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Carolina Hurricanes Sign Jesper Sellgren

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The Carolina Hurricanes have inked another prospect, this time signing Jesper Sellgren to a three-year entry-level contract. Sellgren is currently with the Charlotte Checkers on a professional tryout.

Sellgren, 20, was selected by the Hurricanes in the sixth round of the 2018 draft but made an impressive jump to the SHL this season. Despite his small stature, the left-handed defenseman played a full-time role for Lulea HF and recorded 15 points in 52 games. He joined the Checkers in the middle of their Calder Cup playoff run, and has two goals in seven games.

Despite not being drafted the first time around and ranking low on many prospect lists, there is a good chance that Sellgren can make an impact at the professional level. His calling card is his hockey IQ, as he makes quick decisive reads with the puck and away from it to put himself in the best situations he can. While that may not translate into an impact NHL defender, the Hurricanes organization has turned the corner with their development system and now pride themselves on putting an upper echelon product on the ice in Charlotte as well.

That’s not to say there is zero chance of Sellgren developing into an NHL contributor, but he’ll have to take the next few steps towards that in the minor leagues next season. That is, unless the Hurricanes feel as though he can do more going back to Sweden. Even under contract he can be loaned back to the SHL, but that will likely be dependent on how deep the Carolina/Charlotte defense group is going into next season. Several young minor league/fringe defensemen including Trevor Carrick, Roland McKeown, Josh Wesley and Haydn Fleury are all restricted free agents this summer and need new contracts.

Oliwer Kaski Signs With Detroit Red Wings

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May 28: The deal is official. Kaski has signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Red Wings, after helping Finland all the way to the gold medal at the World Championship.

May 13: Oliwer Kaski will indeed sign with the Detroit Red Wings following the current IIHF World Championships, agent Todd Diamond confirmed to Ansar Khan of MLive. Kaski is currently playing for Finland and had been linked to the Red Wings over the last few weeks. The 23-year old defenseman will sign a one-year contract after the tournament ends later this month.

If Kaski plays for the Red Wings next season it won’t be the first time he suits up for a Michigan-based club. The Finnish defenseman played parts of two seasons at Western Michigan University before returning home to continue his career. Through the first two seasons while playing for HIFK Helsinki, Kaski was a depth player who was reliable but relatively unimpressive. This season for the Lahti Pelicans though that all changed.

In 59 games for the Pelicans, Kaski recorded 19 goals and 51 points to lead all Liiga defensemen in both categories. The 6’3″ defenseman went undrafted years ago but was pursued by several teams this spring. He has a single assist through three games with Finland, but could find himself competing for a full-time roster spot in Detroit this season. Even if they don’t re-sign 38-year old Niklas Kronwall the Red Wings have an aging defense corps with Jonathan Ericsson, Trevor Daley and Mike Green all in their mid-thirties. Kaski and other young players like Madison Bowey, Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski could play substantial roles on the NHL club in 2019-20.

Kaapo Kakko Pulls Out Of Scouting Combine

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Though he had previously been expected as part of the top group of prospects attending this week’s Scouting Combine in Buffalo, Kaapo Kakko will no longer be participating at all. No official reason was given for his absence, according to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com, but the top 2019 draft prospect recently won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship and traveled back to Finland for the celebrations yesterday. Other players that were invited but will not attend include Semyon Chystyakov, Vladislav Firstov, Daniil Gutik, Daniil Misyul and Kirill Slepets.

Kakko’s absence will certainly be disappointing for the teams in attendance, but there is really nothing for him to prove at this point. His best chance at surpassing Jack Hughes for the first-overall selection was at the Worlds, and he did his best by posting six goals and seven points in ten games. Kakko did seem to fade in the back half of the tournament when the games became tougher, but still was noticeable when the puck ended up on his stick. The 6’2″ forward is already a dangerous player below the goal line, able to protect the puck against NHL defenders and create room for himself and teammates.

The other names that have turned down invitations are almost more interesting. Misyul, for instance, was ranked eighth among international skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting, but is still signed with his KHL team. The combine would have given teams a chance to speak with him in person to get a better read on whether or not he plans on coming over to North America down the road, something that will greatly affect his draft position.

Still, the combine will have 103 prospects taking part in the fitness testing this week. That includes Hughes, who still seems destined to be the next member of the New Jersey Devils, selected first overall this year.

Sheldon Keefe Signs Two-Year Extension With Toronto Marlies

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The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have to worry about someone poaching their minor league head coach. Not yet anyway. Today the club announced that Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe has signed a two-year extension to stay in the AHL. GM Kyle Dubas explained the contract:

Over the last four seasons Sheldon has done a great job developing our individual prospects into Maple Leafs while also guiding the Marlies deep into the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the organization, including the Calder Cup in 2018. Ensuring that Sheldon remains tasked with guiding the development of our prospects was very important to our program and the reason we began the discussion to extend Sheldon months ago.

