Jacob Trouba might have discovered himself on his solution to the Hartford Wolf Pack reasonably than the Anaheim Geese final week.
The New York Rangers opted to scratch Trouba, their captain, for a house sport towards the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 30-year-old defenseman carried an $8 million cap hit and had struggled as had the remainder of the membership. With that cap hit and the Rangers needing to signal goaltender Igor Shesterkin, Trouba ultimately turned the middle of commerce hypothesis.
If Trouba wouldn’t conform to a deal, nevertheless, that call would have drastically difficult issues for basic supervisor Chris Drury. However Drury had his personal leverage – the flexibility to place Trouba on waivers and ship him to Hartford. Assuming Trouba had cleared waivers with that type of cap hit, he might have been on his solution to Hartford to play out a contract that expires following the 2025-26 season.
Finally, all sides discovered an answer, and the Rangers despatched Trouba to Anaheim for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round decide.
2024 Laval Rocket vs Hartford Wolf Pack
Going again to the Sixties and even past, the AHL has made its title on growing younger expertise. Popping out of the 1967 NHL growth, participant improvement took on a good larger significance, and franchises just like the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers shortly constructed enduring, productive improvement applications with their AHL associates. By the a long time and into the salary-cap period, that significance has solely grown. Younger abilities like Zdeno Chara, Connor Hellebuyck, and Mikko Rantanen all put the ending touches on their respective video games earlier than occurring to NHL stardom.
However Trouba hardly would have been the primary participant to seek out himself despatched to the AHL after having reached NHL stardom. There’s a lengthy listing of high NHL names who’ve discovered themselves despatched to the AHL, significantly later of their careers. Typically performance-related causes have landed a participant within the AHL. Or maybe a entrance workplace felt a veteran wanted a wake-up name. Perhaps the dressing room wanted the shock of seeing a longtime face dispatched to the AHL. Perhaps a one-time star needed to work himself again to the NHL following a critical harm. And going again to the introduction of the wage cap in 2005, chilly, arduous math has generally left NHL groups with no choices aside from to ship large contracts to the AHL to get some extent of cap reduction. Or perhaps age had merely caught as much as a participant following a prolonged NHL profession.
Under is an inventory of some — although hardly all — of high NHL names who’ve come to the AHL after years of NHL success.
Craig Berube – Philadelphia Phantoms
Having piled up 3,149 penalty minutes throughout elements of 17 NHL seasons, Berube got here to the Phantoms as a free agent early within the 2003-04 season as a 37-year-old. It was his first time within the AHL since he was a Flyers prospect again within the 1988-89 season. Not a lot had modified for him, although. He put up 134 penalty minutes in solely 33 video games for a Phantoms crew filled with enforcers and was named a player-assistant coach later within the season. That call to come back to the Phantoms began Berube’s teaching profession. He retired after the season, turned a Phantoms assistant coach, took the crew’s head-coaching job in 2006-07, and ultimately went on to head-coaching roles with the Flyers, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jonathan Cheechoo – Binghamton Senators, Oklahoma Metropolis Barons, Peoria Rivermen, & Worcester Sharks
Cheechoo reached stardom with a 56-goal season for the San Jose Sharks in 2005-06 adopted by 37 extra objectives the following marketing campaign. After a 2009 commerce to the Ottawa Senators, he ultimately discovered himself within the AHL as he cycled by 4 groups. He had a 25-goal season for Peoria in 2011-12 and ultimately completed his profession within the KHL.
Chris Chelios – Chicago Wolves
Apart from a two-game stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins a season earlier, Chelios had his first prolonged AHL time as a 47-year-old defenseman in 2009-10. He confirmed up in his native Chicago proudly owning three Stanley Cup championships and went on to play 46-regular-season video games (5-17-22), plus 14 extra within the Calder Cup Playoffs. That Wolves crew additionally featured 40-year-old ahead Reid Simpson and 36-year-old goaltender Manny Legace for a spell. Three years after ending his profession with the Wolves, Chelios was on his solution to the Hockey Corridor of Fame.
Alexandre Daigle – Hartford, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Manchester Monarchs
Daigle, the primary total decide of the 1993 NHL Draft, had been envisioned as a future centerpiece in Ottawa. That by no means occurred, although, and he ultimately drifted to the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Rangers. After 16 video games with Hartford in 1999-2000, he didn’t play the following two seasons earlier than resurfacing with the Pittsburgh Penguins group. After enjoying 40 video games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that season, Daigle ended up reviving his profession and had 20 objectives for the 2003-04 Minnesota Wild earlier than once more discovering himself again within the AHL with Manchester in 2005-06.
Rick DiPietro – Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Charlotte Checkers
One other first-overall decide, the New York Islanders had discovered fast success. He led the Sound Tigers to the 2002 Calder Cup Finals in his second professional season. A workhorse early in his profession, he represented the USA on the 2006 Winter Olympics and signed a 15-year contract with the Islanders. However a years-long succession of accidents ultimately undid DiPietro’s profession. He had an 18-game run with Bridgeport in 2012-13 together with 5 extra video games with Charlotte earlier than retiring.
Tom Gilbert, Scott Gomez, and Sheldon Souray – Hershey Bears
With a profitable custom, top-notch amenities, and a willingness to pay for high expertise, Hershey has been a vacation spot for veterans looking for their manner again to the NHL. For Gomez and Souray, the transfer paid off, they usually ultimately returned to the NHL after profitable stints with the Bears. Gilbert didn’t return to the NHL, however he did prolong his profession one other 4 seasons within the DEL.
