Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for August 2022

Colorado Avalanche Sign Anton Blidh

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Per a team tweet Wednesday afternoon, the Colorado Avalanche have signed former Boston Bruins forward Anton Blidh to a one-year contract in free agency. Contract terms will be updated when they’re released.

Blidh joins the Avalanche after spending seven seasons playing in the Bruins organization, turning pro two years after he was drafted by the team in 2013. He finally became a full-time NHL player in 2021-22, and while he only played in 32 games for the Bruins, it was the first season in the organization that he never suited up in the AHL.

In 2021-22, Blidh set NHL career highs in goals (two), assists (seven), and points (nine) in those 32 games. He’d appeared in NHL games for the Bruins in six straight seasons, finishing with 12 points in 70 games.

Mostly a checking and energy forward, Blidh could look to replace the loss of Nicolas Aube-Kubel in the Avalanche lineup if he’s able to continue his regular NHL presence. If not, he’ll be a leader in the room for the Colorado Eagles.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Barberio, Lappin

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Chicago Blackhawks announcing their preseason schedule today, NHL hockey will officially be coming to Milwaukee in a couple of months. The Blackhawks’ third and final preseason “home” game will see them host the Minnesota Wild at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, home of the NBA’s Bucks, on October 2.

Milwaukee has been thrown around in many circles in recent years as a potential destination for an NHL team, usually via relocation. The story was first reported by Milwaukee local news reporter Dario Melendez back in May, where he noted that it will be the first NHL action in Milwaukee since the early 1990s. The timing of the game is beneficial to getting fans in seats and generating interest in the game, as teams tend to dress rosters closer to their opening night lines later in the preseason.

  • Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League has mutually terminated the contract of defenseman Mark Barberio, an NHL veteran of eight seasons and 272 games. Barberio left for the Swiss league after hitting unrestricted free agency in 2020, where he had a successful first season but a tough second year. Serving as Lausanne’s captain for a season and a half, Barberio played just 14 games with them this year before they loaned him to Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) for six games. Barberio then played five games for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, his last hockey of the season.
  • After signing with Italian club HC Bolzano in the ICEHL, former New Jersey Devils forward Nick Lappin’s career may be in jeopardy. The team posted on Facebook today that Lappin suffered a severe back injury while training this offseason, forcing him out indefinitely. They note that the severity of the injury has Lappin, unfortunately, considering retirement, ending his first season overseas before it began. Lappin, who joined the Devils as an undrafted free agent from Brown University, played 60 NHL games for them between 2016 and 2019, registering eight points.

New Jersey Devils Sign Jesper Bratt

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The New Jersey Devils announced Wednesday morning that the team has signed right winger Jesper Bratt to a one-year deal worth $5.45MM prior to reaching arbitration. He will again be a restricted free agent next offseason.

The deal comes in right under the wire, as Bratt’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for this morning. Per CapFriendly, he will still have arbitration rights next offseason.

Fresh off his 24th birthday, Bratt has already transformed into likely the biggest steal of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Taken in the sixth round by New Jersey that year, Bratt played his rookie season just one year later in 2017-18. He had registered between 30 and 35 points in each of his first four NHL seasons. With six seasons having passed since that draft, Bratt already ranks seventh in scoring among his draft peers despite being selected 162nd overall.

But 2021-22 was a breakthrough campaign for Bratt, showcasing his potential as a bonafide first-line winger. In 76 games, Bratt tied for the team lead with 26 goals and led the team outright with 47 assists and 73 points. All of those marks were personal career highs. It didn’t seem like a huge shooting bender boosting his numbers, either, as his 13.2% shooting percentage wasn’t even the highest mark of his career.

Bratt’s new cap hit comes in just above what a “split the difference” decision would’ve been in arbitration, as The Athletic’s Arpon Basu notes that the halfway point between the two arbitration filings was $5.325MM.

