New York Islanders Sign Four Players
As announced by the team this morning, the New York Islanders have signed defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Paul LaDue to two-year, two-way contracts, forward Arnaud Durandeau to a two-year, two-way contract, and forward Hudson Fasching to a one-year, two-way contract.
PuckPedia reports Cholowski’s contract carries a $762.5K cap hit, paying him $750K NHL / $200K AHL / $225K guaranteed in 2022-23 and $775K at all levels in 2023-24.
Cholowski, now 24, hasn’t been able to consistently stay in the NHL after the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 20th overall in 2016. He did show a fair amount of promise in his rookie season, 2018-19, when he scored seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 52 games while playing 18:15 per game. Those offensive and games played numbers still remain career-highs for Cholowski, though, who now joins his fourth NHL organization already after splitting the 2021-22 campaign between the Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals. Cholowski does fill a desperate need for the Islanders, though — having more than seven NHL-capable defense options within the organization. Cholowski will fight for a roster spot along with Robin Salo and Sebastian Aho, with both Cholowski and Aho requiring waivers for assignment to the AHL. He had three assists in 11 NHL games last season.
LaDue will head back to the Bridgeport Islanders for a second consecutive season. While he was a regular NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings not too long ago, he’s played just three NHL games combined over the past three seasons and that figure likely won’t change much unless injuries strike New York’s defense again. The 29-year-old North Dakota product had 12 points in 60 games with Bridgeport last season.
Durandeau, 23, was a restricted free agent, leaving just Parker Wotherspoon on the Islanders’ list of unsigned RFAs heading into next season. The Montreal-born left wing is entering his fourth professional season. Durandeau enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year last season in Bridgeport, setting AHL career highs in games played (64), goals (15), assists (22), and points (37).
Fasching, like Cholowski, is brand-new to the Islanders organization. A 27-year-old minor-league veteran, Fasching is a reliable AHL middle-six presence with limited NHL experience. He did suit up for 11 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22, his most in a single NHL season, but failed to record a point. He’d spent the past four years in the Coyotes organization, mainly with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Adam Huska Signs In KHL
After making his NHL debut this season with the New York Rangers, Slovak netminder Adam Huska has signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL for 2022-23, as announced by the KHL on Twitter today.
Huska, 25, was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Rangers. After the draft, he immediately showed why it was a worthy pick. Huska won the USHL Goaltender of the Year Award and led the league in both goals-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.931) in 37 games with the Green Bay Gamblers.
Then, after a three-year collegiate career with the University of Connecticut, Huska turned pro, primarily spending each of the last three seasons with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford. He had his best AHL season yet in 2021-22, posting a 10-13-6 record and a .902 save percentage in 29 games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championship for the second straight season, this time as the bona fide starter.
The Rangers didn’t issue him a qualifying offer this offseason, however, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. With a bit of a higher-upside prospect in Olof Lindbom likely heading to Hartford this season (and Team Canada World Junior goaltender Dylan Garand), there was an organizational crunch for goalie spots. Huska was the odd man out after not displaying great numbers in the AHL the past few seasons, despite the hot start to his development.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames
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 2022-23 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.
Calgary Flames
Current Cap Hit: $80,363,333 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jakob Pelletier (two years, $863K)
Pelletier has yet to play in the NHL but the 2019 first-rounder is coming off a strong season in the minors that saw him put up 27 goals and 35 assists in 66 games with AHL Stockton; that performance will give him a good chance to push for a regular roster spot in training camp. At this point, a bridge contract is the likeliest scenario for him but two strong NHL seasons could change that.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Milan Lucic* ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
D Nicolas Meloche ($950K,UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($1.55MM, RFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($750K, RFA)
D MacKenzie Weegar ($3.25MM, UFA)
*-Edmonton is retaining an additional $750K of Lucic’s cap hit
Potential Bonuses:
Lewis: $200K
Lucic’s struggles on this contract have been well-documented. He’s not the high-end power forward that he was in the prime of his career and at this point, he’s best utilized in more of a limited capacity. It’s likely that he’ll be going year-to-year on any future contracts with a cap hit that is below $2MM, if not less. Lewis was second among Calgary forwards in hits last season and has been a capable fourth liner for several years now; he should give them some positive value on this deal.
