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Minor Transactions: 12/08/20

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The NHL offseason has come to a standstill, with no unrestricted free agents signed to one-way contracts in a month. Still, the ECHL and many European leagues continue to play or prepare, meaning hockey players signing deals all over the world. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.

  • Former NHL forward Carter Ashton has signed with Leksands IF for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. The 29-year-old winger played in 54 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs over three seasons before jumping to the KHL in 2015. He spent the next five seasons there, suiting up for four different teams before now making change and joining the SHL. Ashton, a 6’4″ power forward, scored 15 goals and 25 points in 62 games last season for Dinamo Riga.
  • Ryan Culkin, who spent the last two seasons splitting time between the Laval Rocket and Maine Mariners, has agreed to join the Bratislava Capitals of the ICEHL. The 26-year-old defenseman was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round but never made it to the NHL level. In 45 games with Maine last season he recorded 33 points.
  • Alex Lintuniemi, who was under an NHL contract as recently as November 2019, will join Barys Nur-Sultan for the rest of the KHL season. Originally selected 60th overall by the Los Angeles Kings, Lintuniemi never did play a game in the NHL. After signing a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes in July 2019, he played just four games with their AHL team before terminating his contract to return to Finland. The 25-year-old defenseman had four points in 11 games for JYP this season but will try his luck in the KHL instead.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have assigned goaltender David Tendeck to the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, the league’s transactions revealed. Tendeck, 21, is finally getting a chance to play in the pros after he was selected in the sixth round in 2018. Tendeck has been given a look in NHL training camp in each of the past two years, but was eventually returned to juniors. This past season, his fifth and final with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, Tendeck was stellar, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.29 GAA. Tendeck hopes to challenge Ivan Prosvetov for the ’Yotes’ AHL backup role at some point this season.
  • Fellow WHL product Bryce Kindopp will also begin his pro career in the ECHL. The Anaheim Ducks have assigned the skilled forward to the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, per the league’s transactions. An undrafted free agent, Kinopp was signed by the Ducks early this spring after finishing his second straight 70+ point season. As the captain of the Everett Silvertips this year, Kindopp showed a goal-scoring punch and clutch gene that should serve him well in the pros.

Florida Panthers Create Goaltending Excellence Department

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The Florida Panthers have created a new hockey operations department, establishing the “Goaltending Excellence Department” that will be led by special advisor to the GM Roberto Luongo and new goaltending consultant Francois Allaire. They will be joined by Panthers goaltending coach Robb Tallas and Charlotte Checkers goaltending coach Leo Luongo and will focus on “comprehensive, integrated experience and program for all goaltenders in the Panthers system.”

GM Bill Zito released a statement on the formation of his new department:

Francois is a revered and highly influential figure in our game who has mentored a number of goaltenders to elite levels of play. Francois and Roberto provide us with unmatched experience and an exceptional pedigree. Their guidance, in tandem with our goaltending excellence staff gives us confidence in the evaluation of future talent and that Panthers goaltenders will be provided invaluable resources for their success and development.

Allaire has been a goaltending coach in the NHL for more than three decades, originally working with Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens. His time has taken him to the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Colorado Avalanche, where he worked closely with Conn Smythe-winning goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Roberto Luongo meanwhile is one of the most celebrated goaltenders in NHL history and sits third all-time in wins with 489. His long connection with the Panthers organization will continue in this new endeavor as the Excellence Department will provide “consistent communication, guidance, and unified instruction” to every goaltender in the system. Currently, that includes Sergei Bobrovsky, Chris Driedger, Ryan Bednard, Philippe Desrosiers, and Sam Montembeault, but likely also extends to 19-year-old Spencer Knight who was selected 13th overall in 2019 and is still playing at Boston College. Knight’s performance at every level so far has been nothing short of spectacular and his development extemely important to the Panthers organization. In four games this season for Boston College he has registered a .955 save percentage and notched two shutouts. He is expected to be Team USA’s starter at the upcoming World Junior Championship.

