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Marian Studenic Loaned To HC Slovan Bratislava

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It’s not often you find a fifth-round pick playing in the World Championship two years after his draft, but that’s exactly what Marian Studenic did last summer. The New Jersey Devils prospect suited up for Slovakia alongside and against NHL talents at the annual tournament and acquitted himself quite well. Five points in seven games tied him for fourth on the club, impressive given he had only played a single professional season to that point.

After another year with the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, Studenic was likely ticketed for training camp with the Devils to see if he could make an impression. Instead, thanks to the shifted hockey calendar, he has been loaned to HC Slovan Bratislava to play for the next few months. The 21-year old (22 in October) will be recalled for NHL training camp in November.

An interesting thing to keep an eye on with Studenic is that 2020-21 is the final year of his entry-level contract. He could potentially return to Europe next summer should he not want to stick around in the minor leagues. Still, he’s a name to remember for the Devils as they continue to try and build a program and compete at the NHL level. Their prospect cupboard is filled with players hoping to get a chance to show what they can do.

New Jersey Devils Sign Reilly Walsh

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The New Jersey Devils may not be landing the first-overall pick later tonight, but they won’t leave the day without some prospect news of their own. Reilly Walsh has decided to forego his senior year at Harvard and has signed a three-year entry-level contract. Harvard has already seen an exodus from the hockey program after announcing they won’t be playing this season. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald made a statement on the signing:

We are excited to add Reilly to the Devils’ organization. Since being drafted in 2017, our staff has watched him blossom into the leader he is today, both on and off the ice. Walsh is a fast, puck-moving defenseman who has developed his all-around game this past season. He was a dynamic playmaker for Harvard, with an offensive mind that allowed him to easily transition and jump up into the play if needed. He has the skillset our club is looking for and adds to our stable of defensive professional prospects joining the organization.

Walsh, 21, could arguably be the second-best defense prospect in the Devils system (behind Ty Smith), despite being a third-round selection in 2017. Since then he has improved considerably, becoming a top puck-mover for Harvard this season and polishing his defensive play.

Getting him under contract now is actually perhaps a bigger deal than it seems. Walsh was set on returning to Harvard for his senior season and could have potentially become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The coronavirus situation obviously changed those plans, meaning he’ll jump into professional hockey and be under Devils control for several years.

He’ll certainly compete for an NHL job at training camp, but even if Walsh needs to spend some time in the minor leagues there is a good chance he’ll be in New Jersey before long. The team’s NHL defensive group is relatively young, but also has several names approaching unrestricted free agency. Fredrik Claesson and Dakota Mermis will both see their contracts expire this year, while Connor Carrick becomes a UFA in 2021. P.K. Subban and Will Butcher are set to hit the open market a year after that, meaning there will be opportunities in New Jersey for the taking.

Draft Pick Fall Out From Qualifying Round Results

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It was a dark day in the NHL on Friday as five teams were eliminated from playoff contention and, barring a miraculous last-minute comeback by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it could have been six-for-six. While the focus on these pivotal games yesterday was on those teams advancing and those team going home, there were also numerous draft picks impacted:

  • In addition to yesterday’s winners, it was also a big day for the New Jersey Devils. In a year in which the draft class is lauded for its depth, particularly in impact forwards, the Devils are now the proud owners of three first-round picks. New Jersey acquired Arizona’s first-rounder in the Taylor Hall trade and Vancouver’s first-rounder from Tampa Bay in the Blake Coleman However, both picks were lottery protected. Now that the Coyotes and Canucks have advanced, they will not take part in Monday’s second draft lottery to determine the No. 1 pick and as a result their picks have officially been sent to the Devils.
  • The Ottawa Senators will also have three picks in the first round of the 2020 Draft. Already owners of their own pick and San Jose’s, the Senators officially acquired the New York Islanders’ pick yesterday. The Isles had sent a lottery-protected first-rounder to Ottawa in the Jean-Gabriel Pageau trade, but with New York moving one they will not be in the running for a lottery pick. There is also a conditional 2020 second-round pick involved in that deal which will transfer to the Senators if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup. That dream for now remains alive for New York.
  • The clock is ticking on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The first-round pick that the team sent to the Minnesota Wild in the Jason Zucker trade contained a condition that the Penguins could keep the pick if it landed in the top 15. Now that the team has been surprisingly knocked out of the postseason, their first-rounder will fall in that range. They now have seven days to decided whether or not to retain the pick and send their 2021 first-round pick instead or to simply trade their 2020 selection. Obviously, the team will wait for the results of Monday night’s lottery, but regardless it seems likely that the Penguins will keep the pick and bet on themselves to make the playoffs next season.
  • One first-round pick that still remains undecided is the pick that will transfer to the New York Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei When the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Skjei, they promised the Rangers the later of their two first-rounders, their own and the Toronto Maple Leafs’, acquired alongside Patrick Marleau. However, the Toronto pick has conditions of its own; if the Leafs pick lands in the top 10, they will retain the selection and transfer their 2021 first-rounder instead. The only way for this to occur would be for Toronto to both lose Game Five against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and then win the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s draft lottery. If the Maple Leafs lose both the game and the lottery, their pick will be No. 13 and by default will be earlier than Carolina’s, meaning the Hurricanes’ own pick will go to the Rangers. Should Toronto win on Sunday, it will remain to be seen how far each team goes in the playoffs and which pick will head to New York.