Keefe, 38, is a rising star in the coaching world that has found incredible success at the AHL level. In his four years coaching the Marlies, the team has advanced to the Conference Final three times and won a Calder Cup in 2018. That success has come even as the Maple Leafs continue to pull talent up every year, graduating players like William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Travis Dermott to full-time NHL status. The blend of winning and development is an important one for a minor league team, and one that Keefe has navigated well over the last few years.

That success is exactly why many called for him to be promoted to the NHL squad after another disappointing exit by the Maple Leafs this spring. Head coach Mike Babcock was criticized by fans and media alike for his player usage against the Boston Bruins in the first round, and some speculated that he might be on his way out when Dubas failed to give him a vote of confidence right away. That vote came a few days later, when Dubas confirmed that Babcock and he were on the same page going forward.

Still, with teams calling on Keefe to see if he would be interested in interviewing for an NHL job somewhere else, Dubas and the Maple Leafs had to find a way to keep him in the organization. His contract is expected to pay much more than his AHL contemporaries, and there does seem to be a path to the Toronto NHL head coaching position down the road if Babcock doesn’t find a way to advance past the first round.

Rodrigo Abols Signs With Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers have signed Latvian forward Rodrigo Abols to a two-year entry-level contract, Abols played in the SHL full-time this season for Orebro HK, but will finally get an opportunity to join an NHL organization.

Abols will be remembered by Vancouver Canucks fans for attending their development camp even before he was drafted, and showing off his speed and skill before debuting in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks. The young Latvian would eventually be selected by the Canucks at the very end of the 2016 draft (184th overall) but never did sign with the organization. In fact, after another excellent season in the CHL—including 61 points in 63 games for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan—he was off to Sweden to compete for Orebro.

Now 23, Abols is coming off an impressive 18-goal campaign in the SHL which tied him for fifth in league scoring. The fact that he only contributed eight assists obviously was no matter to the Panthers, who likely took another look at him when he recently suited up for Latvia at the IIHF World Championship. Abols was only eligible for a two-year contract, and will likely compete for a spot in the organization at training camp.

Edmonton Oilers Hire Dave Tippett As Head Coach

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Today at an afternoon press conference, the Edmonton Oilers  made official what has been rumored for the last several weeks. Dave Tippett will be the team’s next head coach, agreeing three-year deal. With new GM Ken Holland recently taking over the front office, the Oilers have completely changed their management group since the end of the season and will now try to navigate the sinking ship back to land.

Tippett, 57, had been working with the Seattle expansion franchise but will now take his talents to Edmonton and try to coax the best out of a Connor McDavid-led group. The Oilers have been one of the most disappointing organizations in the league the last several years, continually getting high draft picks only to keep floundering near the bottom of the league standings. McDavid has made the playoffs just once since entering the league in 2015, despite being a Ted Lindsay award winner twice already—and perhaps thrice after the 116-point season he just recorded.

Holland and the Oilers management will hope they can turn that around, though they have a big task on their hands. The team must find a way to shed some dead weight financially, and bring in more effective depth players to help McDavid and Leon Draisaitl up front. Tippett meanwhile will try to get the best out of the group that remains, including finding some defensive consistency from talented-but-frustrating players like Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom. While the veteran coach is well regarded around the league, he doesn’t necessarily have the greatest track record in the NHL.

Through 14 years as an NHL head coach, Tippett has amassed a record of 553-413-28-120, but hasn’t achieved much success in the playoffs. In his last stop in Arizona things fell apart during his last few years, with the team posting just a .415 winning percentage from 2014-17. In fact the last five seasons of Tippett’s career in Arizona the Coyotes failed to make the playoffs at all, something he’ll be asked to change immediately in Edmonton.

The Oilers can’t afford to waste any more of McDavid’s prime years outside of the playoffs, given the immense advantage he gives the team at the moment. McDavid is signed for another seven years in Edmonton, but the expectation from owner Daryl Katz is that the team should be competitive in 2019-20 and not need to contemplate a rebuild. Holland understands that too, meaning Tippett isn’t coming in just to build a long-term program but a contender in year one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Corban Knight Signs In KHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers won’t be re-signing Corban Knight, as the veteran forward has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana of the KHL. Knight was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his two-year, two-way contract expired with the Flyers.

Knight, 28, played 23 games for the Flyers this season, nearly doubling the total for his career. In 52 games spread out over the last five years, he has just 12 points and has spent most of his time in the minor leagues. Originally selected by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round of the 2009 draft, Knight was a superstar at the University of North Dakota before making his NHL debut in 2013-14 with the Calgary Flames. Unfortunately that wasn’t followed by much production, and he fell out of favor with several organizations.