With Bratt signing today and Tyce Thompson signing yesterday, the Devils have just two RFAs remaining — left wing Miles Wood and center Fabian Zetterlund. Wood, who played just three games in 2021-22 due to injury, has an arbitration hearing set for August 6. Zetterlund, who’s a candidate to crack the opening night lineup after eight points in 14 NHL games last year (and 52 points in 58 AHL games), is not eligible for arbitration.

With just Wood left to sign to hit a full 23-man roster, CapFriendly lists the Devils as having roughly $3.25MM in cap space.

Free Agent Profile: Tyler Motte

at CDT | by 2 Comments

With their sights set on a Stanley Cup, the New York Rangers found themselves active buyers at last year’s trade deadline. Though the team made a few additions, forward Andrew Copp, who the team acquired from the Winnipeg Jets, stole most of the attention. However, the team would have one of the more underrated deadline pickups, bringing in two-way energy forward Tyler Motte from the Vancouver Canucks. While it was the likes of Copp, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Artemi Panarin that drove the Rangers offense up front, Motte showed through his complete game just how valuable he was to a team that was able to make a deeper playoff run than many had anticipated.

At age 27, Motte is a veteran of six NHL seasons, spending time with the Rangers and Canucks, as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks, who originally drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He debuted in 2016-17 with Chicago, but was dealt that offseason alongside Panarin to the Blue Jackets. Columbus dealt him just a few months later in the trade that brought Thomas Vanek the other way from Vancouver. Motte spent parts of five seasons in Vancouver prior to this season’s trade to the Rangers, where he would interestingly be teammates with Panarin on the third different team in as many seasons played together.

Never known much for his offensive game, Motte has made a career for himself out of being a high-energy and defensively reliable forward who can play in all situations. This season represented arguably his best, putting up seven goals and eight assists in 58 games, all of those coming in the 49 games he played for Vancouver. His highest point total came in 2018-19, where he had 16, however that came over 74 games. Where Motte becomes increasingly valuable is his ability to contribute on the penalty kill and to play in his own zone, which most notably includes a career 71% defensive zone starts percentage versus 29% in the offensive zone. In other words, Motte is capable and trusted to play important shifts of defensive hockey for his teams.

This summer is Motte’s first on the open market, coming off a two-year, $2.45MM contract that featured a $1.225MM AAV, having previously been an RFA. Although news has been quiet in regards to his free agency, there was plenty of chatter surrounding the veteran ahead of the market opening up, having impressed with his overall game and his poise in the Rangers playoff run, where he contributed two goals in 15 games. Despite the lack of interest, Motte’s game, and presumably lower price tag, will be enticing to clubs looking to add a smart, veteran winger to their bottom-six with a playoff run in mind.

Stats:

2021-22: 58 GP, 7-8-15, +2 rating, 22 PIMs, 101 shots, 39.9 CF%, 67.9% dZS%, 14:01 ATOI

Career: 269 GP, 35-27-62, -22 rating, 76 PIMs, 403 shots, 39.4 CF%, 71.0 dZS%, 12:56 ATOI

Potential Suitors:

Motte’s game is one that could suit any one of the NHL’s 32 teams, from playoff teams and Cup-contenders looking to add a smart, hard-worker that knows what he’s doing, to young up-and-coming teams that could add a veteran to help their inexperienced talent take another step, to rebuilders who are looking to add a spark that will help the rest of the team play the right way. Still, while there is likely no shortage of good fits, many teams are facing a cap crunch or a roster crunch, and adding a player like Motte, who as good as he is in his own zone, doesn’t bring much offensively, is a tough sell.

Some had wondered if a reunion with the Rangers could be in the cards for Motte. The fit is right, especially after his stint with the club, but with just over $1MM in salary cap space, bringing the forward back could be tough. Speaking of reunions, the Blackhawks could be an interesting option, as the team has stripped down many of its key parts, looking to start over with a more extensive rebuild. The organization has brought in several veterans in free agency including Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou both on one-year deals and could look to do the same, perhaps retrieving an asset at this year’s deadline for what could be a popular rental.

