Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rhett Gardner

Flyers Assign Rhett Gardner To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Flyers have assigned forward Rhett Gardner to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, according to a team statement. Gardner was a healthy scratch in today’s 3-2 win over the Flames.

Gardner signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Flyers in free agency last offseason, and he earned his first recall to the Flyers in mid-December. He was ferried back to Lehigh Valley after the Flyers played their last game before the Christmas break, but they promptly recalled him as the roster freeze wrapped up. The minor-league shutdown center served as injury insurance for most of his time on the NHL roster, as head coach John Tortorella scratched him in seven straight games before he made his season debut Thursday against the Blue Jackets. He entered the lineup in place of Morgan Frost, who sat as a healthy scratch for the 11th time this season but returned to play today.

Frost is an everyday piece of the Flyers’ top nine, posting 11 points in 27 appearances this season, but has earned the ire of Tortorella at points this season. That has resulted in extending benchings, including a six-game streak of scratches early in the season. With Frost still in the fold, though, and no injuries on offense to speak of, it makes sense the Flyers would want to return Gardner to the minors and avoid unnecessarily running out his waiver-exempt status.

The 27-year-old Gardner has now played in parts of four NHL seasons since making his debut in 2019-20, getting into 41 games while recording one goal and one assist. A long-time member of the Stars organization, who acquired his rights with the 116th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, all 40 of Gardner’s previous major-league games came in a fourth-line role with Dallas. Gardner now returns to the Phantoms, where he has three goals and one assist in his first 21 games with the team.

Minor Transactions: 12/27/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After taking the past three days off with a 14-game schedule, the NHL gets back to action today. As such, many teams are adding to their roster today, undoing transactions made before their off days for the Christmas holiday.

  • One of those teams is the Blues, who recalled winger Mackenzie MacEachern from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds this morning. After spending last season with the Hurricanes, playing in eight playoff games en route to an Eastern Conference Final appearance, MacEachern returned to the team that drafted him on a two-year deal worth $1.55MM in free agency. A one-way contract structure suggested the Blues envisioned him having a spot on their roster out of the gate. However, he ended up as one of their final cuts before the regular season began and cleared waivers before being assigned to Springfield. He scored four goals and added eight assists for 12 points in 22 games there before the Blues recalled him earlier this month. MacEachern played in five games on his initial recall, recording one assist and averaging 9:04 per game. The Blues then papered him down to Springfield on Christmas Eve. MacEachern will likely be in the lineup tonight against the Stars.
  • The Lightning recalled defenseman Sean Day from AHL Syracuse, marking the veteran pro’s third recall in the last week-and-a-half. Day, 25, has eight assists in 17 games with Syracuse this season, his fourth in the Lightning organization. The former OHL exceptional status grantee has gone 87 straight games without a goal in the minors, last lighting the lamp on April 8, 2022. He’s been rostered for four NHL games this month but has been a healthy scratch each time. Even with Mikhail Sergachev expected to remain out of the lineup tonight with a lower-body injury, Day will likely watch from the box as the Lightning take on the cross-state rival Panthers.
  • The Capitals brought young forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko back up from AHL Hershey this morning. Lapierre, 21, and Miroshnichenko, 19, had appeared in each of Washington’s last three games before the holiday break and are expected to be linemates on a unit centered by Evgeny Kuznetsov tonight against the Rangers. Miroshnichenko, the 20th overall pick in 2022, is still looking for his first NHL point and has posted a -1 rating in 9:32 of his average ice time since his first career recall earlier this month. As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti points out, the move suggests none of Washington’s three injured forwards – Sonny Milano, T.J. Oshie and Max Pacioretty – are ready to return for tonight’s game.
  • The Flyers recalled center Rhett Gardner from AHL Lehigh Valley after assigning him to the minors last Saturday. Gardner was rostered for the Flyers’ final three games before the holiday break but was a healthy scratch in all of them. The 27-year-old has yet to appear in a contest for Philadelphia after signing a two-year, two-way deal worth $825K in the minors and $1.5MM in the NHL in free agency and has just three goals and one assist in 21 games for Lehigh Valley this year.
  • Defenseman Grant Hutton was a participant at the Islanders’ morning skate Wednesday, suggesting the team has recalled him from AHL Bridgeport, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross. This is Hutton’s seventh recall since American Thanksgiving despite playing only two NHL contests. The Islanders have been keeping him in the minors as much as possible to extend his waiver-exempt clock, allowing them to keep him on the roster as their seventh defenseman on game days. Their ability to freely move him between leagues is coming to an end soon, though, as the 28-year-old can remain on the NHL roster for six more days until he requires waivers again to head to Bridgeport.
  • Former AHL All-Star forward Tanner Fritz has left the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, the club he has played almost all of his pro career with, to sign a two-year deal with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. Filling the forward spot opened by Fritz’s departure, Bridgeport recalled forward Jake Pivonka from their ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers. The Islanders originally signed Fritz as an undrafted college free agent out of Ohio State University, and he worked his way into the AHL by scoring 33 points in 43 games with the Islanders’ ECHL affiliate, the Kansas City Mavericks. Fritz ranks seventh all-time in points for Bridgeport, and will now head to a Minsk team that already boasts import talent such as Nick Merkley, Brett Ritchie, and Sam Anas. He’s going to attempt to aid Minsk’s offensive attack, a unit that has struggled this season as the team sits firmly outside of legitimate Gagarin Cup contention.
  • Former Florida Panthers prospect Thomas Schemitsch has signed a one-year deal with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star. He’ll likely join Kunlun at the conclusion of the Spengler Cup, where he is currently on Team Canada’s roster. The 27-year-old stands six-foot-four, 205 pounds and will bring size as well as over 300 games of experience in a top pro league (the AHL) to the Red Star blueline. Schemitsch spent last season with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks, scoring 14 points in 49 games on 18:37 time-on-ice per game.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Flyers Assign Cal Petersen And Rhett Gardner To AHL

