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Training Camp Cuts: 10/5/24

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With the preseason winding up this weekend, final roster cuts will be made across the NHL over the next couple of days.  We’ll keep tabs on today’s cut-downs here.

Last Updated: 4:45 PM

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

F Jansen Harkins (to AHL San Diego after clearing waivers)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)

D Cole Clayton (to AHL Cleveland)
F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to AHL Cleveland)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to AHL Cleveland)
G Jet Greaves (to AHL Cleveland)
F Hunter McKown (to AHL Cleveland)
F Owen Sillinger (to AHL Cleveland)
D Stanislav Svozil (to AHL Cleveland)

Dallas Stars (per team announcement)

D Lian Bichsel (to AHL Texas)
F Matej Blumel (to AHL Texas)
F Arttu Hyry (to AHL Texas)

Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)

F Alexandre Doucet (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Amadeus Lombardi (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Jakub Rychlovsky (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Gage Alexander (to ECHL Toledo)
F Ondrej Becher (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Hunter Johannes (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Josiah Didier (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carson Bantle (to ECHL Toledo)
F Gabriel Seger (to ECHL Toledo)
D Chaz Reddekopp (to ECHL Toledo)
G Jan Bednar (to ECHL Toledo)
F Tim Gettinger (to injured non-roster list)
D Shai Buium (to injured non-roster list)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

D Daemon Hunt (to AHL Iowa)

New York Rangers (per team announcement)

F Ryder Korczak (to AHL Hartford)
F Brennan Othmann (to AHL Hartford)

Ottawa Senators (per team announcement)

D Calen Addison (released from PTO)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)

F Emil Bemstrom (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Nate Clurman (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Jonathan Gruden (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Joona Koppanen (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
D Filip Kral (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
G Filip Larsson (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D John Ludvig (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)
F Samuel Poulin (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

D Akito Hirose (to AHL Abbotsford)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

D Ethan Bear (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Luke Philp (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to AHL Hershey after clearing waivers)

Bruins Claim Jiří Patera From Canucks

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The Bruins have claimed goaltender Jiří Patera off waivers from the Canucks, PuckPedia reports.

Patera is the only player out of 28 who were waived yesterday to be claimed. The 25-year-old reached Group VI UFA status this summer with only eight career NHL appearances under his belt with the Golden Knights.

Patera signed a two-year, two-way deal in Vancouver to initially serve as their No. 3 option behind Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs, but he’d slipped to fourth on the depth chart after they signed Kevin Lankinen late in the summer. He was still projected to start the season as their third-stringer, with Demko set to start the year on the shelf with a continuing knee injury, but became more expandable with the veteran Lankinen in the fold.

It’s still a blow to Vancouver’s thinning goalie depth and a boon for the Bruins, who add some insurance between the pipes with RFA Jeremy Swayman still likely to be unsigned by the time their season opener rolls around next week. It’s now a two-man competition between Patera and 26-year-old Brandon Bussi, who also requires waivers, to start the year as Joonas Korpisalo’s backup. They’ll now choose which name to expose to the wire before opening night.

Given their similar ages, Bussi is probably the higher-ceiling option for the B’s. He has a strong .918 SV% in 78 AHL games with Providence over the past three years, although he’s yet to make his NHL debut. Patera has worse but still solid career AHL numbers with a .907 SV% through 85 appearances, and his brief NHL action with Vegas was fine – a .902 mark with a 3.57 GAA through seven starts and one relief appearance over the past two years.

Suppose Boston keeps Bussi as the backup to open the season and places Patera on waivers again to try and pass him to Providence. In that case, the Canucks can re-claim him and send him directly to their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford if they’re the only team to submit a claim.

If the Bruins decide/manage to retain Patera, it’s a solid move to acquire some experienced goalie depth for not just this season but the next one, too. Vancouver likely hoped the second year of the two-way pact would dissuade teams from making a claim, but it didn’t work out that way.

Pius Suter Being Evaluated By Medical Staff

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TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told the media that the early ballpark projections for the salary cap next season have pegged the number at $92.5MM. The $4.5MM increase would be sizable in comparison to previous summers but Bettman cautioned that the number was very preliminary.

The NHL salary cap for this season is set at $88MM and with hockey-related revenues rising once again, it could lead to a significant salary cap increase when the NHL and NHLPA renegotiate the next collective bargaining agreement. Until that time the salary cap will likely keep climbing by a few million dollars each year, which should help some of the teams who have struggled with salary cap issues in recent years.

