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Mitchell Stephens

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Mitchell Stephens

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Center Mitchell Stephens has a new contract for 2023-24, re-signing with the Montreal Canadiens on a one-year, two-way deal. Per CapFriendly, the deal pays him $775K in the NHL and $300K in the minors, carrying a minimum guaranteed salary of $385K.

The 26-year-old Ontario-born forward was a restricted free agent this offseason, although he didn’t file for salary arbitration despite being eligible.

Stephens didn’t see any NHL ice last season, spending the entire campaign in the AHL for the first time since 2018-19. In 68 games with the Laval Rocket, he registered 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points, finishing third on the team in scoring.

He is a reliable NHL call-up option if Montreal wants a more veteran presence. He’s accumulated 72 NHL games over three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring three goals and 13 points while largely playing in a fourth-line role.

Selected 33rd overall in 2015 by Tampa Bay, it doesn’t appear a full-time NHL role is in Stephens’ future. However, he’ll lock down a top-six role again in Laval next season.

Re-signing Stephens leaves Montreal with four RFAs still to sign: center Alex Newhook, left wing Lucas Condotta, right wing Jesse Ylonen, and left defenseman Nicolas Beaudin.

Canadiens Re-Sign Mitchell Stephens

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With the arbitration deadline fast approaching, Montreal has taken care of one of their arbitration-eligible players as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed Mitchell Stephens to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $775K in the NHL and $300K in the AHL with a total guarantee of $385K, a $10K raise on the guaranteed part of his contract last season.

The 26-year-old signed with Montreal last summer after being non-tendered by the Red Wings.  However, after spending all of 2021-22 in the NHL, Stephens passed through waivers unclaimed in training camp and was assigned to AHL Laval where he spent the entire season.  Last year, he played in 68 games with the Rocket, collecting 20 goals and 21 assists.

Stephens has a total of 72 career NHL games under his belt between Detroit and Tampa Bay, picking up three goals and ten assists.  With the Canadiens having somewhat of a forward surplus already, it seems likely that Stephens will be back on waivers in training camp and will look to play his way into a recall during the season.  While Montreal retained his rights by issuing a qualifying offer last week, this is Stephens’ final season of eligibility; he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Waivers: 10/04/22

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After all of the players from yesterday cleared, there is a new batch of talent on waivers today. Placement here is usually indicative of a training camp cut, though not necessarily. It gives teams the option to send a player to the minor leagues, but that doesn’t have to happen right away. Until a player spends 30 days on the active roster or plays in ten regular season games, they won’t have to clear waivers again.

Here are the players on waivers today:

Boston Bruins

Oskar Steen
Nick Wolff
Connor Carrick

Buffalo Sabres

Sean Malone

Chicago Blackhawks

Luke Philp
Nicolas Beaudin
Dylan Sikura
Brett Seney

Columbus Blue Jackets

Brendan Gaunce

Minnesota Wild

Zane McIntyre

Montreal Canadiens

Alex Belzile
Anthony Richard
Mitchell Stephens

New Jersey Devils

Tyler Wotherspoon
Robbie Russo
Joseph Gambardella
Jeremy Groleau

Pittsburgh Penguins

Taylor Fedun

Vancouver Canucks

Collin Delia
John Stevens
Noah Juulsen
Brady Keeper
Guillaume Brisebois

Troy Stecher, Mitchell Stephens Out Through Olympic Break

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The Detroit Red Wings have updated a pair of long-term injuries, as both Troy Stecher and Mitchell Stephens will be out through the February Olympic break. Stecher underwent wrist surgery, while Stephens is dealing with a lower-body injury.

Stecher has played just six games so far this season, and he’ll miss another few months as the Olympic break doesn’t end until February 22. The 27-year-old defenseman was such a difference-maker at this year’s World Championship that it appeared as though he might be taking a step forward, but through those six games he averaged fewer than 15 minutes and had just a single point for the rebuilding Red Wings.