at CDT | by 1 Comment

After a wild game against Detroit on Friday, the Flyers have reached their holiday break.  Accordingly, they’ve made a pair of transactions this morning, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned goaltender Cal Petersen and forward Rhett Gardner to AHL Lehigh Valley.  Since both players were recalled after December 11th, they were allowed to be sent down even though the roster freeze is in effect.

Petersen has been shuffled back and forth in recent days with Carter Hart briefly missing time but Hart did return to action last night meaning Petersen’s presence on the roster is no longer needed.  Petersen was acquired as a salary cap dump from the Kings over the offseason and after clearing waivers for the second straight year, the 29-year-old has spent most of the season with the Phantoms where he has a 3.20 GAA and a .898 SV% in 11 games.  He made a pair of starts with the Flyers back in November, stopping 60 of 67 shots.

As for Gardner, he was recalled back on Tuesday but didn’t get into any game action with Philadelphia.  The 27-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal but has struggled with the Phantoms.  After putting up 40 points in 70 games with AHL Texas last year, he has just three goals and one assist in 21 contests with Lehigh Valley so far.

The Flyers aren’t back in action until Thursday so if they are going to recall Gardner or another forward, they can wait until then to do so.

Philadelphia Recalls Rhett Gardner and Cal Petersen, Send Olle Lycksell Down

at CDT | by 1 Comment

4:00 PM: Carter Hart is slated to miss Tuesday night’s game with illness, despite optimism around his return. Samuel Ersson will start for the Flyers, with Cal Petersen backing him up.

3:00 PM: The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled forward Rhett Gardner and goaltender Calvin Petersen, sending rookie Olle Lycksell down to the minors. These moves come in the wake of Carter Hart’s expected return to the lineup, with the goaltender coming back from a string of illnesses that held him out of the team’s Thursday night matchup and two games last month.