WJC Notes: Canada, Reichel, Sweden

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Canada’s selection camp for the World Junior Championship has restarted today after a two-week pause due to positive COVID-19 test results. While the action is back on with practice today and an intra-squad game tomorrow, things will be cut short for several players this week. As Bob McKenzie of TSN reports, the final 25-man roster is expected to be finalized by Friday and it will not include the two unnamed players who originally tested positive. Those two, plus another three players for an unspecified reason, will not be included in the return to play protocols and instead sent home. (UPDATE: Those players are Matthew Robertson, Ridly Greig, Daemon Hunt, Mason Millman, and Xavier Simoneau)

Even with these exclusions and the absence of Alexis Lafreniere, Canada remains a powerhouse upfront and a favorite for the tournament. The group, which includes Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach, should be loaded with offensive talent and has a stable of elite puck-moving defensemen to quickly get it up to the talented forwards. As we wait for NHL hockey to resume (hopefully next month), the World Juniors should be a spectacle to behold.

  • Unfortunately, another Blackhawks prospect won’t be able to go. The German team has ruled out Lukas Reichel and Nino Kinder from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. Reichel, selected 17th overall by the Blackhawks earlier this fall, played in the tournament last year and was one of Germany’s better players, scoring five points in seven games. Kinder meanwhile also participated a year ago, but was limited to just two points in seven games and went undrafted.
  • Not only has Sweden lost several top players already, but today they announced that head coach Tomas Monten and assistant coach Anton Lundberg have also tested positive. The issue has always been getting these players and staff to the starting line in the Edmonton bubble, something that is becoming more and more difficult by the day.

Chris Terry Signs In KHL

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Another minor league hockey player has decided to take his talents overseas, as Chris Terry has signed with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL. Terry spent the last two seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, where he has been one of the league’s most consistent scoring threats for some time.

Now 31, Terry was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2007 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and after some outstanding performances in the OHL, jumped into the professional ranks and never looked back. In his rookie season with the Albany River Rats in 2009-10, he scored 17 goals and 47 points, a sign of what was to come over the next decade. Since then, Terry has posted seasons of 64, 59, 60, 69, 68, 71, 61, and 51 points in the AHL, consistently appearing in the league’s All-Star Game and on the leaderboards. He has received somewhat sporadic opportunities in the NHL, suiting up for 152 games over the years and recording 38 points.

With his latest contract expiring and jobs being tough to come by in North America, Terry will continue his hockey journey in the KHL. It seems likely that the minor league weapon will find success overseas, using his excellent hockey sense and finishing ability to add some scoring to the Torpedo lineup.

Latest On Mid-January Season Start

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The NHL and NHLPA have resolved their financial issues that were a potential hold up for the 2020-21 season. Now, both sides are moving forward to work out a season that could start as early as January 13, according to Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun of TSN. Dreger adds that NHL training camps will likely be ten days long and not include any exhibition play. The seven teams that did not qualify for this summer’s postseason bubble are now unlikely to receive any additional training camp time.

In his piece for The Athletic, LeBrun includes a quote from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly:

We are moving forward with the process of working through all of the issues that need to be addressed and agreed to, and that are obviously unique to playing a season during a pandemic.

That doesn’t spark a ton of confidence, but LeBrun explains that both sides have agreed to leave the financial terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed this summer as part of a CBA extension, as they currently are. That “renegotiation” was one of the things that the players’ union would not budge on, believing they signed a fair deal a few months ago. With the NHL presumably backing down on any changes, things can now start to move forward on planning and protocols for the upcoming season.

There is no guarantee that the two sides can work through everything, but the focus now is on a January 13 start of a 56-game schedule. Today’s news has brought plenty of optimism among the hockey community, but LeBrun cautions that the COVID-19 situation all across North America and the world could still potentially delay or derail the season completely.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New Jersey Devils

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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 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New Jersey Devils

Current Cap Hit: $64,304,999 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jesper Boqvist (two years, $925K)
F Jack Hughes (two years, $925K)
F Janne Kuokkanen (one year, $812K)
F Michael McLeod (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Hughes: $2.85MM
Kuokkanen: $32.5K
McLeod: $500K
Total: $3.3825MM

