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Archives for September 2021

Dominik Kahun Signs In Swiss League

September 6, 2021 at 9:20 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

September 6th: Kahun’s three-year deal with SC Bern was made official by the team this morning. Oilers reporter Jim Matheson reports that Kahun’s deal includes an out clause every offseason if Kahun wishes to return to the NHL.

August 26th: After his rookie season, free agent forward Dominik Kahun looked like he’d be a decent secondary player in the NHL but things haven’t gone well for him since then.  As a result, it appears that he could be heading overseas as a report from Blick in Switzerland has the 26-year-old nearing a three-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA.

Kahun was somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by Buffalo last fall after the Sabres acquired him from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline.  After waiting the market out, he was able to catch on with Edmonton who eyed reuniting him with fellow countryman Leon Draisaitl in the hopes of having Kahun provide some depth scoring for a low cost.

Unfortunately for Kahun and the Oilers, that didn’t exactly happen.  He managed just nine goals and six assists in 48 games (after notching more than 30 points in each of his first two years) and wound up working his way down the lineup and eventually in the press box as he only suited up in two of their four playoff games.

With the year he had, Kahun may have been hard-pressed to land a one-way NHL contract on the open market this time around – a PTO may have been his likeliest scenario – so opting to head overseas certainly makes sense and if he’s able to land a three-year deal, that’s a lot more security than he’d have received going year-to-year in North America.

NLA Dominik Kahun

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Denis Malgin Signs In Switzerland

September 6, 2021 at 9:17 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Forward Denis Malgin has signed a four-year contract with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League, the team announced early this morning. Taking him through the 2024-25 season, the announcement means we’ve seen the last of Malgin in the NHL for a solid bit of time.

Malgin spent last year under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs but played the entire season on loan in the Swiss league with Lausanne HC. His last NHL action came in 2019-20, splitting the season between the Florida Panthers and the Maple Leafs. Swapped between the two teams midseason in exchange for forward Mason Marchment, Malgin had 12 points in 36 games for Florida but none in eight games for Toronto down the stretch. Malgin, a fourth-round pick of Florida in 2015, enters this extended pause in his NHL career with 28 goals, 32 assists, and 60 points in 192 games, all but those last eight coming with the Panthers.

A skilled playmaker, Malgin impressed with Lausanne last season, potting 19 goals and 42 points in 45 games. He’ll look to continue that run of success as one of the best players in the league. Returning to ZSC marks a bit of a homecoming for Malgin, who played within the club’s youth and professional system from 2010 to 2016.

It’s important to note that Malgin was indeed issued a qualifying offer by Toronto at the beginning of the summer. Due to this, the Leafs will retain his NHL rights indefinitely and Malgin will remain on their reserve list. If Malgin does choose to return to the NHL in the summer of 2025, it will be with Toronto barring a trade.

Toronto Maple Leafs Denis Malgin

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Five Key Stories: 8/30/21 – 9/5/21

September 5, 2021 at 9:01 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

As the calendar flipped to September, activity around the NHL started to pick up with several signings of note plus some big news on the international front which are included in the key stories of the week.

Making It Official: The Islanders took their time announcing some of their offseason signings and decided to do most of it in one press release.  They confirmed the re-signings of UFA winger Kyle Palmieri (four years, $20MM), UFA center Casey Cizikas (six years, $15MM), RFA winger Anthony Beauvillier (three years, $12.45MM), and RFA goaltender Ilya Sorokin (three years, $12MM).  Palmieri’s retention will help replace the lost production of Jordan Eberle who went to Seattle in expansion while Cizikas has been a very effective energy forward for several years now.  Beauvillier has been a consistent secondary scorer for the last four years and the 24-year-old got a term that walks him to unrestricted free agency while Sorokin will continue to partner with Semyon Varlamov between the pipes.  Though not announced yet, veteran winger Zach Parise also confirmed he has an agreement with the Isles.