The Minnesota Wild, who are actively looking for another forward could be an option, with ample cap space to accommodate Motte. However, it’s unclear what kind of player they would want, the team losing 85 points in the departure of Kevin Fiala and though there’s no option readily available to replace that production, there are other options out there that could provide more offensively than Motte can.

Projected Contract:

Motte came in 37th on PHR’s 2022 Top 50 UFAs list, predicting a landing spot with the Nashville Predators on a projected contract of four-years and $7MM, an AAV of $1.75MM. That contract would have represented a relatively significant raise for Motte and a doubling of term from his previous contract. At this point in free agency, with many teams spending all they had allotted on the free agent market, it’s unlikely Motte will be able to secure a contract of that length or salary. Still, Motte has proven he is worthy of a guaranteed one-way contract and there are more than a handful of teams remaining with salary cap space and a roster spot to offer. There is plenty of time until training camps open up and a couple of notable pieces remaining on the free agent market, chief among them being Nazem Kadri. As teams continue to gain clarity with additional signings and possibly miss out on a target they still have, Motte could see his own market gain some traction, even if it is not for the contract he might have hoped for or that we predicted for him.

Seattle Kraken Name Jeff Tambellini Director Of Player Development

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Seattle Kraken announced this evening that they have hired former NHL veteran Jeff Tambellini to be their Director of Player Development. With the expansion of their young prospect pool as a new franchise, the organization made the decision to bring on Tambellini in order to facilitate player growth and development and to “optimize” their resources. The team has also hired Matt Larke as a Skills Development Consultant and added that former Seattle goaltending coach Andrew Allen will remain with the team as a scout evaluating goalies.

The newest member of Seattle’s front office had this to say on his hiring:

“It’s a big, big step going from junior hockey to college hockey into the American [Hockey] League and then to the National Hockey League. It’s my job along with our whole staff to help these players navigate that transition, make them better players. To make them stronger off the ice, set up their training schedules and teach the details of what goes into being a pro.”

Tambellini has plenty of experience in his own right that should help him to help Seattle’s young players. The 38-year-old was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2004, attending the University of Michigan. He played parts of six NHL seasons, totaling 63 points in 242 games, a majority of those as a member of the New York Islanders. Tambellini’s last NHL action came as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2010-11, where he appeared in four games in that year’s Stanley Cup Finals. Following his retirement from playing in 2017, Tambellini spent a season as an assistant coach at Michigan before becoming General Manager and Head Coach of the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

As for Larke, who will support Tambellini in his new role, he said the opportunity to work for an NHL franchise is “a dream come true.” Larke previously worked in a similar role for Team USA’s National Team Development Program. Allen also expressed excitement for his new role, one he had had prior to the team’s expansion draft last July.

West Notes: Roy, Lowe, Canucks Coaching

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy was one of the team’s few bright spots in what was a difficult 2021-22 campaign, a season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The 25-year-old flew past his career highs in production, playing 78 games and scoring 15 goals and 39 points. Roy is a big center who still has room to grow, and the Golden Knights are understandably bullish on his future. He’s a restricted free agent who did not elect arbitration, and he is currently in the negotiation process with the Golden Knights for an extension.

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, “contract talks are further along with Roy” than with the other two restricted free agents, Keegan Kolesar and Nicolas Hague. (subscription link) Kolesar has an arbitration date later this month. It’s easy to see why the Golden Knights would want to retain Roy, possibly even on a long-term deal, as Granger speculates they could prefer. Roy is currently slotted in as Vegas’ third-line center behind Jack Eichel and William Karlsson, although he could even move up in the lineup along either of the wings if new coach Bruce Cassidy prefers to use Chandler Stephanson in that slot. Granger writes that a long-term pact for Roy could come at around a $3MM cap hit, which would be a strong deal for Vegas, especially in the coming years if Roy continues his trajectory and the salary cap eventually rises.

