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Laurent Dauphin

Arizona Coyotes’ Laurent Dauphin Signs In Switzerland

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Arizona Coyotes forward Laurent Dauphin has found a new team to play for, as he signed a one-year contract containing a club option for a second year with the Swiss National League’s HC Ambri-Piotta.

The 28-year-old 2013 second-round pick was in his third tour of duty with the Coyotes this past season, playing 48 games in the AHL and 21 in the NHL. Dauphin played very well in the AHL, notching 16 goals and 41 points, but his play in the NHL left much to be desired.

The high-energy pivot scored just one goal and no assists at the NHL level this season and failed to earn the trust of head coach Andre Tourigny, who played him sparingly.

It’s this disappointing run in the NHL that has likely paved the way for Dauphin’s departure overseas, where he’ll play in a European pro league for the first time in his career.

A longtime minor leaguer, Dauphin seemed to hit a turning point in his career during his time with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021-22.

As the Canadiens faced significant injuries and a nightmarish campaign, Dauphin emerged as a trusted option for head coach Martin St. Louis, who played Dauphin in a larger NHL role than he’d ever played before.

Dauphin responded well to that increased role, contributing four goals and 12 assists in 38 total games, including a slick penalty shot tally. We at PHR even acknowledged Dauphin’s improvement in our coverage of his signing in Arizona last summer, writing at the time that “it would be misleading to say anything other than Dauphin performed better than expected at the NHL level.”

It seemed as though Dauphin would potentially carve out a role as a depth NHL center, but it now seems that his time in Arizona has undone that progress. Now, he’ll head to Switzerland with the hope of serving as a top player for Ambri-Piotta, a club looking to have a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign.

As he’ll still be just 29 at this time next season, the door is far from closed for Dauphin to make a return to an NHL organization, but he’ll need to have a good season overseas to keep it open.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Coyotes Notes: Ritchie, Imama, Injuries

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PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported Monday afternoon that Arizona Coyotes forward Brett Ritchie’s status for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers is uncertain for a second straight night due to illness. He will be a game-time decision after missing yesterday’s shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Ritchie has scored two goals and added two assists in eight games since being acquired in a swap with the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline. The 29-year-old winger is having his best offensive season since he recorded seven goals and 14 points in 71 games with the Dallas Stars in 2017-18.

More from the Coyotes beat today:

  • With Ritchie’s availability up in the air, Bokondji Imama is back up with the Coyotes on emergency loan from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Defenseman Michael Kesselring was papered back to the Roadrunners to satisfy the emergency loan requirements. With Josh Brown ready to return to the lineup, this allows the Coyotes to play 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight, no matter what. Imama is still looking for his first point of the year in five games with the Coyotes.
  • Also per Morgan, forwards Laurent Dauphin and Zack Kassian will remain out of the lineup with upper-body injuries. Kassian, who has just two goals in 51 games this season, has been absent from the lineup since March 21. Dauphin, who has no points in 16 games since being recalled from Tucson, has been out for three days.

Coyotes Notes: Ritchie, Dauphin, Imama, Smith, Farinacci

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Several updates on the Arizona Coyotes have come in today via PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, news regarding five players. The first bit of information is that trade deadline acquisition Brett Ritchie is returning to the team’s lineup after he missed their game against the Edmonton Oilers with an upper-body injury. Ritchie got off to a hot start in the desert, scoring four points in his first three games, but he was moved off of the team’s top line and received just nine minutes of ice time in Arizona’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, and has not registered a point since his three-point game on March 12th.

Now presumably back to full health or at least a healthier position, he’ll have the chance to re-enter coach Andre Tourigny’s lineup and put a good string of games together as the Coyotes enter the final stretch of their season. The 382-game veteran is on an expiring league-minimum contract and will be hoping that some quality play will earn him another NHL contract in a few months.

  • Coyotes forward Laurent Dauphin is injured and out on a day-to-day timeline. Though the 27-year-old is scoreless through 16 NHL games in Arizona this season, he has been a difference-maker for the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, scoring 16 goals and 41 points in 45 games. Like Ritchie, he’s on an expiring league-minimum two-way contract.
  • Forward Bokondji Imama is being sent down to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, per Morgan. He replaced Smith in the lineup for the team’s game against Edmonton and skated in just under seven minutes of ice time. He’s been up and down quite a bit from the NHL and AHL recently and has five total NHL games played in 2022-23. In the AHL, he has 13 points and 96 penalty minutes in 43 games.
  • To replace Imama on their roster, Arizona is recalling forward Nathan Smith. The former Winnipeg Jets prospect played in 10 NHL games last season after signing from Minnesota State University but hasn’t gotten onto NHL ice this year. He’s scored 11 goals and 25 points for Tucson, and will now be in a position to test his mettle against NHL competition once more.
  • Harvard University was defeated by Ohio State University in the first round of the NCAA’s Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, ending their season. With that loss as a backdrop, Morgan reports that it won’t be a surprise to see one of Harvard’s key players, John Farinacci, “sign quickly” with Arizona. The 22-year-old is a 2019 third-round pick who scored 19 points in 18 games this season as Harvard’s captain and would be expected to play a role in Tucson with the hope of developing into an NHL option.

