Archives for August 2019

2019 List Of College Players Becoming Free Agents

August 16, 2019 at 4:35 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Originally published on August 8th. The unsigned players are now unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team they choose.

In one week, 23 college players drafted by NHL teams are set to become unrestricted free agents if they fail to sign an entry-level contract. After August 15th, these players are eligible to sign with any team in the league. Several have already signed minor league deals but that does not technically retain their draft rights for the original club. None of the teams that drafted these players will receive any compensation for the expiring rights.

The full list:

Anaheim Ducks:

F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (80th overall, 2015) – signed to AHL deal
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (178th overall, 2015) – signed to AHL deal

Buffalo Sabres:

F Christopher Brown, Boston University (151st overall, 2014) – signed to AHL deal
F Max Willman, Boston University (121st overall, 2014)
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (182nd overall, 2015) – signed to ECHL deal

Chicago Blackhawks:

F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (88th overall, 2014)
F Fredrik Olofsson, University of Nebraska-Omaha (98th overall, 2014) – signed in Sweden
F Liam Coughlin, University of Vermont (130th overall, 2014) – signed to AHL deal
F Jack Ramsey, University of Minnesota (208th overall, 2014) – signed to AHL deal

Detroit Red Wings:

G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (136th overall, 2014)

Edmonton Oilers:

D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (183rd overall, 2016) – signed to AHL deal
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (152nd overall, 2014)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (177th overall, 2014)

Florida Panthers:

F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (92nd overall, 2014)

Minnesota Wild:

D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (171st overall, 2015) – signed to AHL deal
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (204th overall, 2015) – signed to AHL deal

Montreal Canadiens:

D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (125th overall, 2014)

Nashville Predators:

F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (85th overall, 2015) – signed to AHL deal
D Adam Smith, Bowling Green State University (198th overall, 2016) – signed to AHL deal

Ottawa Senators:

D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (70th overall, 2014) – signed to AHL deal

Philadelphia Flyers:

F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (81st overall, 2015) – signed to ECHL deal

San Jose Sharks:

F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (201st overall, 2013)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (193rd overall, 2015)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (190th overall, 2015)

Washington Capitals:

D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (177th overall, 2016)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (159th overall, 2014)

The belle of the ball here is likely Priskie, who captained the Quinnipiac squad the last two seasons and was a Hobey Baker finalist in 2018-19. The right-handed defenseman scored 39 points in 36 games and was one of the most dynamic offensive defensemen in the country. Priskie is not expected to sign with the Capitals for a variety of reasons, but will be “highly sought after” according to Bob McKenzie of TSN earlier this year.

Other teams will be able to sign these players starting on August 16th, though it often takes a few days to become official.

Joel Teasdale Out Seven Months

August 16, 2019 at 2:35 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Joel Teasdale’s professional career will have to be put on hold, as the Montreal Canadiens prospect has suffered a torn MCL and ACL. Teasdale has not yet undergone surgery, but will be out at least seven months according to a team release. The 20-year old forward signed with Montreal in 2018 and recently won a Memorial Cup with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies where he was named Most Valuable Player.

Teasdale, 20, went undrafted despite showing he could be an extremely valuable two-way player at the junior level. A hard-nosed checker, his offensive game has just gotten stronger and stronger over the years to the point of dominating his competition. In 86 games this season he scored 57 goals and 114 points, proving he was ready to move on to the professional level.

Seven months is an unfortunate timeline for a prospect that had a little buzz about him coming into this season, but the major knee surgery should cause even more worry. Hopefully Teasdale can come back and get right onto the same development path he had showed, but it will take a lot of hard work to do it.

Minor Transactions: 08/16/19

August 16, 2019 at 2:07 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

As August continues and we get further into contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

After spending the last several seasons in the ECHL, Dominic Alberga has decided to take his talents overseas. The 27-year old will play for HC Bolzano in the Italian league this season after scoring 46 points in 41 games with the Norfolk Admirals last year. Alberga actually got his first extended chance in the AHL, suiting up 16 times for the Tucson Roadrunners as well.
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson’s younger brother Kenny Johnson has committed to Penn State University for the upcoming season after spending the last few years in the BCHL. Also a defenseman, the younger Johnson went undrafted but recorded 20 points in 51 games last season split between the Penticton Vees and Victoria Grizzlies.
Former Cornell standout Trevor Yates has signed on with the Reading Royals of the ECHL, giving them another weapon up front for the 2019-20 season. Yates bounced around the minor leagues last year and split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins, Toledo Walleye, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Wheeling Nailers.