Weegar is coming over from Florida where he spent most of the last two seasons on their top pairing and has developed a quality offensive game over that stretch as well. He’s likely to play a similar role with the Flames which has him well-positioned to more than double his current contract on the open market next summer. The fact that he’s a right-shot defender, the side that is always in high demand and short supply, only stands to help his value. Valimaki spent most of last season in the minors and didn’t do quite as well as either side had hoped. He’s now waiver-eligible which could help him stay on the roster at least but as things stand, he’s likelier to be non-tendered than receive a $1.86MM qualifying offer. That’s a surprising turn of events for someone believed to be a part of their future plans. Meloche saw extended NHL action with San Jose last season for the first time, helping him secure a one-way deal in free agency. If he can hold onto a spot on the third pairing with regularity, another small raise on the open market next summer would be achievable.
Vladar’s first full NHL season had some ups and downs with the end result being a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV% in 23 games. Those numbers aren’t excellent but they’re backup-level and with the escalating salaries for second-stringers, Vladar could easily double his current cap hit next summer if he has a similar performance in 2022-23.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Mikael Backlund ($5.35MM, UFA)
F Dillon Dube ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Noah Hanifin ($4.95MM, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Elias Lindholm ($4.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Rooney ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Toffoli ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($3.75MM, UFA)
Backlund has spent parts of 14 seasons with Calgary and has been a key cog down the middle for most of those. Now 33 and with a couple of middlemen ahead of him on the depth chart, he’s likely to play a lesser role moving forward and while he’ll still be one of the stronger defensive centers in the league, this contract will quickly become an above-market one. Toffoli was added in a midseason swap with Montreal to give them some extra scoring on the wing and he did just that en route to his sixth 20-goal campaign. He’s basically making second line money so as long as he stays in that role and keeps producing his usual level of production, the Flames will get some good value here.
Lindholm has really seen his career take off since coming over from Carolina four years ago. He has continued to be a high-end defensive player while he has gone from being more of a secondary offensive producer to a legitimate top-line center. His contract is certainly a sizable bargain for now as he’ll have an opportunity to potentially double his current AAV two years from now if he continues to produce at this pace in their new-look lineup. Dube did well offensively in very limited minutes last season and is poised to play a bigger role in 2022-23; if he can increase his production accordingly, he’s someone that could have a shot at doubling his price tag as well in 2024. Rooney has been a serviceable fourth liner the past couple of seasons and will play in that role with Calgary; it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command much more than that in his next trip through the open market.
Hanifin is coming off a career year offensively and while he hasn’t become the consistent two-way threat Carolina thought he’d be when they made him the fifth-overall pick in 2015, he is a legitimate top-pairing defender. The market value for those players is considerably higher than what he’s making now, making this another team-friendly deal. His next contract will be a few million higher than this one. Tanev has stayed healthy the last two years which isn’t normal for him which has allowed Calgary to get a better-than-expected return so far. He’ll need to be scaled back a bit over the next couple of years which will put him in line for a bit of a smaller deal in 2024, one that will almost certainly be a short-term contract.
Zadorov had an underwhelming first season with the Flames but the market wasn’t there for him so he opted to stick around. If he can’t become more of a core piece for Calgary over that stretch, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll get another deal like this one; size and physicality aside, depth defenders rarely command this type of contract. Kylington went from being a depth piece to a full-time regular last season, providing some secondary production in the process. Interestingly, he signed a deal that walks him straight to unrestricted free agency at 27 so there’s a chance for another sizable jump in his contract in 2024.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Andrew Mangiapane ($5.8MM, UFA)
To call last season for Mangiapane a career year would be an understatement. After his previous benchmark in points was 32, he passed that in 2021-22 with his goal total alone, notching 35 along with 20 assists in 82 games despite averaging less than 16 minutes a night. In the end, the two sides opted for what is essentially another bridge contract, one that gives him a significant raise on the $2.425MM AAV he had for the last two seasons without locking in a lot of long-term risk for the Flames if his production reverts back closer to his career averages. The pressure will be on now and Mangiapane will need to prove he’s a reliable 30-goal scorer to have a chance at getting that much on his next deal.
