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Brendan Lemieux

Carolina’s Brendan Lemieux Clears Waivers

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10/17: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Lemieux has cleared waivers and the team can now safely reassign him to their AHL affiliate in Chicago.

10/16: James Mirtle of The Athletic reports the Carolina Hurricanes have placed forward Brendan Lemieux on waivers after fully recovering from an undisclosed injury late in the preseason. This is the best pathway for the Hurricanes to shuffle Lemieux back and forth from the AHL while making him waiver ineligible for the next 10 games or 30 days if he clears by tomorrow afternoon.

Lemieux, represented by his father, Claude Lemieux, extended with the Hurricanes last March on a one-year, $775K contract. His exploits in the NHL are well known at this point totaling 548 PIMs in 307 games in the regular season split between the Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, and Winnipeg Jets.

Carolina hardly utilized Lemieux in his first season with the organization. Lemieux only suited up in 32 games last year for the Hurricanes while being on the roster for much of the campaign. He averaged only eight minutes of ice time during those contests, his lowest average since his rookie year in 2017-18.

It’s unlikely that Lemieux will suit up for the Chicago Wolves if he clears waivers. According to PuckPedia, Carolina is close to the salary cap with only $721K in wiggle room, which suggests that Lemieux will be the frequent recipient of a paper transaction throughout the regular season.

Evening Notes: Bennett, Lemieux, Filmon

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David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wonders if the Florida Panthers will turn their attention to signing center Sam Bennett after they locked up Carter Verhaeghe last night. Bennett is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next July as he plays out the final year of his four-year $17.7MM contract. The 28-year-old had two goals in the Panthers season opener and is coming off three consecutive 40-plus-point seasons.

Last year, the Holland Landing, Ontario native registered 20 goals and 21 assists in 69 regular season games and was fantastic in the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, posting seven goals and seven assists in 19 games. Pagnotta believes that a new long-term deal for Bennett could cost Florida between $6MM and $7MM annually.

In other evening notes:

  • Carolina Hurricanes forward Brendan Lemieux suffered an injury in the team’s last preseason game and will miss some time (as per Chip Alexander of Raleigh News & Observer). The 28-year-old played quite a bit in the preseason and looked like a candidate to get more playing time this season after dressing in just 32 games last year as the Hurricanes 13th forward. Now, the undisclosed injury will force him to delay the start of his season.
  • The New Jersey Devils have activated forward Josh Filmon off Injured, Non-Roster and assigned him to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 20-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury all through training camp and appears back to health and ready to start his season. Filmon was a 2022 sixth-round pick and spent all of last season in the Western Hockey League with the Swift Current Broncos where he posted 27 goals and 40 assists in 64 games. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native will be playing his first full season of professional hockey this year but does have four games of AHL experience from 2022-23 when he registered a single goal with Utica.

Hurricanes Re-Sign Brendan Lemieux

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The Hurricanes announced Monday that they’ve re-signed left wing Brendan Lemieux to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season. Lemieux will earn the league minimum $775K salary next season, per the team.

Lemieux, 27, gets some stability after suiting up for three teams since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign. Initially a second-round pick of the Sabres in 2014, his signing rights were dealt to the Jets less than a year later as part of that year’s Evander Kane/Tyler Myers blockbuster trade. He signed his entry-level contract the following summer. Lemieux then jumped around the league, providing some sandpaper in a bottom-six role, also suiting up for the Rangers, Kings, and Flyers before heading to Carolina in free agency last summer.

Before signing with the Canes, Lemieux had scored 33 goals and 69 points across 275 career appearances with 484 PIMs. Often a willing combatant in fights, Lemieux’s ability to provide offense has diminished since his career-high nine goals and 18 points in 59 games with the Rangers in 2019-20. His possession metrics don’t paint him as a reliable defensive talent, either, posting a career 47.4 CF% and 48.0 xGF% in relatively even offensive/defensive zone usage. As such, he’s slipped out of a regular role in the lineup on a deep Hurricanes offense this year, recording two goals and an assist in 25 games while averaging a career-low 7:46.

The Canadian national was waived shortly before the trade deadline to give Carolina GM Don Waddell some roster flexibility. However, another team didn’t claim him and was never assigned to the minors.

The 6-foot-1, 213-lb Canadian national was a pending UFA. The extension marks a $25K pay cut from this season’s $800K salary, but it remains a one-way deal.

Tony DeAngelo, Seven Others Placed On Waivers

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March 8: Katchouk is heading from the Blackhawks to the Senators, Lagesson is going from the Maple Leafs to the Ducks, and Björnfot is going from the Golden Knights to the Panthers. The five other players on waivers yesterday cleared.

