line center role. His presence will be key for the Senators as their bottom-six forward group is very underwhelming without Pinto centering the third line.

West Notes: Hanifin, Goligoski, Dubois

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While Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin hasn’t given the team a list of teams he’d be willing to sign an extension with to help facilitate a trade, he has given them one clue at least.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the blueliner has made it known that he would like to return to the United States.  Hanifin is set to enter the final year of his contract with a $4.95MM AAV that is well below market value.  As a result, there should be strong interest in the 26-year-old who, on top of logging over 20 minutes a night, has recorded 86 points over the last two seasons.  With the draft getting underway on Wednesday, Hanifin’s name is likely to come up in further trade speculation over the coming days.

Elsewhere around the Western Conference:

  • This past season was a tough one for Wild blueliner Alex Goligoski who wound up being a frequent healthy scratch. However, Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the 37-year-old has decided that he wants to return next season and since he has a full no-move clause, it’s safe to say he’ll now be sticking around.  Goligoski has one year left on his contract with a $2MM AAV and with him not getting moved now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see if they can create a market for Jonathon Merrill who has two years left at a $1.2MM AAV to try to create a little extra cap flexibility.
  • There could be some more moves coming soon, as the Winnipeg Jets are “gaining traction” on a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. There isn’t a clear front-runner for his services at this point, but the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens have seen their names mentioned the most of any in recent trade rumors.  The influx of pre-draft trades has been started with Kevin Hayes, Ryan Johansen, and Sean Durzi all on the move today.

Wild Notes: Rossi, Goligoski, Gustavsson, Reaves

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The Minnesota Wild’s number-one priority as an organization seems to be finally finding the a true number-one center to build around. When he was drafted with the ninth-overall pick at the 2020 draft, it was believed that Austrian center Marco Rossi had a shot at being that long-awaited franchise-altering pivot. Significant health issues altered the trajectory of Rossi’s development early in his time as a Wild prospect, and while he has been an exceptionally productive player in the AHL (104 points in 116 career games) the soon-to-be 22-year-old hasn’t managed to seize the moment in the NHL with Minnesota.

While he’s still undoubtedly someone the Wild are hoping pans out, the Athletic’s Joe Smith reported today that he believes the Wild would “be open to moving Rossi if the right deal came up,” such as one with a 2023 first-round pick as compensation. (subscription link) The Kirby Dach trade that was made at last year’s draft could serve as a template for this kind of deal, with the Canadiens surrendering a draft pick in order to acquire a high-upside center whose development had been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Given how significant Dach’s developmental turnaround was under Martin St. Louis in Montreal, it seems possible that an organization confident in its player development abilities might be willing to part with a first-round pick in order to acquire Rossi. Acquiring Rossi could afford a team a quicker turnaround to NHL relevance than developing a brand-new draft pick, so perhaps a team looking to speed up its rebuild or quickly inject some cost-controlled young talent into its roster could be a fit as well.

Some other notes regarding the Wild:

  • Smith’s article touched on quite a few players of interest to this Minnesota offseason, including 1042-game veteran blueliner Alex Goligoski. Smith reports that Goligoski’s preference is to remain in Minnesota for the final year of his contract, but that his $2MM cap hit combined with the Wild’s significant salary cap constraints could complicate things. Goligoski has a full no-movement clause on his contract so he can control his playing future, but after spending much of last season as a healthy scratch one wonders if he’d sanction a move away from Minnesota simply to re-gain a regular spot in an NHL lineup.
  • Perhaps the most significant player the Wild will need to negotiate with this summer is netminder Filip Gustavsson, who had a stellar season. Gustavsson is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and Smith writes that his next contract “will end up falling into one of three categories: a one-year deal, a three-year deal or a one-year arbitration award.” With top prospect Jesper Wallstedt waiting in the wings, it makes sense that the Wild might not want to invest long-term in Gustavsson, but should the 25-year-old manage to even come close his numbers from this past season in 2023-24 only locking him down for one season could end up a costly mistake.
  • The Wild’s mid-season trade acquisition of enforcer Ryan Reaves injected some much-needed energy and life onto their roster, and he scored 15 points in 61 games helping the team reach the playoffs once again. Smith writes that Reaves, now 36, would like to return to the Wild but is prioritizing maximizing the financial value of his next contract, a deal that could very well end up his last major free-agent cash-in. Reaves reportedly is seeking term on his next deal longer than just one year, so since the Wild are set to be paying nearly $15MM in dead money due to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, it very well could be that re-signing Reaves is a luxury they cannot afford.

