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Archives for May 2018

Tomas Plekanec Wants To Return To Montreal

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When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Tomas Plekanec at the trade deadline, they knew he likely would only be there for a few months. The 35-year old center is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and now has made it clear that he would like to return to the Montreal Canadiens if possible. In an interview with TVA Sports this morning, Plekanec spoke about his upcoming free agency.

Obviously as I said before my priority is to play for the Montreal Canadiens, but you know, what’s going to happen? I don’t know. I don’t know what Marc [Bergevin] has planned, I don’t know what Claude Julien has planned so everything is open I guess from now on until July 1st. Like I said, my heart is in Montreal, my family is in Montreal, so that’s my priority…

Plekanec played 17 games down the stretch with the Maple Leafs but didn’t find his groove until after Nazem Kadri was suspended in their first round series with the Boston Bruins. Plekanec slid into a checking role with Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner—two players he speaks highly of in the interview—and matched up well against the Bruins’ top unit.

His four points in seven playoff games actually doubled the two he recorded during the regular season with the Maple Leafs, part of the lowest season total of his career. The veteran forward is on the last season of a two-year $12MM pact, but will have to take considerably less money to return to Montreal next season.

The Canadiens are weak down the middle, but Plekanec can’t be relied upon as anything more than a checking option at this point. Now closer to 40 than 30 and with dwindling point totals in three consecutive seasons, he may have to take an incentive-laden contract. Montreal is expected to push hard in free agency to try and turn around their franchise after a disappointing season, but they may choose to go in a different direction.

Reto Berra, Andrew Miller Headed To Swiss League

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A pair of top minor league performers are headed to Switzerland, as HC Fribourg-Gotteron announced deals for Reto Berra and Andrew Miller. Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this summer.

Berra, the third goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks, actually got into five games at the NHL level this season and posted a .926 save percentage. The 31-year old is returning home after five years bouncing around the NHL, including stops in Calgary, Colorado and Florida. In 76 appearances he posted a .905 save percentage, but had trouble locking down a full-time role recently.

Miller on the other hand has spent the last two seasons exclusively in the minor leagues, racking up 52 points this season for the Charlotte Checkers. That was good enough for third on the club, and he was a big part of their three game sweep in the first round of the AHL playoffs. Though not specified, Miller will likely finish out the playoffs with the Checkers before jumping to the NLA next season. Charlotte begins their second round series on Friday.

Morning Notes: Denisenko, Pedan, Ferreira

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One of the more interesting names to watch in the upcoming draft is Grigori Denisenko, an extremely talented young player from Russia. The 17-year old winger was ranked seventh among international skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting, but carries the same risk many young Russians do. Namely, there is a chance he could decide not to come over to North America and instead play in the KHL for a large portion of his career.

Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Denisenko will come to the NHL draft combine however, which could assuage some of those fears. The young winger told Eronko that “almost every” team has contacted him already, a good indication of just how highly he is thought of by the front offices around the league. He has two years left on his current contract in the KHL, but has a high offensive ceiling and should go in the first round.

  • Eronko also reports that Andrey Pedan has signed with Ak Bars of the KHL, meaning he won’t be back with the Penguins next season. Pedan was part of the return for Derrick Pouliot earlier this season, and recorded 26 points in 52 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins down the stretch. The big Lithuanian defenseman hasn’t been able to break into the NHL full-time, and will now take his talents to Russia. Scheduled to become a restricted free agent in the NHL, if the Penguins issue a qualifying offer this summer they will retain his exclusive rights.
  • The Minnesota Wild have interviewed Paul Fenton extensively for their vacant GM position, and Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is hearing that if he does get the job he’ll be bringing Jack Ferreira from the Los Angeles Kings up north with him. Ferreira was famously the first GM of both the San Jose Sharks and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and would bring plenty of experience to the table for the Wild.
  • Martin Necas has been added to the Czech roster for the World Championship, giving the team another young talent to try and keep up with the other nations. Necas was an absolute force at the World Juniors earlier this year, scoring 11 points in 7 games. The Carolina Hurricanes prospect will likely play in the NHL next season, meaning this tournament is a good warm up for what he’ll see on a regular basis.

Carolina Names Rick Dudley Senior VP, Hockey Operations

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The Carolina Hurricanes are still looking for a new general manager, but today added an experienced voice into the front office. Rick Dudley has been named Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations, leaving his post as an assistant GM with the Montreal Canadiens.

Dudley has been around the NHL for several decades, first as a player and then as a coach and executive. With a deep scouting background, he’s served as GM of four different franchises, and worked closely with Carolina interim GM Don Waddell in Atlanta. Hurricanes owner Thomas Dundon praised this experience in the press release announcing the hiring:

Rick brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our management group. He has been a part of building championship teams on every level of professional hockey, and will play an important role in helping us build a winner in Raleigh.

Working with the Canadiens since 2012, Dudley will undertake a new challenge in Carolina where there currently is no permanent GM or head coach. With that in mind, bringing on an experienced scout and manager ahead of the upcoming draft can only benefit the Hurricanes. The team moved up in the draft lottery to second overall, and needs to make sure they select a star talent that can help their group in the short term.

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