Coyotes Scratch Nick Bjugstad, Recall Laurent Dauphin

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The Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that they’ve scratched center Nick Bjugstad tonight for trade-related reasons, joining defenseman Jakob Chychrun on that front.  Taking Bjugstad’s place on the roster will be center Laurent Dauphin who has been recalled from AHL Tucson.

Bjugstad opted to sign a one-year, $900K contract with Arizona last summer in the hopes of playing a regular role and rebuilding some value after three straight quiet, injury-riddled seasons.  The move has turned out to be a good one for the 30-year-old who has posted 13 goals and 10 assists so far in 59 games while winning just over 47% of his faceoffs.  He also is averaging two hits per game.  With a low price tag, Bjugstad is the type of fourth liner that teams will certainly be looking to add to shore up their depth between now and Friday’s trade deadline and the Coyotes are making sure he’ll be available to be traded over risking him getting injured in tonight’s game against Chicago.

That decision gives Dauphin his third opportunity with the Coyotes this season.  The 27-year-old signed a one-year, two-way deal with Arizona in the summer but has only gotten into three NHL contests so far after suiting up in 38 with Montreal in 2021-22.  However, Dauphin has been productive in the minors with the Roadrunners, tallying 16 goals along with 25 assists in 48 games so far.

Arizona Coyotes Return Laurent Dauphin To AHL

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After he played fewer than 10 minutes last night, Laurent Dauphin has been returned to the AHL by the Arizona Coyotes. That’s could be a good sign for Liam O’Brien, who was listed as week-to-week or Zack Kassian, who has been held out recently. It drops the Coyotes to 13 forwards on the roster, though Matias Maccelli is unavailable for the next several weeks and has not yet been moved to injured reserve.

The Coyotes went with just 11 forwards in the game yesterday, and Clayton Keller carried the load with nearly 25 minutes of ice time. Nick Schmaltz was back and playing nearly 20, while Dauphin and Michael Carcone both saw under ten. The 27-year-old Dauphin has played in three games this season without scoring, but did record four shots on goal last night. A long-time minor league veteran, he has 27 points in 26 games for the Tucson Roadrunners this year.

Despite staying competitive in most of their games, Arizona is now 13-18-5 on the year. They’re headed to Philadelphia and Chicago for a couple of basement battles over the next few days, before returning home to welcome in the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

Coyotes Recall Laurent Dauphin

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The Coyotes have added some depth up front to their roster as they’ve recalled center Laurent Dauphin from AHL Tucson, per the AHL’s Transactions Log.  They now have 14 forwards on their active roster although one of those, Matias Maccelli, is out for several more weeks and can easily be moved to injured reserve.

It’s the second recall of the season for the 27-year-old as Dauphin was also up with the team on an emergency basis for a week and a half in mid-November.  He saw action in just one game during that stretch, however.  Last season, Dauphin was a regular for Montreal in the second half of the campaign as he got into a career-high 38 games, picking up 12 points.

Dauphin has spent most of the season with the Roadrunners and has been quite productive, collecting 12 goals and 15 assists in 26 games, good for second on the team in scoring.  The only player he’s behind is league leader Michael Carcone who was recalled to Arizona on Tuesday.

Jakob Chychrun, Nick Schmaltz Set To Return Next Week

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The Arizona Coyotes are about to get some reinforcements after an already impressive stretch of play, at least compared to expectations. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Nick Schmaltz are set to return to the lineup next Monday when the Coyotes take on the Nashville Predators, according to general manager Bill Armstrong, who spoke with PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.

As previously reported, though, it seems like Chychrun won’t play more than a handful of games as a Coyote this year. Trade speculation around him has been constant for around a year, and as of the last notable update almost a month ago, the Coyotes’ asking price for the young defender remains on the high side. He’s missed the first month of the season with an ankle injury that kept him out of the end of last season, as well as a separate wrist injury sustained late last month. The 24-year-old is coming off a down season but had 41 points in just 56 games during the 2020-21 campaign. The 16th overall pick in 2016 is a legitimate top-four defenseman regardless, and players like him don’t come around on the trade market often.

