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Curtis Douglas

Utah HC Activates And Assigns Curtis Douglas To AHL

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While Utah HC got some rough news on the injury front today, they also cleared one of their depth players to return.  The Hockey News’ Tim Hiebert relays (Twitter link) that the team has activated Curtis Douglas from the injured, non-roster list and assigned him to AHL Tucson.

The 24-year-old spent last season exclusively with the Roadrunners, notching career bests in assists (16), points (21), and penalty minutes (148), finishing tied for fourth league-wide in the latter category.  The 6’7 center has four professional seasons under his belt, also spending time with Ottawa and Toronto’s farm teams.  The organization acquired him late in 2022 in exchange for defenseman Conor Timmins.

Douglas inked a two-year, two-way deal with Utah in early July after his entry-level contract came to an end.  The deal carries a $150K minor league salary this season before jumping to $325K for the 2025-26 campaign.  He has yet to receive an NHL recall but if Utah decides they need some extra grit on the fourth line, that could change in the coming months.

Utah Signs Curtis Douglas

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The Utah Hockey Club has signed forward Curtis Douglas to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The details of the contract have not been disclosed.

Douglas was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played in the OHL for two seasons after his draft year, before spending the 2020-21 pandemic season with Austria’s Linz Steel Wings of the Alps Hockey League. It was Douglas’ first taste of professional hockey and he managed it well, recording 12 points in 16 games before joining the AHL in the year’s second-half.

Douglas was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played in the OHL for two seasons after his draft year, ultimately ending his juniors career left unsigned by Dallas. In response, Douglas moved to Austria’s Alps Hockey League for the 2020-21 pandemic season. It was his first taste of professional hockey and he managed it well, recording 12 points in 16 games while negotiating an amateur try-out agreement with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He joined Belleville in the year’s second half, ultimately posting four points, eight penalty minutes, and a +6 in his first 11 AHL games.

That was enough of a showing to earn Douglas a contract with the Toronto Marlies for the following season. Under that deal, Douglas managed a career-high 13 goals and 34 points in 67 games – adding 86 penalty minutes to boot. But a midseason move to the Tuscon Roadrunners in the following year stalled out his scoring. Douglas has been much more of an intimidator now with Tuscon, totaling a whopping 267 penalty minutes across his 107 games with the club. That averages out to 2.5 penalty minutes each game.

And while Douglas seems far from the NHL lineup after his 21 points this season, his standout size and grit have proven worth investing in. With a new deal in place, he’ll plan to return to Tuscon next season, and hopefully find the scoring touch that’s eluded him over the last two years.

Maple Leafs Injuries: Timmins, Klingberg, Jarnkrok

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David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters this morning that defenseman Conor Timmins has a significant lower-body injury and is out week to week. Keefe didn’t elaborate on the nature of the injury but given his comments, it is likely that the 25-year-old rearguard will miss the first week of the NHL regular season.

Timmins came over to the Maple Leafs last year in a mid-season trade with the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Curtis Douglas. He fit in nicely on Toronto’s back end and added an element of offense posting two goals and 12 assists in 25 games with the Maple Leafs. He was having a fantastic training camp with six points in just three preseason games for Toronto prior to being injured Friday night in a preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens.

In other Maple Leafs injury notes:

  • TSN is reporting that Keefe spoke to reporters about injured defenseman John Klingberg saying that the 31-year-old is dealing with a minor injury and wouldn’t skate today with the team. Keefe went on to add that he doesn’t expect that native of Gothenburg, Sweden to be out long term. What long-term means is vague at this point, Klingberg has been off the ice for five days now after suffering the unknown ailment last Wednesday in a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres.
  • Toronto Sun reporter Terry Koshan tweeted that Calle Jarnkrok will skate with the Maple Leafs second group at practice today after returning to training camp over the weekend. The 32-year-old is expected to play later this week for the first time in this year’s preseason. Jarnkrok has been dealing with an undisclosed injury that came up during training camp and is expected to be back before the regular season begins. Jarnkrok had a career-high 20 goals and 19 assists in 73 games last season, his first with Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Conor Timmins

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have found their defenseman, acquiring Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. The team will be sending minor league forward Curtis Douglas in return.

At one point, not too long ago, Timmins was one of the brightest young defensive prospects in the game. He was a big part of the trade that sent Darcy Kuemper to the Colorado Avalanche last summer, and was supposed to be a key player for Arizona’s rebuild.

But injuries have ruined his career so far, with Timmins playing just 105 games since the start of the 2018-19 season. Just two of those have come this year with Arizona, before he was sent down on a conditioning stint with the Tucson Roadrunners. As Morgan explains, the team wanted to send him down for a longer period in the AHL but he would have certainly been claimed on waivers.

Instead, he heads to Toronto where—you may have guessed—he is reunited with his other Soo Greyhounds alumni. Three of the Maple Leafs’ current roster defensemen were on the 2017-18 Greyhounds roster. Timmins, Mac Hollowell, and Rasmus Sandin were an incredible trio on that junior team, and will now be reunited in Toronto.

Whether Timmins can ever reach his previous potential remains to be seen, but it’s a worthwhile gamble for a Toronto team that is desperate for help on the back end. Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and T.J. Brodie are all injured long-term, meaning Mark Giordano was left as the most reliable option.

In Douglas, the Coyotes are getting a massive forward that showed some scoring touch last season. The 22-year-old stands 6’9″ and scored 13 goals and 34 points for the Toronto Marlies in 2021-22. That offensive ability has completely dried up this year though, with Douglas registering just a single point in 13 games so far.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Curtis Douglas

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One of the things Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas was asked about yesterday was whether he considered signing some of his standout AHL players to NHL contracts before the deadline, which would have made them eligible for the playoffs. While he explained that they needed to leave slots open for some college signings, the team has now worked out a future deal with one of those minor league players.

Curtis Douglas has signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs that will begin in the 2022-23 season. Douglas is currently playing for the Toronto Marlies on an AHL contract.

Standing 6’8″, the 22-year-old Douglas is an intriguing forward prospect. Originally selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, he ended up an unrestricted free agent when the two sides failed to work out a contract. After spending part of last season playing for the Linz Steel Wings in Austria, he joined the Belleville Senators and played 11 games in the AHL.

This season, with the Marlies, he has eight goals and 27 points in 49 games, good enough to earn himself an entry-level deal. Douglas only turned 22 a few months ago and is still very raw, but at least is showing signs that he is starting to harness his size effectively.

Because it is a future deal, it does not take up one of the Maple Leafs’ remaining contract slots, which could potentially go to college standouts–and U.S. Olympians–Matthew Knies and Nick Abruzzese in the coming weeks.

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