Latest On Ilya Kovalchuk’s Impending Return
While it has been speculated and rumored for months, Pierre LeBrun of TSN confirmed today with New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero that Ilya Kovalchuk does indeed plan on returning to the NHL this season. LeBrun adds that Shero has given Kovalchuk’s camp permission to talk to other teams about potential deals, but that a sign-and-trade would have to be beneficial to the Devils before agreeing to it.
Kovalchuk can sign with New Jersey as soon as July 1st, but could only sign a contract directly with another team should every GM in the league sign off on it. That is almost certainly not going to happen, meaning a sign-and-trade is the only option for the Russian winger (outside of playing in New Jersey next season). The former 50-goal man may not have the immediate impact of his youth, but still scored 32 goals and 78 points in the KHL last season. The Devils are in a win-win scenario, allowing them to either get another scoring winger on their club or an asset for a contract that was signed a very long time ago.
LeBrun for what it’s worth said on TSN 1050 Leafs Lunch right after breaking the news that he doesn’t believe that Kovalchuk is going to play for the Devils, and also teased that this is New Jersey’s last chance to get an asset for him. Next summer, Kovalchuk would become an unrestricted free agent in the NHL able to sign with anyone.
If there is a fit somewhere in the league, Kovalchuk would be signing a brand new deal in the NHL. His old contract wouldn’t be taken into account, nor do the Devils owe him any of that money. That’s not to say that he won’t be expensive though to whoever does sign him, as the 34-year old will still likely command a big deal. One of the most dominant power wingers in his time, Kovalchuk could help anyone’s top six right now, but it is hard to see him keeping an elite level of play into his late-30s.
Conditional Improvements: Dallas Watches Game 7
When the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks do battle tomorrow night, they’ll decide whether a team that has struggled for a decade will be lifted to the promised land by a baby-faced savior, or another will overcome a game seven tradition on the back of a grizzled veteran center. While Connor McDavid and Ryan Getzlaf do battle in southern California there will be a whole group of fans a few states over cheering “Go Ducks Go!” for perhaps the first time in their lives. 
That would be the Dallas Stars, who with an Anaheim victory would see the second-round selection acquired for fan-favorite Patrick Eaves at the deadline morph into a first-rounder, albeit near the end of the round. Moving up 30 spots on the back of one game makes this match the most important one of the year for Dallas—even if they’re not playing in it. Even though Eaves himself hasn’t played since game three of this series, his seven matches in the first two rounds already qualify the Stars for the upgrade (he needed to play in just 50% of the games throughout the first two series).
For Dallas, who watched everything go wrong this season after leading the Western Conference in 2015-16, moving up would be a nice end to a disappointing year. Already having fired their coach, the team is reeling this summer wondering which direction to take a team that looked so dangerous just a year prior. The expansion draft, free agency and the trade market are all huge question marks for Dallas, as they try to rebuild a blueline and find someone, anyone, to stop a puck.
When they sold off Eaves—and Jordie Benn—at the deadline, many fans shouted with frustration at watching some of their heart-and-soul players (beards) walk out the door in a season where they should be buying instead of selling. Now, the idea of getting a first-round pick and the chance to bring Eaves back in free agency should be an exciting prospect. After 32 goals this season there will be plenty of suitors for Eaves, but perhaps the team that has kept him in the NHL when many others would have pushed him out has an inside track.
So while the Ducks try to exorcise their game seven demons, they’ll have the support of a whole swath of Dallas Stars behind them. Whether that’s enough to overcome the suddenly unstoppable Leon Draisaitl, and contain a resurgent Mark Letestu—not to mention that McDavid guy again—is still to be seen.
New York Rangers Sign Dawson Leedahl To Three-Year Deal
Last night the New York Rangers added an undrafted forward out of the WHL, signing Dawson Leedahl to a three-year entry-level deal. The deal will have a cap hit of $749K, with schedule ‘A’ bonuses that range from $65K to $93K. Like with any ELC, if Leedahl stays in the minors he’ll be earning a much lower salary, in this case just $70K.
Leedahl, 21, played as an over-ager this season for the Regina Pats and exploded offensively. Scoring 35 goals and 89 points, he settled onto a line with Anaheim Ducks’ top prospect Sam Steel and Toronto Maple Leafs’ fourth-rounder Adam Brooks. That line dominated the WHL, with Steel and Brooks each scoring more than 130 points. Part of it was the line he played with, but some of his offensive success can be explained with the move from Everett where he had been used differently the past few seasons.
