Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The AHL’s trade/loan deadline passed on Friday afternoon. Now it’s time to evaluate.
After the NHL trade deadline March 7, AHL teams then had this past week to fine-tune their rosters as necessary to ready themselves for a push toward the Calder Cup Playoffs. Let’s sift through more of this week’s deals:
UTICA
No AHL team had already been busier around the trade deadline than the Comets. The New Jersey Devils made four moves, acquiring forwards Jonathan Gruden (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), Marc McLaughlin (Providence) and Daniel Sprong (Coachella Valley) in deadline deals, with Utica’s Adam Beckman, Chase Stillman and Daniil Misyul all departing.
The moves continued this week. Utica sent defenseman Will MacKinnon to Cleveland and added veteran Tory Dello, acquired by New Jersey from Detroit, as a reinforcement for their blue line. Dello, who signed his first NHL deal last summer, had four points (one goal, three assists) in 27 games with Grand Rapids this season; the fifth-year pro has postseason experience too, going on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals with Laval in 2022.
CALGARY
The Wranglers have seen several top forwards depart throughout this season, including Adam Klapka (recalled), Walker Duehr (claimed off waivers by San Jose) and Jakob Pelletier (traded to Philadelphia. Then on Friday, Dryden Hunt (48 points in 48 games) was recalled after the Flames announced that captain Mikael Backlund will be out week-to-week with an injury.
Depth is a must-have for any team that hopes to advance far in the Calder Cup Playoffs, and Calgary acquired forward Ty Tullio before Friday’s deadline. Tullio, who is under contract with the Buffalo Sabres, has one goal and six assists in 30 games with Rochester this season after spending the previous two years in the Pacific Division with Bakersfield.
CLEVELAND
In addition to bringing in Will MacKinnon from Utica, the Monsters added defenseman Drew Bavaro on loan from the Boston Bruins. Bavaro, who played 20 games in Providence this season, scored his first career AHL goal for Cleveland on Saturday night.
GRAND RAPIDS
Before losing Tory Dello on Friday, the Griffins had acquired Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov earlier in the week.
With blueliner William Lagesson on recall to Detroit, Knyzhov brings 81 games of NHL experience with him to the Griffins. This season with the Penguins, he had seven points and a plus-6 rating in 14 games.
SAN DIEGO
One of the AHL’s hottest teams heading into the deadline, the Gulls reinforced their forward ranks by acquiring Carsen Twarynski from Abbotsford.
Twarynski had played 26 games with the Canucks this season (two goals, five assists), but he has shown that he can be a producer in this league. In 2022-23 with Coachella Valley, he had a 17-goal season and played all 26 games in the Firebirds’ run to the Calder Cup Finals.
TORONTO
Brawn is helpful, and Brandon Baddock can provide the Marlies with plenty of that ingredient. The veteran forward, acquired from Rockford, goes 6-foot-3, 223 pounds and has played 424 AHL games. He had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 38 games with Rockford this season.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
