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Archives for July 2023

Minor Transactions: 07/15/23

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As we’re just a month-and-a-half away from the start of the professional hockey season in Europe, (the first games of the Champions Hockey League season are scheduled for the last day of August) many teams are hard at work signing players and finalizing the team they’ll be hoping will bring them to glory in 2023-24. As always, we’ll recap player movement from around the hockey world here, from minor leagues to the European pro hockey circuit.

  • 938-game NHL veteran Anton Strålman has signed a contract with HV71 in his native Sweden, a move that likely marks the conclusion of his North American pro career. Strålman, 36, last played top-division pro hockey in Sweden way back in 2006-07, the second of two seasons he spent manning the blueline for Timra. Although Strålman earned a one-year, $1MM contract from the Boston Bruins last season the depth of Boston’s blueline meant it was extremely difficult for Strålman to earn a place in the NHL lineup. He ultimately played only eight games in Boston, his final one coming in late November. He finished 2022-23 in the AHL, and will now shift his focus to a league he led in average ice time the last time he played there.
  • Ostap Safin, a 2017 Edmonton Oilers fourth-round pick, has signed a tryout contract with Lada Togliatti in the KHL. Now 24 years old, Safin earned an entry-level deal from the Oilers in 2018, nearly a year after he was drafted. He had scored 58 points in 61 games as an import player in the QMJHL, and looked like a promising prospect for Oilers fans to track. Then a significant shoulder injury cost Safin most of his 2018-19 season, and while he managed to return for the postseason he could only muster two points in 23 games. Safin turned pro the following year and played in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder, earning a spot in the ECHL All-Star game and scoring 35 points in 54 games. Safin failed to find a place in the AHL, though, and by the end of 2021-22 his time in the Oilers organization had clearly concluded. He left for his native Czechia to play in their top league, but only scored 13 points in 41 games for HC Sparta Praha. Now, he’ll look to earn a job in the KHL and translate his tantalizing physical tools into tangible production in a challenging pro league.
  • The AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals have announced the signing of Carson Gicewicz to a one-year AHL contract. The six-foot-three New York native just wrapped up his second full season as a professional hockey player and has logged a total of 117 games in the AHL, almost all with the Rockford IceHogs. An NCAA Men’s Hockey National Champion at UMass Amherst, Gicewicz has carved out a role as a physical depth center in the AHL. The 26-year-old was traded by the IceHogs to the Rochester Americans for their playoff push in the middle of last season, although he only skated in three games for the Amerks. With this one-year deal he latches on with the Admirals and will likely be under consideration for a fourth-line center role, similar to the role he occupied in his brief time in Rochester.
  • After one season playing Canadian University hockey, former QMJHL star Simon Pinard has made the choice to turn pro. According to a team announcement, he’s signed a two-year AHL contract with the Henderson Silver Knights, the affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. Pinard, 22, is an undrafted player who spent last season at the University of New Brunswick, scoring 29 points in 29 games. The season before, he scored 91 points in 67 games in the QMJHL splitting time between the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Gatineau Olympiques. By signing Pinard to a deal with a two-year term, the Silver Knights are clearly making a bet that the five-foot-eleven Canadian forward can translate some of his USports and QMJHL productivity to the professional level.
  • 2022-23 was longtime Cleveland Monsters center Justin Scott’s first away from Cleveland, the only pro team he’s suited up for. Now, the 2023-24 campaign is set to be Scott’s first away from North America. The 27-year-old has signed with the Straubing Tigers of the DEL. Scott parlayed a successful final season with the Barrie Colts in the OHL and an exceptional 17 goals in 15 games playoff run into a an entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Scott was solid in his first season in the AHL, scoring 13 goals and 23 points in 53 games. While he endured a difficult sophomore slump, Scott quickly grew into a reliable regular for the Monsters and by his finals season there he was wearing a letter on his jersey and scoring 16 goals and 34 points in 76 games. Scott didn’t fare nearly as well in his one season with a different AHL club, the Colorado Eagles, scoring just 11 points in 53 games. Now he’s off to Germany, where he could end up an important all-around player for a club looking to make a deep playoff run after losing in Game Seven of the DEL Quarterfinals to Wolfsburg.
  • While the Tigers bring in one import player in Scott, they lose another as Canadian defenseman Trent Bourque signed a contract with Tingsryds AIF of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish pro hockey. The former St. Louis Blues draft pick has spent parts of the last two seasons in the DEL with the Tigers, though he didn’t feature in the team’s playoff push or series against Wolfsburg. The six-foot-two 25-year-old former OHL mainstay began his pro career in the ECHL but couldn’t quite find his footing during AHL call-ups, leading to a move to Europe. With this new contract, Bourque is set to help Tingsryds in their attempt to avoid relegation to third-tier HockeyEttan after only narrowly avoiding that fate in 2022-23.
  • Tikhon Chayka is beginning his pro career after two seasons as the number-one goalie for the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL. Chayka, who turns 20 in August, signed with Dynamo Minsk in his native Belarus. While Chayka is highly unlikely to feature in the KHL immediately, he was decent in his two seasons in the WHL. While his numbers declined in 2022-23, he had a solid .904 save percentage in 51 games in 2021-22. He could be in line to see time in the crease in Minsk once the incumbent starting goalie, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov, heads to North America to begin his recently-signed entry-level deal.
  • After four seasons at Canisius College, 24-year-old defenseman Lincoln Erne is turning pro. He’s signed a one-year ECHL contract with the Tulsa Oilers, and heads to Oklahoma after a strong senior collegiate campaign. Erne led Canisius to the NCAA Tournament and an AHA conference championship. The minutes-eating defensive defenseman doesn’t have much of an offensive game but will hope to bring his trademark physicality, size, and defensive responsibility to Tulsa and begin to climb the ladder of North American pro hockey.
  • After three seasons in the ECHL, former Boston College defenseman Luke McInnis is changing teams for the first time. The 24-year-old blueliner signed a contract with the Indy Fuel, confirming his exit from the Orlando Solar Bears, his club of the last three years. The Fuel acquired McInnis’ rights from Orlando in a trade last month, targeting the undersized defenseman after he ranked second among Solar Bears blueliners with 25 points in just 45 games. While the Solar Bears endured a difficult campaign, the Fuel made the ECHL playoffs and have now added some defensive reinforcements for next season.
  • Former Minnesota Wild prospect Gustav Bouramman has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, the Graz99ers of the ICEHL. The deal lands Bouramman a second campaign in Austria, marking the first time in his professional career that he’s spent consecutive campaigns with the same organization. Bouramman overcame some early injuries to score 18 points in 31 ICEHL games, helping Graz reach the postseason. Before he landed in the ICEHL Bouramman spent three years playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan, and before that point he began his pro career as a regular on the blueline of the Rapid City Rush in the ECHL.
  • The EIHL’s Guildford Flames have secured the services of bruising defenseman Kyle Locke for a third campaign, inking him to a one-year extension. Called “probably the most significant physical presence” on the Flames’ roster by his head coach, Locke has logged 133 total games for Guildford and helped them to the EIHL playoffs in back-to-back years. He’s combined for 147 career penalty minutes in his career in the EIHL, and will now continue his career in England as the most menacing player on the Guildford defense.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Felix Unger Sörum

