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Archives for August 2019

Morning Notes: Werenski, Versteeg, Boycott

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are confident they will get a deal done with restricted free agent Zach Werenski before training camp, and so are his representatives. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch quotes agent Pat Brisson who says it is their “intention” to have a deal in place before camp opens next month, something that will come as a sigh of relief to Blue Jackets fans.

Werenski has been one of the most productive defensemen in the league through his first three seasons in the NHL, recording 128 points in 237 games. He is also part of one of the very best pairings around when lining up beside Seth Jones, creating a dynamic young duo for the team to build around. Like most other restricted free agents, the 22-year old Werenski is likely looking for a substantial raise but might not have to wait for players like Mitch Marner and Brayden Point to set the market given he plays a different position. In fact, Charlie McAvoy and Ivan Provorov are the only other real star defensemen that remain unsigned to this point. That trio will be interesting to compare when everything is settled.

  • Kris Versteeg signed a one-year AHL contract a few months ago to rejoin the Chicago Blackhawks organization, but may have his sights set on the NHL again down the line. The 33-year old forward told Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago that he isn’t playing hockey for the money anymore but still feels as though he can contribute at a high level. If Versteeg were to impress in the AHL and the Blackhawks wanted to add him to the roster he would have to sign an NHL deal in-season. He played last season in the KHL and Sweden, recording 22 points in 30 games across the two leagues.
  • The fight for more equitable conditions and resources in women’s hockey continues overseas, as the Swedish women’s national team has announced their own boycott. The top 43 women will not participate in the upcoming Five Nations tournament, citing the lack of financial compensation for the players when they take time off from their non-hockey jobs according to Expressen. There was a previous deal that would help players cover the costs of the training camps and time away from their other employment, but it expired at the end of April and has not been renegotiated. The national team was relegated in World Cup competition recently after the Swedish Olympic Committee pulled funding following the 2018 Games. This comes at a time when women’s hockey is in a state of upheaval in North America as well, with the top players sitting out this season as they try to fight for increased resources.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

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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.

San Jose Sharks

Current Cap Hit: $76,867,417 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None that are likely to land a full-time spot in the lineup.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Jonny Brodzinski ($700K, UFA)
G Aaron Dell ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Brenden Dillon ($3.27MM, UFA)
D Tim Heed ($960K, UFA)
F Melker Karlsson ($2MM, UFA)
F Kevin Labanc ($1MM, RFA)
D Dalton Prout ($800K, UFA)
F Lukas Radil ($700K, UFA)
D Radim Simek ($675K, UFA)

Labanc’s contract came as one of the big surprises of the offseason.  A forward that puts up 56 points signs quickly for only $1MM?  That will raise some eyebrows.  The idea behind the deal is that it gives the Sharks a bit more short-term flexibility while also opening up the ability to get to salary arbitration where another season like this one could put him into the $4MM range rather quickly.  Karlsson has been a serviceable fourth liner but barring a big improvement offensively, he’ll probably be looking at a pay cut as $2MM for someone in that role is a bit pricey, especially for a team like the Sharks.  Radil did alright in the second half of the season while Brodzinski will look to bounce back from an injury-plagued year.  Given their cap structure, they’ll be re-signed for a similar rate a year from now or replaced by someone who’ll take that amount.

Dillon has been a speculative trade candidate for a while as someone that’s a bit expensive to fill the role he provides.  He’s a capable third pairing player but with the top end of their salary structure, they’ll be looking to fill that with someone cheaper.  Heed likely left a bit of money on the table when he re-signed but he’ll have a shot at a full-time role next season.  Locking that down would have him in line for a nice raise…even if it has to come from somewhere else.  Simek will also be given a chance to play regular minutes, something that wasn’t the case last year.  He’ll be in line for a higher cap hit no matter what as he’s one of the few players with an AAV below the Upper Limit.  Meanwhile, Prout is a more of a roster filler or a placeholder and whoever has that spot a year or two from now should slot in at a similar rate.