There was likely nothing but a two-way deal on the table for him again this summer, making the KHL a little more appealing to a player of his talents. The 6’2″ forward is exactly the type of minor league performer that will likely find success overseas, giving him a chance to build up his resume again to try and land an NHL deal next summer if he wants to return to North America.

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While Calgary doesn’t have a lot of notable UFAs, they have several important RFAs to get under contract.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Matthew Tkachuk – Tkachuk is among the class of high-end restricted free agents that will be coming off their entry-level contracts in July.  After not progressing a whole lot in his sophomore year, he had a breakout campaign in 2018-19, recording 34 goals and 43 assists in 80 games while establishing himself as a legitimate top line power forward.  Those players tend to get paid the big bucks and as a result, he will almost assuredly surpass the $6.75MM AAV mark that Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano have (the highest on the team).  Tkachuk is not eligible for salary arbitration.

G David Rittich – Rittich was one of the more pleasant surprises for the Flames in 2018-19.  He didn’t fare too well the year before in his first extended look in the NHL and to no one’s surprise, he inked a one-year, prove it deal.  He certainly proved that he can play at the NHL level, posting a respectable 2.61 GAA with a .911 SV% over 45 regular season appearances and went from the surefire backup to actually leading Calgary in goalie games.  While there are still questions as to whether or not he can be a legitimate starting netminder, Rittich’s 2018-19 performance should still have him in line for a considerable raise over the $800K he made, especially with him being eligible for arbitration.

F Sam Bennett – Two years ago, Bennett signed a bridge contract as there were some question marks as to whether or not he could become a legitimate top-six forward to justify his fourth overall selection in 2014.  Fast forward to today and there are still plenty of question marks.  He has been quite consistent offensively over the past three seasons, picking up 26 or 27 points in each campaign.  However, he was also their best performer in the postseason and seems to be finding his niche as more of a physical player than a scorer.  There’s still some value in that and with the flashes of upside he has shown over parts of his career, it’s likely that Calgary would like to give the arbitration-eligible winger another chance.

Other RFAs: F Spencer Foo, D Josh Healey, F Curtis Lazar, F Ryan Lomberg, F Andrew Mangiapane, G Mason McDonald, F Brett Pollock, F Alan Quine, F Kerby Rychel, D Rinat Valiev

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: G Mike Smith – The other half of Calgary’s goalie tandem, Smith was rather inconsistent in 2018-19.  He lost the starting role to Rittich for a while but recovered it in time for the postseason and bore the brunt of their defensive struggles against Colorado.  Now 37, Smith will be hard-pressed to land a starting role for next season but for teams looking for a veteran that can handle a larger workload that a typical backup, he’ll certainly be considered.  A return to the Flames in that role shouldn’t be ruled out.

F Garnet Hathaway – After being more of a depth player in 2017-18 (and a minor league recall before that), Hathaway established himself as a regular on the fourth line and provided a reasonable scoring touch in that role, picking up a career-best 11 goals in 76 games while leading the team in hits by a significant margin as well.  That type of combination will garner him some interest on the open market if the Flames can’t strike a deal to keep him around before then.

Other UFAs: D Oscar Fantenberg, F Tyler Graovac, F Anthony Peluso, D Dalton Prout, D Matt Taormina

Projected Cap Space: As things stand, the team has roughly $68.5MM committed to 19 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  Depending on what the increase to the Upper Limit is, they’re going to have roughly $13MM to $15MM to work with.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that re-signing their own restricted free agents will eat up most of that before even looking towards adding another goalie.  As a result, GM Brad Treliving is going to need to make a trade or two to try to free up a bit of cap space over the next month or so.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With the postseason down to just two teams, many squads are now well into their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a likely busy NHL offseason?  Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After an exit in the second round in 2018, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford opted to keep the core largely intact, believing that they still had another long playoff run left in them.  It was certainly a reasonable belief to have considering the talent that Pittsburgh has on their roster.  Rutherford wasn’t rewarded for his faith, however, as they were swept at the hands of the Islanders in the first round.  Clearly, changes are coming to the status quo which are among the key items on their to-do list this offseason.

Murray Extension Talks

Last month, Rutherford indicated that his top priority was signing goalie Matt Murray to a long-term contract extension.  He’s entering the final year of his bridge contract, one that carries a $3.75MM cap hit and will be in line for a raise on his next deal.

The big question will be how much of a raise he should get.  While Murray is the undisputed number one following the departure of Marc-Andre Fleury to Vegas two seasons ago, he hasn’t been without his struggles since then.  He also has only reached the 50-game mark just once in his career and while there is certainly a trend towards lowering the workload for a starter, that number is still on the low side.