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed 17-year-old prospect forward Felix Unger Sörum to a three-year entry-level contract. Per the team announcement, the deal carries a $775k cap hit, $82.5k AHL salary, and a $255k signing bonus.

Hurricanes GM Don Waddell issued a short statement as part of the team’s release:

Felix is a dynamic playmaker with great offensive instincts. He was one of the youngest players in the draft, and we’re excited to see how he continues to improve and develop.

The Hurricanes selected Unger Sörum 62nd overall at the 2023 draft, one of the final picks of the second round. Born September 14, 2005, had Unger Sörum been born just two days later he would have been ineligible for the 2023 draft and instead would have been a 2024 draft prospect.

The right-shot forward spent most of last season with Leksands IF in the J20 Nationell, meaning he was playing junior hockey in his native Sweden. He was very productive at that level, scoring 46 points in 42 games. He even earned seven games with Leksands’ senior team in the SHL, an impressive feat for a player so young.

Unger Sörum also impressed at the international level, especially at the U18 Worlds. He raised his draft stock in a ten-day span in late April, posting 10 points in seven games as Sweden nearly took home the gold medal.

Although scouts were somewhat divided on where Unger Sörum’s place was among the draft’s better prospects (he ranked 85th in Bob McKenzie’s final ranking for TSN, but 53rd in the final rankings of McKenzie’s TSN colleague, Craig Button) the Hurricanes clearly believe in Unger Sörum’s pro potential, and have now invested in him even more by signing him to this entry-level deal at a relatively early stage in his professional developmental process.