March 7: Eight players, including Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo, were placed on waivers Thursday, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The full list is as follows:

Calgary Flames
D Jordan Oesterle

Carolina Hurricanes
D Tony DeAngelo
F Brendan Lemieux
G Antti Raanta

Chicago Blackhawks
F Boris Katchouk

Florida Panthers
G Evan Cormier

Toronto Maple Leafs
D William Lagesson

Vegas Golden Knights
D Tobias Björnfot

Of note, players who are assigned to the minors after clearing waivers tomorrow will be eligible to play in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Players must be on loan to the AHL at the time of the trade deadline to be cleared to play in postseason action.

The Hurricanes’ trio of waived players is purely for roster flexibility ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic says. It’s unclear if any of the three players will be assigned to AHL clubs if they pass through unclaimed. The Hurricanes are the only NHL team without a dedicated AHL affiliate.

Raanta, a pending UFA with a $1.5MM cap hit, has a decent chance at being claimed by a team looking to add a backup netminder for free by tomorrow afternoon. That could very well include the Flyers, who have struggled to find consistency in the crease outside of breakout starter Samuel Ersson. Raanta has struggled this season with a .872 SV% and 2.99 GAA behind a stout Hurricanes defense, but he’s now posted a SV% above .900 in each of his last three appearances and could be on the upswing at just the right time. With Frederik Andersen returning to health after a months-long absence and both Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin playing well, Raanta appears unlikely to be back with Carolina this season regardless of whether he gets claimed.

Oesterle will likely head to the minors after being pushed down the Flames’ defensive depth chart. The club has brought in Joel Hanley off waivers and Daniil Miromanov via trade from the Golden Knights this week, eliminating the need for Oesterle as a depth option on the roster for now. The 31-year-old has two assists and a -6 rating in 22 games.

Assigning Katchouk to AHL Rockford will allow Chicago to clear a necessary roster spot ahead of Saturday’s game against the Capitals. Both Andreas Athanasiou and Nikita Zaitsev are expected to play, per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, and will need to come off injured reserve to do so. The Blackhawks only have one open roster spot, so one more needed to be cleared.

Cormier was not signed to an NHL contract, so the Panthers inked him to a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$75K AHL) for the remainder of the season before waiving him, per PuckPedia. The 26-year-old has a .868 SV% and 1-2-2 record in five games for AHL Charlotte this season and a .910 SV% and 8-5-3 record in 18 games for ECHL Florida. By signing him to an NHL contract, he’ll be eligible to be on the Panthers’ roster in the postseason as added goaltending insurance if necessary.

Toronto’s waiving of Lagesson was reported earlier Thursday. He’s been designated non-roster while on the waiver wire, creating the necessary roster space for Joel Edmundson, who was acquired from the Capitals today. He’s dressed in 30 games for the Leafs, notching four assists and a +5 rating while averaging 14:31 per game.

Meanwhile, Björnfot, a 2019 first-round pick of the Kings, lands on waivers for the second time this season. Vegas claimed him off waivers from Los Angeles in January, but he played in just two games for them while battling injuries, posting a -2 rating while averaging 14:01 per game. Assigning him to AHL Henderson would create an open roster spot ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline, allowing the Golden Knights to make a potential third acquisition after bringing in Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Brendan Lemieux

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1:35 PM: The Hurricanes have confirmed the signing via a press release.

9:49 AM: Unrestricted free agent forward Brendan Lemieux is preparing to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year contract worth $800K, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Tuesday.

Lemieux, 27, split last season between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers after a deadline day trade sent him cross-country. The 6-foot-1, 213-pound troublemaking winger scored twice in 18 games for the Flyers after the trade and amassed a total of nine points and 74 penalty minutes in 45 games throughout last season.

Carolina will be Lemieux’s fifth NHL organization, and this is his first time switching teams via free agency. The son of four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux had been traded four times in nine years since the Buffalo Sabres selected him with the 31st overall pick in 2014.

This isn’t the roster move most Hurricanes fans were bracing for. With the team linked to higher-profile names such as Erik Karlsson and Vladimir Tarasenko in recent days, as well as a rumored trade for Anthony DeAngelo (a former teammate of Lemieux’s with the New York Rangers), many thought the Hurricanes were in a holding pattern until they were able to fit in one more big move, one that will require some creative money management with the team boasting just $3.3MM in projected cap space, per CapFriendly.