Early Extensions: A pair of veteran defensemen opted to forego a shot at testing the open market next season to stay where they are.  First, the Blackhawks inked Connor Murphy to a four-year, $17.6MM contract.  The 28-year-old has been a reliable stay-at-home defender over his four seasons with Chicago which helped him earn a $550K raise on his current deal.  Then, the Blues locked up Colton Parayko on an eight-year, $52MM extension.  Parayko has been a key piece on the back end in St. Louis for the past five seasons but is coming off a quiet year where he battled recurring back issues.  Even so, he’s arguably their best defender when healthy and locking up a top pairing player for that price tag has the potential to be a bargain down the road.

Offer Sheet Success: Offer sheets are infrequently used and even more infrequently do they actually result in the player actually changing teams.  That wasn’t the case this time as the Canadiens declined to match Carolina’s one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, receiving 2022 first and third-round picks in return.  Montreal wasted little time finding his replacement, acquiring center Christian Dvorak from Arizona for a 2022 first-rounder plus a 2024 second-round selection.  Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in 2018, is expected to play on the wing in Carolina for now with the hope that the change of scenery will help him to reach his offensive potential.  Meanwhile, Dvorak represents a capable replacement for Kotkaniemi and he will likely step onto Montreal’s second line behind Nick Suzuki while giving them some cap certainty with four years remaining on his deal at $4.45MM.  As for the Coyotes, they’re up to eight picks in the first two rounds in next year’s draft as their rebuild continues.

Olympic Confirmation: It had been expected for a while now but the NHL and NHLPA made it official with the announcement that NHL players will be permitted to play in the upcoming Olympics in Beijing next year.  As they skipped the 2018 Games, it will be the first time since 2014 that NHL players participate in the event.  There is a clause in the agreement that could stop them from participating if the NHL is forced to postpone several games due to COVID outbreaks which would require them to reschedule them during that time period.

Winger Deals: A pair of young wingers bypassed their bridge contracts and instead worked out long-term agreements with their teams.  First, the Flyers signed winger Joel Farabee to a six-year, $30MM extension that will begin in 2022-23.  Farabee’s sophomore season was a good one with 20 goals and 18 assists in 55 games and if he can carry that type of production over a full 82-game campaign, the deal has the potential to be a very good one for Philadelphia.  The next day, the Senators re-signed winger Drake Batherson to a very similar contract, six years at a total of $29.85MM.  The 23-year-old played his first full NHL season in 2020-21, collecting 17 goals and 17 assists in 56 games.  Similar to the Farabee deal, if Batherson can take another step forward and establish himself as a consistent scorer, this has a chance to be a bargain down the road for Ottawa.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Uncategorized Week In Review

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

September 5, 2021 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid 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 2021-22 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.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $70,835,659 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Nils Hoglander ($892K through 2022-23)
F Vasili Podkolzin ($925K through 2023-24)
D Jack Rathbone ($925K through 2021-22)

Potential Bonuses
Hoglander: $200K
Podkolzin: $850K
Rathbone: $850K
Total: $1.9MM

Hoglander had a nice rookie season, notching 27 points in 56 games while finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting.  He’s likely to be in a middle-six role for the next couple of years which could have him in bridge contract territory although if he’s able to improve his production a little bit, his camp could look at recent deals for Joel Farabee and Drake Batherson as potential comparables.  Podkolzin is coming to North America after spending the last two years in the KHL and should play a regular role fairly quickly.  They may ease him based on their current winger situation which makes it tough to project his next contract but he’s someone that should be part of their long-term plans and will get more expensive over time.

Rathbone didn’t look out of place in a late stint last season but with their depth, he will likely have to start in the minors.  However, the 22-year-old is probably going to be one of the first recalls and as a result, he will have a few opportunities to produce.  That could help him earn a cheap one-way deal for 2022-23 but at this point, it’s unlikely he’ll hit his bonuses.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Brock Boeser ($5.875MM, RFA)
F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($750K, UFA)
D Jaroslav Halak ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Brad Hunt ($800K, UFA)
D Olli Juolevi ($750K, RFA)
F Zack MacEwen ($825K, RFA)
F Tyler Motte ($1.225MM, UFA)
F Brandon Sutter ($1.125MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Halak: $1.5MM

Boeser’s deal is one of the ones that ultimately played a role in the rule change of the new CBA which creates the second calculation for a qualifying offer at 120% of the AAV instead of just the final-year salary.  That rule doesn’t apply to him so he’ll be owed a $7.5MM qualifying offer next summer where he’ll be a year away from UFA eligibility if a long-term extension can’t be reached by then.  He’s heading for a big raise either way.  Motte has become a very effective energy forward and those players have still commanded good contracts on the open market so his next deal could approach double his current rate.  Sutter’s market value was basically just established earlier this offseason and his value probably won’t jump significantly after next season.  Di Giuseppe and MacEwen will fill depth roles and those spots will need to be at or near the minimum for the foreseeable future.