Accordingly, Murray is going to have a tough time commanding anywhere close to top dollar for a starting goalie.  But he’ll still need to get enough of a raise to justify foregoing an opportunity to test the open market; he’ll only be one year away from being eligible to do so next summer.  Finding the magic number to fit in with Pittsburgh’s tight salary cap structure and still be enough to keep Murray happy on a long-term pact will be a tricky negotiation to navigate.

End The Kessel Speculation

It came out last season that the Penguins had engaged in trade talks regarding Phil Kessel but Rutherford tried to pour cold water on it at the time.  Fast forward to just one week ago when word leaked that a deal that would have seen him go to Minnesota was nixed when the winger invoked his partial no-trade clause.  Considering this and how things went for him in 2018-19, it’s getting harder to envision him remaining with Pittsburgh.  It appears the time has come for a trade.

For as much flak as Kessel receives for his all-around game, there’s no denying that he can be a significant difference maker offensively.  He reached the point-per-game mark for the second straight year and over the past three seasons, only ten players around the league have more points than the 244 he has picked up.  With Toronto paying 15% of his contract, his remaining $6.8MM AAV is certainly fair value for a top-line forward, if not a small bargain.

The challenge here though is not only going to be finding fair value for Kessel but also a place he’s willing to go to.  His trade protection is fairly substantial as he only has to submit an eight-team list that he’s open to being dealt to.  Assuming that not all of those teams will have interest (for varying reasons), that’s a pretty small list for Rutherford to work off of.  Even with that, it looks like the two sides will be parting ways in the next little while.

Open Up Cap Flexibility

It’s hard to talk about the Penguins without mentioning the salary cap and the annual tap dancing the team has to do to stay under it.  2019-20 figures to be no exception.  The team presently has just under $79.MM committed to 18 players for next season, per CapFriendly.   The minimum salary increases to $700K for next season so basically, they have enough to pay a few players the minimum and that’s it.  That’s not a lot of wiggle room to accomplish much of anything.

Things aren’t much better for the year after that.  Their spending dips to $68.5MM but with only 14 players signed and Murray’s new deal won’t be a cheap one.  They’ll also have to re-sign or replace a top-four defenseman in Justin Schultz at that time.  By the time they do that, they’ll basically be down to league minimum signings again.

That’s part of the reason that Rutherford has more of a willingness to shake things up.  He basically has no other choice.  It’s hard to be a sustainable contender but it’s even trickier when you’re forced to merely add around the margins or match salaries in any trade you make.  As those changes to the core get made this summer, finding a way to get NHL-ready talent back will certainly be important but so too will be ensuring that those players are cheaper.  Rutherford has shown he can do a good job with minimal cap room to work with but more flexibility and options can only beneficial to them as they look to retool and get back into contending in the Metropolitan Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Who Will Win The Stanley Cup In 2018-19?

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It’s here. The Stanley Cup Final is about to start. The Boston Bruins will host the St. Louis Blues in game one of the final series of the season, a battle between a classic team from a powerhouse sports town that has been crowned champions six times in their long NHL history, and a passionate expansion franchise that has never hoisted the trophy in their 51-year history. Scotty Bowman was the coach of the upstart Blues in 1970, the last time they went to the finals, but even the legendary coach wasn’t able to overcome a 22-year old Bruins phenom who would change the way defensemen were expected to play.

Bobby Orr had hit his prime in the 1969-70 season, and would win the first of three consecutive Hart trophies as the league’s most valuable player. He’d also raise the Stanley Cup for the first time that spring, beating the Blues and accepting the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. The Bruins have a much different leader on the blue line this time around, as seven-time All-Star and 42-year old fitness freak Zdeno Chara will captain Boston in another finals. No longer anywhere near his prime, Chara is still playing outstanding hockey for the Bruins and leads the entire playoffs with a +11 rating.

The Blues though will not be put down easily. St. Louis was in last place in the entire NHL on January 3rd of this year, and have climbed all the way back to compete for the Cup. The team has shown incredible resilience, knocking off contenders every step of the way and relying on a varied cast of characters to get it done. Pat Maroon, Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly, all acquired in the offseason, have a combined six game-winning goals these playoffs. Jaden Schwartz, who scored just 11 goals all regular season now has 12 in just 19 games.

It may come down to goaltending, which is usually the case in the Stanley Cup playoffs. On one side there is Tuukka Rask, much maligned by his fan base over the years for his inconsistency, but playing the best hockey of his career. His .942 save percentage easily leads the playoffs and has him in line for the Conn Smythe if the Bruins manage to win. On the other, a rookie in Jordan Binnington who carried the Blues to the playoffs with an incredible second half of the season. The 25-year old had played one game in the NHL before this season, but now may be the key to bringing St. Louis their first Stanley Cup.

So just before the game begins, cast your vote! Who will win the Stanley Cup for the 2018-19 season? Do the Bruins have what it takes to give the city another title? Or can the Blues finally break their curse and snap the streak? Make sure to leave a comment explaining what you think will happen!

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