Dell hasn’t been able to live up to his performance from his rookie year when he was a high-end backup.  Now, he’s more towards the back end of that scale and is a bit expensive for that role which is why he has also been in trade speculation dating back to last season.  It’s likely that he’ll be replaced by someone cheaper for 2020-21 and beyond.

Two Years Remaining

F Barclay Goodrow ($925K, UFA)
F Marcus Sorensen ($1.5MM, UFA)

After not doing a whole lot over his first two seasons, Sorensen emerged as a reliable secondary scorer last season as he notched 17 goals.  That earned him a nice raise while keeping him affordable for a bottom-six role which is where he’ll likely remain.  If he can keep that type of production up, he’ll be one of the better bargains that they have.  Goodrow is a prototypical fourth liner whose physicality is one of his calling cards.  That will limit his earning potential unless he can find a way to produce more; his career-high in goals in a single season is seven.

Three Years Remaining

F Tomas Hertl ($5.625MM, UFA)

Hertl’s deal looked a little expensive this time a year ago.  While it bought out some UFA time, he still had yet to reach 50 points.  However, those thoughts no longer exist after a career season that saw him finish second on the team in scoring while establishing himself as a top liner.  What seemed a little questionable a year ago now appears to be quite team-friendly.

Four Or More Years Remaining

D Brent Burns ($8MM through 2024-25)
F Logan Couture ($8MM through 2026-27)
F Evander Kane ($7MM through 2024-25)
D Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM through 2026-27)
G Martin Jones ($5.75MM through 2023-24)
F Timo Meier ($6MM through 2022-23, RFA at expiry)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7MM through 2025-26)

Some teams have built their team towards having flexibility in the future.  San Jose is not one of them as these seven will count for $53.25MM per season for at least four more years.

Couture has emerged as a capable top line center and with Joe Pavelski out of the picture, he’s likely going to stay in that role for the foreseeable future.  He’s coming off of a career season and is in the prime of his career so he should be able to provide a strong return on this contract for a while.  Kane didn’t quite produce at the same level he did after being acquired from Buffalo over the final two months of 2017-18 but he nonetheless had his best season since 2011-12.  There is certainly some risk with his contract given how up and down Kane has been over his career but the reward potential is certainly there as well.  Meier’s contract is interesting.  It keeps him a restricted free agent at the end of it but it comes with a $10MM qualifying offer at the end of it.  That means that the $53.25MM price tag will be going a lot higher four years from now.  In the meantime, the winger will be looking to build off his breakout 30-goal campaign.  If he does, this will certainly be well below market value.

Karlsson’s contract is in a league of its own.  Literally.  It’s the richest contract ever given to a defenseman and there is some considerable risk/reward at play.  Karlsson has dealt with considerable injury issues in recent years including some recurring groin trouble last season.  As a result, he had just three goals last year.  On the surface, that seems like quite the overpayment.  On the other hand, he’s still a dangerous playmaker and with some rest over the offseason, he should be ready to go and get closer to the 70 points he has put up four times in his career already.  The back years are going to be rough but Karlsson returning to form should give the Sharks some value from this deal.  If it doesn’t happen though, then this could very well become the worst contract in the league in a hurry.

Burns’ contract looked expensive when it was signed back in 2016 but the Karlsson and Drew Doughty deals make it look a little more reasonable now.  He certainly provided a great return in 2018-19 as he led the team in scoring with 83 points.  However, he’s 34 now and there are six years left on the deal.  Like Karlsson, the back few years could be painful.  Vlasic is a reliable defensive defender but doesn’t bring a lot offensively to the table.  That makes his price tag on the high side but given the success he has had with Burns, it’s understandable why they wanted to commit to him long-term as well.

