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Anton Khudobin

Minor Transactions: 08/26/23

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Although the start of the NHL season is still more than a month away, we’re rapidly approaching the beginning of the regular season for many top professional leagues in Europe. Teams have been playing preseason games for quite some time now, and in just a few days some top teams will have their seasons truly begin.

The Champions Hockey League has its first matchday on Thursday, with some notable contests including Liiga runners-up Lahti Pelicans against the Växjö Lakers, the reigning SHL champions. The reigning Swiss champions, Genève-Servette HC, will take on Austria’s HC Innsbruck in a contest set to feature numerous former longtime NHLers, such as Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Winnik, and Sami Vatanen. For many clubs in Europe, this time of the summer remains an opportunity to add players for what they hope will be a strong 2023-24 campaign. As always, we’ll keep track of minor league and overseas league transactions here.

  • A report out of Russia has linked veteran NHL goalie Anton Khudobin to a club in the VHL, Russia’s second-tier professional league. The 37-year-old is reportedly signing with Sokol Krasnoyarsk on a contract that contains a termination clause should Khudobin receive a KHL offer.  Khudobin hasn’t played overseas since the lockout at the start of the 2012-13 season, and would leave behind a North American pro career with quite a few highlights. He’s played in 260 career NHL games, with his career highlight undoubtedly coming in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he backstopped the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final. Khudobin only appeared in one NHL game last season, stopping 22 of 28 shots in a March contest as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • After signing 654-game NHL veteran Alex Galchenyuk, the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg have made another move involving a former NHLer. They’ve acquired the KHL playing rights to forward Dominik Kahun, who has 186 NHL games on his resume. Kahun hasn’t played in the NHL since 2020-21 but has had a successful two-year stint with SC Bern in the Swiss National League, scoring 65 points in 65 games. St. Petersburg may not be able to get Kahun onto their roster officially for quite a while, though, as the recent IIHF Men’s World Championship silver medalist signed a three-year extension with Bern last October that will keep him in the de facto Swiss capital until 2027.
  • 20-year-old netminder Tikhon Chayka was not extended a full-time contract from the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk at the conclusion of his try-out deal, the club announced today. This means that Chayka will move on from the team after just a short period with the club. Chayka wrapped up a two-year stint playing major junior hockey for the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL at the end of last season, accumulating 96 games played with an .899 save percentage. He’ll now look elsewhere for a spot to begin his pro career.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Chicago Blackhawks Send Down Anton Khudobin

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Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports the Chicago Blackhawks have sent down goaltender Anton Khudobin to the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL. Khudobin was called up last week with Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek dealing with a groin injury, but Mrazek was full recovered today and took a spot as the team’s backup with Alex Stalock starting against the Minnesota Wild.

Khudobin becomes the odd man out once again and will head back to the minors where he has spent most of this season. The Russian goalie has played 23 AHL game, all with the Texas Stars, before a trade deadline deal sent him to the Blackhawks organization. His inclusion in the deal was mostly to make the financials work and keep the Dallas Stars under the salary cap when they acquired Max Domi for Khudobin and a second-round draft pick.

Khudobin suited up for one game with the Blackhawks, allowing six goals to the Washington Capitals, including a stickhandling gaffe by Khudobin that gave Conor Sheary an empty net to put the puck in.

While Khudobin helped the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, and signed a three-year contract with a $3.33MM cap hit that offseason, he has struggled in the past two seasons and only played ten NHL games in that time. He could very well be playing out his final pro season in North America after 16 seasons, including many as one of the most trusted backup goaltenders in the NHL.

Chicago Blackhawks Recall Anton Khudobin

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In the Max Domi trade, which saw the Dallas Stars send a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks, another contract was included to even out the money. That was veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin, who had been playing in the AHL with the Texas Stars all season.

Now, after Petr Mrazek’s latest groin injury, the Blackhawks have recalled Khudobin from the minor leagues. The 36-year-old goaltender will get a chance to appear in the NHL for a 14th season and add to his 114 wins.

When Khudobin led the Stars to an improbable Stanley Cup Finals appearance in the 2020 bubble playoffs, posting a .917 save percentage in 25 playoff games, he was rewarded with a three-year, $10MM contract. After the first year, the team already regretted it as young Jake Oettinger started to make his mark, and Khudobin’s performance dropped.