Although this entry-level deal does formally enter Unger Sörum into the Hurricanes organization, he’s almost certain to continue his development overseas with Leksands. As a second-round pick the NHL-SHL transfer agreement does not dictate priority to the Hurricanes in deciding where Unger Sörum develops outside the NHL.

Since he’s most definitely not yet ready for an NHL role, he’s highly likely to end up continuing to play with Leksands with the hope of making a push for a regular role on their SHL roster.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Jared McIsaac

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Wrapping up a bit of internal business this afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings have inked defenseman Jared McIsaac to a one-year, two-way contract. Now that McIsaac is signed, this leaves Joe Veleno as the lone restricted free agent left in the organization. CapFriendly reports the contract will pay McIsaac $787.5K at the NHL level.

During his draft year in 2018, McIsaac was projected as a late-first-round pick, as most mock drafts had him between 25-29 at the time. McIsaac would slip out of the first round, not hearing his name called until the 36th pick the following day.

Playing for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL in his draft season, McIsaac played in 65 games, scoring nine goals and 38 assists. McIsaac would play another two seasons for the Mooseheads, as well as a brief stint with the Moncton Wildcats, before finally joining Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the 2021-22 season.

McIsaac has played well thus far with the Griffins, appearing in 131 games over the last two years, scoring eight goals and 38 assists. He has yet to reach the postseason with the Griffins, finishing as one of the worst teams in the league over the last couple of years.

Already at 23 years old, McIsaac does not typically feature on any lists of top prospects for the Red Wings. Already having adequate defensive depth at the NHL level, prospects Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder have passed McIsaac on the depth chart.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Justin Kirkland

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Similar to their signing of free agent forward, Zach Sanford, yesterday afternoon, the Arizona Coyotes continue to add some depth to their forward core. Today, the team announced they have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with forward Justin Kirkland. Per the team’s policy, the Coyotes do not typically share the financial details of the contract with the public, but it would be safe to assume Kirkland will earn around $775K at the NHL level.

Drafted 62nd overall by the Nashville Predators back in the 2014 NHL Draft, Kirkland has spent the better part of the last seven seasons playing in the AHL but did suit up in seven games for the Anaheim Ducks last year. After his entry-level contract with the Predators reached its conclusion, Kirkland signed on with the Calgary Flames organization, signing three straight one-year deals with the team, only playing for their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat.

Kirkland’s most successful year came in 2021-22, scoring 25 goals and 23 assists for Stockton in 66 games. He finished fourth on the team in points and tallied 12 points in 13 playoffs on the Heat’s run to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Similarly to Sanford, there is a slight possibility that Kirkland could find himself featuring in the Coyotes’ bottom six, but will likely spend the majority of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

PHR Mailbag: Draft, Flyers, Tarasenko, Goodrow, Kings, KHL, AHL, Sabres

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Topics in this edition of the mailbag include last month’s draft, a discussion on if the Kings have loaded up too early, the KHL salary cap, and more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back next weekend when we’ll run two more mailbags based on the questions from our most recent callout.

Gbear: Which teams’ draft selections did you really like and which did you really not like?

I liked Chicago’s draft and not just because they got a franchise player in Connor Bedard.  Oliver Moore slipping to them at 19 was nice for them and as a result, it’s quite possible that their top two centers of the future will come from this class.  Adam Gajan is one of the higher-projected goalies from this draft class and while I’m not certain there’s a true starter out of the bunch, he could be an option for them in a few years.  They have a shot at three impact players out of this draft class which would be a great outcome.

Buffalo also did well.  Zach Benson slipping outside of the top ten was certainly fortuitous for them and Anton Wahlberg was rated by some as a first-round talent that they got in the second round.  I think Maxim Strbak could play on an NHL back end in the future while Scott Ratzlaff is someone I mentioned in a previous mailbag as an under-the-radar goalie prospect that could see his stock rise next season.

It’s harder to pick classes that I didn’t like as much as there are several teams that didn’t have great drafts simply because they didn’t have many picks.  It’s hard to hold that performance against them.

But one team that puzzled me was Arizona.  It’s not that Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But weren’t first-round caliber players.  They certainly were.  But it’s fair to say that those were pretty sizable reaches at six and twelve.  As we now have heard in several reports, there were teams looking to trade up and I feel the Coyotes might have lost out on an opportunity to gain some extra assets.  Yes, they have plenty of picks already but just because they did doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have looked at the trade-down scenarios where they still likely would have got their desired players.

Emoney123: After signing Cates and York this week, will the Flyers score enough to compete this season?