Jones had a particularly rough season last year.  After playing at a league-average level (even a little bit above at times) for the previous three seasons, his performance was below average for a backup last year.  With five years left on his deal, there is no trade market for Jones so the Sharks will have to wait it out.  If he doesn’t rebound though, this could also be somewhat of an anchor although it isn’t as buyout-prohibitive as some of their other contracts.

Buyouts

D Paul Martin ($1.417MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Hertl
Worst Value: Karlsson

Looking Ahead

With more than $4MM to work with, GM Doug Wilson has some flexibility to work with although most of that is likely to go to Joe Thornton while Patrick Marleau wants to sign there as well.  Both would be one-year deals which gives them the option to put some bonuses in to retain some ability for in-season movement.

However, with the big tickets they have on the books long-term, San Jose is going to be battling cap issues for the foreseeable future.  They’ll be filling out their roster with entry-level deals and affordable veterans and players in that middle tier will eventually be plying their trade elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Mikko Rantanen’s Contract Talks

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Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen is among the group of top-level restricted free agents that appear to be holding up much of the remaining offseason activity.  While he’s also in the group that appears to be waiting for other players to sign first, GM Joe Sakic told NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski that they are open to doing a short-term deal although their preference is to get something longer done.

Despite that preference, it doesn’t appear as if much has been done in an effort to secure a long-term contract.  Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reports that there have been no discussions between Colorado and Rantanen’s agent Mike Liut dating back to an informal discussion back at the draft.

While daily discussions certainly aren’t a requirement in these types of negotiations, both sides typically check in from time to time to see if progress can be made.  On the surface, this report would suggest that there is a sizable gap to bridge and both sides are waiting for the other to make the first move towards a compromise.

Rantanen is coming off of a career year that saw him collect 87 points despite missing the final eight games of the regular season due to an upper-body injury.  It was the second straight year that he eclipsed the 80-point plateau which has him in line to be one of the top-paid RFAs in this class.  A deal in the $9MM to $10MM range is likely at this point unless he winds up with a bridge contract that doesn’t buy out any UFA eligibility.  However, Liut’s track record would suggest a short-term agreement isn’t likely.

With still a month to go before the start of training camps, there’s still plenty of time to get something done although the lack of substantive discussions thus far is a little surprising.  At the very least, the Avs won’t have any issue fitting Rantanen into their salary cap as they currently sit with more than $16MM in cap room, per CapFriendly.  That mitigates the risk of an offer sheet (as minor as that risk may be) but it appears that there’s a long way to go to get a deal done.

St. Louis Blues Extend ECHL Affiliation

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The St. Louis Blues have agreed to a one-year extension with the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. 2019-20 will be the third year the two organizations have partnered, giving the Blues a second minor league team to develop their prospects.

Tulsa actually advanced to the third round of the Kelly Cup playoffs last season, their best year since joining the ECHL. Led by star Adam Pleskach, who scored 38 goals and 75 points, the team put up a 42-24-6 record in the regular season. Like most teams, the Blues use their ECHL roster for raw or long-shot prospects but also continue to develop potential future goaltenders. Stanley Cup champion Jordan Binnington spent time in the ECHL during the early part of his career, and last season saw second-round pick Evan Fitzpatrick start 25 games for Tulsa.

As more and more teams invest heavily in their development systems, the low minors continue to increase in importance. If Fitzpatrick ends up back in the ECHL next season he can focus entirely on his training, instead of trying to learn a new organization and city.

Examining 2018-19 Professional Tryout Results

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When the NHL starts running out of cap space as it is now, many unsigned unrestricted free agents have to resort to a different tactic than a normal negotiation. Instead of pursuing opportunities overseas or in the minor leagues, these veterans sign professional tryouts to try and make an impact in training camp. Already we’ve seen a few of these, with the Toronto Maple Leafs signing Michal Neuvirth and Matt Read while the Philadelphia Flyers took a chance on Chris Stewart. For the last few weeks there have been reports linking the Boston Bruins and Alexander Petrovic in a similar capacity, something that Alex Thomas of Boston Hockey Now has heard again today.