As he nears the end of that deal, the 36-year-old netminder has been buried in the minor leagues all season, collecting his full $3.75MM salary but playing AHL competition. He went 13-4-4 with Texas, but posted an .899 save percentage that doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence.

Still, with nothing to lose for the Blackhawks, they can give Khudobin a chance at the highest level again. Where his future lies after this season isn’t clear, but for now, he’ll be suiting up for the sixth team of his career.

Blackhawks Recall Anton Khudobin And Luke Philp

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12:30 PM, Sunday, March 12: After the callup and subsequent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Charlie Roumeliotis for NBC Sports Chicago announces that both Khudobin and Philp have been sent down to Chicago’s AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs. Philp received approximately 14 minutes of ice time, scoring no points and registering a single hit. Although Khudobin did dress yesterday, the Blackhawks chose to start Petr Mrazek instead. Also included in the movement today is defenseman Filip Roos also returning to Rockford. After his emergency recall on March 9th, Roos played in two games for the Blackhawks, registering zero points, with two shots on goal.

9:30 AM, Saturday, March 11: The Blackhawks acquired goaltender Anton Khudobin at the trade deadline as a salary offset to the Max Domi trade.  However, they opted to keep him in the minors at the time.  However, with Alex Stalock’s illness that kept him from suiting up last night, the team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled him from AHL Rockford along with winger Luke Philp.

Khudobin hasn’t seen any NHL action this season but did get into 24 games with AHL Texas prior to the swap.  However, his numbers at the minor league level weren’t the strongest as he has a 2.89 GAA with a .899 SV%, numbers that place him outside the top 30 in both categories among qualifying netminders.  The 36-year-old has played in 259 contests over parts of 13 NHL campaigns, posting a 2.50 GAA along with a .916 SV%.

He’s in the final year of a three-year, $10MM contract that hasn’t aged particularly well with the bulk of that time being at the AHL level once Jake Oettinger took over as the starter in Dallas.  A strong showing in the minors this season could have gotten him back in the mix for a possible NHL backup position (at a much lower price tag, of course) but that is less likely now.

As for Philp, the 27-year-old made his NHL debut back in January when he got into a pair of games and picked up his first point, an assist.  He has spent the bulk of the year with Rockford where he has been quite productive, tallying 18 goals and 20 helpers in 46 contests which helped earn him a one-year extension on Thursday.  Anders Bjork left last night’s game against Florida with an undisclosed injury so Philp will take his place on the roster.

Dallas Stars Acquire Max Domi

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7:00 am: The Stars confirmed late last night that Khudobin and a 2025 second-round pick are heading to Chicago in exchange for Domi and Wells.

6:52 pm: It appears the Dallas Stars have found their forward to put alongside Tyler Seguin. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Stars have acquired forward Max Domi, along with minor-league goalie Dylan Wells, from their division rival Chicago Blackhawks. 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs hero Anton Khudobin and a second-round pick are heading the other way, with no salary retained in the deal.

Playing primarily on a line with now-former Blackhawk Patrick Kane, Domi has enjoyed one of the better statistical seasons of his career. With 49 points in 60 games on the low-scoring Blackhawks, Domi is on pace to have the best season of his career since 2018-19. One of Domi’s most notable improvements has been inside the faceoff dot. With a career faceoff percentage of 48.1%, Domi has bumped up his success rate to 53.7% this year. As Stars’ faceoff weapon Luke Glendening remains out with injury, Dallas will have the benefit of employing Domi in a lot of important situations.

Chicago receives a second-round pick, bringing their total of draft picks in the first two rounds up to a whopping 14 in the next three years. It recoups value for Domi at the deadline, fulfilling Chicago’s initial plan when they signed him and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year contracts last offseason.

They also receive Khudobin in the deal, who, despite slipping down to ’buried in the minors’ status in the Stars depth chart, could serve a purpose in the NHL for the Blackhawks. Both Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock have had injury-prone seasons, forcing young goalies like Arvid Soderblom and Jaxson Stauber into NHL action maybe earlier than they’d like. Khudobin gives them an additional recall option and allows Soderblom and Stauber to hold the fort with AHL Rockford in what could be a lengthy playoff run. The 36-year-old Khudobin has yet to play in the NHL this season and has a .899 save percentage in 24 appearances with AHL Texas.