Latest On Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets

August 16, 2019 at 12:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

When perusing the front page of CapFriendly, one might notice the Winnipeg Jets at the very bottom of the salary chart and think “boy, they have a lot of cap room!” The Jets project to have just under $64MM committed to the 2019-20 season, leaving them with the most available cap space in the league. That sentiment would be a little premature however, as the Western Conference contender still have high profile restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor to sign. That duo will take up a huge chunk of any cap room the team has, though it doesn’t appear as though anything is imminent on either front.

Connor recently admitted that his focus is on getting a deal done before training camp so that he doesn’t miss any preparation time, but it might not be so simple with Laine. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet caught up with the Finnish forward overseas and asked him about where his contract negotiations were with the Jets. His answer? Nowhere right now. Johnston writes that contract talks between the two sides have been “non-existent all summer” and Laine was less than decisive on where he’ll be playing hockey next season.

The most likely scenario for both players remains a deal being worked out prior to training camp, but with now less than a month before NHL teams start to gather time is certainly starting to run out. A huge chunk of the restricted free agent market is frozen right now, a situation that Craig Custance of The Athletic recently examined (subscription required). Custance writes that several sources have suggested that the NHLPA has been involved in these negotiations, trying to get the players to wait and set an entirely new market for those coming out of entry-level contracts.

Last season saw William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs not reach a deal until the very last few minutes before a December 1st deadline that would have kept him from playing the entire season. The young forward then experienced easily the worst season of his career, never able to get on track after several extra mo

nths away from the team and no real practice time to speak of. That negotiation is something all of this year’s restricted free agents are aware of, but they are obviously dealing with it in different ways. Sebastian Aho was convinced he needed to get a contract done before camp, but in his conversation with Johnston, Laine seems more than willing to let things play out:

I’m not stressed. I’m not worrying about that at all. I know that I’ve done my job as well as I can over these three years, so I know I’m going to play somewhere next year. So that’s something I’m not thinking about too much.

There’s little doubt that Laine deserves a substantial raise after scoring 110 goals and 184 points in his first 237 NHL games, but it is unclear how the Jets want to go about his next contract. The team already has a huge amount of salary tied up in Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Bryan Little for the next five years (at least), and with Connor expecting to focus on a long-term deal the Jets will have a lot committed. Josh Morrissey will need a new contract next summer after proving to be a legitimate top option on defense, while the blueline as a whole may need to be reshaped when Dustin Byfuglien’s contract expires in 2021—the monstrous defender will be 36.

After several years of contention the Jets are in a state of flux until they get Laine and Connor signed, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has plenty of work to do in order to secure a strong future without taking on too much risk.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Morning Notes: CBA, Mayotte, Aho

August 16, 2019 at 10:49 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

This September, the NHL and NHLPA will both have the ability to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CBA would still run for the 2019-20 season, but would expire afterwards and threaten a work stoppage in 2020. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports however, there is still optimism between both sides in the talks they’ve had at this point. The agreement expires normally in 2022, but could be extended if the two sides reach an agreement.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly also told Johnston that there are tentative plans to hold the next World Cup of Hockey in February of 2021, an event that would replace the in-season All-Star game. The last World Cup was held in September of 2016, but resulted in several players suffering injuries just before the regular season began.

Kris Mayotte has left Providence College to join the University of Michigan coaching staff as an assistant under Mel Pearson. The 36-year old former minor league goaltender worked closely with Hayden Hawkey over the last several years in net for the Friars, and was an assistant coach on two USA Hockey World Junior teams. Though his appointment at Michigan may technically be a step backwards in title—he was an associate head coach last season with Providence—it will put his name even further up the coaching ladder. Mayotte is a rising name in the field that will likely be considered before long for an opportunity at the professional hockey level.
Sebastian Aho spoke with reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com at the European Player Media Tour this week and explained that his entire plan this offseason was to get a contract done before training camp started. That’s why the young Carolina Hurricanes forward signed an offer sheet, giving him a way to guarantee that everything would be settled ahead of time. With a dozen other high profile restricted free agents still unsigned, Aho explained that he’s even happier with his decision now and glad to have remained with the Hurricanes.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

August 15, 2019 at 8:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $76,441,539 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Quinn Hughes (two years, $917K)
F Elias Pettersson (two years, $925K)

Potential Bonuses:

Hughes: $850K
Pettersson: $2.85MM

Pettersson’s deal is certainly quite the bargain. The Calder Trophy winner burst onto the scene and immediately emerged as one of Vancouver’s top forwards. While he’s still two years away from his second contract, his agent is undoubtedly keeping an eye on the top end of the current RFA market as Pettersson could very well approach a similar territory on his next deal. The Canucks elected to burn the first year of Hughes’ deal early to entice him to sign. He projects to be the type of player that could get a significant second contract although he won’t be eligible for an offer sheet in the 2021 offseason as a result of going this route.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Alex Biega ($825K, UFA)
D Oscar Fantenberg ($850K, UFA)
F Josh Leivo ($1.5MM, UFA)
G Jacob Markstrom ($3.67MM, UFA)
F Tyler Motte ($975K, RFA)
F Tim Schaller ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Troy Stecher ($2.325MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.45MM, UFA)
F Jake Virtanen ($1.25MM, RFA)

Up front, Virtanen is the most intriguing of the group. He has shown flashes of putting it all together and showed some signs of improvement in 2018-19 en route to a career year offensively. They have enough invested in him that they’ll keep him around but another short-term deal is probably in the cards a year from now. Leivo will be looking to use his first full season in Vancouver to his advantage and restore some value. If he can produce at a similar mark as he did with the Canucks last season, he could be an intriguing under the radar UFA next summer. Schaller’s deal felt like an overpayment as soon as it was signed and it’s safe to say he won’t be re-signed. He’s a candidate to be on waivers in training camp. Motte impressed in his first full-season look but is best served in a fourth line role. That makes him a possible non-tender candidate with some of the youngsters they have in the system but if he is retained, it will need to come with a small raise.

Tanev was once a highly sought after trade candidate. Since then, his value has dipped considerably as he has had trouble staying healthy. He has missed at least 27 games in each of the last three seasons and has never played more than 70 in a season. Players of his type aren’t in as high demand as they were just a few years ago so, at this stage, the 29-year-old may be hard-pressed to match his current deal. Stecher had a good bounce-back year in the first year of his bridge contract and a repeat performance could see him approach the $3.5MM or more mark on a new deal. Fantenberg was brought in for depth and given their cap structure, he’ll either be re-signed or replaced by someone willing to take a similar rate. Biega is in a similar situation; while he has served as capable depth in recent years, he’s not the type of player they’ll want to give a tangible raise to.

Markstrom’s situation is a bit of an intriguing one. Vancouver has their top goalie prospect now on the roster full-time so they’ll want to give him plenty of playing time. Accordingly, striving to get the top portion of a platoon may be all that Markstrom can get this season which would certainly be a step down after playing 60 games in each of the last two years. He’ll be 30 when he hits the open market, young enough that a multi-year deal at a raise is certainly something that would be justifiable for quite a few teams. However, the Canucks may not be one of them. There’s a lot at stake for him in 2019-20.

Two Years Remaining

F Sven Baertschi ($3.37MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($2MM, UFA)
G Thatcher Demko ($1.05MM, RFA)
D Alexander Edler ($6MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Brandon Sutter ($4.375MM, UFA)

Sutter’s contract is one that can now be said is going to hurt them. When they had lots of cap flexibility, it wasn’t as painful but now that they don’t have that luxury, the fact that his performance has been more like a fourth liner is going to hurt. They’d love to get out from under this deal but they’ll need to attach a notable sweetener to do so. Pearson struggled badly in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh last year but showed signs of life in Vancouver. If he can get back to being a 20-goal player, he can get another contract like this one but if not, he’ll be the type of player that will bounce around on one-year deals for a while. Baertschi battled injury issues yet again. When healthy, his contract is certainly reasonable but his ability to stay in the lineup will dictate if his next deal will see him get a raise or a pay cut.

Edler eschewed free agency to stay with Vancouver and it stands to reason that someone like Hughes will step into his role two years from now so his next deal (if there is one) should come in cheaper than this one. Benn had a strong year with Montreal and earned himself a raise in the process but he will need to establish himself as a capable top-four option if he wants to find a way to another salary tier two years from now.

Demko has long been viewed as their goalie of the future. His next deal could go all sorts of ways as a result. If he gets lots of playing time over the next two years, he could jump into the $6MM to $7MM range if he fares well. If Markstrom blocks him this coming season though, a one-year prove-it type of deal could be on the horizon. It’s also possible that what happens with Pettersson and Hughes could dictate which direction they go with Demko two summers from now.