Hunt has held down a regular spot on an NHL roster the last few years even though it hasn’t yielded a lot of NHL action.  He’s a power play specialist and he has been claimed on waivers before so it will be interesting to see if Vancouver keeps him as their seventh defender or tries to send him down.  Juolevi had a limited role last season which made taking a one-year deal the smartest route for both sides.  He’ll need to establish himself as a regular on the third pairing to have a shot at getting any sort of notable raise.

Halak comes over from Boston and will be a nice mentor that can push for playing time.  At 36, he’ll be going year-to-year moving forward.  Worth noting is that his bonuses are quite achievable, $1.25MM for 10 games played and $250K for a .905 SV%.  Vancouver is probably going to be in LTIR all season long so those bonuses (plus any others the prospects hit) are going to come off their Upper Limit in 2022-23.

Two Years Remaining

F Justin Dowling ($750K, UFA)
F Micheal Ferland ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($3MM, UFA)
F Bo Horvat ($5.5MM, UFA)
F J.T. Miller ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Luke Schenn ($850K, UFA)

Horvat has been a key player down the middle for his seven-year NHL career, logging tough defensive minutes while still chipping in offensively.  His contract has proven to be a nice bargain for the Canucks but the 26-year-old will be in line for a max-term deal and a significant raise two years from now.  The same can probably be said for Miller who has established himself as a top-line forward after coming over from Tampa Bay while playing well down the middle when called upon which will only help his value.  It will cost a lot more to keep these two around long-term.  Dowling provides some extra depth up front but is a candidate to be waived if someone else pushes him out of the lineup.

Ferland has missed most of the last two years with concussion trouble and there are questions about whether or not he’ll be able to return or even if he should try.  He’s likely to go on LTIR and that will be important to keep in mind once we get to the Unsigned Players section.

Hamonic earned this deal after playing for considerably less last year but the fact he was willing to go outside Western Canada certainly bolstered his leverage.  He won’t produce much but if he can log around 20 minutes a night, they’ll be fine with this contract.  Schenn is another low-cost depth option and could be a candidate to be waived as well if someone like Rathbone forces Vancouver’s hand and plays well enough to earn a full-time roster spot.

Three Years Remaining

F Jason Dickinson ($2.65MM, UFA)
D Tyler Myers ($6MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($3.225MM, UFA)

Pearson re-signed with Vancouver just before the trade deadline with an extension that looked a little high based on the season he was having and where he fits in on their depth chart but unlike some of the similar-priced deals to their now-former role players, this one won’t hurt as much.  Vancouver used Dallas’ expansion situation to their advantage to add and sign Dickinson as their new third-line center, bumping Sutter down a line in the process.  Dickinson hasn’t put up much in the way of offensive numbers but he should get an opportunity to play a bit of a bigger role which would help justify the contract.

Myers’ contract has not been favorably looked upon from the moment it was signed.  He had his limitations in Winnipeg and is better off in a more limited role than a top-pairing one but Vancouver still handed him a significant contract and a big role.  Barring an uptick in offensive production, he was going to have a hard time living up to it and that hasn’t happened yet as his point-per-game averages have been close to what they were with the Jets.  He’s a capable blueliner in the right spot on the depth chart but they are going to be hard-pressed to get any sort of value out of this deal.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Thatcher Demko ($5MM through 2025-26)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($7.26MM through 2026-27)*
F Conor Garland ($4.95MM through 2025-26)
D Tucker Poolman ($2.5MM through 2024-25)

*-Arizona is retaining $999K on Ekman-Larsson’s contract each year.