Dany Heatley – Norfolk Admirals & San Antonio Rampage
Heatley, who had back-to-back 50-goal seasons in Ottawa, had seen his aim numbers drop dramatically earlier than Anaheim ultimately despatched him to the AHL within the 2014-15 season. A late-season commerce to the Florida Panthers group did little to spark Heatley’s play, and he completed with simply 8-12-20 in 43 regular-season video games.
Mike Keane – Manitoba Moose
Like Chelios, Keane was a former Montreal Canadiens captain and had additionally received three Stanley Cup championships. After the 2004-05 lockout season, Keane returned to the AHL for the primary time in 17 years. His former AHL crew, the Sherbrooke Canadiens, have been lengthy gone, however he signed with the Moose to play in his hometown of Winnipeg. He turned Moose captain, prolonged his profession by 5 seasons, and performed 365 regular-season video games. He captained the Moose on their run to the 2009 Calder Cup Finals. Since retiring in 2010, he has gone on to a job as improvement coach with the Winnipeg Jets.
Tom Kostopoulos – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Kostopoulos battled his manner into the NHL as a 1999 seventh-round decide who got here up with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He went out that manner as nicely, enjoying elements of six extra seasons with the AHL membership earlier than retiring in 2018. He’s in a choose membership of gamers who’ve performed not less than 600 video games at each the NHL and AHL ranges.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Hershey
Kuznetsov by no means truly ended up enjoying for the Bears after the Washington Capitals despatched him there final March. He did apply with the crew and even took the lengthy bus trip to Charlotte, however the Capitals traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier than he might see motion with Hershey.
Scott Lachance, Grant Marshall, Richard Matvichuk, Dan McGillis, and Erik Rasmussen –
Albany River Rats/Lowell Devils
Early within the salary-cap period, the New Jersey Devils confirmed little hesitation in delivery out NHL veterans to the AHL. McGillis had 10-31-41 in 2006-07 with Lowell, his closing North American season, to complete second in crew scoring.
Andrew Ladd – Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Ladd noticed the AHL from two vantage factors – as a 19-year-old first-round decide and as a mid-30s veteran making an attempt to save lots of his profession. By the point he got here to Bridgeport, he was in the midst of a seven-year contract with the New York Islanders. Having received two Stanley Cups and been an NHL captain, his manufacturing had dropped off, and a torn ACL had additional hampered him. He spent 34 video games with Bridgeport in 2019-20 and even dressed for one sport throughout the abbreviated 2020-21 pandemic season. He confirmed sufficient to get yet another season within the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes earlier than retiring in 2022 after a standout profession and enjoying 1,001 NHL video games.
Claude Lemieux – Worcester
Lemieux had been out of hockey for 4 years when he determined to strive a comeback as a 43-year-old in 2008. He caught on with Worcester and performed 23 video games (3-8-11). The comeback determination paid off, and he went on to play 18 video games for the San Jose Sharks that very same season.
Mario Marois and Rick Vaive – Hamilton Canucks
With the Vancouver Canucks establishing their very own AHL affiliate in Hamilton in 1992, they shortly had a star title on their roster. A season earlier, Vaive had performed his first 12 AHL video games with the Rochester Individuals. He had registered three seasons with 50-plus objectives with the close by Toronto Maple Leafs practically a decade earlier and had 441 objectives on his NHL card. Simply two seasons faraway from a 25-goal effort with the Buffalo Sabres, the 33-year-old Vaive had 16-15-31 in 38 video games for Hamilton. Marois, by then a hard-nosed 34-year-old defenseman, additionally was in his closing professional season. He ended up main all Hamilton blueliners with 5-27-32 whereas enjoying 68 video games.
Alexander Mogilny – Albany
Mogilny confirmed up within the AHL as a 36-year-old, and his Albany teammates discovered themselves enjoying alongside somebody who had produced a 76-goal season again in 1992-93. Mogilny nonetheless had his scoring contact even on the finish of his NHL profession and had notched 12 objectives in 34 video games with New Jersey earlier than his midseason task to Albany in January 2006. He ended up enjoying 19 video games (4-10-14), however he couldn’t save the River Rats from a last-place end. His closing professional sport got here March 22, 2006 with the River Rats, and he fittingly scored.
Matt Moulson – Ontario Reign & Hershey
Moulson, a well-liked long-time NHL ahead, wound down his profession within the AHL equally to Keane and Kostopoulos. After two seasons on the West Coast with the Reign, he got here nearer to dwelling and signed with Hershey. He embraced his time with the Bears, shortly turned a fan favourite, and was named crew captain.
Lindy Ruff – Rochester
Ruff, who had performed elements of 10 seasons with Buffalo, returned to the group after a detour to the Rangers. He had 10-24-34 together with 110 penalty minutes in 62 video games for the 1991-92 Amerks. After going to the IHL with the San Diego Gulls for yet another marketing campaign, he broke into teaching with the 1993-94 growth Florida Panthers.
Cory Schneider – Bridgeport
Like Ladd, Schneider got here into the AHL as a high prospect and went out as a veteran mentor. As a Vancouver prospect, he took Manitoba to the Calder Cup Finals in 2009 and received the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award because the AHL’s high goaltender that season. After a standout profession with Vancouver and New Jersey, he bumped into harm bother, ultimately was purchased out by New Jersey in 2020, and signed with the NHL’s Islanders. On the finish of his profession, he performed three seasons in Bridgeport whereas solely stepping into one sport with New York in that span.
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