Wild Notes: Gustavsson, Reaves, Goligoski

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This is an offseason full of questions for the Minnesota Wild. A team perenially on the verge of taking the next step has now lost seven straight playoff series, and they enter the 2023-24 landscape with only $8.23MM in projected cap space and multiple players to sign.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin spoke with The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith on the unique challenges brought in by their cap situation and commented on the futures of multiple players, including breakout netminder Filip Gustavsson. The 24-year-old Swede will undoubtedly receive some Vezina Trophy votes after posting a .931 save percentage in 37 starts, but he’s also a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Guerin told Russo and Smith “there’s always challenges” when it comes to locking in contracts on a team without much maneuverability, but said talks with Gustavsson would start “very, very soon” and he’s confident they’ll reach an agreement.

Other notes from Guerin’s interview with Russo and Smith:

  • Guerin highlighted Ryan Reaves as one of the unrestricted free agents he’s focused on retaining this summer. After an early-season trade from the New York Rangers, Guerin said he was impressed with Reaves’ on-ice and off-ice presence, viewing him as integral to the team’s locker room chemistry. Reaves scored 15 points in 61 games this season with Minnesota, his highest scoring total since the 2019-20 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. He’ll need to take a discount on his previous $1.75MM cap hit to stay in a Wild uniform.
  • One player who’s not a pending free agent is defenseman Alex Goligoski, but Guerin said he’ll still sit down and have a talk with the veteran defenseman about his future. Locked in through next season with a no-movement clause and a $2MM cap hit, Goligoski, 37, oftentimes found himself as a healthy scratch this season, including in all six playoff games. If he’d be open to a trade somewhere else for more playing time in likely his last NHL season, it would free up some much-needed cap space for the Wild.

Wild Injury Notes: Klingberg, Duhaime, Reaves

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Joe Smith of The Athletic is reporting that John Klingberg will re-join the Minnesota Wild after missing the past three games with an upper body injury. Klingberg came over from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline and has a goal and three assists in nine games since joining the Wild. Smith went onto say that it appears that Klingberg will serve in the top-4 and play alongside Jon Merrill. The Wild took five of a possible six points with Klingberg out of the lineup but will certainly welcome the offensive firepower that he adds to the backend.

Klingberg has had a nightmarish season thus far. He didn’t find that long term deal he was hoping for last summer in free agency and opted to bet on himself and sign in Anaheim for a single season. This move has largely been a failure as Klingberg struggled mightily with the Ducks notching just 24 points in 50 games. While he has struggled to this point in the season, he still has an opportunity to prove his worth with the Wild. Minnesota has had a tremendous season and with the acquisition of Klingberg, one has to assume that they see themselves as a contender to come out of a wide open Western Conference.

In other Wild injury news:

  • The Athletic’s Joe Smith is also reporting that winger Brandon Duhaime won’t play this evening due to an undisclosed illness. Duhaime is in his second season with the Wild and has nine points in 44 games, including eight goals. While Duhaime won’t fill the scoresheet, he does add an element of grit that the Minnesota will miss this evening when they do battle with their division rival. Duhaime is third on the team in hits with 126 hits on the season while averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. The Wild sit one point up on Colorado for the division lead in the Central.
  • Speaking of grit, Ryan Reaves also won’t be dressing tonight as he will be sidelined with what is being described as an upper body injury. Reaves left the Wild’s 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night and did not return. Little is known about Reaves injury, but with he and Duhaime on the shelf, it will make for a much easier night for Avalanche defensemen. Reaves is second on the Wild in hits this season with 134 hits in 54 games and has been an emotional catalyst for Minnesota since coming over from the New York Rangers in a mid-season trade. With Reaves and Duhaime out for tonight, and Kirill Kaprizov also sidelined, the Wild will be forced to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen in a crucial game. Joe Smith tweeted that Alex Goligoski could take some shifts at forward to offset the injuries.