Snapshots: Vatanen, Fines, Raffl

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Sami Vatanen is in the Carolina Hurricanes lineup again this afternoon, meaning the New Jersey Devils are winners today. Since Vatanen has played in two games, the Devils will receive at least a fourth-round pick from the Hurricanes to complete the trade. That pick could still be upgraded to a 2020 third-round selection, but the Devils at least know they’re getting something.

The Hurricanes are likely just happy that Vatanen is healthy and contributing, given the fact that he didn’t play a single game for the team before the shutdown. The 29-year old defenseman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, using these playoffs as a nice portfolio piece for upcoming negotiations.

  • Not only did Vancouver Canucks forward Micheal Ferland escape suspension for his spearing incident last night, but he also won’t even be the only person receiving a fine. The Department of Player Safety has decided to fine Ferland $5,000 for the incident, along with giving Minnesota Wild forward Luke Kunin a $1,000 ticket. Ferland seems to always be in the middle of physical altercations, playing his role well for the Canucks.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers will be without an important piece of their lineup, as head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Michael Raffl will be out for “a while.” The team will insert young forward Joel Farabee in Raffl’s spot, giving him a chance to show exactly why they took him 14th overall in 2018.

NHL Makes Rulings On Three Trades With Conditional Picks

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For fans of the Flames and Oilers that have been awaiting the final decision on the James Neal–Milan Lucic trade, the verdict is in.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 to Calgary to complete the trade.  The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to choose whether they will transfer the selection this year or wait until the next draft.

The issue in this trade was in the wording of the rather unique conditions that were put on the deal.  In the original swap, Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer.  Neal was at 19 when the season was shut down due to COVID-19 while Lucic was at eight so only the second element was met.  However, by extrapolating Neal’s output over a full 82-game season, he scored at a 23-goal pace.  It appears the league used a similar interpretation with the awarding of the draft pick.

It’s worth noting that Edmonton is currently without their second-round pick for the next two years from their acquisition of Andreas Athanasiou.  They also are without their fourth-rounder in 2020 from the Mike Green pickup.

The NHL has also tweaked the terms of the Kings-Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto.  Johnston notes in a separate tweet that Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs.  The original terms of the deal had the pick transferring if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and Campbell winning six games or Clifford re-signing.  If those don’t happen, then a 2021 third-round pick will be transferred to Los Angeles.

A decision has also been made on the conditional pick involved in the Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen from the Devils at the trade deadline and as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in a Twitter thread, the details are a bit more complex.

If Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick.  If Vatanen doesn’t play in 70% or more of the playoff games but plays in two or more contests against the Rangers, then two more scenarios present themselves.  In that situation, if Carolina wins the series, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder.  If he plays at least twice but the Rangers win, then Carolina gets to pick between sending a 2020 or a 2021 fourth-round selection.  If none of this plays out, then no pick transfers.

This closes the books on the remaining questions surrounding conditional trades with the league ruling back in May on ones that had picks contingent on making the playoffs.  Teams will have to be in the final 16 teams in order to be classified as a playoff team for the purpose of those trades.

