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Archives for July 2018

Michael Grabner Signs With Arizona Coyotes

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The Arizona Coyotes have added some speed to their forward group, signing Michael Grabner for three years at an average annual value of $3.35MM.

Arizona, who supposedly was aggressively pursuing James van Riemsdyk, settled for Grabner, who comes with a solid pricetag. Arizona, who had a solid second-half of the season last year is trying to build on their veteran players and adding a successful scoring sniper is a solid addition to their top-six lines. Unfortunately, Grabner is well known to be a streaky player as the veteran has posted a 34-goal season, along with a 27-goal and a 25-goal season, but has also put up nine and 12-goal seasons.

The 30-year-old has bounced around a lot (although he did have a five-year stint with the New York Islanders), but he has become a solid trade commodity. He signed a two-year deal with the Rangers in 2016 and after posting 27 goals in 2016-17 and 25 goals in just 59 games last year, he was a moved to the New Jersey Devils, where he managed to score just two goals in 21 games.

In Arizona, Grabner could find himself fighting for a spot on the team’s No. 1 line alongside former Rangers’ teammate Derek Stepan.

Greg Pateryn Expected To Sign With Minnesota

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July 1: The Wild have officially announced the signing, inking Pateryn to a three-year deal worth $6.75MM.

June 30: While the contract can’t be made official until Sunday, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that Minnesota is expected to sign defenseman Greg Pateryn.  He adds that the Rangers had shown interest in signing him as well.

After spending the past few years as a depth defender who was in and out of the lineup, the 28-year-old got to play more of a regular role with Dallas in 2017-18 and made the most of it.  He set career highs in games played (73), points (13), and ATOI (19:37) while ranking second on the team in blocked shots with 155 (also a career best).

With the Wild, Pateryn should slot in on the third pairing as he would fall in behind the currently-injured Ryan Suter and pending RFA Mathew Dumba on the right side.  While financial terms of the deal aren’t known, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday that he could fetch around $2MM per season as several teams had already shown interest at that time.

In our Top 50 UFA list, Pateryn was ranked 36th overall with a projected contract of two years worth a total of $3.6MM to the Wild.

Nic Dowd Signs With Washington Capitals

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The defending champs add some depth. Versatile bottom-six forward Nic Dowd has signed with the Washington Capitals, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the deal is a one-year deal for $650K.

The Capitals targeted Dowd as the team must find a replacement for fourth-line center Jay Beagle, who signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Ironically, Dowd is coming from Vancouver, suggesting the two players could switch places. However, Dowd is more of a fringe player, who has had trouble breaking into the NHL lineup. The hope is to use Dowd at center and keep Chandler Stephenson at the wing, rather than force him to move down to the fourth line.

The 28-year-old started the season with the Los Angeles Kings, but failed to crack their lineup. After playing in just 16 games, he was traded in December to Vancouver where he had more success. In Vancouver, he managed to appear in 40 games with the Canucks last season, but still just saw 10:32 of ATOI over the remainder of the season. He scored three goals with the Canucks and did not have an assist. His best season came with the Kings in 2016-17 season when he tallied six goals and 22 points.

Josh Jooris Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Josh Jooris to a one-year, $650K contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The 27-year-old winger has bounced around the league his entire NHL career as he has already played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins and will now add Toronto to his jersey collection. After signing with the Hurricanes one year ago, he managed to play in 31 games, putting up three goals and six points, but Carolina traded him to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline for the Penguins playoff run, but had little impact for them. He played nine games for the Penguins, without tallying a point and did not play in the playoffs.

He will battle it out in training camp for a potential bottom-line role, but could just as easily be used to stockpile talent for the Calder Cup Champion Toronto Marlies in the AHL.

Oilers Ink Defenseman Kevin Gravel

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The Edmonton Oilers add some size and strength on the back end today with the addition of former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Kevin Gravel. Edmonton Sun’s David Staples writes the contract will be a one-year, two-way deal for $700K.

Gravel, who has played the past three season for the Los Angeles Kings and their AHL affiliate, has played in 70 NHL games, but played in just 16 games last year, putting up three assists. He played 25 games for the AHL’s Ontario Reign and tallied three goals and 11 points.