Garland was brought over as part of the Ekman-Larsson trade and while the blueliner was the headliner, Garland is still a significant addition.  He was one of Arizona’s top scoring threats the last two seasons and will have the opportunity to play a top-six role in Vancouver.  A boost in production with the change of scenery could make his deal a team-friendly one.

The same can’t be said for Ekman-Larsson.  He’s coming off a tough season and the final few years of that contract could be a concern given all of the tough minutes he has logged over the years.  He’ll certainly be a big addition for now but this contract could cost them the services of one of their other key veterans down the road.  Poolman’s contract was one of the more puzzling ones in free agency.  He’s a decent third pairing stay-at-home option but those players don’t typically command four years on the open market.  Clearly, GM Jim Benning thinks he can bring more to the table than he did with Winnipeg.

Demko has very limited NHL experience – just 72 regular season games – but did well in what was a tough year for Vancouver in 2020-21.  He may not be ready to be a 55-plus-game starter – that’s why Halak was brought in – but he’s definitely ready to take on the heavier side of the workload between the pipes.  It may take another year or two but he’s capable of establishing himself as a strong number one and if that happens, this will be a big bargain for Vancouver.

Buyouts

G Braden Holtby ($500K in 2021-22, $1.9MM in 2022-23)
F Jake Virtanen ($50K in 2021-22, $500K in 2022-23)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Salary Cap Recapture

G Roberto Luongo ($3.035MM in 2021-22)

Still To Sign

D Quinn Hughes
F Elias Pettersson

Pettersson looked to be on his way to another season of being near a point per game before missing the final 30 games due to a wrist injury.  That shouldn’t affect his next contract too much though.  He has established himself as a top liner although he may be better off as a winger than a center moving forward which could cost him a little bit on this next deal since centers tend to get a bit more of a premium than wingers.  A bridge deal would be in the high $5MM to low $6MM range while one that buys out UFA eligibility will cost a couple million more.

Hughes has a bit less leverage than Pettersson with the shorter track record and isn’t eligible for an offer sheet.  However, he has two years of high-end production and he already looks like a premier point-producer among NHL defensemen.  We’ve seen those players get paid considerably this offseason and his camp undoubtedly will be wanting to use those as comparables in negotiations.  The potential price tags are likely similar to Pettersson’s thresholds.

Best Value: Horvat
Worst Value: Myers

Looking Ahead

By the time you factor in Ferland’s LTIR situation and Vancouver’s cap space, the Canucks are going to have somewhere between $13MM-$14MM in cap room, slightly more than that if they carry a roster below the maximum size.  Even so, that’s probably not enough to sign both Hughes and Pettersson to long-term deals which is why the expectation has been that one would get a bridge and the other a long-term contract.  We’ll find out over the next few weeks who gets which one.

The cap is going to be an issue for a while for Vancouver.  While they have just $53MM committed for 2022-23 right now, that goes up quickly once the two RFAs sign while Boeser gets his guaranteed big raise plus the expected bonus overage penalty.  That won’t leave much short-term wiggle room and a year later, they’ll be contending with bigger deals for Horvat and Miller.  There isn’t a lot of long-term money on the books compared to some teams but it’s difficult to see how they’re going to keep this entire core intact over the next few years with a salary cap that isn’t going to rise very much or very quickly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive 2021| Vancouver Canucks Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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West Notes: Parayko, Ennis, Canucks

September 5, 2021 at 6:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

Blues defenseman Colton Parayko missed 21 games last season due to a lingering back issue which likely kept the price tag lower on the eight-year, $52MM extension he just signed.  Speaking with reporters, including Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the veteran indicated that his back has fully recovered but the treatment to get to that point has been minimal.  Instead of surgery or extensive rehab, Parayko has largely just rested to heal the injury, something that simply wasn’t an option during the season when he tried to play through it.  Expectations will be much higher for him heading into this coming season with that extension now in place and with the back injury behind him, he should be able to have a bigger impact offensively after recording just 12 points in 32 contests.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Veteran forward Tyler Ennis is among those still sitting in the UFA pool but Postmedia’s Jim Matheson reports that there are some teams that have shown tentative interest along the lines of circling back to him as a fallback plan. He lists the Canucks as one of the teams that may have shown interest so far.  The 31-year-old had a limited role with Edmonton last season, notching just nine points in 30 games while being a regular scratch.  Accordingly, he’s someone that may have to settle for a PTO at this point whether that’s with Vancouver or someone else.
  • With one successful offer sheet now being completed, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in the latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Canucks have been the team believed to be the most concerned about an offer sheet this summer. Of their two remaining RFAs, only center Elias Pettersson is eligible to receive one as defenseman Quinn Hughes falls under the 10.2c classification.  Friedman adds that talks are expected to pick up with both unsigned players after there were basically no discussions for all of August.

