Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for July 2022

Kraken Re-Sign Gustav Olofsson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Kraken have taken care of one of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signing of defenseman Gustav Olofsson to a one-year, two-way deal.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal pays $750K in the NHL and $275K in the minors, a small raise from the $200K AHL salary he had this past season.

The 27-year-old signed with Seattle as a Group Six UFA last summer after spending the previous three seasons in Montreal’s system.  Olofsson was brought in to give the Kraken some recallable depth in case injuries arise although he was never called upon.  Instead, he played in 41 games with AHL Charlotte, picking up two goals and seven assists.

Olofsson will need to pass through waivers to return to the minors next season where Seattle’s new AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, will debut.  Having cleared on the wire in each of the last four seasons, that should happen once again in training camp.  With 59 career NHL appearances under his belt between Montreal and Minnesota, Olofsson will be a useful depth piece once again.

CHL Notes: End-Of-Season Awards, Post-Moratorium Trades

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Prior to the conclusion of the Memorial Cup, the CHL announced their end-of-season award winners with several NHL prospects taking home hardware.  Those include Stars forward Logan Stankoven who was named Player of the Year after putting up 45 goals and 59 assists in just 59 games with WHL Kamloops.  The 47th pick from the 2021 draft also averaged a goal per game in 17 playoff contests.  Still just 19, Stankoven won’t be eligible to play in the AHL next season.  Meanwhile, Rangers prospect Dylan Garand was named as Goalie of the Year following a strong showing with Kamloops that saw him post a 32-9-3 record in 45 games with a 2.16 GAA and a .925 SV%.  The 20-year-old will turn pro next season.

Meanwhile, with the Memorial Cup now completed, a very narrow trade window opened up on Thursday.  A few moves of note were made before the window closes later today following the annual Import Draft.  Here’s a rundown of those transactions:

  • Coyotes goaltender prospect Anson Thornton was traded from OHL Sarnia to Barrie. Arizona signed the 19-year-old as an undrafted free agent in October following a strong showing in rookie camp but he struggled, posting a 4.06 GAA along with an .883 SV% in 26 games with the Sting.  Thornton is a year away from being eligible to play in the AHL and his three-year, entry-level contract will slide again next season.
  • Blues goalie prospect Will Cranley was dealt from OHL Ottawa to Flint. The 20-year-old had a tough season, his first as a starter, as he had a 3.81 GAA along with an .873 SV% in 41 games with the 67s.  Cranley is eligible to turn pro next season and is already signed.  He can be returned to junior to play for the Firebirds but will still burn the first year of his contract in that scenario.
  • One player that isn’t an NHL prospect just yet (but will be next week) was also on the move as the CHL rights to Brad Lambert were moved from WHL Saskatoon to Seattle. The projected first-round pick isn’t under contract in Finland next season and the fact the Thunderbirds moved four draft picks (only two conditional) to secure his rights suggests that they think they can get him to North America next season.  He’d likely secure a significant role there compared to playing in Finland which could be appealing to teams considering drafting him.

Blue Jackets Re-Sign Josh Dunne

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Blue Jackets have taken care of another pending free agent, announcing the signing of center Josh Dunne to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not officially disclosed but Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Dunne’s NHL salary would be $874,125, suggesting he has accepted the terms of what would have been his qualifying offer.  Dunne was set to become a restricted free agent later this month.

The 23-year-old signed with Columbus as an undrafted college free agent out of Clarkson back in 2021, making his NHL debut soon after.  Dunne got into six NHL games that season with the Blue Jackets, recording seven shots on goal while averaging just over ten minutes a night of ice time.  However, aside from a brief stint on the taxi squad in late December, Dunne didn’t see any time with Columbus this past season.  Instead, he got into 29 games with AHL Cleveland, picking up six goals and five assists.

Dunne has one year of waiver exemption remaining so it’s all but certain he’ll return to the Monsters next season with the hopes of a bigger role and a chance to prove himself to be worthy of a recall.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen still has plenty of pending restricted free agents to deal with this summer as eight remain, highlighted by winger Patrik Laine and defenseman Adam Boqvist.

