📝 by Patrick Williams
Change is blowing through the goal creases of Ohio as the NHL trade deadline nears at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
First the parent Columbus Blue Jackets acquired two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick from the Los Angeles Kings late Tuesday night. In originally acquiring Quick, the Blue Jackets sent Calder Cup winning goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to Los Angeles along with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
But on Thursday afternoon they packaged Quick in a deal to the Vegas Golden Knights, who were in the market for goaltending after a lower-body injury landed Laurent Brossoit on injured reserve this week. Goaltender Michael Hutchinson, who has split his season between the Golden Knights and Henderson Silver Knights, went to Columbus with a draft pick.
And earlier Thursday, the Blue Jackets acquired another goaltender, Jon Gillies, from the Arizona Coyotes for the contract of forward Jakub Voracek along with a sixth-round choice in the 2023 NHL Draft. Gillies, a veteran of 184 AHL games, had been with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he was 5-8-2 with a 3.70 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage in 2022-23. They then sent Gillies to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
For Cleveland, Gillies brings additional goaltending help to a club that has had frequent change at the position. Jet Greaves and Pavel Cajan have taken the bulk of the work for the Monsters this season, while 23-year-old Daniil Tarasov has split the year between Cleveland and Columbus after his 2021-22 season was cut short by season-ending hip surgery.
Going into weekend play, the Monsters are sixth in the North Division, three points behind Laval for the nearest available playoff spot. The team is next in action Saturday afternoon when they host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in an outdoor game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
Apparently the Ottawa Senators like what they have seen from goaltender Dylan Ferguson so far.
Ottawa signed the Belleville Senators netminder to a contract through the rest of this season on Thursday. Ferguson, who had been on AHL contract, was acquired by Belleville from the Toronto Marlies last Friday, and made 38 saves the next night in his B-Sens debut, a 2-1 overtime victory at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
In seven games between the Marlies and Senators this season, the 24-year-old Ferguson is 3-3-0 with a 2.92 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
Belleville has used seven goaltenders this season, including five — Ferguson, Luke Richardson, Antoine Bibeau, Logan Flodell and Kevin Mandolese — in its last five games. Mads Sogaard, who spent time earlier this season with Belleville, is now with Ottawa and was named the NHL rookie of the month for February.
The B-Sens host Rockford at CAA Arena on Friday night.
Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and is currently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