Petersen is joining a crowded goalie room that’s already home to Hart and Samuel Ersson. This is likely in preparation for the NHL Holiday Roster Freeze, which goes into effect at 11:59 P.M. local time on December 19th. The Flyers play three games before rosters unfreeze on December 28th. Teams are able to exceed the 23-man roster limit during this freeze, so long as they have the cap space to do so. Philadelphia is cutting it close, with just $730K left in cap space after these recalls – thanks to Petersen’s hefty $5MM cap hit.

Petersen has served as the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms starting goaltender for much of the season, recording a 4-6-1 record and .898 save percentage in 11 appearances with the team. He’s also appeared in two NHL games this year, splitting the matchups and setting a .896 save percentage. The Flyers acquired Petersen as part of a six-player trade in June, acquiring Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and three draft picks in addition to the 29-year-old goaltender.

Lycksell is being sent to the minors after making one appearance with the Flyers this season. He failed to record a point in the matchup but did receive one penalty. Lycksell has already appeared in 21 AHL games this season, scoring 12 goals and 19 points. The Flyers are swapping him with Rhett Gardner, who has yet to make his debut with the Flyers after spending the last five seasons in the Dallas Stars organization. Gardner has appeared in 21 AHL games this season, scoring four points and receiving 39 penalty minutes. The 27-year-old centerman has totaled 40 career NHL games and scored a pair of points.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Ryan Poehling, Rhett Gardner

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed center Ryan Poehling to a one-year deal worth $1.4MM per season, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek. They’ve also signed forward Rhett Gardner to a two-year, two-way $775k AAV deal.

For Poehling, this represents another change of scenery opportunity for the young forward. In 53 games played for the Penguins last year, he only managed seven goals and seven assists, not exactly great numbers for a former-25th overall selection. Unfortunately for Poehling, whether it be in Pittsburgh or with the Montreal Canadiens, no team has given him adequate ice time to grow. In Philadelphia, however, Poehling should get the chance to play in the 13-14 minute range on average, growing his offensive game under head coach John Tortorella.

The Gardner signing represents a good piece of organizational offensive depth if nothing else. Gardner hasn’t played much at the NHL level so far, only managing 40 total games in the last three seasons. At the AHL level, Gardner has been much better, scoring 10 goals and 30 assists for the Texas Stars, showing that he can hold his own at the minor league level. In Philadelphia, Gardner should be considered primarily an AHL player but may see a callup in case of an injury to the NHL roster.

Dallas Stars Announce Seven More Black Aces

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Dallas Stars radio announcer Bruce LeVine tweeted this afternoon that the club has announced seven more Black Aces that will join the club for the remainder of their playoff run. The Stars already announced this morning that they would be recalling Mavrik Bourque and Rhett Gardner from the Texas Stars, now they will have seven additional teammates joining them with the big club. Texas was eliminated from the AHL playoffs this past Sunday night by the Milwaukee Admirals.

Joining the Stars from the AHL will be forwards Oskar Back, Matej Blumel, Marián Studenič, and Riley Tufte. Defensemen Alexander Petrovic, and Ryan Shea will also join the fray, as well as goaltender Matt Murray. The Black Aces generally don’t dress for games; however, they do stay ready for action just in case. They will also practice with the club as well as soaking in the experience of being around the NHL playoff atmosphere.

The addition of Petrovic is an interesting coincidence given that in the 2017 Vegas Golden Nights expansion draft the Florida Panthers gift wrapped Jonathan Marchessault along with Reilly Smith to Vegas so they could protect Petrovic and three other defensemen. Marchessault has gone on to become the Golden Knights all-time scoring leader while Petrovic struggled to stay in the NHL and has spent the past four seasons in the AHL.

These Black Aces could have a short stay with the big club as Dallas can be eliminated as early as this evening should they drop game 4 to the Golden Knights.

Dallas Stars Recall Mavrik Bourque, Rhett Gardner

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Dallas Stars announced the recall of two forwards from the AHL’s Texas Stars this morning: Mavrik Bourque and Rhett Gardner.