Schmaltz, who had a resurgent campaign last year with 59 points in 63 games, left the team’s season opener in the first period. He’s been out since with an upper-body injury.

In an anticipatory transaction, the Coyotes today also sent down forward Laurent Dauphin to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The minor-league veteran played just one game with the Coyotes this year, but has eight points in eight games with Tucson.

Coyotes Recall Laurent Dauphin

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7:00 pm: The Coyotes appear to have made a corresponding move, placing forward Nick Schmaltz on IR, according to CapFriendly. The Coyotes’ star center has only played one game this season and has been out since mid-October with an upper-body injury. Then, nearly three weeks ago, Schmaltz was considered out six-to-eight weeks. It’s unclear if that timetable has been changed at all.

3:57 pmA strong start in the minors has led to another NHL opportunity for Laurent Dauphin as the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled the center from Tucson of the AHL.

The 27-year-old was originally drafted by the Coyotes but a good chunk of his NHL action came elsewhere as he played in 38 games with Montreal last season, recording a dozen points.  Overall, between the two organizations, he has 16 points in 73 NHL contests.  Dauphin is averaging a point per game in the minors in the early going this season with five goals and three assists in eight contests while being named Player of the Week last month.

Dauphin’s recall was an expected one as Arizona has been carrying just 11 forwards on their active roster following the injury to Zack Kassian who has been ruled out for the five-game Eastern portion of their 14-game road trip due to a lower-body injury so it was only a matter of time before a replacement forward was brought up.  He won’t be in the lineup tonight in Washington (the team is expected to dress seven defenders) but should be available to suit up on Tuesday in Buffalo to officially begin his second stint with the team.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Laurent Dauphin

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After he received the most NHL playing time of his career this season, minor league veteran Laurent Dauphin is headed back to the desert. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Dauphin is in agreement with the Arizona Coyotes on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level. It also includes a $400K minor league guarantee.

Dauphin’s signing returns him to Arizona for the third time. Dauphin was drafted 39th overall by the Coyotes at the 2013 draft and was re-acquired by them in 2018, a year after being shipped to Chicago in the Niklas Hjalmarsson deal. Dauphin has spent the last three seasons playing closer to home in the Montreal Canadiens organization, mostly with the Laval Rocket. In Laval, Dauphin was an important top-six center, scoring relatively close to a point-per-game rate and being among their most heavily utilized forwards.

This season, as the Canadiens endured a nightmarish season, Dauphin earned a call-up and an increased role after the Canadiens shipped away numerous veteran players at the trade deadline. Under Martin St. Louis, Dauphin played a larger NHL role than he’d ever played before and was utilized as a middle-six centerman. Obviously, that was more due to necessity than Dauphin’s true talent level, but it would be misleading to say anything other than Dauphin performed better than expected at the NHL level. He had 12 points in 38 games and provided an up-tempo, high-energy game.

He’ll bring that to either the Coyotes or the Tucson Roadrunners, and be someone coaches can rely on. He may not get the same NHL opportunity he got with Montreal, but at the very least he’ll be an impactful AHL player for a Roadrunners club that could be stocked with prospects next season.

East Notes: Tuch, Red Wings, Sgarbossa, Point, Dauphin

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The Sabres are set to welcome back winger Alex Tuch for their game on Monday, notes Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.  The 25-year-old was a big part of the Jack Eichel trade but he has yet to play this season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.  With Vegas, Tuch was used in more of a secondary scoring role but with Buffalo, he should get a chance to play a considerably bigger role.  He was expected to be back in roughly six months and if he does suit up against Columbus, he’ll have gotten back in just under five months.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • When the Red Wings had their pre-holiday break games postponed, some wondered if there may be more positive tests coming from them. That’s indeed the case as the team announced (Twitter link) that centers Pius Suter and Joe Veleno plus winger Sam Gagner along with assistant video coach Jeff Weintraub in COVID protocol.  That brings them up to nine players currently unavailable.
  • Capitals center Michael Sgarbossa was a late scratch from their game tonight against Los Angeles and it turns out that it was COVID-related as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old was coming off a two-point performance on Friday and has three points in seven games with Washington this season.  The Caps did get some good news on that front as well, however, as winger Garnet Hathaway was taken out of protocol.
  • The Lightning could be getting a key player back soon after the holiday break. Head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link) that center Brayden Point could be reclassified as day-to-day once they return from the break.  Point has been out with an upper-body injury for just under a month and was off to a strong start to his season before it occurred with 13 points in 16 games.
  • The Canadiens announced that they’ve placed center Laurent Dauphin in COVID protocol. The 26-year-old was recalled two weeks ago and has three points in five games since then including his first NHL goal in over five years.  The team has also shut down their facilities through December 26th.

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