Matt Dumba To Be Healthy Scratched

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With just a few weeks left before the trade deadline, an interesting wrinkle has appeared in Minnesota. The Wild are going to make Matt Dumba a healthy scratch tonight, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The “hockey decision” is based on his play, notes Sarah McLellan of the Star-Tribune, though head coach Dean Evason refused to get into specifics.

Alex Goligoski will enter the lineup for the Wild, but a decision like this will certainly raise eyebrows around the league. Dumba’s name has entered the rumor mill lately (if it ever left), as he approaches the end of his contract with Minnesota.

Now 28, Dumba has averaged more than 21 minutes a night this season, his lowest total since 2016-17. The right-shot defenseman is in the final season of a five-year, $30MM contract that was signed by Minnesota’s former management group, and holds a 10-team no-trade clause. Reports have emerged recently explaining that while general manager Bill Guerin will listen, he’s focused on winning this season and won’t be selling Dumba off to the highest bidder unless there is a return that is going to help his team.

That’s a hard trade to make at the deadline, as contenders try to load up by handing off draft picks and futures. But a scratch right now, with no obvious reason, will certainly draw questions about his trade availability. The Wild may be protecting an asset as they head into Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. Even if it is a legitimate scratch for performance, it could mean that Minnesota has decided that their future is one without Dumba in the lineup.

Minnesota is a team to watch in the coming days and weeks. The team is now 6-2-2 in their last ten and has climbed within striking distance of the Central Division crown.

Minnesota Wild Extend Alex Goligoski

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March 30: The contract is now official. A two-year deal that will carry a cap hit of $2MM.

March 29: When the Minnesota Wild signed Alex Goligoski to a one-year, $5MM contract in the offseason, it came with the expectation that the team would offer him another extension at a much-reduced cost. That would allow the team to spend a little bit more this season when they have some extra cap space, and less in the coming years when they have to deal with hefty buyout penalties due to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

That’s exactly what is about to happen, as Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports the two sides will soon announce a two-year extension. Michael Russo of The Athletic confirms the deal, and adds that it will carry an average annual value of $2MM.

If seen as a three-year, $9MM deal, it certainly makes sense from the Minnesota side of things, as they will pay a little bit less in the tight 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. But Goligoski has also been a healthy scratch of late after the acquisition of Jacob Middleton at the deadline and will turn 37 this summer. That means this extension comes with some risk, even if it does carry a relatively low cap hit.

The veteran defenseman has been asked to do a lot less this year than usual, averaging just 19 minutes a night for the Wild, a sharp drop from the 23 he saw in Arizona the last two seasons. In fact, over the first 900+ games he played before coming to Minnesota, Goligoski averaged 22:39, while racking up 429 points in the process. That puck-moving ability hasn’t left him just yet, as his offensive performance has still been strong for the Wild with 28 points in 58 games, which is actually tied for the team lead among defensemen, but Goligoski isn’t the kind of do-it-all option he once was.