The Pats are currently tied 1-1 with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL final, with Leedahl being a big part of their championship run. His 23 points put him fifth in postseason scoring, and he’s also been his usual antagonistic self. While he doesn’t project as a big offensive performer, his work ethic and leadership have been praised in the past, even captaining Everett for a season before being traded.
CapFriendly provided the details on Leedahl’s contract.
New York Islanders Offseason Update
The New York Islanders have two main concerns this offseason: re-signing captain and current face of the franchise John Tavares, and finding a stable home. Today’s updates address both those issues.
- Newsday’s Arthur Staple says that the Islanders will probably offer Tavares eight years and around $10MM a year. This is a no-brainer for the team, who can offer Tavares one more year than any other team as long as Tavares remains an Islander. The money also makes sense. Tavares is a franchise player in the prime of his career, and will most likely garner contracts comparable to Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar.
- What may temper expectations, however, is that Tavares underwent surgery on his right hand last month, Staple reports. The surgery addressed a lingering problem that plagued Tavares during the season, but should not impede his offseason. Tavares will take the cast off next week with plenty of time to spare.
- The Islanders received official notice from its landlords Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment—who run the Barclays Center—opening the licensing agreement negotiating window. If no deal is reached, either side can choose to maintain the status quo or opt out of the deal. According to Newsday’s Jim Baumbach and Robert Brodsky, who reported the story, the Isles could leave as early as next season, or Barclays could force them out after the 2018-19 season.
Dan Bylsma Becomes NHL Network Analyst
Eighteen days after being fired by the Buffalo Sabres, former head coach Dan Bylsma finds himself once again under the spotlight. This time, however, it’s as an analyst on the NHL network, reports the Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington. Bylsma starts tomorrow night on NHL Tonight with former players Mike Johnson, Kevin Weekes, and Mike Rupp.
This is not Bylsma first go-around on television. When the Pittsburgh Penguins fired Bylsma in June 2014, he quickly joined the NHL network as an analyst during the on-going Stanley Cup Finals. Bylsma finds himself in good company as he won’t be the first former coach to use a TV job to parlay his next head coaching gig. Both Barry Melrose and Paul Maurice regained NHL coaching employment after a TV stint.
NHL Network viewers should get used to seeing Bylsma on air. Only the Florida Panthers have an available head coaching gig—aside from Buffalo of course—but there has been no indication that they are interested. Rather, the Panthers have interviewed other candidates, including former Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. With a 252-117-32 career record, Bylsms will find work, though it’ll most likely be after some team’s midseason collapse.
Restricted Free Agents To Be Available In Vegas Signing Window
It was reported months ago that the Vegas Golden Knights would be given a window before the expansion draft in which to talk to pending free agents. Should they sign one of them, the player would “count” as the selection from his former team, making them exempt from giving up an additional player in the expansion draft. Today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN tweeted that not only will that window include unrestricted free agents, but unprotected restricted ones too with no offer sheets or compensation required.
He clarified that he believes the window will take place at some point between when the teams need to submit their protection lists (June 17th) and when the Golden Knights make their picks (June 20th). The league is still working on when and how long exactly the window will be open, before announcing the picks on June 21st.
While unprotected restricted free agents were theoretically always available to Vegas through the draft itself, it does open another interesting quirk in an already extremely complicated draft for the Golden Knights. The window will likely be spent talking to many RFAs to determine the likelihood of them signing long term in Vegas before picking/signing them, not wanting to lose an asset soon after acquiring it.
With the protection lists being released, a buyout window opening, the expansion selections, NHL awards and entry draft all coming in the span of 10 days, June is shaping up to be one of the busiest months of the year in the NHL without even thinking of the Stanley Cup Finals. Make sure to stay right here with PHR for all the news right through the offseason.
Latest On Victor Ejdsell’s NHL Future
After visiting several different teams including Detroit and Chicago, Swedish forward Victor Ejdsell may have made his decision. According to Johan Svensson of Swedish outlet Expressen, Ejdsell will be joining the Nashville Predators organization. If he does sign with the Predators, he likely will be loaned back to HV71 where he has already committed to play next season according to a report from Henrik Sjoberg for the same outlet.
When Ansar Khan of MLive wrote about Detroit’s interest in Ejdsell last month—also including Nashville as a team in pursuit—he quoted a Red Wings official that said he’d turned into a “strong two-way center”. His dominance of the Allsvenskan (Sweden’s second league) was apparent this season, as he turned in 57 points in 50 games for Bofors.
