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Leland Irving Returns To AHL, Signs With Lehigh Valley

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Former top goaltending prospect Leland Irving will play in North America once again this season, signing an AHL contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 29-year old Irving spent last season playing in Finland, where he recorded a .923 save percentage. He’ll have to battle with Phantoms’ incumbents Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz (when healthy) for playing time, but definitely brings some experience to the role.

Irving was selected 26th-overall in the 2006 draft and was seen as one of the next big goaltending prospects. The team that selected him, Calgary, would watch him struggle to find consistency at the professional level and despite giving him a shot in the NHL eventually have to move on. Part of the reason he never got much of a shot in the NHL was Miikka Kiprusoff’s existence as one of the best in the league, but he would eventually head to Europe to get a chance to play full-time.

Two years ago he returned to play for the Iowa Wild and put up a solid season, and should do the same to help the Phantoms follow up on their 48-23-5 season from a year ago. Even at 29, he’ll add to what is some of the best minor league goaltending depth in the league.

Mike Ribeiro Expected To Retire From Professional Hockey

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Mike Ribeiro’s NHL journey came to an end last year when he was sent to the minor leagues mid-season, and now it seems as though his professional career is finished entirely. In a heartbreaking article by Richard Labbé of La Presse, Ribeiro’s agent Bob Perno reveals that the former All-Star forward has relapsed into alcohol abuse and has not received any contract offers for the upcoming season.

All I know is that Mike has not put on the skates once since the end of the season, he’s not training and he’s not on the ice anymore. He will retire. There is not a single NHL team or even a European team that has called me to inquire about his services. The way his career is going to end is very disappointing. 

Unless something changes, Ribeiro will finish his career having scored 793 points in 1,074 games. His on-ice contributions have been tremendous over the years, reaching a career high of 83 points with the Dallas Stars in 2007-08. That year Ribeiro added another 17 in the Stars’ playoff run, losing in the finals to the Detroit Red Wings. He would never get that close again, though he would play 67 playoff games in his career.

Ribeiro was a second-round pick by Montreal back in 1998 and quickly showed his immense offensive potential, dominating the minor leagues before becoming a perennial top playmaker in the NHL. His 565 career assists actually put him 103rd all-time in the NHL. His career will end just seven points shy of 800, and tied for 163rd all-time.

St. Louis Blues Practice Facility Development Temporarily Halted

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As an update to our previous story on the St. Louis Blues’s practice facility controversy, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the St. Louis County Council voted 4-3 last night to pause construction of the new venue. The planned facility would be located in Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park, about 20 miles from downtown St. Louis. According to the planning documents, the main practice facility will have three NHL-size indoor ice rinks and one NHL-sized covered outdoor rink.

Part of the reason for the delay is that the developers were supposed to gain U.S. federal parks approval before developing on land funded by federal park money. Last week, however, construction crews started grading the land—bulldozing, cutting down trees, etc—without the necessary federal approval. Organizers initially said that this work was unrelated to the practice facility development, but city permits expressly stated that the work was for constructing an ice rink.

The other reason for the delay is cost overrun. The initial project was estimated at $59.3MM but is now up to $66MM. Council members are frustrated at the misrepresentation and lack of disclosure by the developers, and now plan to delay issuing permits until further notice.

It does not seem like the county is against the facility itself, but would like more transparency as to what is actually going on. Public stadium (and arena) financing is always a controversy-tinged subject, and this facility is no different.

 

Agent: Athanasiou’s KHL And NHL Offers Very Different

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Ansar Khan of Mlive reports that still-unsigned RFA Andreas Athanasiou’s agent told Mlive that there is a “considerable difference in the amount of money” between offers from the Detroit Red Wings and KHL clubs. Athanasiou is coming off his ELC and looking for a significant raise.

Last season Athanasiou scored 18G and 11A in 64 games in just his second NHL season. The year before he potted 8G and 5A in 37 games, while splitting time with Detroit and its AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

Previous reports indicate that Athanasiou is considering signing in the KHL if he cannot obtain a satisfactory contract in the NHL, but some think the KHL threats are mere posturing. Red Wings GM Ken Holland said that the team has made multiple offers based on who the organization felt were comparable player contracts. Detroit also faces a cap crunch that makes things even more difficult. Right now the Red Wings exceed the salary cap by approximately $3MM, though will gain around $3.9MM once the season starts and the team places injured Johan Franzen on LTIR.