In other evening notes:

  • Bettman spoke about those upcoming collective bargaining agreement talks telling the media that the NHL plans to begin those conversations with the NHLPA in the new year (as per Pierre LeBrun of TSN). One of the items on the docket will be reducing the number of pre-season games to four and potentially adding two regular-season games to the schedule (as per LeBrun). The news isn’t overly surprising given the recent run of injuries during the pre-season, and the fact that fans appear to be largely disinterested in the preseason games this week.
  • Vancouver Canucks forward Pius Suter was injured in last night’s preseason game and is being evaluated by the team’s medical staff (as per Canucks play-by-play voice Brendan Batchelor). Suter was banged up in a scrum with Edmonton Oilers forward Corey Perry after Perry dropped his gloves following a hit on teammate Connor McDavid. Suter tried to avoid the confrontation, which didn’t look all that physical but caused some discomfort for the 28-year-old. Suter is entering the final season of a two-year $3.2MM contract that he signed last summer and is expected to center the Canucks fourth line this season.

Waiver Wire: 10/1/24

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28 players hit the waiver wire Tuesday, per PuckPedia. It’s a sharp increase from yesterday’s 12 names as more veterans are assigned to the minors later in camp. All of yesterday’s waived players cleared, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. Today’s waiver placements are as follows:

Anaheim Ducks

F Carson Meyer

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne
F Mason Jobst
F Brett Murray
D Colton Poolman
D Jack Rathbone
G Felix Sandström

Calgary Flames

D Ilya Solovyov

Edmonton Oilers

G Collin Delia
D Ben Gleason
D Philip Kemp
F Lane Pederson

Los Angeles Kings

D Jacob Moverare

Minnesota Wild

F Reese Johnson

New York Rangers

F Anton Blidh
G Louis Domingue
D Casey Fitzgerald
D Brandon Scanlin

Seattle Kraken

F Brandon Biro
F Max McCormick
F Ben Meyers
D Gustav Olofsson
F Mitchell Stephens
G Ales Stezka

Vancouver Canucks

F Phillip Di Giuseppe
G Jiří Patera
F Nathan Smith
D Christian Wolanin

Training Camp Cuts: 10/1/24

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The calendar has flipped to October, which means we’re one week away from opening night. Most teams now have somewhere between 10 and 15 cuts to make before reaching their final opening night rosters. That means most sweeping cuts have already been made, and we’ll start to see more precise roster moves involving more notable names in the coming days. We’ll continue keeping tabs on all of Tuesday’s cuts in this article.

Last updated 3:18 p.m.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

D Drew Helleson (to AHL San Diego)
F Carson Meyer (to AHL San Diego, pending waivers)
F Jan Mysak (to AHL San Diego)
F Yegor Sidorov (to AHL San Diego)

Buffalo Sabres (per team announcement)

F Ty Cheveldayoff (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Riley Fiddler-Schultz (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Konsta Helenius (to AHL Rochester)
G Michael Houser (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
D Noah Laaouan (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Aleksandr Kisakov (to AHL Rochester)
D Vsevolod Komarov (to AHL Rochester)
D Zach Metsa (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Olivier Nadeau (to AHL Rochester)
F Viktor Neuchev (to AHL Rochester)
D Nikita Novikov (to AHL Rochester)
F Noah Östlund (to AHL Rochester)
D Ethan Prow (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
G Scott Ratzlaff (to WHL Seattle)
F Isak Rosen (to AHL Rochester)
F Graham Slaggert (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
D Peter Tischke (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)
F Tyler Tullio (to AHL Rochester)
F Anton Wahlberg (to AHL Rochester)
F Brendan Warren (released from PTO to AHL Rochester)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

D Artem Grushnikov (to AHL Calgary)
G Waltteri Ignatjew (to AHL Calgary)
D Yan Kuznetsov (to AHL Calgary)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Hunter McKown (to AHL Cleveland)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

D Beau Akey (to OHL Barrie)
G Collin Delia (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
D Ben Gleason (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F James Hamblin (to AHL Bakersfield)
D Philip Kemp (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Lane Pederson (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Ryan McAllister (to AHL Charlotte)
F Oliver Okuliar (to AHL Charlotte)
F Wilmer Skoog (to AHL Charlotte)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

