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Archives for July 2019

Minor Transactions: 07/11/19

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Another day closer to the start of the 2019-20 regular season, and another few contracts signed by minor league players. Like always, we’ll keep an eye on the fringes for you:

  • The Hershey Bears are bringing back Erik Burgdoerfer on an AHL contract after he spent the last several seasons trying to establish himself in the NHL. An undrafted free agent out of RPI, the defenseman had to battle through several seasons in the ECHL before getting a real shot in the AHL with Hershey in 2014. After playing eight NHL games split between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, he’s back with the Bears for 2019-20.
  • Ben Sexton did enough in 26 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season to earn a new AHL contract with them. The team has re-signed the 28-year old forward to a one-year minor league pact after he recorded 10 points and 31 penalty minutes in those 26 contests. A veteran of just two NHL games (also with the Senators), Sexton will serve as an experienced hand for the Penguins as Mike Vellucci tries to turn the program around.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Artturi Lehkonen

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After extending Joel Armia earlier today, the Montreal Canadiens have announced they’ve come to terms with Artturi Lehkonen on a new two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.4MM but unlike Armia, will leave Lehkonen as a restricted free agent in 2021.

Lehkonen, 24 (despite what the press release says), still hasn’t been able to quite replicate the 18 goals he recorded as a rookie in 2016-17, but was still a valuable part of the Canadiens’ attack last season. Setting a career-high with 31 points in 82 games, Lehkonen also increased his physical play and became a key part of the penalty kill. At his best when lined up against the opponent’s top scorers, Lehkonen can be an unrelenting forechecking presence when he wants to be. While he may still face some of the inconsistency issues that many young forwards do, there’s also still real upside if given a more offensive role down the line.

That offensive role is likely what he has his sights set on as he signs for just two seasons, hoping to make even more on his next deal after a breakout year. The question is whether he’ll get that opportunity with other forwards like Jonathan Drouin and Tomas Tatar eating up the offensive zone time and powerplay chances. Still, for the Canadiens his value is obvious as a middle-six player capable of lining up against anyone on the other team and contributing some secondary scoring. A $2.4MM cap hit is more than reasonable for the team using him in this role, especially given the goal-scoring upside he’s shown in the past.

Montreal now has just Charles Hudon and Michael McCarron left to sign as restricted free agents, and close to $6MM to do so (based on a 23-man roster). That leaves them more than enough wiggle room to continue searching the free agent market for an upgrade or take on salary in a trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Brett Leason Signs Entry-Level Contract

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Another top draft pick has inked his entry-level contract, as Brett Leason has signed with the Washington Capitals. Leason’s three-year entry-level deal will carry an average annual value of $842,500. Unlike many other draft picks, Leason’s deal does not have the opportunity to slide forward as he is already 20 years old after being passed over in the past two drafts. He will be a restricted free agent following the 2021-22 season.

Being selected 56th overall by the Capitals last month was the result of years of hard work by Leason, who wasn’t even a high pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft and only played a single CHL game before the 2016-17 season. He would score just 18 point for the Tri-City Americans that year and went undrafted as an 18-year old who wasn’t even an offensive contributor in junior. The next season things started out poorly again for Leason with the Americans, scoring just a single goal in the first 12 games before a trade to the Prince Albert Raiders changed everything.

Leason would find success in Prince Albert scoring 32 points down the stretch but was still overlooked entirely at draft time. After all, 19-year old NHL prospects are expected to dominate the CHL at that point. Well, dominate he did in his third WHL season and first full year with the Raiders. Leason scored 36 goals and 89 points in 55 regular season games and added an appearance at the World Juniors for Team Canada. In the playoffs he would continue to be a force, adding 25 points in 22 games while taking home a WHL championship with the powerhouse Prince Albert squad.

The question now will be whether or not Leason can take that kind of production into the professional ranks, but betting against him at this point is probably a bad idea. Armed with an NHL-ready shot—in strength, accuracy and release—the 6’4″ forward will try to establish himself as a goal scorer and powerplay option in the minor leagues and force his way onto the Capitals roster before long. With so much money tied up in their top players, Washington will need some entry-level contributions over the next few seasons and Leason might be the right prospect to give them that on a hastened timeline.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Samuel Fagemo

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The Los Angeles Kings have signed one of their recent draft picks, inking Samuel Fagemo to a three-year entry-level contract. His contract is not expected to kick in until the 2020-21 season as he is likely headed back to the SHL this year.

Fagemo, 19, went undrafted in 2018 during his first year of eligibility but has been a target of the Kings for some time. This year they decided to spend the 50th overall pick on him after he drastically improved his skating ability and ended up one of the top young players in Sweden. In 42 regular season games with powerhouse club Frolunda, Fagemo recorded 14 goals and 25 points before blowing up in the playoffs for another six and ten in just 16 games. His team won the SHL title and would go on to win the Champions League as well, while Fagemo also suited up for Sweden at the World Juniors.