Those discussions haven’t stopped Carolina from making a depth add, evidently. Given the current state of Carolina’s wing depth, it seems unlikely Lemieux will be able to secure an everyday fourth-line role. It won’t be anything unusual for Lemieux, though, as he’s played more than 60 games in a season just once in his career.

He’ll battle for ice time with depth wingers like Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen, both of whom carry more scoring upside and played quite well for the Hurricanes down the stretch and into the playoffs for last season. He does provide an element of annoyance and tenacity that could give him an edge on getting into the lineup in some situations, though.

Lemieux will be an unrestricted free agent once again next summer.

Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Brendan Lemieux

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The Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings have made a trade ahead of the deadline, swapping Zack MacEwen and Brendan Lemieux. The Flyers are also receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick.

In a move that doesn’t really move the needle for either club, the Kings clear $425K in cap space and add a big, physical fourth-line option in MacEwen. The 6’3″ forward has racked up 233 penalty minutes in his 176-game NHL career, willing to drop the gloves with any opponent.

MacEwen, 26, has matched a career-high with nine points this season through 46 games, but won’t be asked to score much for the Kings. He may not even play every night, as he enters a much more talented group that is headed for the playoffs.

The Flyers are adding a player in Lemieux that isn’t all that different—low scoring, high penalty minutes, fourth-line grinder—and might not even be with the organization very long. The 26-year-old is on a one-year, $1.35MM contract, leaving him an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Lemieux’s offensive game never did materialize in the NHL. He hasn’t scored a single goal this season, and has just 63 points in his 257-game career. Still, perhaps he’ll find a home in the Philadelphia bottom six if he can impress head coach John Tortorella down the stretch.

More than anything, this is eating some cap space for a fifth-round pick. The Flyers need to change the trajectory of their team, and draft capital is one way to accomplish that.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic broke the news on Twitter. 

Los Angeles Kings Activate Brendan Lemieux

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The Los Angeles Kings have gotten a player back from injury, as forward Brendan Lemieux has been activated off of injured reserve.

Lemieux has missed the Kings’ last 23 games with a lower-body injury. Lemieux has played in 15 games this season and scored three points to go along with 28 minutes spent in the box.

Adding Lemieux back to their active roster gives the Kings a player from what now seems to be a dying breed across the NHL. While Lemieux has flashed some offensive touch in the past (he scored 43 points in 51 AHL games in 2017-18) his time playing in the NHL has established him as one of the league’s few pure agitators.

Lemieux’s calling card is getting under his opponent’s skin, disrupting their control over a game, and playing with the sort of energy and physicality that would make any opponent fear facing his line on a shift. As more and more NHL clubs decide they don’t need to devote a roster spot to a player with such a relatively limited package of tools, players like Lemieux are becoming rarer and rarer across the NHL.

But Kings coach Todd McLellan has deemed Lemieux an important piece in the team’s bottom six, and with this activation, Lemieux will have a chance to return to his spot there.

And even while players like Lemieux seem to be becoming more of a rare sight in this modern NHL, the Kings do happen to stand second in the Pacific Division, making it somewhat difficult to criticize McLellan’s decisions regarding his lineup.

Los Angeles Kings Place Brendan Lemieux On IR; Recall Jacob Moverare, Lias Andersson

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Prior to departing for a four game road trip, the Los Angeles Kings have made a flurry of roster moves on this Sunday afternoon, the team announced. First, forward Brendan Lemieux has been placed on IR with a lower-body injury. The team has also recalled forward Lias Andersson and defenseman Jacob Moverare from the Ontario Reign, their AHL affiliate. Finally, they have also assigned defenseman Brandt Clarke to Ontario on a conditioning loan.

It’s unclear what exactly the nature of Lemieux’s injury is, however the forward did play in the first two periods of yesterday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, but failed to return for the third period. As LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley mentions, Kings head coach Todd McLellan said the winger could be out a “little while.” Though he’s only tallied three points, all assists, in 15 games so far this season, Lemieux has been a welcomed, physical presence in the Kings lineup, notching 28 penalty minutes already on the young season.

Moverare, 24, has bounced between Los Angeles and Ontario quite a bit the past two seasons. The Swedish defenseman made his NHL debut in 2021-22, skating in 19 games for the Kings, but has yet to play in the NHL in 2022-23, despite being on the Kings roster at times. In eight games with Ontario this season, Moverare has a pair of assists. As for Andersson, the former seventh-overall pick has yet to skate in the NHL so far this season either, but has been off to a hot start in the AHL, scoring five goals to go with four assists in just 11 games. While he’s not the physical presence that Lemieux is, if Andersson can carry his solid play into the NHL should he get the opportunity, it could be an intriguing addition for the equally hot Kings.