F Samuel Helenius (to AHL Ontario)
F Jeff Malott (to AHL Ontario)
G Dryden McKay (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Jacob Moverare (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D John Parker-Jones (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Reese Johnson (to AHL Iowa, pending waivers)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

G Michael Hutchinson (released from PTO)

New York Rangers (per team release)

D Madison Bowey (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Jaroslav Chmelar (to AHL Hartford)
F Adam Erne (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Blade Jenkins (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to AHL Hartford)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to AHL Hartford)
F Nate Sucese (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
F Adam Sýkora (to AHL Hartford)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

F Brandon Biro (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Max McCormick (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Jacob Melanson (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Ben Meyers (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
D Gustav Olofsson (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
D Ville Ottavainen (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Mitchell Stephens (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Eduard Sale (to AHL Coachella Valley)
G Ales Stezka (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

F Phillip Di Giuseppe (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
D Christian Felton (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Linus Karlsson (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Kirill Kudryavtsev (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Jonathan Lekkerimäki (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Cole McWard (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Ty Mueller (to AHL Abbotsford)
G Jiří Patera (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
D Elias Pettersson (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Max Sasson (to AHL Abbotsford)
F Nathan Smith (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)
G Nikita Tolopilo (to AHL Abbotsford)
D Christian Wolanin (to AHL Abbotsford, pending waivers)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

F Terik Parascak (to WHL Prince George)

Canucks Release Sammy Blais

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The Canucks announced Monday that they’ve released winger Sammy Blais, who’d been in camp on a professional tryout.

Blais, 28, signed a minor league pact with AHL Abbotsford simultaneously with his PTO in Vancouver last month. He made it into three preseason games and went without a point, struggling away from the puck with a -3 rating and posting 2 PIMs.

Blais was essentially competing for a 13th or 14th forward role – with the Canucks signing Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong to bolster their bottom six, as well as with prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki looking to crack the opening night roster, there wasn’t going to room for him to win an everyday spot on their fourth line. The Canucks will stick with in-house options for the extra forward role, though, likely center Nils Åman.

Blais spent the 2023-24 season with the Blues, who re-acquired him from the Rangers midway through 2022-23 in the Vladimir Tarasenko trade. He was a sixth-round pick by St. Louis back in 2014 and spent his first four NHL seasons there before being traded to New York in the summer of 2021 with a second-round pick for Pavel Buchnevich.

The 2019 Stanley Cup champ seemed to break out down the stretch after returning to the Blues in 2022-23, posting 20 points in 31 games, but he couldn’t replicate that output in 2023-24. The 6’2″ agitator struggled to stay in the Blues’ lineup last season, averaging 9:41 across 53 contests and scoring just one goal and six assists for seven points with a -11 rating.

He’s squarely a net negative possession player at even strength throughout his career, too, and with career averages of nine goals and 24 points per 82 games, there’s little to suggest he’s capable of anything more than fourth-line duties for a sustained period in the NHL. For the first time since 2017, he’ll need to start in the minors and work his way up. The Canucks (or any team) could still sign Blais to a two-way deal after the season gets underway if he has a strong start in Abbotsford.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/29/24

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With just five days to go until the NHL’s first regular-season games for 2024-25, the rate of training camp cuts is speeding up. More players are beginning to land on waivers, while waiver-exempt fringe players are heading to teams’ AHL affiliates en masse. As always, we’ll keep track of Sunday’s cuts in this article.

Last updated 1:52 p.m. Monday

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Judd Caulfield (to AHL San Diego)
F Ruslan Gazizov (released from PTO to AHL San Diego)
D Dillon Heatherington (released from PTO to AHL San Diego)
D Tyson Hinds (to AHL San Diego)
F Travis Howe (released from PTO to AHL San Diego)
F Josh Lopina (to AHL San Diego)
F Nico Myatovic (to AHL San Diego)
D Roland McKeown (released from PTO to AHL San Diego)
F Sasha Pastujov (to AHL San Diego)
F Coulson Pitre (to AHL San Diego)
D Konnor Smith (to AHL San Diego)
F Jaxsen Wiebe (to AHL San Diego)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Joey Abate (assigned to AHL Providence)
D Drew Bavaro (assigned to AHL Providence)
G Ryan Bischel (assigned to AHL Providence)
D Frederic Brunet (assigned to AHL Providence)
D Michael Callahan (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Riley Duran (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Trevor Kuntar (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Fabian Lysell (assigned to AHL Providence)
G Nolan Maier (assigned to AHL Providence)
D Ryan Mast (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Adam Mechura (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Georgii Merkulov (assigned to AHL Providence)
D Mason Millman (assigned to AHL Providence)
F Jaxon Nelson (assigned to AHL Providence)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Clark Bishop (assigned to AHL Calgary)
D Jonathan Aspirot (assigned to AHL Calgary)