All that makes quite an impressive resume for the young forward, who will inject a healthy amount of skill into the Kings prospect pipeline. A natural goal scorer, he has shown an ability to take large developmental steps in a short period of time and could very well be challenging for a spot in Los Angeles next fall. There will be real opportunity on the Kings for young players over the next few years, something that should drive the second-round pick to get even better this year.

Kaapo Kakko Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Kaapo Kakko on his three-year entry-level contract, getting a bit of business done before restricted free agents take up the rest of the summer. Kakko’s deal will likely kick in this season as he is expected to play in the NHL, and should contain a huge number of performance bonuses.

Kakko, 18, was the second overall selection in last month’s NHL Entry Draft after an outstanding season in Finland and internationally. The rangy, powerful forward broke Aleksander Barkov’s Liiga record of goals scored in one season by an under-18 player with 22, and won Rookie of the Year. That performance wrapped around an outstanding effort at the World Juniors where he and his Finnish teammates took home the gold medal. Kakko scored the game-winning goal in the final against Team USA and draft rival Jack Hughes.

With some unfinished business after his TPS squad was eliminated from league playoffs, the teenager then suited up for Finland again at the IIHF World Championship where he recorded six goals in ten games and once again helped Finland capture the gold. Even with nearly unprecedented success in his draft year, he was unable to pass Hughes for the honor to be selected first overall.

The Rangers won’t be complaining though, as Kakko is exactly the kind of franchise-changing talent that they can put in the middle of their rebuild. The team had already been growing a strong program with recent trades, but have now obviously turned the corner towards competing with the selection of Kakko and signing of Artemi Panarin. The wingers should form the basis of a solid forward core for years to come while other young talents like Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden and Vitali Kravtsov fill in the rest of their impressive depth chart.

Obviously there may be growing pains for Kakko in his first season, but after showing he can compete against NHL stars at the international level he should step right into a substantial role with the Rangers in 2019-20.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Joel Armia

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The Montreal Canadiens are set to sign another one of their restricted free agents, agreeing to terms with Joel Armia on a two-year contract. The deal will carry a $2.6MM average annual value and keep him in the organization through the 2020-21 season. Armia will be an unrestricted free agent when the contract expires, but avoids his scheduled arbitration hearing later this month.

Armia, 26, was acquired by the Canadiens last year in a deal with the Winnipeg Jets that saw them assume the rest of Steve Mason’s contract. Losing Armia was the price the Jets had to pay for the Canadiens to perform the buyout on Mason, which will pay him another $1.37MM this season. While it looked at that point like they might be losing just a depth forward, Armia actually took another step forward in Montreal and posted 23 points in just 57 games with a career-high 13 goals. A force on the penalty kill, the 6’4″ forward was a versatile option that likely would have set new highs in basically every category if he hadn’t suffered a knee injury in November that forced him out of the lineup for nearly two months.

The Canadiens haven’t changed the makeup of their team dramatically this summer, moving in and out depth pieces instead of pursuing the top UFA names. They did attempt to nab Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes with an offer sheet, but now sit with many of the same faces—save for Andrew Shaw, who was flipped to Chicago for draft picks—as the summer stretches on.

There still might be more coming for GM Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens, but even just experiencing a little more health and a bit of development from young players like Victor Mete, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling may push them up to a playoff spot this season. Armia is a real part of those hopes, and if he can play all 82 there’s no doubt he can be a reliable contributor.

Front Office Notes: Holmgren, Wright, Rychel

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that long-time executive Paul Holmgren will be transitioning into an advisory role with the team moving forward, while GM Chuck Fletcher will now also have the title of president of hockey operations. Holmgren has been with the Flyers organization for 40 (non-consecutive) years in almost every role possible including player, assistant coach, head coach, assistant general manager, general manager, director of pro scouting and president, but will be taking a step back to spend more time with family.

Fletcher will take on even more responsibility as he tries to reshape the Flyers and take them back to the playoffs next season. The Flyers haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1975 and haven’t won a playoff round since 2012. Fletcher has already made several moves to try and change that streak this offseason, adding Matt Niskanen, Justin Braun and Kevin Hayes to the mix.

Dallas Stars Sign Jason Dickinson

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The Dallas Stars have re-signed Jason Dickinson to a two-year deal worth a total of $3MM. Dickinson was a restricted free agent and had filed for arbitration, but will no longer require his hearing on July 20. GM Jim Nill released a short statement:

Jason is a conscientious player who plays a very detailed, 200-foot game. As last season progressed, he began impacting games night in and night out, and he really established himself during the playoffs. We fully expect him to continue to build upon that and be a big part of our team for years to come.