Seravalli was the first to report that Khudobin would be included in the trade, while Sportsnet’s Eric Engels was the first to report an unnamed AHL netminder and a second-round pick would be included in the trade.

Waivers: 10/07/22

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It’s an important day for waivers as the regular season approaches, and several potential targets are available. With the preseason wrapping up, teams will try to sneak players through at the last second and keep them in the organization for the time being.

Many of these placements are due to salary cap restrictions or LTIR machinations to give teams maximum flexibility as the season begins. Everyone from yesterday’s list cleared.

Here is today’s group of waiver additions:

Carolina Hurricanes

Jordan Martinook

Dallas Stars

Anton Khudobin

Edmonton Oilers

Mattias Janmark
Dmitri Samorukov

Minnesota Wild

Steven Fogarty

New Jersey Devils

Andreas Johnsson
Brian Pinho

Philadelphia Flyers

Kevin Connauton
Troy Grosenick

St. Louis Blues

Martin Frk
Klim Kostin
Matthew Highmore

Vancouver Canucks

Justin Dowling

Winnipeg Jets

Johnathan Kovacevic

Central Notes: Khudobin, Reichel, Knak

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Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin has been given a clean bill of health, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News.  He underwent hip surgery in the spring and Dallas was very careful with how they used him in the preseason.  With a trade market unlikely to materialize, it’s likely that the veteran will be on waivers in the coming days, allowing them to free up $1.125MM of his $3.33MM cap hit.  Notably, the return to health takes away any chance of them placing Khudobin on LTIR to start the season which might have aided in terms of freeing up cap flexibility to re-sign Jason Robertson.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Chicago’s decision to cut top prospect Lukas Reichel raised some eyebrows as the 20-year-old showed plenty of offensive skill in training camp. However, head coach Luke Richardson told reporters, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that they felt that his defensive game needed considerable improvement and it’s much easier for that development to happen in the minors than in the NHL.  Richardson hinted that Reichel would have been battling for a spot on the fourth line had the youngster stayed on the roster and he’ll get considerably more ice time with the IceHogs than being in that role with the Blackhawks.
  • The Predators will be waiting a while to sign prospect Simon Knak as HC Davos of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed the winger to a three-year extension that runs through the 2025-26 season. Nashville selected the 20-year-old in the sixth round in 2021 (179th overall) on the heels of a season split between Davos and Portland of the WHL.  Knak is off to a solid start this season with four points in his first seven games but he’ll be staying in Switzerland for the foreseeable future.

Looking For A Partner In An Anton Khudobin Trade

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It’s not much of a secret that the Dallas Stars would be interested in moving Anton Khudobin. That desire isn’t for a lack of liking the player or appreciating the tremendous run he went on over the COVID-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, as well as a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2020 bubble. Instead, the team has just over $7MM left in salary cap space and still needs to re-sign breakout superstar winger Jason Robertson. The remaining $7MM could, technically, be enough to sign Robertson, but clearing some, or ideally all, of Khudobins”s $3.33M cap hit would make it not only much easier to re-sign the forward, but could allow Dallas to negotiate it’s way into a max-term deal.

The problem for Dallas is that trading Khudobin is easier said than done. For one, finding a team that is interested in a goaltender who’s dealt with injuries for much of the last year who is owed a $3.75MM salary (and $3.33MM cap hit) would be difficult. Second, even if a match is found, it’s clear this would be a cap-dump and Dallas is already in a tough position with Robertson still not in camp. If Dallas wants to make that deal, they’ll have to pay the market price to do so, but before going that far, let’s take a look at their options and who Dallas could turn to.