Hughes, the top pick from the 2019 draft, didn’t have a great rookie season but was also making the jump from the USHL which was basically uncharted waters.  A lot can change over the next couple of years and if he takes the big step forward offensively that many expect him to, he’ll be able to bypass a bridge deal and get a long-term, big-money deal.  Boqvist split last season between the Devils and AHL Binghamton which should have him in the mix for a spot on the fourth line but his offensive numbers will need to improve if he wants to make what he’s getting now on his second deal.  McLeod, a 2016 first-round pick, has struggled over his first two professional seasons but with the AHL likely to have an even shorter year than the NHL, keeping him up for an extended look may be best for his development.  Kuokkanen was an important part of the Sami Vatanen deal back at the deadline and it’s possible he’s in the mix for a spot at the end of the roster as well.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Connor Carrick ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Nikita Gusev ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Kulikov ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Ryan Murray ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Kyle Palmieri ($4.65MM, UFA)
F Travis Zajac ($5.75MM, UFA)

While Palmieri isn’t the highest-paid player on this list, that won’t be the case for much longer.  Since joining the Devils, he has emerged as a consistent goal scorer, potting between 24 and 30 goals over his five seasons with the team.  While the current free agent market hasn’t been particularly kind to wingers this offseason, New Jersey is in a position where they can afford to pay above market value to ensure they keep him around and not lose a big part of their attack to free agency.  If he does make it to the open market though, he should have no shortage of suitors though how many will be able to afford him (a standard caveat that is going to apply for a few years for any UFA of note) remains to be seen.

Zajac has been a fixture in New Jersey’s lineup for the past 14 seasons but his time as a top-six center has come and gone.  With an abundance of younger options down the middle, it wouldn’t be surprising if he finds himself elsewhere in 2021-22 at about a third of what he costs now although GM Tom Fitzgerald could try to keep Zajac around in a mentor role as well.  Gusev had a bit of a shaky start to his NHL career last season but eventually became a productive player in their top six.  Given his limited track record, predicting his next contract is a bit trickier but he’ll need to improve on his offensive numbers to have a shot at a raise.

Murray was brought in as a cap dump from Columbus and lands in a good spot where he’ll help stabilize their top four, provided he can stay healthy.  That’s a huge if based on his career and even if he stays healthy this season, his history of being injured will certainly limit his market although Chris Tanev, an oft-injured blueliner, was able to still land a four-year, $18MM deal this offseason.  As things stand, that’s around what he should be targeting as things stand.  Carrick has had a limited role since joining the Devils and will likely be the sixth or seventh defender again.  That’s a high price tag for that spot on the depth chart and he’ll be hard-pressed to land that on his next deal.  Kulikov was overpaid with Winnipeg but he did log 20 minutes a game and hold his own last season.  This was a decent under the radar move for the Devils and he could have an opportunity to rebuild his value with them this coming season.

Two Years Remaining

D Will Butcher ($3.733MM, UFA)
G Corey Crawford ($3.9MM, UFA)
D P.K. Subban ($9MM, UFA)
F Miles Wood ($2.75MM, RFA)
F Pavel Zacha ($2.25MM, RFA)

Wood has seen his production taper off slightly the last couple of years and instead of looking like a possible top-six winger, he’s settled in as more of a third liner.  He’s still an effective player and is one of the quicker players in the league but he’s owed a $3.5MM qualifying offer when this deal is up and that price tag is looking a little high as things stand.  Zacha hasn’t lived up to his draft billing yet (sixth overall in 2015) but he has taken some small steps forward the last couple of years.  Long term, he probably profiles no higher than a third-line center at this point and a $3MM qualifier for someone in that role is justifiable although he probably doesn’t stand to make much more than that on his next deal.

Subban was brought in last offseason from Nashville as the Predators were looking to free up salary and his return to the Eastern Conference wasn’t the greatest.  He struggled to the worst offensive season of his career while he actually saw less ice time than he was getting with the Preds on a team where the expectation was that he’d be their top defender.  It’s a bad-value contract but one that they can afford.  He’s looking at a sizable dip in pay on his next contract.  Butcher also had a tough year offensively, putting up career-low numbers which isn’t ideal for someone billed as an offensive defenseman.  Getting back to his rookie production (44 points) is what he’ll need if he wants a shot at cashing in on a long-term deal.

Crawford signed with New Jersey in free agency after he and Chicago weren’t able to come to terms on a new deal with term being a sticking point.  At this point, he’s a short-term bridge goalie and a bit above-average for that role.  His contract reflects both of those factors and is a pretty good deal for the Devils.