Snapshots: Markstrom, Chayka, Hockey East

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One of the more talked-about free agent negotiations this season has been between the Vancouver Canucks and starting goalie Jacob Markstrom, who has been stellar in net this season. Markstrom had a career-best season this year, recording a .918 save percentage and 2.75 GAA. As he heads toward free agency, the Canucks have prioritized keeping him in Vancouver if at all possible. The two sides have been talking throughout the league pause and GM Jim Benning even noted that they spoke again on Tuesday. However, Benning told NHL.com that all negotiations will be put on hold until after the playoffs. “We’re going to get something figured out for him,” Benning said with confidence, but added “We both decided let’s just wait until after the playoffs are done.” How long that postseason run might last remains to be seen. The No. 7 seed out West, the Canucks are set to face the No. 10-seed Minnesota Wild in the qualifying round next week. If they emerge victorious, talks with Markstrom will stay on the back burner for a while longer, but if the Canucks fall to the Wild, they could approach talks very soon. Perhaps they will even be armed with the No. 1 overall pick to help make their case for a long-term extension.

  • As the John Chayka saga continues to unravel, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post has confirmed previous reports that Chayka was interested in a move from the Arizona Coyotes to the New Jersey Devils. It doesn’t end there though. Kussoy writes that Chayka lied to ‘Yotes ownership about having an interview with the Devils ownership, who also own the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and are a suitor for the MLB’s New York Mets. While this was not a GM position with the Devils, which Arizona had previously denied another NHL team from interviewing Chayka for, he was nevertheless deceptive about his intentions. According to Kussoy, this left his relationship with owner Alex Meruelo “irrevocably damaged” and led to the swift separation between the two sides.
  • Over in the college game, the Hockey East Conference offered some hope for NCAA fans yesterday. The historic hockey conference announced their intention to have a 2020-21 season for both men and women. Due to the convenient geography of the New England-based conference, teams will play conference-heavy schedules that will limit travel and, as a result, potential COVID-19 exposure. As many of their member institutions have seen their primary athletic conferences cancel or postpone fall sports, while other hockey schools – like those Ivy League members of the ECAC – have had all fall competition canceled, Hockey East hopes to start in the fall. They have yet to announce schedules and may delay the start of the season and play a shortened campaign, but college hockey seems to be returning next season after the Coronavirus pandemic ended the season in the midst of conference tournaments and before an NCAA champion could be crowned. The hope is that other conferences can also find a way to follow in the footsteps of Hockey East.

Morning Notes: Chayka, Coaches Poll, SKA

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The wild John Chayka situation in Arizona continues, with more details emerging daily. This time it’s from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, who confirms the previous speculation that it was the New Jersey Devils ownership group that offered Chayka a position. Josh Harris and David Blitzer also own the Philadelphia 76ers, Crystal Palace FC, and are potential contenders to purchase the New York Mets.

As Wyshynski and other reporters have explained, the situation is expected to be dealt with by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at some point before Chayka takes a new position.

  • Craig Custance and Michael Russo of The Athletic published their coaches poll today, with some interesting results. The NHL coaches that were asked feel as though the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that most benefited from the break, while others pointed out Nathan MacKinnon’s ability to carry his team to the Stanley Cup. The entire poll provides good insight into how those intimately involved feel about the return to play tournament.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have their sights set on the ultimate prize this summer, but their prospect pipeline continues to be an interesting subject of conversation. Vasily Podkolzin, selected tenth overall last year, isn’t even signed by the team yet but could be a difference-maker in the future. Unfortunately, Rick Dhaliwal of TSN reports that Podkolzin’s team, SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, has temporarily shut down training camp due to COVID-19 concerns. Podkolzin has not tested positive.

Devils UFA Julian Melchiori Signs In The KHL

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After spending the last three seasons exclusively in the minors, Devils defenseman Julian Melchiori has decided not to wait for another crack at the NHL free agent market.  Instead, he has decided to head overseas as Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL announced (Twitter link) that they have signed Melchiori to a one-year contract.

The 28-year-old spent most of this season on a minor league deal with New Jersey but did well enough that the Devils converted Melchiori to an NHL contract just before the trade deadline to give them the option to recall him down the stretch.  However, the pandemic put an end to those plans.  Overall, he played in 61 games with Binghamton this season, picking up a career-best 17 points (6-11-17).

Melchiori has played in parts of three NHL seasons over his career with Winnipeg, the franchise that drafted him back in the third round (87th overall) back when they were in Atlanta.  But with just 30 games with the Jets being all of his experience over eight professional seasons, his decision to take a guaranteed deal overseas seems like a sound one over testing the NHL market a few months from now.