Three Years Remaining

F Jay Beagle ($3MM, UFA)
F Loui Eriksson ($6MM, UFA)
F Antoine Roussel ($3MM, UFA)

Eriksson has vastly underperformed since joining Vancouver and this offseason, he voiced his frustration over his usage to the point where both sides are looking to find a trade. Unless they’re willing to take a similarly high-priced deal back in a return though, such a move is unlikely. Unfortunately for them, the structure of the contract makes a buyout an unrealistic option as well. Roussel’s deal raised some eyebrows at the time but he actually gave them a reasonable return on it as he had a career-high in points despite missing 17 games. If he can hang around the 35-point mark while bringing his usual level of physicality, this could be a pretty reasonable contract. The same can’t be said for Beagle as giving a fourth liner that much money and term was doomed to fail from the start. If he makes it to the end of this deal without a buyout, it would be a bit of a surprise.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Bo Horvat ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
F J.T. Miller ($5.25MM through 2022-23)
D Tyler Myers ($6MM through 2023-24)

Horvat logged heavy minutes once again last season but not many appreciate just how much he was used; his 20:50 ATOI was 16th in the league amongst forwards. He also reached the 60-point mark for the first time and considering he’s still just 24, there’s reason for optimism that he can build on that. He’s positioning himself for a big raise on his next contract. Tampa Bay was forced to move Miller for salary cap reasons although the Canucks still paid a big price. He didn’t have a great year with the Lightning but had seasons of 58 and 56 points before that, a level of production that justifies that price tag. He could give the Canucks a big boost offensively next season.

Myers took advantage of a very thin UFA market and Vancouver’s big need to add to their back end to land his deal. There are concerns about the end of his contract considering the workload he has had over his career thus far but they should be able to get a few good seasons out of him. It’s far from a great contract but there are worse ones on this roster.

Buyouts

F Ryan Spooner ($1.33MM through 2020-21)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Salary Cap Recapture

G Roberto Luongo ($3.033MM through 2021-22)

Still To Sign

F Brock Boeser
F Nikolay Goldobin

Boeser is one of the more notable RFAs out there although he’s not at the top of the market. He’s also not eligible for an offer sheet. Earlier reports suggested that Boeser was seeking $7MM per year with Vancouver coming in at $6MM per with a longer term. While that means there’s still some work to be done, it serves as a reasonable range to project from and anything in that range will result in them needing to jettison players to get back into cap compliance before even considering Goldobin. The inconsistent winger actually finished seventh on the team in scoring last season despite not playing in 19 games. It wouldn’t be surprising if Vancouver was pointing to Virtanen’s deal as a possible comparable but Goldobin may be seeking more than that as his 31 points are more than Virtanen has had in a single season. No matter what, a short-term deal (no more than two years) is probable just to lessen their salary cap strain.

Best Value: Pettersson (Horvat among non-ELC players)
Worst Value: Eriksson

Looking Ahead

Even if veterans like Schaller and Biega are sent to the minors (pending waivers), there’s a good chance that they’ll need to free up a bit more cap space to fit in new deals for Boeser and Goldobin. Moving one of Eriksson or Sutter would certainly be preferable but what is GM Jim Benning’s willingness to do so, especially after ceding their 2020 first-rounder (lottery protected that year, unprotected in 2021) to get Miller?

The 2021 offseason will be a huge one with Pettersson, Hughes, and Demko among those needing new deals although they’ll have a good chunk off the books by then as well. Their long-term flexibility isn’t bad overall with only three contracts extending past three years which is something a lot of organizations don’t have. That’s cause for optimism down the road although some short-term pain appears to be on the horizon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Minnesota’s GM Search

August 15, 2019 at 7:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

It has now been more than two weeks since the Wild surprisingly fired GM Paul Fenton after just one season at the helm. While the team is still in the stages of interviewing, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Bill Guerin has already had a second discussion with the team before some prospective candidates have even had their first. That suggests that the 48-year-old may be a frontrunner for the position.

While Guerin has never been an NHL GM before, he does have a strong base of experience to work on. He has been worked in several off-ice roles with Pittsburgh since 2011 ranging from a development coach to GM of AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to assistant GM of the Penguins, a title he has held since 2014-15. He has worked under a pair of respected GMs in Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford so it’s fair to suggest that he might be ready for the challenge.

However, Minnesota went with a rookie in Fenton last time, one that team owner Craig Leipold had some familiarity with from their time in Nashville and that decision didn’t work out too well. Accordingly, some believe that the Wild may be better served with someone with some experience in an NHL GM role. With that in mind, Russo notes former Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall could also get a second look while former executives Mike Gillis and Brian Lawton have had brief discussions with the team so far. Former Boston and Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli has also been linked to Minnesota’s search as was Carolina GM Don Waddell before he re-signed with Carolina.