Stephens meanwhile had suited up 16 times for Detroit this year, only leaving the lineup after suffering an injury on November 13. The 24-year-old forward hadn’t registered a goal yet, but did have four assists through those games as he filled in as a bottom-six center option.

The Red Wings have come back to earth recently after a nice start to their season, and now sit 8-9-3 on the year. Still extremely young, mounting injuries will only test their depth even further. While they are technically just a few points out of the playoffs, a four-game losing streak and -13 goal differentially certainly don’t have them heading in the right direction.

Detroit Red Wings Acquire Mitchell Stephens

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded away one of their young depth players, sending Mitchell Stephens to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick.

With the signing of Alex Barre-Boulet, the Lightning were inching closer to the 50-contract limit with a few more restricted free agents left to deal with. Given that Stephens wasn’t likely to get much playing time now that Barre-Boulet and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are under contract, a trade to his old manager in Detroit makes sense. It was Yzerman controlling the Lightning when Stephens was selected 33rd overall in 2015.

Now 24, Stephens was a semi-regular presence in the Lightning lineup in 2019-20, playing 38 games during the regular season. He also suited up for seven postseason games, coming in and out of the lineup whenever necessary. He even played 24 minutes in the epic five-overtime game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a career-high that will likely go unbroken for a while.

The benefit here for Stephens is obvious. He goes from an organization that is loaded with players like him, fighting for ice time, to one that needs all the NHL talent it can get. The young forward will have a chance to really establish himself in Detroit as they slowly rebuild through the draft. A player like Stephens is worth that sixth-round pick for Yzerman, even if all he gets is a couple of seasons while the rebuild continues. The Red Wings have plenty of picks to spare, and Stephens already has several years of minor league development invested in him.

Mitchell Stephens Out At Least Two Months

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Lightning center Mitchell Stephens suffered what appeared to be a significant lower-body injury last Saturday against Columbus with the expectation of an extended absence.  Today, head coach Jon Cooper revealed to reporters, including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link) that Stephens is expected to miss at least the next two months.

The 23-year-old had cracked Tampa Bay’s roster this season after splitting last year between the Lightning and AHL Syracuse and had slotted in on the fourth line where he had an assist and a faceoff win percentage of 65.4% in four games before suffering the injury.

Tampa Bay has already transferred Stephens to LTIR where he joins wingers Nikita Kucherov and Marian Gaborik plus goaltender Anders Nilsson; all three of them are out for the season.  The move allows them to add his $737.5K cap hit to their LTIR pool which is now approaching $18MM with their combined spending (regular cap spending plus LTIR) just shy of $99MM.

Mitchell Stephens Out Indefinitely

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The Tampa Bay Lightning relayed some disappointing news today, announcing that Mitchell Stephens will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. Stephens got tangled up with Columbus Blue Jackets defender David Savard on Saturday, appearing to have his ankle trapped underneath both their falling bodies. The team also announced that Erik Cernak, who fell awkwardly in the same game, is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Stephens, 23, became a semi-regular for the Lightning last season, playing in 38 games and recording six points. He had embraced his fourth-line center role, winning a huge portion of his faceoffs and generally limiting the damage against, even if he wasn’t producing much himself. With his absence, the team will have to figure out another option for that role, one that doesn’t really stand out among the team’s extra forwards. Perhaps Gemel Smith will get a chance to center that fourth unit, or the team could move someone off the wing and into the middle.

A team like the Lightning can certainly get by without Stephens, but these injuries to depth players can come back in a big way should one of the team’s more prominent players go down. Without a clear timeline, the Lightning will just have to hope for the best in Stephens’ case.

Tampa Bay Lighting Sign Mitchell Stephens, Gemel Smith

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have completed some offseason business ahead of the second round, signing Mitchell Stephens to a two-year, one-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $737,500, and keeps Stephens from becoming a restricted free agent. The team has also inked Gemel Smith to a one-year, two-way contract.

Stephens, 23, is another example of the Tampa Bay “who needs first-round picks anyway?” approach that has worked so well for them in recent years. A second-round selection in 2015, the Lightning development team went to work on Stephens right away. In junior he was never an offensive star, but the 6’0″ center still found his way onto Team Canada at the World Juniors on multiple occasions because of his defense, polish and incredible work ethic.