Chicago Blackhawks (per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope)

F Colton Dach (to AHL Rockford)
D Ethan Del Mastro (to AHL Rockford)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Rockford)
F Ryder Rolston (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Landon Slaggert (to AHL Rockford)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Chase Bradley (to AHL Colorado)
F Tye Felhaber (released from PTO to AHL Colorado)
D Jacob MacDonald (to AHL Colorado) pending waivers
F Oskar Olausson (to AHL Colorado)
F Nikita Prishchepov (to AHL Colorado)

Edmonton Oilers (per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector)

F Sam O’Reilly (assigned to OHL London)
F Matthew Savoie (assigned to AHL Bakersfield)
F Seth Griffith (released from PTO to AHL Bakersfield)

Los Angeles Kings (per team releases)

F Martin Chromiak (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Aatu Jamsen (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Kaleb Lawrence (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Francesco Pinelli (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Koehn Ziemmer (assigned to AHL Ontario)
D Angus Booth (assigned to AHL Ontario)
D Jakub Dvorak (assigned to AHL Ontario)
G Erik Portillo (assigned to AHL Ontario)
F Bryce Brodzinski (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Jacob Doty (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Shawn Element (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Charles Hudon (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Patrick Moynihan (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Quinn Olson (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Jake Wise (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Parker Berge (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Dru Krebs (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Jack Millar (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
D Luke Rowe (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Anthony Angello (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Easton Armstrong (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
F Alexander Campbell (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
G Magnus Chrona (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Drew DeRidder (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
F Jordan Frasca (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Kevin Gravel (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Ethan Haider (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
D Jeremy Hanzel (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Kale Howarth (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
D Lucas Johansen (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
F Joakim Kemell (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Jake Livingstone (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Jake Lucchini (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Kyle Marino (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
D Jack Matier (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Navrin Mutter (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Chad Nychuk (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
F Cal O’Reilly (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)
D Luke Prokop (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Reid Schaefer (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Ryan Ufko (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Kevin Wall (released from PTO to AHL Milwaukee)

New York Islanders (per Newsday’s Andrew Gross)

F William Dufour (to AHL Bridgeport)
D Aidan Fulp (to AHL Bridgeport)
F Marc Gatcomb (to AHL Bridgeport)
D Isaiah George (to AHL Bridgeport)
F Alex Jefferies (to AHL Bridgeport)
F Eetu Liukas (to AHL Bridgeport)
F Matthew Maggio (to AHL Bridgeport)
D Travis Mitchell (to AHL Bridgeport)
D Calle Odelius (to AHL Bridgeport)
F Cam Thiesing (to AHL Bridgeport)
G Henrik Tikkanen (to AHL Bridgeport)
D Marshall Warren (to AHL Bridgeport)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)

G Eetu Mäkiniemi (to AHL Lehigh Valley)

San Jose Sharks (per team release)

F Mitchell Russell (to AHL San Jose)
F Lucas Vanroboys (to AHL San Jose)
F Anthony Vincent (to AHL San Jose)
D Artem Guryev (to AHL San Jose)
D Braden Hache (to AHL San Jose)
D Valtteri Pulli (to AHL San Jose)
D Joey Keane (to AHL San Jose)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

D Jérémie Biakabutuka (to AHL Springfield)
D Michael Buchinger (to AHL Springfield)
G Will Cranley (to AHL Springfield)
F Tanner Dickinson (to AHL Springfield)
F Antoine Dorion (to QMJHL Québec)
F Dalibor Dvorský (to AHL Springfield)
G Colten Ellis (to AHL Springfield)
D Marc-Andre Gaudet (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimäki (to AHL Springfield)
D Leo Lööf (to AHL Springfield)
D Anton Malmström (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
F Marcus Sylvegård (to AHL Springfield)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley)