Prospect Notes: Steel, Kerfoot, Amerks

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For all the Anaheim Ducks fans hoping that top prospect Sam Steel impresses enough in training camp to move right into the team’s lineup, you may have to wait another year. Steel was named captain of his WHL Regina Pats today, and while that’s not by any means a guarantee that he’ll head back to junior, his team sure believes so.

Steel was selected 30th overall in the 2016 draft and put up a massive, 131-point season last year for the Pats. The question of his ability to jump right to the NHL has been brought up in nearly every one of our live chats, as Ducks fans hope to have an injection of youth in the forward group sooner than later. If he does return to the WHL, he’ll likely remain the odds-on favorite to lead the league in scoring despite losing teammate (and often linemate) Adam Brooks to the Toronto Marlies.

  • Alex Kerfoot was on Altitude 950 radio today and reiterated his goal of playing in the NHL right away. Noting his competitiveness and hockey sense, the young Harvard grad is ready to take the next step and help the Avalanche turn things around. It’s great to have confidence in yourself, but Colorado fans shouldn’t get ahead of themselves while projecting Kerfoot. While the undersized forward definitely comes with some offensive upside, it’s unlikely he sets the world on fire right away. Though he’s already 23, he could take some time to become accustomed to the speed and physicality of the NHL.
  • The Rochester Americans have signed Conor Allen and Sahir Gill to one-year AHL contracts. Allen is a stay at home defenseman who made his NHL debut several seasons ago with the New York Rangers, but has generally been an effective player in the AHL. While he won’t provide a ton of offense, he’ll be a strong addition to a minor league program that is receiving more attention from the Sabres front office. Gill is very familiar with that front office, as he’s coming over from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins that were previously under the purview of Jason Botterill in Pittsburgh. Gill has bounced between the ECHL and AHL in previous years, but last season started to establish himself as a solid two-way forward. Previously his game predicated on his offensive talent, but with maturity has come a more stable, reliable game.

Potential Contract Trouble With Nikita Zadorov, Colorado Avalanche

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Last we checked, there was some uncertainty as to why the contract had not been announced for Nikita Zadorov. It seemed like it was all but signed, with a term of two years the likely outcome. Adrian Dater of BSN Denver urged patience on several occasions, but now he reports that the two sides have come apart some in negotiations. Dater writes that there is a $500K difference between the Avalanche and Zadorov, from $2MM to $2.5MM per season.

There have been reports for months that Zadorov has a contract offer in hand from CSKA Moscow of the KHL, since he told a reporter in July that he’d play there if he couldn’t come to a deal with the Avalanche. That option looms larger and larger as the season nears, even as the Avalanche have little cap worry when it comes to the next few years. Paying Zadorov another $500K won’t affect their salary structure, but it could be a sticking point for GM Joe Sakic to not give in to the demands of a young player. Being taken advantage of just because of the team’s situation is never a good precedent to set.

The Avalanche have little chance at a Stanley Cup this season (or even a playoff spot), but losing a year of development and familiarity with the young defenseman is hardly what the team wants. Zadorov was the main component in the now infamous Ryan O’Reilly trade that has apparently influenced Sakic’s trade negotiations this summer with regards to Matt Duchene. The deal is seen as a loss for the Avalanche at this time—though Zadorov and J.T. Compher both still have immense potential—and Sakic doesn’t want to get burned again. Seeing Zadorov walk for the KHL would make it even worse.

Scouting Changes Hope To Bring Success For Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres have undergone a lot of changes this offseason, bringing in an entirely new management team. and coaching staff to try and turn the franchise around. As John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports, it didn’t stop there. New GM Jason Botterill has also made sweeping changes to the scouting side, including hiring amateur scouts from the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins.

