Trade Deadline Summary: West Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the West Division.
Anaheim Ducks
Status: Seller
In – D Haydn Fleury, F Alexander Volkov, 2022 fifth-round pick (TOR)
Out – D Ben Hutton, D Jani Hakanpaa, F Antoine Morand, 2022 sixth-round pick, conditional 2023 seventh-round pick
Arizona Coyotes
Status: Neutral
In – None
Out – None
Colorado Avalanche
Status: Buyer
In – F Carl Soderberg, D Patrik Nemeth, G Devan Dubnyk, G Jonas Johansson
Out – D Greg Pateryn, F Josh Dickinson, F Ryder Rolston, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2021 fifth-round pick, 2021 sixth-round pick
Los Angeles Kings
Status: Neutral
In – F Brendan Lemieux, D Christian Wolanin, conditional 2022 third-round pick (PIT), conditional 2023 fourth-round pick (PIT)
Out – F Jeff Carter, F Michael Amadio, 2021 fourth-round pick
Minnesota Wild
Status: Buyer
In – None
Out – None
San Jose Sharks
Status: Neutral
In – F Alexander Barabanov, D Greg Pateryn, G Magnus Chrona, 2021 fourth-round pick (TOR), 2021 fifth-round pick (COL), 2022 fifth-round pick (BUF via VGK)
Out – G Devan Dubnyk, F Stefan Noesen, F Antti Suomela, D Fredrik Claesson, D Nick DeSimone, 2021 fourth-round pick
St. Louis Blues
Status: Neutral
In – None
Out – None
Vegas Golden Knights
Status: Buyer
In – F Mattias Janmark, D Nick DeSimone, 2022 fifth-round pick (CHI)
Out – 2021 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick
Trade Deadline Summary: North Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the North Division.
Calgary Flames
Status: Neutral
In – F Emil Heineman, 2022 second-round pick (FLA), 2022 third-round pick (TOR)
Out – F Sam Bennett, G David Rittich, 2022 sixth-round pick
Edmonton Oilers
Status: Buyer
In – D Dmitry Kulikov
Out – conditional 2022 fourth-round pick
Montreal Canadiens
Status: Buyer
In – F Eric Staal, D Jon Merrill, D Erik Gustafsson
Out – F Hayden Verbeek, 2021 third-round pick, two 2021 fifth-round picks, 2022 seventh-round pick
Ottawa Senators
Status: Seller
In – F Ryan Dzingel, F Michael Amadio, D Brandon Fortunato, 2022 third-round pick (BOS), 2022 seventh-round pick (NYI), 2023 seventh-round pick (NSH)
Out – D Mike Reilly, D Erik Gudbranson, D Braydon Coburn, F Cedric Paquette, F Alex Galchenyuk, D Christian Wolanin,
Toronto Maple Leafs
Status: Buyer
In – F Nick Foligno, G David Rittich, D Ben Hutton, F Alex Galchenyuk, F Riley Nash, F Stefan Noesen, F Antti Suomela, G Veini Vehvilainen
Out – F Alexander Barabanov, D Mikko Lehtonen, D David Warsofsky, F Yegor Korshkov, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2022 fifth-round pick, conditional 2022 seventh-round pick
Vancouver Canucks
Status: Neutral
In – F Matthew Highmore, D Madison Bowey, 2021 fifth-round pick (CHI), 2021 sixth-round pick (WPG)
Out – D Jordie Benn, F Adam Gaudette, 2021 fourth-round pick
Winnipeg Jets
Status: Buyer
In – D Jordie Benn
Out – 2021 sixth-round pick
Ottawa Senators Acquire Mike Amadio
The Ottawa Senators have swapped some recently-waived assets with the Los Angeles Kings, acquiring Michael Amadio in exchange for Christian Wolanin. Both players recently cleared waivers with their respective teams and can report directly (following the appropriate quarantine) to the taxi squad or minor leagues. The trade does not include any other players or draft picks.
Amadio, 24, had zero goals and just two points in 20 games for the Kings this season, unable to create any offense even when given substantial minutes. In his last game on March 14, he played more than 17 minutes but manged just a single shot on net and was a -1. The team seemingly decided to move on at that point, putting him on waivers a few days later and sticking him on the taxi squad. Just a few days ago Amadio was demoted even further, this time to the Ontario Reign of the AHL.
In Ottawa, the right-shot center will likely receive a chance to get his career back on track, but at the very least can be a depth option for the team next season. Amadio’s current two-year contract will expire at the end of this season, but he will still be a restricted free agent without much leverage that the Senators can likely sign for cheap.
The same can’t be said about Wolanin, who will become a Group VI unrestricted free agent should he fail to play in another 13 games this season. Technically, given the Kings have played just 32 so far this year, Wolanin could get to that mark should he quickly clear COVID protocols, but it seems unlikely. Instead, he’s a rental piece that can get a look on the Kings depth chart down the stretch.
Los Angeles has several young defenders waiting in the wings, but Wolanin does have 58 games of NHL experience and has shown flashes of upside. Unfortunately, those flashes haven’t come often enough and he has played just 18 games for the Senators since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. The 26-year-old defenseman shouldn’t be considered a prospect anymore and is just another name to throw into the taxi squad mix in Los Angeles.
Three Players Clear Waivers
March 20: All three Michaels have cleared waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Amadio and Chaput can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues, while Houser remain with the Rochester Americans.