Jonathan Dahlen Linked To Timra
Free agent winger Jonathan Dahlen is one of the more intriguing players still on the open market after a decent rookie campaign. But a suitable NHL contract hasn’t materialized and that has his old team calling as Johan Svensson and Adam Johansson of Sport-Expressen report that Timra has shown interest in bringing Dahlen back for a third stint with the organization while teams in Switzerland have also inquired about his willingness to go back overseas.
The 24-year-old played in 61 games with the Sharks last season, putting up 12 goals and 10 assists, decent numbers for his first taste of NHL action. However, with San Jose tight to the salary cap and Dahlen having arbitration eligibility, the team opted not to tender him a qualifying offer which made him an unrestricted free agent last month.
Svensson and Johansson report that a one-way NHL contract has yet to be offered despite Dahlen’s performance last season; that has likely resulted in him looking at other alternatives. A long-term offer is believed to be on its way in the coming days from Timra, the team he has had two previous stints with in their Allsvenskan days although they’ve since moved up to the SHL. Dahlen had a good first year in the NHL but it appears it might be his last campaign at the top level for a while.
Offseason Notes: Islanders, Point, Bellerive
While most teams make headlines in the summer for inking major contracts or completing blockbuster trades, the New York Islanders made headlines this summer for all the things they didn’t do. After being rumored as suitors for top free agents such as Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau as well as a potential trade destination for big-name scorers, the Islanders’ most significant move this summer, at least to this point, has been the acquisition of defenseman Alexander Romanov.
That lack of activity hasn’t sat well with some in their fanbase, but today Lou Lamoriello, the team’s legendary general manager, explained the rationale behind this offseason strategy. Lamoriello, as relayed by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, said that despite having “many different options” in terms of free agent targets, the price to pay to upgrade at one position would have possibly downgraded the Islanders at another position. The Islanders have recently made back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final, so Lamoriello’s choice to keep his core largely intact is certainly defensible. That being said, if the Islanders have another disappointing year, the front office’s inability to make major waves this summer could be looked at as a major issue.
Now, for some other notes regarding offseason moves across the world of hockey:
- As part of his comments to the media after today’s moves, Lamoriello also shed some light on how he views the Islanders’ defense for this coming season. Per Newsday’s Andrew Gross, veteran defensemen Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara are “not currently considerations” for defensive roles next season. Greene and Chara combined for 141 games played for the Islanders last season, and their not being included in next season’s plan is an indication that the Islanders plan to get younger on their blueline in new coach Lane Lambert’s first season. The team’s top-four defensemen look set to be Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson, and Romanov, and the team will likely carry two of Sebastian Aho, Grant Hutton, and Robin Salo to pair with Scott Mayfield on the team’s third pairing.
- Goaltender Colton Point, once one of the more promising goalie prospects in hockey, signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets today, per a team announcement. Point, 24, had a heroic 2017-18 season for Colgate in the NCAA, going 16-12-5 with six shutouts and a .944 save percentage. Point went pro after that season, but has since struggled to make his mark at the AHL level with the Texas Stars. The 2016 fifth-rounder has a grisly .882 save percentage in 29 career AHL contests, and struggled to find his way in the Stars’ organization. His ECHL career numbers are a bit better, as he has a .901 save percentage in 52 career games, and he heads to Fort Wayne looking to stabilize his professional career.