Dickinson, 24, looked for a time like he might be one of the countless first-round picks that never make much of an impact in the NHL. Selected 29th overall in 2013, he had played just 38 career games coming into the 2018-19 season and had just five points. As Nill says though, that has all changed as he finally established himself as a real full-time option for the Stars and a core piece moving forward. The two-way forward took on a much bigger role in the playoffs and ended up with five points while averaging close to 16 minutes a night.

With a new pair of veteran wingers added to the Stars forward group and an emerging Roope Hintz, Dickinson will need to continue to work hard for every shift of ice time next season. That said, he’ll now be surrounded by even more talent and should be expected to shatter the career-high of 22 points he set last year. The Stars have struggled to find reliable secondary scoring for some time, but will hope Dickinson can add that while not losing any of his defensive acumen.

Dallas now has just two restricted free agents left to sign, most notably defenseman Julius Honka. It’s not clear where Honka fits into the picture for the team next season and with less than $1MM left in cap space there very well could be a trade coming at some point.

Early Notes: Hurricanes, Eriksson, Contracts

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The Carolina Hurricanes have made some changes in their scouting department, promoting Robert Kron and Mike Dawson while hiring Cody Nickolet, Eric Fink and Oleg Smirnov. Kron will now serve as Director of European Scouting, while Dawson is now the Head North American Scout.

While adding top names from the WHL in Nickolet and Fink is important, Smirnov may actually be the most interesting hiring after working as an agent and for the players’ union in Russia for the past decade. The Hurricanes have just a single Russian on the NHL roster in Andrei Svechnikov, and he was selected second-overall after playing two years in North America. Perhaps adding another scout there will help the Hurricanes find even more hidden talent in the later rounds.

  • After signing Micheal Ferland to a long-term deal yesterday, immediate speculation erupted about how the Vancouver Canucks were going to find playing time and cap space for their glut of forwards. The idea that came to everyone’s mind was a potential Loui Eriksson trade, a possibility that his agent admitted to on TSN radio. J.P. Barry explained that it “has gone past any kind of request” at this point and said that everyone—meaning Eriksson’s camp and GM Jim Benning—is looking for a solution. David Alter reported yesterday that Eriksson’s $4MM signing bonus is actually due on July 15th, meaning he becomes much less expensive ($9MM remaining over three years) after that date.
  • Something to keep in mind over the next few weeks as the remaining unrestricted free agents wait for their next opportunity is that teams are only allowed to have 50 players under contract at anytime. Some teams are already quite close to that limit, including the Edmonton Oilers (48) and Dallas Stars (47). There is a little flexibility here because several young prospects will be heading back to their junior organizations and come off the books—Philip Broberg and Olivier Rodrigue in particular for Edmonton—but it is still a necessary consideration when speculating on where players will end up. Being too close to the limit could force a team to miss an opportunity at the end of training camp when teams place talented players on waivers.

Minnesota’s Andrei Svetlakov Signs Long-Term In KHL

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The Minnesota Wild’s issues with bringing over Russian prospects are well-documented. Young star forward Kirill Kaprizov remains with the KHL’s CSKA Moscow despite the team’s best efforts for years to convince him to make the jump. Now make that two forwards without plans to cross the Atlantic and suit up for Minnesota any time soon. Kaprizov’s CSKA teammate Andrei Svetlakov has signed a three-year extension to remain in Moscow until 2022, the team announced. At 23 year’s old, Svetlakov may have signed a deal that ends his chances at ever playing for the Wild.

The Wild used a sixth-round pick in 2017 on Svetlakov as an overage prospect in his last go-round in the NHL Draft. The young center had been promoted to the KHL and had proven that he was a valuable asset at the top pro level, even if he hadn’t produced at a high level. Over the past two seasons, Svetlakov’s scoring has not changed much but he has grown as a two-way player and looked at the top of his game in the 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs, recording eight points and a +10 rating in 18 games. Moscow clearly saw something they liked in the pivot’s game to sign him long-term, as the perennial contender is known for having a keen eye for talent.

Svetlakov is not nearly the prospect that Kaprizov is, but could develop into a useful player even by NHL standards. If he had been interested in playing for the Wild, it also may have helped to convince Kaprizov to do the same. Instead, Svetlakov is locked in for three more years with CSKA and will be 26 by the time his contract expires. Minnesota owns Svetlakov’s rights indefinitely, so he may still prove to be a valuable asset for the team, but will hardly be considered a “prospect” by the time he can make the jump. It’s another tough blow for the Wild and their international image and the team must continue to hold out hope that Kaprizov will not follow suit and stay in Russia for years still to come.

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