Meanwhile, others that don’t have NHL GM experience that have garnered some level of consideration are believed to include New Jersey assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald, Los Angeles assistant GM Mike Futa, London Knights GM Mark Hunter, and Montreal assistant GM Scott Mellanby. NBC analyst Pierre McGuire, whose only assistant GM experience came with Hartford in 1993-94, is also believed to have had some discussions with the team though not a formal interview.

With training camps now less than a month away, it stands to reason that they’ll want to have someone in place well before that time. They still have to re-sign Kevin Fiala, a process that’s on hold at this point and there may be other opportunities for player movement closer to the start of training camp (and whenever some of the notable restricted free agents reach new deals). It looks like Guerin is a contender for the position although it also appears that the search is far from complete.

East Notes: Gostisbehere, Coyle, Hedman

August 15, 2019 at 6:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere acknowledged to Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post that he was dealing with a left leg injury throughout last season but that he feels fully recovered from it. The blueliner is coming off a down year offensively as his point total dropped from 65 down to 37 which has led his name to come up in trade speculation. Gostisbehere admitted to being aware that his name is out there but stated that his desire is to remain with Philadelphia as they look to get back into the playoffs following an aggressive summer that saw them land several new veteran players.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Seventh Overall Pick

August 15, 2019 at 5:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)

While the Oilers were probably pretty happy with the way Sam Gagner turned out for them through the first part of his career, our community believes that there was a better forward option available. Voracek had already come over to North America the season leading up to his draft and put up an impressive rookie campaign in the QMJHL. In fact, his 110 points in 71 games for the Halifax Mooseheads during the 2006-07 season earned him the league Rookie of the Year award along with a place on the CHL prospects team. The young forward also participated in the World Junior despite being just 17 years old and scored three points in six games for the Czech Republic.

Voracek has blossomed into an exceptional offensive player at the NHL level too. Stepping into the league full time in 2008, he registered 38 points with the Columbus Blue Jackets, a total that he would eclipse in every season thereafter. His best production came just two years ago with Philadelphia when he put up 85 points in 82 games, but there have been other outstanding years dotted throughout his career. In total, Voracek has 639 points in 846 career games which actually ranks him third among all players picked in 2007.

Even with all of that success, Voracek’s name likely rings of pain for Blue Jackets fans. Not for anything he did, but something the front office decided to do in June, 2011. Voracek, coming off a 46-point season with the club, was traded along with a first and a third round pick the day before the 2011 draft. The return? Jeff Carter, who was coming off an outstanding 36-goal season with the Flyers. Voracek was scheduled to be a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level deal and was leveraged to get a player considered an elite talent in the league. Carter was in the early stages of an 11-year contract (which he is still under) and the Flyers needed some extra room to go after free agent goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Unfortunately, nothing went right for the Blue Jackets after that. Carter would get hurt and eventually force another trade after voicing his displeasure in Columbus, going to Los Angeles in exchange for Jack Johnson and another first round pick in 2013. You would think that pick would help balance out what they gave to Philadelphia in the first place, but where the Flyers selected Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins with their two picks in 2011, Columbus grabbed Marko Dano in 2013. Carter would continue to star in Los Angeles and win two Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal in three years, while Voracek and Couturier are still the backbone of the Flyers offensive attack (along with Claude Giroux, of course).

Looking back, it’s hard to argue with the selection of Voracek at seventh overall. But perhaps if they had picked someone else none of that would have happened. Now you’ll get the chance to re-write history since the Czech forward is already off the board.

With the seventh pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Columbus Blue Jackets select? Cast your vote below!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

Minor Transactions: 08/15/19

August 15, 2019 at 3:52 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Toronto Marlies have re-signed Nicholas Baptiste to an AHL contract, giving them some firepower for next season. Baptiste was originally a third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres but after 47 games in the NHL has been traded twice in the last ten months. The Toronto Maple Leafs decided not to offer Baptiste a qualifying offer this offseason which made him an unrestricted free agent, but he’ll stay with the Marlies for the time being.
The Brandon Wheat Kings have convinced Vegas Golden Knights prospect Marcus Kallionkieli to sign in the CHL, something we suggested when the NHL club signed him to an entry-level contract earlier this summer. The Wheat Kings are owned by Vegas executive Kelly McCrimmon, who picked Kallionkieli in both the NHL draft and CHL Import Draft within just a few days in June.

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