- Per a team announcement, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed forward Jordy Bellerive to a one-year, one-way (AHL) contract. The 23-year-old Bellerive is an undrafted player who has spent the past three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins as a full-time player. Before then, Bellerive was a star forward for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. Bellerive heads to Lehigh Valley with the expectation of playing a bottom-six, penalty-killing role for the team, and he’ll also be counted on to bring the exact “hard to play against” style that the Flyers strive to cultivate throughout their organization.
San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Noah Gregor
4:00 PM: The Sharks have now officially announced the signing of Gregor.
3:25 PM: The San Jose Sharks have reached an extension with one of their remaining restricted free agents, signing Noah Gregor to a one-year, one-way $950K deal. The deal was reported by The Nation Network’s Jason Gregor, who happens to be the Sharks forward’s uncle.
As noted by PuckPedia, the Gregor signing leaves Sharks with just $225k in cap space on their full 23-man roster, and the team still has one RFA player left to sign to a new contract: forward Jonah Gadjovich.
Gregor, 24, established himself as an NHLer last season. He got into 63 games for the Sharks, scoring 8 goals and 23 points. A 2016 fourth-round pick, Gregor has been a bit of a development success story for San Jose, slowly growing from mid-round pick and WHL star to strong AHL contributor to useful NHLer.
Gregor is an offensively-oriented player who got a look on the Sharks’ power play last season and brought a combination of skill and grit to their lineup. Gregor’s overall profile is sure to be appreciated by new coach David Quinn, and armed with this one-way deal Gregor will enter training camp on stronger footing than ever before in his career. This deal will likely allow Gregor to focus his energy in training camp on building chemistry with his teammates and earning a greater role in the Sharks’ lineup, rather than simply attempting to earn a roster spot, as has been his focus in prior years.
The Sharks’ situation on the wings is decently unsettled, and Gregor will be competing for a role on a scoring-line role against other wingers such as Oskar Lindblom, Steven Lorentz, Luke Kunin, and Kevin Labanc. If he can find a way to hold down a spot next to one of the Sharks’ top two centers, Gregor could quickly outperform this contract’s $950K cap hit.
Snapshots: Greig, Weiss, Khudobin
One of the brightest stars in the Ottawa Senators’ deep prospect pool is left-wing Ridly Greig, who’s coming off a gold-medal-winning effort as a member of Team Canada at the 2022 World Juniors. 2021-22 was a banner year for him, notching 63 points in just 39 games as the captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before joining Canada for the tournament. There, he registered six points in five games.
Unfortunately, his tournament was cut short by an injury and Greig missed the team’s semifinal game against Czechia and the gold medal game against Finland, and he played just 3:58 in the team’s quarterfinal round game against Switzerland. Now, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports he’s out three to four weeks with a separated shoulder and will likely miss Ottawa’s rookie tournament games. However, general manager Pierre Dorion did note that Greig will be healthy for the preseason, where he’s expected to get a long look in camp but is likely destined for a big role with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
- Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tyler Weiss is likely moving on to a pro career after not registering for classes at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Weiss’ signing rights are still held by the Avalanche, so after scoring 33 points in 36 games last season in Omaha, Weiss will likely sign within the organization before the start of the season.
- Dallas Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika believes that a pre-season trade is the most likely outcome for the future of Stars netminder Anton Khudobin. Khudobin struggled through last season with injuries, playing in just nine games and posting a .879 save percentage. With Jake Oettinger expected to reprise his starting role and Scott Wedgewood signed on a cheap one-way deal as the backup, there’s simply no room left for Khudobin in the organization.
Nashville Predators Loan Joakim Kemell To Finnish Team
Joakim Kemell was one of the brightest stars for Team Finland in their silver medal effort at the 2022 World Junior Championship. After the Nashville Predators drafted him 17th overall in 2022 and signed him to his entry-level contract earlier this summer, though, he’ll be headed back to JYP in the Finnish Liiga for another season next year, per the team.