One of the downfalls of the Sabres in recent times has been their inability to find top-end players in the first few rounds. Going back a few years before they selected Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart second overall in back to back drafts, the Sabres last fifteen first-round picks look like this:

Rasmus Ristolainen
Nikita Zadorov
Mikhail Grigorenko
Zemgus Girgensons
Joel Armia
Mark Pysyk
Zack Kassian
Tyler Myers
Tyler Ennis
Dennis Persson
Marek Zagrapan
Drew Stafford
Thomas Vanek
Keith Ballard
Daniel Paille

There is some real NHL talent there, but outside of Vanek and perhaps Ristolainen not much to help lead a franchise to Stanley Cup contention. The entry draft is always something of a crapshoot, but the combination of missing somewhat on your first-round picks while also getting unlucky in the later rounds has a huge negative impact on your ability to find continued success. Botterill and his team will have to change that, and start supplying Eichel and company with a better supporting cast.

Poll: Does Shane Doan Belong In The Hall Of Fame?

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With the announcement of his retirement after 21 years in the league, the biggest question involving Shane Doan—other than a possible Olympic berth—is will his long outstanding career be enough for the Hall of Fame. While those who knew him best would immediately shout yes based on just his leadership and experience, the Hall rarely inducts on intangibles alone.

Doan retires as #92 on the all-time points list, and will likely stay there for at least another season. The closest active player is Henrik Zetterberg, who would need 69 points this season to overtake him. While landing in the top-100 certainly starts his case with a bang, that total is inflated because of how many games he’s played. Doan ranks 14th in games played in the history of the NHL with 1,540 but should drop to 15th this season if Patrick Marleau can stay healthy. While the points-per-game rate isn’t perfect, the rest of the top-20 in games played are all either in the Hall of Fame, active (Marleau), or still looking for a job this summer (Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla).

So it comes down mostly to what goes into your decision. Does his longevity hurt his case by looking at a point-per-game rate instead of raw totals, or does it help it by proving his worth over more than two decades worth of changes in the NHL. What do you think? Will Doan make it to the Hall of Fame someday?

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Morning Notes: Zaripov, Campoli, Byron

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Danis Zaripov has entered the NHL free agent market after being cleared to sign despite a two-year ban in the KHL, and he is one of the most interesting wildcards this late in the summer. Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Lightning have checked in on him, but there has been no contract talks between the two sides.

More interestingly, Igor Eronko of Sport-Express quotes Evgeni Malkin saying that he would “like to see Danis Zaripov in Penguins. I’d enjoy plaing with him on one line.” Zaripov isn’t the answer the Penguins need at center, but would be an interesting addition to their wing depth.

  • Jeff Cox reports that Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Nick Campoli will not be attending Clarkson University as originally planned, and instead will play for the Sioux City Musketeers this season. Campoli was a sixth-round pick this summer, and had played in the OJHL to maintain his college eligibility. Cox reports that he will attempt to take enough courses to regain eligibility and join Clarkson in 2018-19.
  • Blaine Byron explains to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet why he made the decision to pass up an entry-level contract to sign an AHL deal with the Florida Panthers. Byron considers Florida his best shot at making the NHL, and could see a clear path there for him. The huge number of University of Maine alumni in the management and coaching staff probably helped him feel that way, but there is also a clear need for NHL-level forwards in the Florida system. Byron could make the jump sooner than later, meaning an entry-level deal could be signed before long anyway.

Columbus Blue Jackets Hopeful Brandon Dubinsky Can Start Season

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While the Columbus Blue Jackets introduced Artemi Panarin to the media today, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds that GM Jarmo Kekalainen remains hopeful that Brandon Dubinsky will be ready for the start of the season. Dubinsky had wrist surgery back in May and was originally given a three month timeline. That date has come and gone, and Dubinsky is still likely to miss most if not all of training camp.

If Dubinsky were to miss the first few weeks of the season, there would be an interesting opportunity in Columbus. Top prospect Pierre-Luc Dubois, who went through an up-and-down season in the QMJHL last year, could see his contract slide one more year if sent back to junior before playing 10 games in the NHL. They could potentially let Dubois start the year and see what they have in him at the highest level, with little risk in wasting a contract year.

There is also Tyler Motte, another piece the Blue Jackets acquired from Chicago. Motte didn’t play center while up with the Blackhawks last season, but does have experience there and could log some minutes in the middle. He’s a completely different player than Dubinsky, but does provide some depth at the position.

If Dubinsky is healthy and ready to go to start the year, the Blue Jackets will have one of the deepest forward groups in the league once again. Even after losing Sam Gagner, Brandon Saad and William Karlsson, the team should be able to roll four effective lines on any given night.

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