Three Years Remaining

F Andreas Johnsson ($3.4MM, UFA)
D Damon Severson ($4.17MM, UFA)

Johnsson was also brought in as a cap casualty as Toronto needed to free up room this offseason.  He is coming off an injury-riddled season but has a 20-goal year under his belt.  Based on the market last offseason, he’s on a fair-market deal.

Severson’s contract is slowly turning into a bargain as he has settled in nicely on their top pairing and led the team in ATOI last season.  While his offensive game may not get to that next tier, it doesn’t need to in order to justify that price tag.  A top-pairing player making number four money is nice value even if he should be in a lower spot on the depth chart.

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Capitals Winger Beck Malenstyn Out Six To Eight Months

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With the Capitals needing to keep some low-priced players at the end of their roster, winger Beck Malenstyn was expected to push for a spot with Washington in training camp.  That won’t be the case now as the team announced (Twitter link) over the weekend that he will miss the next six-to-eight months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.  The injury was sustained during offseason training.

The 22-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into three games with the Caps.  He was held off the scoresheet while collecting five hits but was invited back as part of their reserves for the postseason this past summer.  Malenstyn spent most of the season with AHL Hershey, putting up seven goals and eight assists in 46 games while playing an energy and penalty killing role which is what Washington will need from their depth options.  However, this timeline basically takes out his entire 2020-21 campaign before it even gets started.

Even with defenseman Michal Kempny out long-term after undergoing Achilles tendon surgery of his own which makes him LTIR-eligible, the Capitals will still have very limited cap space to work with to round out their roster.  As things stand, wingers Daniel Sprong, Shane Gersich, and Daniel Carr plus center Michael Sgarbossa are all likely in the mix for the 12th and 13th forward positions due to their low price tag and the fact they’ve had some NHL experience although GM Brian MacLellan could opt to add a veteran free agent to that mix as well.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Columbus Blue Jackets

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We’ve now made it past Thanksgiving and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Blue Jackets most thankful for?

Strong management and coaching.

If someone were to try and choose the best general manager/head coach tandem in the league to build a franchise around, the Blue Jackets duo of Jarmo Kekalainen and John Tortorella may be right up near the top. When Kekalainen took over in February of 2013, the Blue Jackets had experienced just a single winning season in their history. 2009 was their only time in the playoffs and they were swept out of the first round without winning a game.

In his seven full seasons running the front office, the team has put up six winning seasons and reached the playoffs five times. It’s no coincidence that four of those appearances have been since Tortorella took over partway through the 2015-16 season. Time and again when the rest of the hockey world zigs, Kekalainen zags, usually to strong results. Though the duo hasn’t been able to take Columbus to the promised land: “in Jarmo we trust.”

Who are the Blue Jackets most thankful for?

Pierre-Luc Dubois.

While acquiring Seth Jones in 2016 still may be Kekalainen’s most important move, the selection of Dubois later that year may be his most impressive. After Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine were off the board, everyone was expecting the Blue Jackets to select Jesse Puljujarvi with the third selection in the NHL entry draft. Puljujarvi was a consensus top prospect that was supposed to become a premier power forward in the league and to boot, he was Finnish just like Kekalainen. When the Blue Jackets GM strode to the podium and proudly selected Dubois instead, perhaps the hockey world should have been tipped off to what was coming for the eventual Edmonton Oilers forward.

Puljujarvi has struggled and fought his way to 37 points in 139 NHL games, while Dubois has become a legitimate first-line center in Columbus. While his offensive production still lags behind Matthew Tkachuk (selected sixth) and Alex DeBrincat (39th), there’s little doubt that Dubois is one of the most valuable players available from the 2016 draft and was a homerun selection for Kekalainen. The 22-year-old forward is still awaiting his next contract, but he showed exactly the type of player he could be this summer when he led Columbus with 10 points in 10 postseason games while averaging nearly 23 minutes a night.

What would the Blue Jackets be even more thankful for?

A commitment to Columbus.