March 19: Bad day for Michael. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Michael Houser (BUF), Michael Amadio (LAK) and Michael Chaput (ARI) have been placed on waivers today. Houser only just signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres today, meaning he needed to clear waivers to be assigned to the taxi squad or stay in the minor leagues.
Chaput has known these waters before, clearing waivers several times in his career so far. The most recent occasion was in January just before the season began, but now that he has played 10 games for the Arizona Coyotes, he’ll need to clear again to go back to the taxi squad. The 28-year-old forward hasn’t recorded an NHL goal since the 2016-17 season and has gone completely scoreless this season. He’ll likely go unclaimed once again, giving the Coyotes the ability to move him up and down.
It’s Amadio that may draw some interest out of this group, given his age and interesting history. The 24-year-old winger was the 90th overall pick in 2014 and played extremely well in the minor leagues, scoring at a near-point-per-game pace for the Ontario Reign. In 168 NHL contests, he has just 39 points, though 16 of those came last season in a limited role through 68 appearances. Unfortunately, Amadio has just two points on the season this time around and hasn’t even been able to generate many shots on net. Unless a rebuilding team sees him as a piece that could be salvaged, he will likely clear just like the others.
NHL Announces Player Gaming Challenge
The NHL is trying desperately to stay relevant even as their season sits in limbo and have today announced a new feature for fans to tune into. The NHL Player Gaming Challenge will be a tournament of EA SPORTS NHL 20 games featuring players from each of the 32 organizations. The tournament will go for four weeks starting on April 30th. The league and EA will donate a combined $100,000 in support of COVID-19 relief.
Because the Seattle expansion franchise doesn’t have any players to represent them at this point, Luke Willson from the Seattle Seahawks of the NHL will carry the torch.
The full list of participants:
Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler
Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland, Clayton Keller
Boston Bruins: Jake Debrusk, Charlie McAvoy
Buffalo Sabres: Brandon Montour
Calgary Flames: Noah Hanifin, Matthew Tkachuk
Carolina Hurricanes: Warren Foegele
Chicago Blackhawks: Drake Caggiula, Alex DeBrincat
Columbus Blue Jackets: Elvis Merzlikins, Zach Werenski
Colorado Avalanche: J.T. Compher
Dallas Stars: Stephen Johns, Jamie Oleksiak
Detroit Redwings: Madison Bowey, Anthony Mantha
Edmonton Oilers: Caleb Jones, Darnell Nurse
Florida Panthers: Jonathan Huberdeau
Los Angeles Kings: Michael Amadio, Blake Lizotte
Minnesota Wild: Devan Dubnyk, Jordan Greenway
Montreal Canadiens: Victor Mete, Nick Suzuki
Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg
New Jersey Devils: MacKenzie Blackwood
New York Islanders: Matt Martin
New York Rangers: Chris Kreider
NHL Seattle: Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks (NFL)
Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk, Chris Tierney
Philadelphia Flyers: James van Riemsdyk
Pittsburgh Penguins: Zach Aston-Reese, Bryan Rust
San Jose Sharks: Evander Kane, Marcus Sorensen
St Louis Blues: Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas
Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson
Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman
Vancouver Canucks: Thatcher Demko, Adam Gaudette
Vegas Golden Knights: Ryan Reaves, Alex Tuch
Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov
Winnipeg Jets: Anthony Bitetto, Kyle Connor
Select games can be seen on NBC Sports and Sportsnet ONE. All matches will also air within NHL Network’s on-air programming or its Twitch channel.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Four Players
As expected, the Los Angeles Kings have announced new contracts for Michael Amadio, Daniel Brickley, Matt Roy and Sheldon Rempal. Amadio, Brickley and Roy have all signed two-year contracts that will carry $700K average annual values, while Rempal has signed his one-year two-way qualifying offer that carries an $874,125 salary in the NHL.
Amadio, 23, is arguably the most important of the four after playing 80 NHL games over the last two seasons. In 43 contests during the 2018-19 season he recorded 13 points, but was once again a strong offensive talent in the minor leagues. Now three years into his professional career, Amadio will have a real opportunity at camp given that he is no longer waiver-exempt and would need to be offered to the rest of the league in order to end up in Ontario again. With the Kings looking for any young players to step up and make an impact at the NHL level, the third-round pick could be in line for increased playing time.
The Kings signed Rempal, a top NCAA performer and former BCHL superstar to a two-year entry-level contract last year and the 23-year old rewarded them with an excellent minor league season. Playing in 59 games for the Ontario Reign he scored 40 points, continuing his history of offensive production. Unfortunately that offense didn’t appear in his seven games with the Kings, as Rempal is still waiting for his first NHL point.
Brickley, 24, was another top college free agent in the spring of 2018 but spent most of this season in the AHL. The 6’3″ defenseman registered 12 points for the Reign but was a whopping -31 on the year, the worst on the team despite playing in just 42 games. Brickley has played in five games for the Kings so far and scored two points, but may have a tough time really cracking the NHL lineup given their current depth on the blue line.
That depth has only been strengthened with the re-signing of Roy, who has turned himself from a seventh-round afterthought to legitimate NHL option. Roy played in 25 games for the Kings last season after a pair of solid years in the AHL and will battle Brickley and others for the opportunity to stay in the NHL again this season. Like the rest of the young players looking for playing time on the Kings’ blue line, Roy will be waiting patiently for an opportunity that could be created at some point this year through trade. The Kings have three defensemen scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer and another with just two years left. If the team decides to really blow it up and go young, names like Derek Forbort and Alec Martinez will surely draw interest on the open market.