To be clear, actually getting an NHL contract out of a professional tryout is rare. Most of the players brought into camps are there to fill veteran quotas in road preseason games and are cut before the start of the regular season. But every once in a while, someone impresses enough to land a spot on the roster. Here are several examples from last season:

Alex Chiasson, Edmonton Oilers – 73 GP, 22 goals, 38 points

The poster boy for the PTO last season was Chiasson, who not only made the Oilers out of camp but experienced the best offensive season of his career. In fact, Chiasson was the fourth-highest scoring forward on Edmonton and set himself to not have to deal with another tryout for a while. The Oilers re-signed the 28-year old forward to a two-year, $4.3MM deal last month to keep him in the fold.

Jason Garrison, Edmonton Oilers – 17 GP, 1 goal, 1 point

Things didn’t go quite so smoothly for the other Oilers PTO that earned a contract. Garrison outplayed Jakub Jerabek in camp and earned a deal, but ended up on the move just a few months later. After 17 games with Edmonton, Garrison was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the Drake Caggiula–Brandon Manning deal where his contract was promptly terminated. Garrison ended up playing the rest of the year in Sweden, where he helped Djurgardens to the SHL Final.

Drew Stafford, New Jersey Devils – 57 GP, 5 goals, 13 points

Stafford came back to the Devils on a PTO after playing 59 games for them in 2017-18, and earned a spot after Jesper Bratt suffered a broken jaw in the preseason. The veteran forward would end up playing in a good chunk of the season but was still unable to contribute much offensively. Still, extending your career by another full NHL season and earning a cool $810K isn’t a bad outcome.

Stephen Gionta, New York Islanders – 5 GP, 0 goals, 0 points

Gionta didn’t actually get a contract at the end of camp, but decided to stick around and see if something happened in the first few weeks of the season. That decision paid off as Casey Cizikas suffered an injury leading to a two-way deal for Gionta in mid-October. A few days later he was clearing waivers and going down to join the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the third consecutive season where he spent the majority of the year. Gionta has recently taken a scouting position with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Luca Sbisa, New York Islanders – 9 GP, 0 goals, 1 point

When Sbisa earned a $1.5MM deal in Islanders training camp it looked like he had fully recovered from the injury that had limited him to just 30 games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and was ready to be a key contributor once again. Instead he served as a press box regular and ended up actually playing in just a handful of games all season. Sbisa is still unsigned this summer and may have to use the tryout method again if he wants to continue his NHL career. At just 29, it is unfortunate just how quickly things have fallen apart for the 2008 first round pick.

Michal Cajkovsky, Carolina Hurricanes – 0 GP, 0 goals, 0 points

The KHL veteran ended up earning a contract in camp with the Hurricanes, but given he was still waiver-exempt he ended up in the minors before the season began. After 23 games with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, Cajkovsky decided it was time to leave North America once again and saw his contract mutually terminated. He ended up back in the KHL for the rest of the year.

Brandon Davidson, Chicago Blackhawks – 10 GP, 0 goals, 1 point

For the second consecutive season the Blackhawks decided to sign a veteran defenseman at the end of camp. Following Cody Franson in 2017, Davidson inked a $650K deal with the Blackhawks and was on the roster at the start of the season. He’d end up injured and scratched most of the time before clearing waivers and ending up back in the minor leagues. Amazingly, Davidson didn’t have to wait around this time and has already signed with the Calgary Flames for 2019-20.

Lee Stempniak, Boston Bruins – 2 GP, 0 goals, 0 points

Stempniak actually stuck around with the Bruins and their AHL affiliate for most of the season without a contract, only officially signing on February 24th. He was used a lot more by the Providence Bruins instead of Boston, but did get into a pair of NHL games to keep his career alive.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Philip Holm

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The Chicago Blackhawks have brought in some more defensive depth, signing Philip Holm to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Holm $700K at the NHL level and brings him back to North America after one year in the KHL.