F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gabriel Dumont (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
F Jaydon Dureau (to AHL Syracuse)
F Lucas Edmonds (to AHL Syracuse)
G Ryan Fanti (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
D Tyson Feist (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
D Dyllan Gill (to AHL Syracuse)
G Brandon Halverson (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
F Niko Huuhtanen (to AHL Syracuse)
F Kale Kessy (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
F Jujhar Khaira (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
F Milo Roelens (to AHL Syracuse)
D Roman Schmidt (to AHL Syracuse)
F Lukas Svejkovsky (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
F Joel Teasdale (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
F Daniel Walcott (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)
D Scott Walford (released from PTO to AHL Syracuse)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

F Tristen Nielsen (assigned to AHL Abbotsford)
F Danila Klimovich (assigned to AHL Abbotsford)
G Ty Young (assigned to AHL Abbotsford)
F Chase Wouters (released from PTO to AHL Abbotsford)
F Vilmer Alriksson (assigned to OHL Guelph)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

D Logan Day (released from PTO to AHL Hershey)
F Pierrick Dube (to AHL Hershey)
F Zac Funk (to AHL Hershey)
G Mitchell Gibson (to AHL Hershey)
D Vincent Iorio (to AHL Hershey)
D Nicky Leivermann (released from PTO to AHL Hershey)
D Jake Massie (released from PTO to AHL Hershey)
D Jon McDonald (released from PTO to AHL Hershey)
F Luke Philp (to AHL Hershey) injured, pending waivers
F Ilya Protas (to OHL Windsor)
F Henrik Rybinski (to AHL Hershey)
F Spencer Smallman (to AHL Hershey) injured, pending waivers
G Clay Stevenson (to AHL Hershey)
F Alexander Suzdalev (to AHL Hershey)
F Bogdan Trineyev (to AHL Hershey)

Winnipeg Jets (per the team’s Mitchell Clinton)

F Colby Barlow (to OHL Owen Sound)
G Domenic DiVincentiis (to AHL Manitoba)
F Parker Ford (to AHL Manitoba)
F Daniel Torgersson (to AHL Manitoba)
F Brayden Yager (to WHL Moose Jaw)

Canucks Sign Vilmer Alriksson To Entry-Level Contract

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The Canucks have agreed to terms with forward prospect Vilmer Alriksson on a three-year, entry-level contract, general manager Patrik Allvin announced Sunday.

Alriksson will be on his way back to the OHL’s Guelph Storm this season. The 19-year-old played there last year after Vancouver drafted him in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, finishing seventh on the team in scoring with 33 points (17 G, 16 A) in 67 games.

That isn’t particularly promising offensive production for a player in their post-draft year. But if he cracks the NHL roster someday, it won’t be as a goal-scorer – although he does have a decent shot for the minor-league level. The gargantuan Swede checks in at 6’6″ and 214 lbs, projecting out as a fourth-line piece with good defensive instincts in the majors.

Assigning Alriksson to juniors slides his entry-level contract for this season, meaning it won’t kick in until the 2025-26 campaign. As such, he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in the summer of 2028. He’ll still earn an $85K signing bonus for this season as part of the deal’s $2.58MM total value, per PuckPedia.

Pacific Notes: Pickard, Honzek, Räty

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Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard left Saturday’s 5-4 win over the Kraken midway through the first period with an apparent upper-body injury, writes The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. The 32-year-old did not return to the bench after the play, and he saw his head hit the post as he fell backward after colliding with Kraken forward Yanni Gourde and teammate Philip Kemp.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch said postgame that Pickard is undergoing further evaluation and should receive an update on his status Sunday afternoon. For now, though, Edmonton’s No. 2 goalie option behind Stuart Skinner is questionable for the start of the regular season next week.

Pickard found his way back into full-time NHL action last season for the first time since 2018-19 after Jack Campbell faltered early, leading the Oilers to waive him and promote Pickard from AHL Bakersfield. The nine-year veteran was above-average the rest of the way, posting a .909 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 20 starts and three relief appearances en route to a 12-7-1 record. He signed a two-year, $2MM extension on June 28 to avoid hitting unrestricted free agency and stay in Edmonton.

The Oilers are projected to open the season with $946K in cap space and an open roster spot, per PuckPedia. That gives them plenty of flexibility to roster a third goalie on their opening night roster if Pickard’s absence is short-term and he isn’t eligible for long-term injured reserve.