St. Louis Blues| Vancouver Canucks Colton Parayko| Elias Pettersson| Quinn Hughes| Tyler Ennis

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Seven Notable RFAs Still Remain Unsigned

September 5, 2021 at 5:55 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 6 Comments

It’s September 5th, which means that NHL preseason hockey is now less than three weeks away. Teams have been dealing with the realities of a flat salary cap for two offseasons now, but for some teams, it’s crunch time as their young star (or stars) remain in need of a new contract for the 2021-22 season.

While it’s obviously preferable for teams to get these players signed so they can join the team right away, teams do technically have until December 1st to sign any RFAs for them to be eligible to suit up this season. However, waiting into the season to sign the RFAs will increase the cap hit for the first year of the deal, something the league saw with William Nylander’s contract in 2018-19.

For some teams, mainly the Vancouver Canucks, that could be an issue. They’re the team that faces the largest potential cap crunch with both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes to sign. The team currently carries $10.7MM in cap space, but that number could increase to as much as $14.2MM with Micheal Ferland being placed on long-term injured reserve. Pettersson and Hughes both struggled at times this season, but it’s hard to take results from any Canuck into account too much due to the team’s large-scale COVID-19 outbreak. Pettersson was limited to just 26 games because of injury, scoring 21 points. Hughes netted 41 points in 56 games. However, it’s still a hard argument to make that these two aren’t elite talents. Because of this, it’s likely impossible for Vancouver to afford both on long-term deals. One of them will likely be receiving a two-to-four-year contract with a much lower cap hit, but the contracts need to be signed before the start of the season in order to avoid any inflation on the already tight cap hits.

Then there’s two teams who’ve had long, drawn-out negotiations with their respective stars this offseason – the Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators. Both Kirill Kaprizov and Brady Tkachuk remain without deals. There appears to be some amount of hope for one team, though. Multiple reports in recent days have suggested the Wild are making progress on a deal, especially considering the deadline has now passed for Kaprizov to sign back home in Russia. The same can’t be said for Ottawa, as Tkachuk has claimed he hasn’t received a legitimate offer from the team and is beginning to get frustrated with the situation (as reported here by TSN’s Shawn Simpson). Ottawa does still have a great amount of salary cap flexibility, though, and they can afford for contract negotiations to stretch into the season.

Staying in Canada, the Edmonton Oilers still have Kailer Yamamoto to lock down in order to fill out their top-six forward group. When Oscar Klefbom is placed on LTIR and Alex Stalock is presumably sent down to the minors, the team will still have just around $1.8MM in cap space. Yamamoto likely won’t be signing anything longer than a two-year deal due to the situation. And though they can create some additional flexibility by not operating with a full roster, Edmonton will still be very interested in avoiding a prorated cap hit as the salary cap situation will remain tight no matter what.

Then there’s the remaining duo of youngsters playing for American teams – Rasmus Dahlin and Robert Thomas. Dahlin’s negotiations will be interesting to watch, purely to see if the team will commit to him long-term or not. The Sabres likely want to pay him more as the team still hasn’t reached the salary cap floor, as they still need to add roughly $2.5MM in cap hits to be cap-compliant. Dahlin will receive much more than that on any deal he signs. The Blues are in a bit of a pickle with Thomas, as the team has just $1.5MM in cap space remaining to ink the promising young forward. Thomas had only 12 points in 33 games this year and spent time injured, but had 10 goals and 42 points the season prior. It’ll likely be a one-year or two-year deal for Thomas, who finds himself in a very similar situation to Yamamoto in Edmonton.