Lightning Agree To Seven-Year Extension With Nick Paul

at CDT | by 12 Comments

Nick Paul made a very good impression on the Lightning after being acquired from Ottawa at the trade deadline.  He did well enough, in fact, to earn a long-term contract as the team announced that they’ve signed the forward to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $3.15MM.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal breaks down as follows:

2022-23: $750K base salary, $3.4MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2023-24: $2.15MM base salary, $2MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause
2024-25: $3.25MM base salary, full no-trade clause
2025-26: $3MM base salary, full no-trade clause
2026-27: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
2027-28: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause
2028-29: $1.5MM base salary, $1MM signing bonus, 16-team no-trade clause

The 27-year-old had a career year in 2021-22, picking up 16 goals and 16 assists in 80 games between the Senators and Lightning but his production in Tampa Bay was certainly noteworthy as he collected 14 points in 21 contests despite seeing his average ice time drop by more than three minutes per game to 14:06.  Most of that time was spent on the wing but that changed in the playoffs as he mostly played down the middle.  His production dropped to just five goals and four helpers in their 23 postseason matches but he took 382 draws in what was largely a checking role while his playing time jumped to over 18 minutes a night in the process.

Paul had been believed to be seeking a multi-year deal with an AAV around the $3MM mark while with Ottawa, a price they clearly didn’t want to pay which resulted in him being sent to Tampa Bay for Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick.  His showing down the stretch and in the playoffs certainly bolstered his market and he was able to surpass the $3MM threshold while getting close to a max-term agreement in the process.

Of course, this contract further tightens Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation.  They now have more than $87.6MM in commitments for next season, per CapFriendly, with a projected minimum-sized roster.  They’ll have some relief with Brent Seabrook’s $6.875MM remaining on LTIR but that doesn’t give them much room to work with as they look to find a way to keep winger Ondrej Palat and defenseman Jan Rutta in the fold; both players are pending unrestricted free agents.  On Thursday, it was reported that the Lightning were working with blueliner Ryan McDonagh to see if there’s a suitable trade he’d be open to which would give them some flexibility with the veteran carrying a $6.75MM cap charge for the next four years.  GM Julien BriseBois can check off one key item of his summer to-do list but there is still some work to be done.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the two sides were closing in on an agreement while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the seven-year term.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sharks Fire Bob Boughner

at CDT | by 12 Comments

There is a late entrant to the coaching shuffle around the NHL as the Sharks have announced that head coach Bob Boughner along with assistant coaches John Madden and John MacLean plus video coach Dan Darrow have all been relieved of their duties.  Interim GM Joe Will released the following statement:

As we progress through our search for the next general manager of the Sharks following 19 seasons under Doug Wilson’s leadership, it has become apparent that the organization is in the process of an evolution. The bottom line is we have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons, which isn’t acceptable to our owner, our organization, or to our fans. As part of this evolution and evaluation, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to allow the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy related to the make-up of the on-ice coaching staff moving ahead.

Boughner took over as San Jose’s head coach back in December of 2019 on an interim basis when he took over for Peter DeBoer with the team removing the interim tag at the end of the season, handing him a three-year deal in the process.  That contract, worth $1.5MM per season, had one year remaining, and with so few head coaching openings out there, it’s unlikely he’ll be running an NHL bench when training camp comes around.

As Will noted in his statement, the Sharks missed the playoffs in each of the three seasons that Boughner was behind the bench with the team ultimately compiling a 67-85-23 record during his tenure.  Their points percentage improved in each of the last two seasons but San Jose finished sixth in the Pacific Division this past season with a points percentage of just .470.  For his head coaching career which included a two-year stint in Florida, Boughner’s record is 147-147-35.

What’s particularly noteworthy here is that the Sharks haven’t completed their search for a new general manager yet, at least officially.  Will is the one that wound up making the change but there is an expectation that a new GM will be in place soon.  TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that former Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby is a name that has surfaced this week as one to watch on that front while ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski suggests Mike Grier and Ray Whitney are in the mix as well.  With the draft now less than a week away and free agency beginning less than a week later, their new GM was already going to have plenty on his plate in terms of roster building to try to get this team back into the postseason and draft planning.  Now, there will be a coaching search to complete as well.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Boughner had been let go.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was the first to add that Madden, MacLean, and Darrow were also out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top