By the time he came to the minor leagues, he was improved in all areas and ended up scoring 19 goals and 41 points in his first season with the Syracuse Crunch. Though he would have to deal with some injury problems afterward, Stephens was back succeeding this season and ended up playing 38 games for the Lightning.

It’s unlikely that Stephens will find his way into the Tampa top-six, but the team continues to churn out role players that can lengthen out their lineup with strong play for bargain-basement prices. With the team looking at trading core members like Tyler Johnson, it will be players like Stephens that allow them to stay competitive while they navigate the flat cap.

Smith meanwhile is already 26 but just had the best offensive season of his career with the Syracuse Crunch, potting 22 goals in 50 games. Originally a draft pick of the Dallas Stars, Smith has played in 83 NHL games in his career and will be strong depth in case of injuries next season.

Atlantic Notes: Coyle, Pastrnak, Stamkos, Paquette, Hyman

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After an inconclusive COVID-19 test and being forced to sit out Saturday’s practice, Boston Bruins’ Charlie Coyle looks like he will be fine. The forward followed the inconclusive test with a negative test, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) upon talking to Coyle’s agent, Bob Norton. The team is not expected to practice Sunday, yet several players who didn’t practice Saturday did skate today, which includes Coyle, according to NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty.

Coyle was one of nine players who were not permitted to practice Saturday, including Coyle’s linemates, Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie. David Pastrnak, Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Chris Wagner, Torey Krug and goaltender Tuukka Rask. Coyle had a solid season in Boston with 16 goals and 37 points.

General manager Don Sweeney did say the team hopes to get Pastrnak back on the ice with the team soon. He hasn’t practiced so far and was seen practicing with Kase with non-NHLers at a suburban rink, but Sweeney said both players were still under Phase 2 and were able to train on their own.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos was on the ice for a full practice for a second straight day after undergoing core muscle surgery on March 3. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that it’s a good sign that he is back out for a second straight day as it suggests that he’s close to being deemed healthy and ready to go for the upcoming tournament. The 30-year-old Stamkos had 29 goals and 66 points in 57 games before going down with the injury.
  • Sticking with the Lightning, NHL.com’s Bryan Burns notes that forward Cedric Paquette, who was out both Friday and Saturday, was still not with the main group in practice Sunday, but did skate in the morning session. The team will not release any information on his health due to the NHL’s new injury update policy. He also reports that center Mitchell Stephens also skated this morning, but didn’t join the main group.
  • TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman was back in practice Sunday after missing Saturday’s training camp activities. Hyman was forced to leave Friday’s practice session after taking a shot off his leg. The 28-year-old tied his career high with 21 goals, but in 20 less games from last season.

Minor Transactions: 01/27/20

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The All-Star break is over and NHL teams have less than a month to figure out exactly what they want to do at the trade deadline. These first few games after vacation are extremely important for getting back on the right track, and 12 teams will try to do just that this evening. That includes a battle between the two Western Conference division leaders, as the St. Louis Blues head to Vancouver to take on the Canucks. As they and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled both Luke Schenn and Mitchell Stephens from the minor leagues as they prepare for action tonight against the Dallas Stars. Stephens has played 20 games for Tampa Bay in this his rookie season, scoring four points.
  • As expected, Blake Lizotte has been recalled by the Los Angeles Kings after getting a little taste of the minor leagues over the break. The 22-year old forward had previously spent the entire season with the Kings, scoring four goals and 15 points in 45 games.
  • Adin Hill has been recalled by the Arizona Coyotes, after losing a weekend affair to the Bakersfield Condors. Hill has a .911 save percentage in 14 appearances for the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, but a .920 in nine games with the Coyotes.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have officially recalled Chase De Leo, Max Jones and Troy Terry from the AHL. To make room, Blake Pietila has been reassigned to the San Diego Gulls. Terry is making his return to the NHL after suffering a broken leg earlier this season.

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