Bury The Contract

If the Stars are unwilling to pay the price to move Khudobin, or if they genuinely cannot find a suitor, one option would be burying Khudobin’s contract in the minors. Under the terms of the current CBA, teams can bury a player and their cap hit in the minor leagues and recoup $1.125MM against the salary cap. By doing this, Dallas would give itself $8.21MM in cap space with which to re-sign Robertson. That figure might be just enough to get a deal done with Robertson, but with little coming out of the Dallas or Robertson camps when it comes to any specific figures and considering the recent contracts given to Jack Hughes, Tim Stutzle, Joshua Norris, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou, it’s not hard to believe that $8MM AAV, whether on a long or short-term deal, is only the starting point in these negotiations.

Potential Need:

Philadelphia Flyers: When talking about teams who could take on a salary-cap trade, generally the obvious rebuilding clubs with plenty of space come to mind, and that’s no exception for Khudobin. However, some would argue the Flyers aren’t in that same position, having not committed to the rebuild and without a ton of cap space. Right now, the team is just under $2.4MM over the salary cap ceiling. But, factoring in the expected LTIR stints of forward Sean Couturier and defenseman Ryan Ellis, they will be left with a little over $11.6MM available.

In net, the Flyers will rely on young netminder Carter Hart to make a bulk of the starts and an apparent backup slotted in with Felix Sandstrom. However, with Sandstrom suffering an injury in yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins, the organization may find itself in need of another goaltender beyond Troy Grosenick and Samuel Ersson. More impactful though, would be the ability to have Sandstrom continue his development by making the bulk of starts in the AHL and allowing Khudobin to backup Hart.

Minnesota Wild: Another peculiar team on this list, the Wild made their way into this offseason with a goaltending glut and cap issues of their own, issues which necessitated the trade of star winger Kevin Fiala and goaltender Cam Talbot. But, now, they could be a fit for a Khudobin trade. Today, the Wild have roughly $5.74MM in cap space, enough to acquire Khudobin outright. The team projects to start the legendary Marc-Andre Fleury in net, backstopped by a young Filip Gustavsson. The younger goaltender has 27 games of NHL experience under his belt, but has struggled to an extent in that time. Should the Wild want to see him continue his development in the AHL and have a veteran backstop for Fleury, taking on Khudobin might make sense. Still, the Wild had to make tough sacrifices to be cap compliant, namely Fiala, so relying on Gustavsson and looking to use their cap room to address other needs could be the more prudent option.

Cap Room To Give:

More than a few teams have the room to take on Khudobin’s contract; in fact, Robertson aside, the Stars are one of them. But, there are only a handful that not only have the room, but are in the position to do so.

Chicago Blackhawks: With $7.54MM in available cap space, the Blackhawks could afford to take on Khudobin’s contract with ease. An issue with doing so for Chicago is, given their rebuild and desire to stockpile draft picks, they will likely want to make as many cap-trades of this nature as possible. Acquiring Khudobin would bring them to just over $4.2MM in available cap space, making trades of this nature a bit more difficult, at least for this season. Moving one or both of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane would free up some space, but the team will likely be expected to retain significant portions of their salary.

Anaheim Ducks: Clocking in with $15.75MM in available cap space, acquiring Khudobin would be no issue for Anaheim. But, this Ducks team, unlike the Blackhawks above, is no longer in the depths of their rebuild. Making a trade of this sort is still possible, but considering where the Ducks stand, holding on to as much of their cap space as they can to see if they may wish to buy at this year’s trade deadline might make the most sense. If the team finds it’s not in that position yet, they can still utilize their cap space to aid other teams (for a price) at that time. Also at issue is the team’s goaltending situation as it stands now. Of course, John Gibson is not going anywhere, and behind him, Anthony Stolarz has proven to be an incredibly sound backup. Anaheim could bury Khudobin in the AHL, but would presumably like to give the overwhelming majority of the playing time there to promising young netminder Lukas Dostal, as well as Olle Eriksson Ek.

Buffalo Sabres: Like the Ducks, the Sabres are looking to turn a corner this year and take the next step, whether that’s a playoff spot or at least putting up a fight for one. That wouldn’t necessarily mean they aren’t interested in utilizing their league-best $20.54MM in cap space to their benefit, however it might not be top of mind. In addition to that, Buffalo has an even more crowded net than Anaheim. The team projects to rely on veterans Craig Anderson and Eric Comrie in net after waiving Malcolm Subban earlier today. Even if Subban were to be claimed, the development of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the AHL is of great importance to Buffalo.