Devils Loan Yegor Sharangovich To The KHL

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With the pandemic delaying the start of the 2020-21 season, some teams are trying to make arrangements for their prospects to play elsewhere.  The Devils are one of those as Dinamo Minsk of the KHL announced that they have reached an agreement with New Jersey that allows prospect Yegor Sharangovich to start next season with them.

The winger is no stranger to the Belarusian program as it is his hometown team and he spent a season with them in 2017-18.  He did well enough with them to convince New Jersey to use a fifth-round pick on him (141st overall) to secure his NHL rights in the 2018 draft.

The 22-year-old has spent the last two seasons with their AHL affiliate in Binghamton where his offensive progression has been limited.  Sharangovich managed 10 goals and 15 assists in 57 games this season which represented an improvement on his 17 points (9-8-17) in 68 contests in his rookie year.  However, he’ll need to take a big step forward on the final year of his entry-level deal to get an NHL opportunity.

Going this route certainly won’t hurt his chances.  Sharangovich will get the opportunity to get into playing shape during the KHL season which should give him the chance to hit the ground running when AHL training camp eventually opens as Minsk has already committed to allowing him to return to North America.  If the AHL season winds up starting around the same time the NHL is projected to start, he’ll have more than two months worth of games under his belt by then.

Overseas Notes: Andrighetto, Berglund, Morrow

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It was a bit of a surprise when forward Sven Andrighetto bolted for Europe last summer. The 27-year-old had shown flashes of great ability over the years, and while he failed to score consistently, he still had developed into a serviceable depth forward. Andrighetto had recorded 83 points in 216 NHL games with Montreal and Colorado and had played in a career-high 64 games in 2018-19. Yet, when the Avalanche declined to extend him a qualifying offer, Andrighetto left North America entirely, signing a two-year deal with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk. A year later, he clearly has no regrets. Andrighetto has made a major career decision that puts a future NHL career in doubt. The ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA, the same club who Andrighetto played for during his early developmental years, announced that they have brought their homegrown product back on a stunning five-year deal. The final year of Andrighetto’s deal with Omsk has been terminated and he is now under contract with ZSC through the 2024-25 season. Should he play out that entire contract, Andrighetto would be well into his 30’s by the next time he is a free agent. While he has the potential to put up big numbers with the Lions, filling the shoes of the departed Pius Suter under the tutelage of head coach Rickard Gronberg, it may not be enough to drum up interest in a 32-year-old who is six years removed from NHL action. If Andrighetto is to play in the NHL again, it would likely mean he has to break his contract with his hometown club to return within the next five years. That seems unlikely at this point, which could mean we have seen the last of a talented, capable forward in the NHL ranks.

  • The same goes for NHL veteran Patrik Berglund. Hinted at earlier this month with reports that he was negotiating with the SHL’s Brynas IF, Berglund seemingly had no intention of a return to the NHL this off-season after abandoning the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 2018-19 season. That has now been confirmed, as Berglund has signed a two-year deal with Brynas per a team release. Berglund, 32, spent this year with Djurgardens IF and found great success; the long-time St. Louis Blue recorded 31 points in 49 games for one of the best per-game scoring seasons of his pro career. He now moves to Brynas, who did not make the SHL playoffs this year despite the efforts of star forward Anton Rodin. The team could desperately use some veteran leadership and Berglund hopes that he can fill that role and that he and Rodin can turn the team back into a contender. With his efforts clearly focused on making an impact at home in Sweden, Berglund is unlikely to be back in the NHL again.
  • A wild ride continues for defenseman Joe Morrow. Morrow, 27, who earned a contract extension and 41 games with the Winnipeg Jets just two years ago, has been in a whirlwind ever since. Morrow was unable to find an NHL contract last off-season and attended training camp with the New York Rangers, only to earn a contract offer from the rival New Jersey Devils. However, after months with the Devils without seeing any NHL action, Morrow’s contract was terminated and he departed for the KHL, signing a two-year deal with Dynamo Minsk. This was amazingly the first multi-year deal of Morrow’s pro career since his entry-level deal had expired and it looked like Minsk might be a good place for the veteran to rebuild his stock as a top player for the club. Instead, Morrow was a bust in Minsk, managing just three assists and a -8 rating in 22 games. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the two sides have now gone their separate ways, with the second year of Morrow’s contract terminated according to the team. What’s next for the veteran defenseman remains a mystery at this point.

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