Holm, 27, signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks in 2017 after a breakout season in the SHL, but ended up playing just one game in the NHL. Instead he spent most of the first part of the season with the Utica Comets before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and ending up in the AHL again with the Chicago Wolves. While he didn’t get much of a chance in the NHL, Holm did dominate the AHL level scoring 38 points in 63 games.

In 2018-19 with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Holm ended up making the All-Star game and recording 26 points in 61 games. The puck-mover showed once again that he can contribute at one of the highest levels in the world, obviously leading to interest from the Blackhawks. Where he fits into their depth chart isn’t clear after they have completely rebuilt their defensive group, but his presence does give them another experienced option if they run into injury troubles.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Sixth Overall Pick

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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)

The Montreal Canadiens have now lost two players to the redraft top five, but amazingly neither of them were their first pick that year. Pacioretty was selected well ahead of Subban however, and he deserved it. Coming into the 2007 draft, the USHL star was already listed at over 6’1″ and weighed in at 203 pounds. He was a grown man already, ready to take on the next level of hockey at the University of Michigan. The goal-scoring forward ended up registering 39 points in 37 games as a freshman and won the CCHA Rookie of the Year award. He would also suit up for Team USA at the World Juniors, though he was held scoreless in the tournament.

Scoreless wasn’t something said to describe Pacioretty for long. Jumping to the AHL following just one year in college, he recorded 29 points in 37 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs and got into 34 contests with Montreal. After bouncing back and forth the next two years he broke out in his first full NHL season with 33 goals and 65 points in 2011-12, establishing himself as one of the premier goal-scoring wingers in the league. Though the next season was shortened by a lockout, Pacioretty would go on to record four more 30+ goal seasons between 2013-2017, taking on the Canadiens’ captaincy in the process.

Traded to the Vegas Golden Knights prior to last season, Pacioretty trails just Kane and Benn in goals from the 2007 draft class. His 488 points put him sixth in the group. In 45 career playoff games he has 15 goals and 30 points, and has routinely done most of his damage at even-strength. Though he may not have the high ceiling that players like Kane and Benn bring, Pacioretty has been a consistent top-six forward in the league for quite some time and is still an effective option. Not bad from a pick in the last third of the first round.

In hindsight, the Edmonton Oilers may have rather used the sixth pick on Pacioretty. Instead they decided to go with Sam Gagner, who was ranked sixth among all North American skaters after a simply incredible season for the London Knights of the OHL. Coming from the USHL himself, Gagner put up 118 points in 53 games centering a line with Kane and Sergei Kostitsyn. Unlike Kane however he also took home the gold medal as part of Team Canada at the World Junior, despite not even being drafted yet.

There was little doubt that Gagner was going to be an NHL talent. While some may have wondered if his offense would be good enough without Kane alongside him, he quickly put that thought to rest stepping directly into the NHL with the Oilers. Gagner put up 49 points in that 2008-09 season, finishing seventh in Calder Trophy voting. Unfortunately the 79 games he played that season would be the most he ever had in a single year with the Oilers as nagging injuries took away small chunks of playing time regularly throughout his career in Edmonton. Still he recorded at least 37 points in every season before bouncing around the league the last several years.

Gagner’s NHL career may be almost over at this point after spending the majority of the 2018-19 season in the minor leagues, but that doesn’t mean it has been a disappointment. In 802 career games the 30-year old has 446 points, which actually puts him eighth among all 2007 draftees. Sure, the Oilers may have had better options but Gagner was far from a bust. That doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily be the pick in our redraft though!

With the sixth pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Edmonton Oilers select? Cast your vote below!