Quite dramatically in the summer of 2019, the Blue Jackets were forced to say goodbye to Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, and others in free agency. Though the team is still strong and several of the deals signed by those players look troublesome, it still would have been huge for them to sell Panarin on the city of Columbus. It’s not that the Hart Trophy candidate ever spoke badly of the market, but when the bright lights of New York came calling, he left.

After being eliminated from the postseason that year, Kekalainen spoke to reporters including Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch about what he wanted, something that some could argue he still hasn’t found:

I think it’s important moving forward that we’re going to have guys that are proud to be Blue Jackets and proud to be living in Columbus and loving it here. That’s really important — that they bleed blue, or whatever you want to call it.

Yeah. The guys that want to be here are going to be here and the guys that don’t want to be here, good luck.

That commitment will be tested soon. After the 2021-22 season, Jones will be an unrestricted free agent and likely the most sought-after commodity on the market if he gets there. Max Domi, Boone Jenner, Dean Kukan, Elvis Merzlikins, and Joonas Korpisalo are all scheduled to hit the market at the same time. Zach Werenski will be an RFA. Will they decide they want to be in Columbus, or will Kekalainen be wishing more good luck?

What should be on the Blue Jackets’ holiday wish list?

Another weapon.

Just over a month ago, Gustav Nyquist underwent shoulder surgery and was given a five-to-six month recovery timeline. That means he won’t be available for a good chunk of this season, taking away Columbus’ second-highest scorer. Sure, Oliver Bjorkstrand looks like he’ll quickly take over that role (if not pass Dubois entirely) but the Blue Jackets need more at the offensive end of the rink.

Specifically, there’s no reason a team that boasts powerplay quarterbacks like Jones and Werenski should be near the bottom of the league in conversion. The Blue Jackets scored on just 16.4% of their man-advantage situations last season, fifth-worst in the league and unacceptable for a team looking to contend in the playoffs. They need to find a go-to option when a penalty is put on the board and there are still some available on the open market (cough–Mike Hoffman–cough). It doesn’t necessarily need to be a UFA mercenary, but something has to be added.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

William Wallinder Will Not Play In WJC

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Sweden had already lost several important players from their World Junior team over the weekend and now has ruled out another member of the preliminary roster. William Wallinder will not take part in the tournament, with Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News reporting that it is because his club team had a COVID-19 outbreak.

Wallinder, 18, joins William Eklund and Karl Henriksson on the sidelines for the tournament thanks to health situations, leaving Sweden without three important players. The young defenseman was selected 32nd overall at the recent NHL draft, picked by the Detroit Red Wings with the first choice of the second round. Wallinder brings a unique mix of size and skating ability, standing 6’4″ but gliding around the ice effortlessly.

With just a few weeks left before the tournament is set to begin, it is a race against time for these prospects. If they can stay healthy enough and removed from COVID-19 until they enter the bubble in Edmonton, the event should move forward. But with outbreaks still occurring all over the world, Wallinder likely won’t be the last player ruled out.

Snapshots: League Finances, Summers, Seattle

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The NBA will be financially assisting each of its teams to the tune of $30MM this season, according to a report from John Lombardo in the Sports Business Journal. The report indicates that the league will issue cash payments to their teams, and Emily Kaplan of ESPN tweets that the NHL is working on a similar plan.

Though it’s not clear what amount the NHL would distribute, it obviously will be trying to get all 32 teams through the current financial climate without any major issues. That 32nd team, Seattle, is basically doing the same thing as the league, splitting a $650MM expansion fee between every team except the Vegas Golden Knights (who will be left out of the expansion draft).

  • Speaking of Seattle, The Athletic has been releasing their fifth mock draft today, examining each team specifically and what they might give up to the expansion franchise. The New York Islanders piece by Arthur Staple in particular is an interesting read, with Jordan Eberle, Semyon Varlamov, Nick Leddy, and others all left unprotected. The Kraken may not be as loaded as the Golden Knights were right off the bat, but there will still be many talented players available after this season concludes.
  • Chris Summers has decided not to return to the Nurnberg Ice Tigers for 2020-21, telling the team he did not wish to travel during the current COVID-19 crisis. Summers’ contract has been terminated, making him an unrestricted free agent. The 32-year-old defenseman is a longtime AHL veteran that only took his game overseas last year and has played more than 500 games at the minor league level.

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