Now, for some other notes regarding the league’s Western Conference teams:

  • Recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Lowe has operated in many roles for the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been a coach, a GM, a Stanley Cup-winning defenseman, and most recently an important executive. Now, his role is set to change. Per a team announcement, Lowe is retiring from his role as Vice Chair and Alternate Governor of the Oilers. The Oilers state that moving forward, Lowe will “stay connected” to the organization and community as an ambassador, but not in the more senior role he has occupied for many years.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they have named a new development and goalie coach for their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Marko Torenius has been named to that role. The Sakyla, Finland native has worked as the goalie coach for SKA St. Petersburg since the 2014-15 season. Torenius has experience working with many talented goaltenders, including Igor Shesterkin, Mikko Koskinen, Magnus Hellberg, Yaroslav Askarov, and Pyotr Kochetkov.

Philadelphia Flyers Re-Sign Zack MacEwen

at CDT | by 1 Comment

6:47 pm: The Flyers have made the deal official (link).

4:59 pm: Another player has settled with his team before their upcoming arbitration date. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Philadelphia Flyers and restricted free agent winger Zack MacEwen have settled on a one-year, $925K deal for next season.

MacEwen, an undrafted player, broke into the NHL in 2018-19 as a fast-rising member of the Vancouver Canucks organization. MacEwen made a successful transition from being a prolific junior scorer in the QMJHL to being a strong AHL performer. In his rookie AHL year, MacEwen had a healthy 33 points in 66 games. In his second AHL season, MacEwen reached another level, scoring 22 goals and 52 points in 69 games, a performance that earned him a four-game look at the NHL level, where he recorded his first NHL fight.

He got a longer look in 2019-20, scoring five goals in 17 games, before sticking in the NHL full-time in 2020-21, albeit with games missed due to COVID-related absence, healthy scratches, and a suspension. His performance in his first year on an NHL roster full-time – one goal and one assist in 34 games – was not the sort of impactful campaign many had hoped for based on MacEwen’s AHL success. As a result, MacEwen was waived by the Canucks at the start of 2021-22.

The Flyers put in a claim for MacEwen, and he ended up in 75 of their games. Philadelphia endured a brutal season last year, and MacEwen’s lack of productivity didn’t help. He had just nine points in 75 games, production that only lowers the odds of MacEwen ever translating his AHL numbers into secondary scoring at the NHL level.

But, with that being said, there are still things MacEwen brings to the table that the Flyers clearly value, perhaps even more so now that they’re under the stewardship of John Tortorella. In his limited ice time per game (under ten minutes last season) MacEwen can bring the sort of energy, physicality, and overall relentlessness most coaches want to see from their fourth liners. MacEwen finished the season with 159 hits, second on the Flyers after perennial hits leader Ramus Ristolainen, and had 110 penalty minutes, racking up quite a few fights.

If the Flyers genuinely want to re-shape today’s Flyers into authentic “Broad Street Bullies,” MacEwen is the sort of player who can help with that.

This one-year, $925K contract gives MacEwen the chance to stick on the Flyers’ roster for another year. The one major threat to his place in Philadelphia’s plans is the signing of Nicolas Deslauriers to a four-year deal. Deslauriers operates in a similar role to MacEwen, albeit with more experience and a bit more flair. It’s possible that the addition of Deslauriers spells doom for MacEwen in Philadelphia, but it’s equally possible that Tortorella falls in love with MacEwen’s style and finds a way to keep him in a depth role. Whichever route the Flyers go in could be entirely up to MacEwen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Oliver Kylington

at CDT | by 3 Comments

5:00 PM: The Flames have officially announced the contract.

4:39 PM: The Calgary Flames and restricted free agent defenseman Oliver Kylington have avoided arbitration. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the team has agreed on a two-year, $2.5MM AAV contract with Kylington.