Still, as a solid contributor on a good team, there’s reason to believe this might still end up a win for Minnesota. They have phenomenal depth on the blueline for this season and even if Goligoski takes a step back in the coming years, his cap hit is low enough that it shouldn’t drastically affect the team’s fortunes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Hayton, Gostisbehere, Wild, Sharks

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Coyotes center Barrett Hayton is expected to undergo hand surgery that will keep him out for the next five to eight weeks, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link).  It has been a disappointing season for the 21-year-old who has been given a much bigger role than he had under Rick Tocchet but it hasn’t materialized in more production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games despite playing over 16 minutes a night.  His entry-level deal expires this summer and being out for this long certainly won’t help him build any value for his next contract.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • Still with Arizona, Shayne Gostisbehere is a player whose fortunes have changed for the better since being dealt to the desert. After Philadelphia had to part with a pair of draft picks to get the Coyotes to take on the rest of his contract, the 28-year-old has picked up 23 points in 32 games to sit second on the team in scoring.  Despite that, GM Bill Armstrong indicated in an interview with Arizona Sports (audio link) that they’re not particularly anxious to move him even though they may be able to get some value for him.  Gostisbehere is signed through 2022-23 with a $4.5MM AAV.
  • The Wild may soon be getting some more bad news on the injury front as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Jonas Brodin’s upper-body injury is believed to be serious enough to be a long-term issue. He was injured while blocking a shot against Boston on Thursday and leads all Minnesota players in ice time at 23:35 per game.
  • Minnesota should get some good news soon when it comes to their ever-growing injury list, however, as Russo adds in a separate tweet that center Joel Eriksson Ek is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his upper-body injury and could return as soon as Friday. His IR placement earlier today was retroactive and he will still be eligible to play in that game.
  • Meanwhile, as part of a long list of players not playing tonight, the Wild revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Goligoski has been placed in COVID protocol. He joins Brandon Duhaime and Jordan Greenway as those currently unavailable and if his placement was for a confirmed positive test, he’ll be out for at least the next five days.
  • The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added center Nick Bonino along with assistant coach John MacLean to the COVID protocol list. They join center Logan Couture and forward Lane Pederson as those that aren’t available for the time being.

Alex Goligoski, Evan Rodrigues Receive Maximum Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety is keeping busy today. After announcing a suspension hearing for Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki earlier, the league has now issued a pair of fines. Minnesota Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues have been dinged for infractions in their respective Saturday night contests.

Goligoski has received a maximum $5,000 fine for high-sticking Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle. While high-sticking is usually an incidental penalty, incurred due to negligence rather than maliciousness, sometimes a dangerous high stick can rise to the level of supplemental discipline. This is the case for Goligoski, whose high stick actually went unnoticed and uncalled as well, which likely added to the fine decision.

Rodrigues has received a maximum $2,500 fine for tripping Ottawa Senators forward Zach Sanford. Called a “trip”, Rodrigues actually used his stick to buckle Sanford’s knee in a net-front scrum, which is a dangerous play. Like Goligoski, Rodrigues’ penalty also went uncalled but was reviewed by Player Safety after the fact to the effect of a fine. In a nine-goal game, in which Rodrigues and Sanford combined for three tallies, there was enough going on that the the referees missed the call.

Central Notes: Avalanche Injuries, Goligoski, Neighbours

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Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz is about a week away from returning from his lower-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.  The 31-year-old hasn’t played since the 2019-20 campaign and with Darcy Kuemper not getting off to a particularly strong start this season with a .904 SV% in his first seven starts, Francouz’s return would be a welcome addition if he can find the form he had before his injuries.  Meanwhile, Chambers adds in a separate column that winger Martin Kaut is listed as week-to-week after suffering a shoulder injury on Wednesday versus Columbus.  The rookie is averaging just under nine minutes a game through six appearances so far this season.

More from the Central:

  • Minnesota hopes to have defenseman Alex Goligoski back in the lineup tonight after he missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury, relays Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The 36-year-old is in his first season with his hometown Wild and has been a steadying presence on their second pairing while chipping in with three assists.  Despite the injury, Goligoski has remained on the active roster so they won’t need to make a roster move to get him in the lineup.
  • The Blues could be slow-playing their pending decision on winger Jake Neighbours until Oskar Sundqvist is able to come off LTIR, suggests Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 19-year-old has played in seven games this season, two away from the decision on whether or not to burn the first year of his entry-level deal.  Neighbours has held his own so far with a goal and an assist in those seven contests while averaging nearly 10 minutes a night but more time in the WHL may be best for him in the long run.

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