As Kemell wasn’t drafted out of the Canadian Hockey League, he could, in theory, have suited up for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals next season if Nashville and Kemell believed that was the best solution for him. However, it appears all parties involved believe another season in his home country against some more seasoned players is the better option for Kemell.
An unexpected faller in the 2022 draft, Kemell showed why the teams that passed on him were wrong with 12 points in seven games at the World Juniors earlier this month. He had 23 points in 39 Liiga games last season with JYP as well, and he’ll be expected to play an increased top-six role next season.
Minor Transactions: 08/22/22
The opening of the week has brought some big news into the NHL cycle, a rarity for this late in August. With the New York Islanders signing all of Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, and Kieffer Bellows today, Islander fans can rest easy knowing some important young players are guaranteed to show up for training camp on time. However, there are many other destinations in the hockey world worth paying attention to, and we’ll keep track of those non-NHL transactions today right here.
- The Charlotte Checkers have signed forward Ethan Keppen to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him into the Florida Panthers system after going undrafted. Keppen was originally a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, but the team elected not to sign him to an NHL contract after two separate AHL stints over the past two seasons. He’ll head to Charlotte with his exclusive NHL rights having expired, where he’ll look to make an impact after scoring 23 goals and 40 points in 42 games last season with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds.
- The Hershey Bears today have signed forwards Ryan Scarfo and Alexandre Fortin to AHL contracts for the 2022-23 season. Scarfo, a 28-year-old minor hockey veteran, had a career-best 12 points in 63 games last season with the Rochester Americans. He’ll try and stay on the Bears roster, but could be a candidate for designation to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Fortin, 25, has 24 games of NHL experience that came in 2018-19 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Last season, Fortin had nine points in 34 games with the Laval Rocket and 13 points in just 12 games with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
New York Islanders Sign Noah Dobson, Alex Romanov, Kieffer Bellows
Per a series of team announcements Monday morning, the New York Islanders have finally locked up a trio of restricted free agents in defenseman Noah Dobson (link), defenseman Alexander Romanov (link), and forward Kieffer Bellows (link). Dobson and Romanov have signed three-year deals, while Bellows has signed a one-year deal.
The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports Dobson’s deal carries a $4MM AAV, while TSN’s Chris Johnston reports Romanov’s deal has a $2.5MM cap hit. CapFriendly reports Bellows’ contract carries a $1.2MM cap hit, all in base salary.
Dobson, 22, enjoyed a career season in 2021-22, something that couldn’t be said for much of the team. The team’s 12th overall selection in 2018 displayed his full potential, leading the team’s blueline with 51 points in 80 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night. His defensive game has remained solid throughout his three-year career so far, but it was his offensive vision and confidence that spearheaded his breakout this year. He was never drafted to be a defensive stalwart, but not being a liability in his own end of the ice certainly helps his case to continue developing into a superstar defenseman.
Romanov, however, was drafted to be that defensive stalwart, and he took a real step towards that last season in Montreal despite playing in a porous system. Acquired this offseason in exchange for the 13th overall pick, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello gets a great value signing here with a three-year term on that $2.5MM cap hit. Romanov showed that he can be a dependable defensive presence while playing top-four minutes, a role he’ll undoubtedly continue on the Island this season. A stark upgrade over the play of Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene, Romanov could likely play with Dobson on the team’s second pairing, one that could end up being their best one in a few seasons’ time. He set career-highs in 2021-22 with 79 games played, three goals, 10 assists, 13 points, and an average time on ice of 20:24.
Bellows has struggled to crack the lineup on a nightly basis under former head coach Barry Trotz, and he’s hoping a new face behind the bench will get him some more playing time. His offensive numbers finally showed great promise at the NHL level last season, posting 19 points in 45 games despite playing under 12 minutes a night. He’ll compete with veterans like Matt Martin and Zach Parise for spots in the lineup, as he’ll try to work his way into a consistent bottom-six role (with some power play time, hopefully).
All three players will again be restricted free agents at the end of their contracts.