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Minor Transactions: 08/13/19

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

  • Northeastern has announced a pair of graduate transfers for the upcoming season, one with a very familiar hockey name. Brendan van Riemsdyk, younger brother of NHL players James van Riemsdyk and Trevor van Riemsdyk, will join the Huskies after three seasons at the University of New Hampshire. Undrafted, the 23-year old forward had 16 points in 36 games last season.
  • Former Kelly Cup champion Gabriel Verpaelst has signed on with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL for next season, bringing his physicality to a new organization. Verpaelst has racked up 706 penalty minutes in 292 ECHL games including 65 fighting majors.
  • The Halifax Mooseheads and Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL have completed a trade, swapping Cameron Whynot and a 2021 third for Xavier Parent. Whynot was the ninth overall pick in the most recent QMJHL draft and is already a 6’2″ defenseman at the age of 16. He is eligible for selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but still has a lot of development to do in junior. Parent meanwhile was also a high pick, selected fourth in 2017 by the Mooseheads. He recorded 34 points in 67 games last season and was part of the gold medal-winning Hlinka-Gretzky team. He was eligible this season but went undrafted by the NHL likely thanks in part to his 5’7″ stature.

Carolina Hurricanes Hire Jason Muzzatti

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If you were a fan of the Hartford Whalers in the mid-nineties, you may remember the team acquiring a young first-round goaltender off waivers from the Calgary Flames named Jason Muzzatti. Now nearly 25 years later Muzzatti is on his way back to the franchise, this time as the goaltending coach for the Carolina Hurricanes. Muzzatti has been hired to join Rod Brind’Amour’s staff for the upcoming season after Mike Bales resigned and went to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this offseason.

Muzzatti certainly isn’t a new face for Brind’Amour to get used to. Not only did the pair face off in the NHL, but they were teammates at Michigan State University during the 1988-89 season. Michigan State is where Muzzatti has been coaching the last several seasons, but will now get his first chance to work with an NHL franchise in this capacity. GM Don Waddell explained the hiring:

Jason brings a wealth of experience as a former NHL goaltender and a coach at multiple levels. We believe he will fit in well in our coaches’ office and form strong relationships with our netminders.

Goaltending was an unexpected bright spot for the Hurricanes last season when the tandem of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney helped them all the way to the Eastern Conference Final, but it will be tested once again with a new group. James Reimer and Anton Forsberg were both brought in to compete to be Mrazek’s backup, while young Alex Nedeljkovic is still waiting for his opportunity at the NHL level. Muzzatti will need to get the most out of each player if the Hurricanes (and Charlotte Checkers for that matter) are to experience the same kind of success in 2019-20.

Minnesota Not Given Permission To Interview Bill Zito

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In June, the Columbus Blue Jackets promoted Bill Zito to senior vice president of hockey operations and associate general manager. It sounds like they don’t want to lose him from that position, as Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the Minnesota Wild asked for permission to speak with Zito for their vacant GM position and were not granted it. Russo had previously reported the same regarding New York Rangers assistant GM Chris Drury.

Interestingly though, the Wild interviewed Zito for the job last summer before eventually going with Paul Fenton. Now that Fenton has been relieved of his duties just 14 months into his tenure, it seems as though they have missed their chance to hire the Columbus executive. Zito has been on the short list for several positions around the league over the last few years, including the Philadelphia Flyers job that eventually went to former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher and with the Seattle expansion team who eventually hired Ron Francis.

There’s good reason for the interest, as Zito has deep ties to the hockey world. Once one of the more powerful player agents in the league, Zito has experience negotiating contracts from both sides of the table. He has now been with the Blue Jackets since 2013, and took over as general manager of their AHL affiliate in 2015. In his first season running the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters the team won a Calder Cup. He also served as GM of Team USA at the 2018 World Championship, bringing home a bronze medal.

Don Waddell also obviously won’t be taking the Minnesota position after inking an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes today. Ron Hextall, Bill Guerin and Tom Fitzgerald are among the candidates previously linked to the Wild.

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