The big center is still just 21, meaning he still has quite a bit of development time left. His huge frame (6’5″ according to Khan) has filled out in recent years, and will be useful as he transitions to the highest level in Sweden and then the professional ranks of North America. Should he indeed sign with Nashville, he’ll have many other Swedish players to mentor him including Victor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Mattias Ekholm and Calle Jarnkrok.
The Predators already inked Emil Pettersson earlier today out of Sweden, and perhaps they are close to bringing another top name over to their organization even as they fight for the Stanley Cup. Good times in Nashville right now, as they look poised to contend for the foreseeable future.
Snapshots: Gauthier, Blues, Lagesson
The Toronto Marlies will be without Frederik Gauthier for the remainder of their AHL playoff run, and the young center may miss his chance to make the NHL club at the beginning of next season. David Alter of The Athletic reports that Gauthier will have a lower-body surgery and is facing a six month recovery after being hit late by Syracuse Crunch defender Jake Dotchin.
As you can see in the twitter timeline of Jeff Veillette linked above, Dotchin has a history with the Maple Leafs this season, spread between his time in the AHL and NHL. From injuring Kasperi Kapanen with a low hit, to taking a kneeing penalty on Auston Matthews, he’s become enemy #1 in Toronto. Gauthier will now likely miss training camp, meaning the Maple Leafs can’t pencil him into the fourth-line center role that he may have taken. With Ben Smith recently re-signed for expansion draft purposes, perhaps the team will return to him to start the year in that position.
- The St. Louis Blues have sent Jordan Schmaltz, Ivan Barbashev and Zach Sanford to the Chicago Wolves to give their AHL team a boost for the remainder of the playoffs. While Schmaltz had been bouncing back and forth to play in most of the Wolves’ postseason games, Barbashev and Sanford will come as a huge positive for a Wolves team that is down 2-1 against the Grand Rapids Griffins in the second round. Both forwards are excellent AHL scorers and will add to the Wolves’ already potent attack.
- Edmonton has assigned William Lagesson to Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League after he turned pro last month. The defender had been playing for UMass-Amherst for the past two seasons, but will return to his native Sweden for the time being. The fourth-round pick from 2014 still needs work to put himself in legitimate NHL prospect status, and that will now continue for Djurgardens who lost a minute-muncher in Emil Johansson to the Providence Bruins in March.
Nashville Predators Sign Emil Pettersson To Two-Year Contract
As the Nashville Predators head to their first Western Conference finals, the front office is still hard at work to bring in talent from outside the organization. Today they signed Swedish forward Emil Pettersson to a two-year, entry-level deal. He’ll join the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL to begin next season.
Pettersson has played in the Swedish Hockey League for the past two seasons (after several in the second division), showing that he can keep up with professionals. Splitting this season between Skelleftea and Vajxo he scored 38 points in 51 games and turned it on in the playoffs with seven more points. The 23-year old was selected in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, but has developed into a legitimate prospect with a chance at the NHL.
The biggest hurdle will be Pettersson’s size, as at 6’2″ 164-lbs he still rail-thin. While it has hindered him only slightly in Sweden it may affect him more on this side of the Atlantic where more time is often spent in the corners and battling in front of the net. It will be interesting to see if his body can handle the longer season and increased physicality of the North American game.
2020 World Cup Tied To New CBA
While the 2016 World Cup of Hockey wasn’t as successful as the NHL and NHLPA had hoped, it was a promising first step for a tournament that had been dormant since 2004. Now according to Gord Miller of TSN, who is commentating the IIHF World Championship currently, the 2020 tournament may be in jeopardy.
Miller tweets that the World Cup is “unlikely” should the NHLPA opt out of the current CBA—which they can do in September 2019—and don’t have a new agreement in place in time for the 2020-21 season. The 2004 tournament was followed by a lockout, a situation that will not be allowed to happen again.
There has been speculation for months (if not years) that the NHLPA will utilize their opt-out clause due to the growing concern over escrow and the NHL’s stance on the Olympics. When the NHL tried to bargain a CBA extension for Olympic participation, it was met with a resounding rejection from the players. Executive Director Donald Fehr at the time told the Canadian Press that there was “no appetite among players to extend the agreement.”
As Pierre LeBrun of TSN clarifies, neither side wants to hold the World Cup before they “turn the lights off” on a season, and have been in agreement on that part since the September tournament. It’s interesting though, that not only will the next negotiations impact league play but international competition as well. The 2019 opt-out dates—September 1st, 2019 for the league, and September 19th, 2019 for the players—will some of the most important since the last lockout to determine the future of the league.