All seven of these players will be watched with a keen eye by many in the hockey community as each day passes before camps open across the league. As the league emerges from the quiet part of the offseason, these players will likely dominate headlines sooner rather than later.

All salary cap figures via CapFriendly.com.

Buffalo Sabres| Edmonton Oilers| Minnesota Wild| Ottawa Senators| RFA| St. Louis Blues| Vancouver Canucks Brady Tkachuk| Elias Pettersson| Kailer Yamamoto| Kirill Kaprizov| Salary Cap

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Poll: Are The Montreal Canadiens A Playoff Team In 2021-22?

September 5, 2021 at 2:34 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 31 Comments

After making it all the way to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens have had one of the most interesting offseasons of any team. That much roster turnover is unusual for a team that made it that far in the playoffs, but a decent portion of it has been out of their control.

A good portion of Montreal’s starting 12 forwards will look different next season. Gone down the middle are Phillip Danault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Eric Staal. Dvorak will attempt to replace Danault’s shutdown role with a little more offensive touch but less defensive prowess. Kotkaniemi’s third-line role is likely to be replaced by another young center, most probably Jake Evans. Staal’s fourth-line role will likely be comprised of a more defensive-minded pivot in Cedric Paquette. Their group of wingers will look different too, losing out on Tomas Tatar’s two-way play in favor of a power-play specialist in Mike Hoffman. Gone is veteran Corey Perry in the bottom six, being replaced by another veteran presence in Mathieu Perreault.

The team’s defense faces the loss of the team’s captain in Shea Weber. His injury will keep him out for at least this entire season and puts the rest of his career in jeopardy. His absence will be replaced by committee, as youngster Alexander Romanov and new addition David Savard should see more minutes. The left side stays relatively constant from last season, and overseas addition Chris Wideman could challenge for some games as well.

A tandem of Carey Price and Jake Allen returns after a successful regular season campaign.

However, a team that barely squeaked into the playoffs last season returns with some question marks. Full seasons of Jonathan Drouin and Cole Caufield help boost the team, but downgrades from Danault to Dvorak and Tatar to Hoffman raise near-negating doubts. The success of youngsters like Evans and Romanov will be crucial if Montreal wants to make a return to the playoffs in 2022, and they’ll need repeat performances from players such as Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson.

So the question to you, PHR readers, is this: has Montreal done enough this offseason to yield a playoff team in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference? Make your voice heard below:

Mobile users, click here to vote!

Montreal Canadiens| Players| Polls| Tampa Bay Lightning Alexander Romanov| Cedric Paquette| Cole Caufield| David Savard| Jake Evans| Jeff Petry| Jesperi Kotkaniemi| Jonathan Drouin| Josh Anderson| Mathieu Perreault| Mike Hoffman| Phillip Danault

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Marcus Sorensen Signs In Sweden

September 5, 2021 at 12:26 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

Former San Jose Sharks forward Marcus Sorensen has chosen to continue his hockey career overseas. Sorensen has signed a four-year contract with Djurgardens IF in the SHL, per Swedish outlet Telgenytt, meaning that Sorensen likely won’t be returning to the NHL anytime soon.

Sorensen returns to his native Sweden after a five-year NHL career which saw him tally 31 goals and 64 points in 226 games, all in a San Jose Sharks uniform. Originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2010, the now 29-year-old forward never signed with Ottawa and instead signed his entry-level deal with San Jose on May 13, 2016. He played in the NHL right away as a 24-year-old at the time, scoring four points in 19 games. Sorensen continued to progress within the Sharks system, including a career-best 17 goals and 30 points in 80 games in 2018-19. Never more than a third-line depth option for San Jose, though, Sorensen never topped those numbers.

A pending unrestricted free agent this year, Sorensen put up arguably the worst performance of his NHL career. It’s not that hard to blame him given the state of the team this season, but only one goal and five points in 29 games was a far cry from the production he’d put up in the past. He’ll look to rediscover his game overseas while returning home to his native Sweden. Considering the fact that he’ll be 33 years old at the expiry of the deal, Sorensen may have played his last NHL game.