That third goalie could be 24-year-old Olivier Rodrigue. The 2018 second-round pick is coming off a strong season in Bakersfield, where he posted a .916 SV% in 37 games. 52-game NHL veteran Collin Delia is also an option, but the 30-year-old struggled mightily with a .872 SV% in 32 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose last year while in the Jets organization.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Flames 2023 first-round pick Samuel Honzek is getting a long leash in the preseason, playing in four exhibition contests thus far. After he posted a +1 rating in 16:20 of ice time Saturday against the Canucks, Calgary head coach Ryan Huska said Honzek is “going to make it really hard on us” to leave him off the opening night roster. The 19-year-old Slovak sniper will be turning pro this season regardless. After posting 31 points in 33 games with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants last year, his November birthday means he’s old enough for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25.
  • In Vancouver, center prospect Aatu Räty is making a similarly strong impression. Acquired from the Islanders in the Bo Horvat swap in 2023, the 21-year-old pivot has looked promising in the preseason in a potential third-line role between Conor Garland and Nils Höglander, opines The Province’s Patrick Johnston. The 2021 second-round pick did have 52 points in 72 games for AHL Abbotsford last season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. One factor working in his favor, as Johnston points out – he’s a right-shot center on a team without any others.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/28/24

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As we reach the midway point of the preseason for most teams, coaches will want to start paring down their rosters to work with more of the main group.  Accordingly, it could be a busy weekend for cuts.  We’ll keep track of today’s cuts here.

Updated: 5:45 PM CT

Calgary Flames (per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis)

F Parker Bell (to AHL Calgary)
F Lucas Ciona (to AHL Calgary)
F Jaden Lipinski (to AHL Calgary)
F William Stromgren (to AHL Calgary)
D Joni Jurmo (to AHL Calgary)
D Jeremie Poirier (to AHL Calgary)

Chicago Blackhawks (via NHL.com’s Tracey Myers)

G Benjamin Gaudreau (released from ATO to AHL Rockford)
F Gavin Hayes (to AHL Rockford)
D D.J. King (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
F Nick Lardis (to OHL Brantford)
F Paul Ludwinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Jalen Luypen (to AHL Rockford)
F Marcel Marcel (to AHL Rockford)
D Austin Strand (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)

F Cam Butler (to AHL Cleveland)
G Pavel Cajan (released from PTO to AHL Cleveland)
D Corson Ceulemans (to AHL Cleveland)
D Cole Clayton (to AHL Cleveland)
D Samuel Knazko (to AHL Cleveland)
F Curtis Hall (released from PTO to AHL Cleveland)
G Zach Sawchenko (to AHL Cleveland)

New York Rangers (per team announcement)

F Alex Belzile (to AHL Hartford)
D Ben Harpur (to AHL Hartford)
F Jake Leschyshyn (to AHL Hartford)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcements)

D Nikolas Brouillard (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Luke Henman (to AHL Coachella Valley)
G Niklas Kokko (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Jani Nyman (to AHL Coachella Valley)
F Lleyton Roed (to AHL Coachella Valley)

Utah Hockey Club (per team announcements)

F Miko Matikka (to AHL Tucson)
F Owen Allard (to AHL Tucson)
F Julian Lutz (to AHL Tucson)
F Noel Nordh (to AHL Tucson)
D Artem Duda (to AHL Tucson)
G Anson Thornton (to AHL Tucson)
G Jaxson Stauber (to AHL Tucson)
F Cole Beaudoin (to OHL Barrie)
D Terrell Goldsmith (to WHL Tri-City)
D Justin Kipkie (to WHL Victoria)

Vancouver Canucks (per team announcement)

D Sawyer Mynio (to WHL Seattle)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team announcement)

D Jake Bischoff (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Braeden Bowman (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Jakub Brabenec (to AHL Henderson)
F Mathieu Cataford (to QMJHL Rimouski)
D Daniil Chayka (to AHL Henderson)
D Artur Cholach (to AHL Henderson)
D Joe Fleming (to AHL Henderson)
F Ben Hemmerling (to AHL Henderson)
D Brandon Hickey (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Bear Hughes (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Jett Jones (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
G Carl Lindbom (to AHL Henderson)
D Samuel Mayer (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Riley McKay (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Mitch McLain (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Simon Pinard (released from PTO to AHL Henderson)
F Matyas Sapovaliv (to AHL Henderson)
G Isaiah Saville (to AHL Henderson)
F Sloan Stanick (released from ATO to AHL Henderson)
D Christoffer Sedoff (to AHL Henderson)
F Kai Uchacz (released from ATO to AHL Henderson)
G Jesper Vikman (to AHL Henderson)

This post will be updated throughout the day.

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