The 26-year-old is likely being brought about to compete for the seventh and final defensive spot on the team and will likely compete with Keegan Lowe and Ryan Stanton, but he may also be a valuable depth commodity if veteran Andrej Sekera isn’t able to return to form this season. He can also supply Edmonton with much-needed physicality as the blueliner stands at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds.

 

Valeri Nichushkin Signs Two-Year Contract With Dallas Stars

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The wait is over for Dallas Stars fans, as Valeri Nichushkin is back in the NHL. The Russian forward has officially signed his two-year contract that carries a cap hit of $2.95MM. Nichushkin is returning after two years in the KHL, and will add another dimension to the Stars offensive group.

The 23-year-old and former 10th overall pick back in 2013 started out his NHL career well as he scored 14 goals and tallied 34 points in his rookie campaign immediately after being drafted. The 6-foot-4, 205 pound forward is referred to as a freight train, but a hip injury derailed his second year and he was never able to recover and saw his playing time decrease the year after that. The moment he hit restricted free agency, Nichushkin took his game back to the KHL, where he posted 11 goals and followed that up with a strong 16-goal performance this past year for CSKA Moscow, which was good enough for third on his team in goals scored.

Now back in the fold in Dallas, Nichushkin hopes he can continue along the career path that he started at. He will be given every opportunity to take a second or third-line spot on the wing this season with the Stars.

J.T. Brown Signs With Minnesota Wild

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Enforcer J.T. Brown is heading home to Minnesota, as the veteran forward has signed with the Wild. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that it is a two-year deal and adds that he will make $675K this year and $700K next year for an AAV of $687.5K.

Brown spent 2017-18 playing for two teams as he began the year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he had played for the previous five years of his NHL career. This year, with the Lightning overflowing with depth and his role declining, Tampa Bay placed him on waivers, hoping he could be sent to the AHL, but was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. He played 23 games for an injury-ravaged Anaheim team, producing three points.

With Minnesota, the 27-year-old should provide more depth for the team’s bottom line, which Minnesota is re-designing. The team already locked up bottom-line center Eric Fehr, signed veteran Matt Hendricks and allowed veteran Matt Cullen to move on to Pittsburgh.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Matthew Peca

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The Montreal Canadiens have added one of the more interesting names on the free agent market, signing Matthew Peca to a two-year contract worth $1.3MM annually. Peca was a Group VI unrestricted free agent after failing to get a real chance to crack the lineup in Tampa Bay.

The 25-year-old managed to appear in just 10 games for the Lightning both this year and last. However, Peca made the most of his opportunity this year, posting two goals and five points in those 10 appearances. He was also impressive in his stint as a leader on the deep Syracuse Crunch roster in the AHL where the center posted 13 goals and 33 assists there.

While Peca has the skills to play the center position, a position of need, he is more than capable of filling a key wing position and could develop into a solid second or third-line option for Montreal or at worst, become a top AHL option for the Laval Rocket.

Boston Bruins Sign Joakim Nordstrom

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The Boston Bruins have signed Joakim Nordstrom to a two-year contract worth $2MM total. Nordstrom became an unrestricted free agent when the Carolina Hurricanes failed to qualify him last week.

Nordstrom played the past three years with Carolina, but failed to impress as he scored just two goals in 75 games last year, which is down from 10 goals in the 2015-16 season and seven the year after that. However, a change of scenery could be good thing for Nordstrom.

The 26-year-old should be able to provide solid bottom-line depth for the Bruins as he is versatile forward, who can play both center and wing. That might be essential as the team has lost Tim Schaller to Vancouver and could also lose Riley Nash and Boston may be forced to rebuild their bottom-six lines.

 

Dallas Stars Sign Blake Comeau

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Reliable depth forward Blake Comeau is on to a new team, as he has inked a multi-year deal with the Dallas Stars. First reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, Comeau’s deal has been confirmed as three years at $2.4MM per.

The rugged  forward should provide the Stars depth in their lineup as well as leadership and should develop into a fan favorite in Dallas. He was quite popular in Colorado as he was known for checking skills and solid defensive abilities as well as his ability to mentor the young Avalanche players. He is coming off one his best seasons as an Avalanche, posting 13 goals and 34 points.

The 32-year-old forward was told last week by the Avalanche that they will not be offering him a contract, most likely due to the veteran’s success and likelihood he would command a multiple year deal. That allowed Dallas to swoop in and lock up the veteran for their lineup.

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