SHL| San Jose Sharks Marcus Sorensen

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Snapshots: Kotkaniemi, Hurricanes Cap, Quenneville

September 5, 2021 at 11:33 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 12 Comments

It’s been an unusually busy weekend in the hockey world, with yesterday’s successful Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet and Christian Dvorak trade dominating headlines. Both of those moves have some corresponding implications that reach into today’s news cycle, including Kotkaniemi’s future as a playing member of the Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Don Waddell stated in his press conference this morning that the team’s plan is to start Kotkaniemi at the left-wing position in Carolina. It won’t be anything completely new for the 21-year-old Finnish forward, who’s played wing sparingly at times during his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens, but was mostly used as a bottom-six center there. Given his still-tantalizing potential and $6.1MM price tag, it’s likely that Kotkaniemi could slot in the top six along with Vincent Trocheck, but it’s all speculation until training camp begins. What’s for certain is that Carolina aims to give Kotkaniemi more opportunity and a better supporting cast than he’s had previously, hoping to get the most out of Kotkaniemi for the gamble of a price.

Some more fallout from the Kotkaniemi offer sheet, as well as a note about a Seattle Kraken expansion draft selection:

  • With today’s news of Jake Gardiner’s back and hip surgery and pending long-term injured reserve placement, the Carolina Hurricanes now have some salary-cap maneuvering to do. PuckPedia notes that Carolina will be able to exceed the cap by $4.05MM, the average annual value of Gardiner’s contract. The team currently sits at $1.5MM over the cap after the Kotkaniemi deal became official. PuckPedia also surmises that Carolina won’t have to go through too much trouble in order to maximize their salary cap relief, only sending two players down to be as close to the Upper Limit as possible before placing Gardiner on LTIR. Martin Necas remains the only non-waiver-eligible player on the roster and considering his role on the team, it’s unlikely he’ll be involved in a paper transaction. Steven Lorentz and Brendan Smith seem likely candidates to be waived and sent down in order to make the team cap-compliant.
  • The ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League announced today that they’ve signed former NHL forward John Quenneville to a contract after signing him to a professional tryout last month. Quenneville is one of a few Seattle Kraken expansion draft selections to not remain with the team into the 2021-22 season. Their selection from the Chicago Blackhawks, Quenneville was a pending unrestricted free agent and wasn’t signed by the Kraken. A first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014, the now 25-year-old Quenneville never secured a full-time role in the NHL and will likely see much more opportunity overseas. Quenneville appeared in 42 NHL games between 2016 and 2020, scoring two goals and five points.

Carolina Hurricanes| Montreal Canadiens| Seattle Kraken| Snapshots Jake Gardiner| Jesperi Kotkaniemi| John Quenneville| Salary Cap

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Jake Gardiner To Have Hip Surgery

September 5, 2021 at 10:08 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 12 Comments

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner will have back and hip surgery and will be placed on long-term injured reserve, general manager Don Waddell announced today. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the team exceeded the salary cap’s Upper Limit by signing Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet.

Gardiner’s career as a Hurricane hasn’t been smooth since signing a four-year, $16.2MM contract in free agency on September 6, 2019. The 31-year-old Minnesota native has played in just 94 games over the past two seasons, missing time due to a combination of injuries and healthy scratches. He’s posted just four goals and 32 points in that time. The timeline of Gardiner’s injury isn’t known at this present moment, but his placement on LTIR confirms that he won’t be ready for the start of the season.

Even when healthy, Gardiner’s been utilized mostly in a third-pairing role, sitting behind Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei on the depth chart. Still a skilled offensive play driver, his all-around game has dipped since arriving in Carolina. Still, with a large hole to fill due to Dougie Hamilton’s departure, Carolina could have used Gardiner’s offensive skills on the blueline.

Carolina presently sits at $1.5MM over the salary cap upper limit of $81.5MM. With Gardiner’s $4.05MM cap hit heading to LTIR, Carolina will have up to $2.55MM in usable cap space to fill while Gardiner is on long-term injured reserve.

All salary cap data via CapFriendly.com.

Carolina Hurricanes Jake Gardiner

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