Additional depth is needed on the team’s roster, especially among forwards, after a two-game suspension for captain Jamie Benn and a potential injury to Evgenii Dadonov could knock them to just 12 healthy forwards available to play. With the AHL Stars’ season ending a few days ago after losing to the Milwaukee Admirals in the Central Division Final, Bourque and Gardner were initially slated to be “Black Aces” for the NHL club. Now, if the Stars face more injury issues today or manage to extend their season, these two may be thrust into unexpected playing time.

Bourque, a 21-year-old out of Plessisville, Quebec, continued a solid first pro season in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He contributed one goal and four points in eight playoff games, finishing tied for tenth on the team in playoff scoring. His offensive abilities were evident as he tallied an assist in his AHL postseason debut and recorded points in three consecutive games in the series loss against the Admirals.

Throughout his first full professional season, Bourque exhibited strong potential with 47 points in 70 regular-season games, ranking ninth among AHL rookies. He ranked fourth on the AHL Stars in goals and fifth in points, a strong showing after Dallas selected him 30th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Gardner, 27, led the Texas Stars in postseason scoring with eight points in eight games. His offensive consistency was evident as he notched points in six of the eight playoff games, including a five-game point streak to kick off the Calder Cup Playoffs. This was Gardner’s first season since turning pro in 2018-19 that he didn’t see any NHL action.

Gardner posted 10 goals and 40 points in 71 regular-season games from Texas, a solid offensive rebound after a poor showing on the scoresheet last season. The 2016 fourth-round pick has become a solid two-way forward at the minor-league level and remains high on Dallas’ list of call-up options.

Dallas Stars Make Several Roster Moves

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Dallas Stars had a busy morning, starting with the placement of Alexander Radulov in the COVID protocol. He joins Denis Gurianov and Braden Holtby on the sideline, leaving the team with a few empty holes on the roster. To fill those holes, they’ve recalled Anton Khudobin and Rhett Gardner from the Texas Stars, while also activating Tanner Kero from injured reserve.

It’s been a while now since Radulov was really a dominant force for the Stars but the 35-year-old has reached a new low in terms of importance on the Dallas roster. He has just one goal in 31 games (12 points) and has seen his ice time drop even further in recent days. In fact, since returning to the ice on January 6, he has averaged fewer than 13 minutes and has generated just a single shot on goal through three games. Losing him, while certainly not a positive thing, won’t have the same impact it would have once had.

Jake Oettinger is expected to start tonight for the Stars in Holtby’s place, but the recall is a nice boost for fan-favorite Khudobin, who had been stashed in the minor leagues recently. Through four games for the Texas Stars, the veteran netminder had a 1-3 record with an .898 save percentage. He’ll serve as backup until Holtby is healthy enough to return.

The Stars are in action tonight against the Seattle Kraken before heading to Florida for a back-to-back against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning starting Friday. All three of those games are likely to be played without Radulov, should he be facing the usual five-day minimum isolation period. Two members of the team’s support staff have also been placed in the protocol.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Rhett Gardner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Dallas Stars have finished some business with one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Rhett Gardner to a new two-year contract that will keep him in the organization through the 2022-23 season. The deal will be a two-way contract in the first year, one-way in the second, and carries an NHL salary of $750K in each.

Gardner, 25, is coming off his entry-level deal with the Stars, signed in 2019 after he finished his four years at the University of North Dakota. The fourth-round pick played in 28 games for the Stars this season, but managed just a single goal and two points. Offense has never really been the calling card of the 6’3″ forward, but he served as a reliable depth checker whenever needed.

Of course, he’ll have to provide a little more scoring to stay in the lineup over the length of this next contract, or at least establish himself as a reliable option on the penalty kill. More likely, Gardner will keep his role as the 13th or 14th forward for the Stars, if not go back to the AHL full-time.

Interestingly, though this kind of deal may appear to be expansion-related, Gardner is actually not even eligible for the upcoming Seattle draft because he has just two years of professional experience. The 11 games he played for the Texas Stars at the end of the 2018-19 season were under an amateur tryout contract, not his entry-level contract, and thus do not make up a year of service time in regards to the draft. Instead, this is simply a move to retain a depth forward that has a little versatility and size.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top