Notably, this deal will allow Kylington to reach unrestricted free agency once it expires. The deal covers the 25-year-old’s final two RFA years, and will give him the opportunity to hit the open market as a 27-year-old free agent. Kylington was scheduled to appear with the Flames before an arbitrator on August 10th.

Looking at this signing from an on-ice perspective, Kylington had a breakout season last year which definitely earned him this nice raise. Kylington was once a top prospect whose shine had dulled a bit in recent years. He was always seen as the type of pace-pushing, offensively-oriented defenseman who could excel at lower levels but might struggle to put all his tools together to become an effective NHL defenseman. This year, he found the right amount of balance in his game and managed to stay in the lineup and play in 73 games.

Kylington played most of the year next to Chris Tanev, one of the better defensive defensemen in hockey. Tanev’s shutdown game and overall reliability provided Kylington the freedom to operate and to act on his offensive instincts. Kylington helped the Flames reach new heights in the regular season, and he finished 2021-22 with nine goals and 31 points in 73 games. Kylington saw secondary power play time and, generally speaking, proved he could stick in the most difficult league in the world.

While he’s no longer a prospect, there could still be room to grow in Kylington’s game. He’ll head back to Calgary and join a stacked defense corps, hoping to help the Flames build off of last season’s success despite the departures of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.

Jets Re-Sign Leon Gawanke

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

August 2: Today, the Jets officially announced Gawanke’s contract extension.

August 1: The Jets have taken care of one of their remaining restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Leon Gawanke to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract will pay $750K in the NHL, $125K in the minors, and has a guarantee of $150K.

The 23-year-old, who was a fifth-round pick of Winnipeg back in 2017 (136th overall), recently finished up his entry-level contract.  He has yet to play at the NHL level and spent last season with AHL Manitoba where he had 10 goals and 26 assists in 65 games, earning him an invitation to play for Germany at the World Championship where he got into four games.

Gawanke is now waiver-eligible so it won’t be as easy for Winnipeg to send him down next season.  At this point, it’s unlikely that he will break camp with the Jets unless there are injuries or trades so he will have to be exposed to waivers to return to the Moose.  Even without any NHL experience, that could be risky as young right-shot blueliners are often in demand.  If he makes it back to Manitoba, Gawanke will once again be an all-situations player and should have a chance to get his first NHL opportunity in 2022-23.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Martin Pospisil

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Calgary Flames have taken care of another restricted free agent, inking forward Martin Pospisil to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750k, per a club announcement. Pospisil is one of the Flames’ final few RFA’s that still need contracts, part of a group headlined by Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington.

Pospisil, 22, was a fourth-round pick of the Flames at the 2018 draft, a selection out of the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. The six-foot-one, 195-pound forward doesn’t have the sort of box score numbers that jump out, save for in one area: penalty minutes. In his first season on North American ice in 2017-18, Pospisil had a whopping 253 penalty minutes in 49 games. While he’s toned his game down a bit from that level, his aggressiveness and rambunctious style are things he’s carried into his professional career.

Pospisil has played the past three seasons with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, save for a brief 21-game stretch with HC Kosice in his native Slovakia in 2020-21. In the AHL, Pospisil has had so-so production, with 25 points in 47 games last season and 11 points in his 14 AHL games in 2020-21.

The one-year extension for Pospisil could be seen as an indication that he will need to show more on the ice in order to secure his spot in the organization’s long-term plans. Pospisil saw some time on the Heat’s power play last season, but did not factor into the team’s penalty kill. For him to have a true path to the NHL, he may need to shore up his defensive game, get some experience on the penalty kill, and prove he can adapt to and thrive in a bottom-six role, where he would likely end up if he made the NHL.

Pospisil has the sort of physical game in front of the net that suggests he can get there, but he’ll need to show some more versatility at the AHL level before getting an extended look in Calgary.

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

scroll to top