The Arizona Coyotes:

Given that the Coyotes are in a full rebuild and set to play at least the next two seasons at Arizona State’s Mullett Arena, their $19.47MM in cap space, and their well-documented desire for goaltending, a deal sending Khudobin to Arizona seems obvious. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has made clear this offseason he would continue to monitor the goaltending market, whether that be in free agency, the waiver wire, or via trade. Arizona has acted on it thus far, signing Jon Gillies, offering a PTO to Christopher Gibson (who has since been released), and most recently claiming Jonas Johansson off of waivers. Even after claiming Johansson, Armstrong reiterated his commitment to monitoring the goaltending market.

As of today, Arizona currently has Karel Vejmelka, Ivan Prosvetov, Johansson, and Gillies all under contract and with NHL experience. Adding Khudobin into the fold would make an already crowded situation more so, but would give the Coyotes a veteran netminder who could serve to mentor their less experienced ones. Worth noting as well, the Coyotes have been in this situation more than a couple of times and know what they can get in exchange for their cap help. Most recently, they acquired second and third round draft picks and swapped the 32nd overall pick in 2022 for the 29th overall pick to take on the contract of forward Zack Kassian from the Edmonton Oilers. What the price for Khudobin would be is unclear, but this sort of trade has paid dividends for the Coyotes before.

Injury Notes: Copp, Caamano, Ostapchuk

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The Detroit Red Wings will be without Andrew Copp for training camp, announcing today that the big free agent signing underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason. Copp is expected back the first week of the regular season, when he’ll start to try and live up to the five-year, $28.125MM contract he signed this offseason.

It’s a tough start for the Red Wings, who also confirmed some timelines on other previously-reported injuries. Jake Walman will be back at some point in November, while Robby Fabbri and Mark Pysyk are out until early 2023. Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut last season with Detroit, is away from the team indefinitely due to personal matters.

  • It was back surgery for Nicholas Caamano, according to general manager Jim Nill, who told reporters including Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the young forward will miss three months. Caamano, 24, played in 36 games for the Stars between 2019-2021 before spending all of last year in the minor leagues. Anton Khudobin has not yet been cleared for games but will be on the ice for training camp. The team signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal this offseason after he played well down the stretch, suggesting that Khudobin is ticketed for the minor leagues once again.
  • Zack Ostapchuk, the 39th overall pick in 2021, is out a few weeks for the Ottawa Senators and will be sent back to junior after he’s healthy enough according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. That ends any possibility that he could make the team out of camp after his outstanding playoff run for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. The 19-year-old is not yet eligible for the AHL and instead will go back and try to carry over that postseason success for an entire year.

Snapshots: Greig, Weiss, Khudobin

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One of the brightest stars in the Ottawa Senators’ deep prospect pool is left-wing Ridly Greig, who’s coming off a gold-medal-winning effort as a member of Team Canada at the 2022 World Juniors. 2021-22 was a banner year for him, notching 63 points in just 39 games as the captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before joining Canada for the tournament. There, he registered six points in five games.

Unfortunately, his tournament was cut short by an injury and Greig missed the team’s semifinal game against Czechia and the gold medal game against Finland, and he played just 3:58 in the team’s quarterfinal round game against Switzerland. Now, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports he’s out three to four weeks with a separated shoulder and will likely miss Ottawa’s rookie tournament games. However, general manager Pierre Dorion did note that Greig will be healthy for the preseason, where he’s expected to get a long look in camp but is likely destined for a big role with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

  • Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tyler Weiss is likely moving on to a pro career after not registering for classes at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Weiss’ signing rights are still held by the Avalanche, so after scoring 33 points in 36 games last season in Omaha, Weiss will likely sign within the organization before the start of the season.
  • Dallas Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika believes that a pre-season trade is the most likely outcome for the future of Stars netminder Anton Khudobin. Khudobin struggled through last season with injuries, playing in just nine games and posting a .879 save percentage. With Jake Oettinger expected to reprise his starting role and Scott Wedgewood signed on a cheap one-way deal as the backup, there’s simply no room left for Khudobin in the organization.

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