As to the 19-year-old Clarke, he has not played in the Kings’ previous five games, but not due to injury. The defenseman’s play his been alright through his first nine NHL games, however after scratching him and not making lineup changes since, the Kings have turned in a 4-0-1 record. Although Clarke is not eligible to be sent to the AHL full-time (as he’s still junior eligible), Los Angeles was able to utilize a 14-day conditioning loan, allowing him to get into regular, professional game action with the Reign and still be eligible to rejoin the Kings in two weeks. In that time, Ontario will play six games, which includes a matchup with the San Diego Gulls this afternoon, which Clarke is eligible to play in.

Brendan Lemieux Re-Signs With Los Angeles Kings

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Despite not receiving a qualifying offer, Brendan Lemieux is staying in Los Angeles. The bottom-six forward has signed a one-year contract worth $1.35MM for the 2022-23 season, a slight discount over what his QO would have guaranteed.

Lemieux, 26, came to Los Angeles via a 2021 trade from the New York Rangers. Lemieux is a bit of a player, not for his on-ice talent but for his on-ice behavior. In terms of talent level, there isn’t much up for debate. Lemieux is your prototypical “pest” player. Physical, high-energy, and never quiet would all be ways to describe Lemieux’s game. His no-holds-barred game can endear himself to fans just as much as it can frustrate them.

A $1.3MM price tag certainly isn’t unreasonable for a player like Lemieux. There are NHL teams who value the sort of role he plays, and the Kings are one of them. This is an important season in Los Angeles, with the team making aggressive additions in order to secure a return to the playoffs.

Even with his disciplinary issues in mind, this signing illustrates that Lemieux’s hard game is valuable to the group Los Angeles is building and he should be fully capable of continuing his level of play for them for another year.

Snapshots: Burns, Gaudreau, Lemieux, PHF, Struble

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As the San Jose Sharks look to turn a corner with the franchise, not necessarily declaring a rebuild, rumors surrounding superstar defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson have turned up in recent months, with some speculating the Sharks could try to deal one of them. That speculation didn’t seem too off-base, but with the Sharks without a GM for the first time in nearly 20 years and still searching, it was unclear if the team would want to make that sort of franchise-altering trade before making the hire, and if the new hire would want to do such a thing as well.

Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News had a chance to speak to the new man in charge in that of Sharks GM Mike Grier, who touched on Burns’ future in San Jose. Grier said that he would speak with Burns soon and let him lead the way on whether or not he wanted to be dealt, understanding if the former Norris winner wanted to win now, but adding that he had been a “great Shark.” Burns, who has a modified no-trade clause, does in effect lead the way already in this situation, but Grier’s comments show that San Jose is ready to proceed in either direction with the 37-year-old, depending on how their conversation turns out. The defenseman has three more years at $8MM per season left on his contract.

  • If and when superstar free agent Johnny Gaudreau hits the free agent market on Wednesday, he will be one of the most sought-after players to ever go to free agency, with no shortage of suitors. One of those suitors, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports, will be the New York Islanders, who he believes will “competitively” pursue the winger. It’s no secret that the Islanders have been looking for offense and a dynamic winger to play with Mathew Barzal, especially after missing the playoffs following back-to-back trips to the Conference Finals. Bringing in a player like Gaudreau would solve many of those problems of course, but having just under $11.2MM in salary cap space while needing to sign RFA defensemen Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov, a Gaudreau signing would necessitate another move to shed salary on the Island.
  • Although he was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Kings, forward Brendan Lemieux may still re-sign with the team after all is said and done, reports TSN’s Chris Johnston, with contract talks still ongoing. This news isn’t too shocking, as the gritty winger has played well for the Kings since being acquired from the New York Rangers during the 2020-21 season, but coming with a qualifying offer of $1.65MM, Los Angeles may have opted to try and re-sign Lemieux at a lower rate, not taking the chance of him accepting a salary they may view as too high.
  • Erin Brown of The Hockey News reports that the PHF will announce its 2022-23 expansion plans on Tuesday morning. One of the premier women’s hockey leagues in North America, the PHF currently consists of five teams, including the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, Connecticut Whale, and Minnesota Whitecaps.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that defense prospect Jayden Struble suffered a lower-body injury today and would miss the remainder of development camp. The Canadiens’ second-round pick, 46th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, just finished his third season at Northeastern University, where he put up three goals and 11 assists in 34 games from the backend. The defenseman has just one more year before he will become a UFA if he does not sign with Montreal.

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