What is the status of the Flyers goalie chart? They seem to like drafting Russian goalies with Fedotov, Kolosov, and Zavragin… will any make it to the NHL with the Flyers? Will Sandstrom and Ersson start the season at Lehigh Valley while Maier at Reading and Bjarnson staying in the WHL? Hart as the presumed starter with Petersen as backup or does Briere dive headfirst and trade Hart to continue the rebuild? What would a probable return for Hart look like?

I don’t get the sense that the Flyers are looking to compete next season…at least in the traditional sense.  The moves they’ve made are that of a team that has an eye on bottoming out and trying to become a contender in the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes.  So, are they going to score enough to compete at the top end of the standings?  No, but they’ll score enough to compete at the bottom of them.  Next season should be about giving their young forwards extended looks in key roles to see how many of them can realistically be a part of their long-term core.  With that approach will come some scoring droughts.

Of the three Russian goalies, Ivan Fedotov has the best shot at making it to the NHL.  He can play at this level now.  Of course, there’s the latest issue to navigate with the KHL registering a contract for Fedotov even though his NHL agreement is tolled.  I don’t think we’ve heard the last of things on that front.  If he winds up in the NHL after all is said and done, he’s the backup for Carter Hart and Calvin Petersen is once again an expensive third-string option.  Of the others you listed, I think you have the desired Lehigh Valley tandem if Felix Sandstrom clears waivers, Carson Bjarnason will stay in junior, and Nolan Meier isn’t currently under contract for next season.

I could be completely wrong on this but I think the idea of trading Hart has come and gone.  Connor Hellebuyck is in play.  So is John Gibson.  I don’t think it’s entirely impossible that Boston has to trade one of their goalies if an opportunity to add another piece arises.  This is not a marketplace to go into and command top value for Hart’s services.  If they can’t get top value, they shouldn’t be moving him at this time.

Schwa: With rumors that Tarasenko wants to stay with the Rangers, so you see them moving Goodrow and Vlad taking a discount? What does it take to move Goodie’s contract out?

Considering that Vladimir Tarasenko fired his agent earlier this month, I’m not certain that he’s willing to sign for a significant discount.  If that was the case, he’d have advised his old agent to get a deal done with the Rangers.  Instead, his new agency is starting the process all over again.  Is it possible that he’s open to a discount?  Perhaps.  But his recent actions suggest that it’s not his Plan A.  I’m intrigued to see where he lands as I think he’s one of the dominoes that needs to come off the board before we start to see a bit of activity on the trade front.

As for what it’d take to move Goodrow’s contract out?  My initial thought is more than what New York would be willing to part with.  In this market with so few teams willing or able to take on money (and even less willing to take on term), I think it would start with a first-round pick with a decent prospect on top of it.  Is that a price worth paying to keep Tarasenko?  I suppose it could be but it’d depend on how long he’d be willing to sign for.  As a rental on a discount contract, probably not.  For multiple years on a below-market deal though?  I suppose it could be a consideration.

Goodrow is a capable bottom-six player and he certainly fills some needs on the Rangers.  But an AAV of over $3.6MM is on the high side when most role players are signing for half of that or less.  Four more years of that contract is also a longer term than most free agents have been getting.  That’s a double whammy that will make him tough to move as effective as he is.

rpoabr: Did the Kings push their chips in too soon to try to take advantage of Kopitar and Doughty still being productive? Traded away a lot of draft capital and upside players over the last year.

I remember having that same thought last year around the time they traded for Kevin Fiala.  It’s not that it was a bad trade but it seemed like they were fast-tracking just a little bit.  Safe to say that one has worked out so far.  At least at the deadline last season, they addressed the goaltending temporarily and with getting Vladislav Gavrikov to extend on a short-term contract, they’ll get some value out of the first-rounder they gave up there.

I don’t mind the package they gave up for Pierre-Luc Dubois, however, one that was more quantity than true quality.  Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi are good supporting-cast players but if they’re the anchor pieces for a long-term center, take it and run.  Rasmus Kupari’s stock has been sliding so moving him out isn’t the end of the world either.  Impact centers are hard to trade for and this wasn’t an overpayment so I think it was a good move for them to make.

Fundamentally speaking, I understand why they’re pushing in their chips now.  Drew Doughty is still at the top of his game and Anze Kopitar is still a high-end center.  Some of their younger players are on club-friendly contracts so their window is now.  At this point, my biggest concern for them is that they basically ignored the goaltending position.  A Cam Talbot–Pheonix Copley tandem isn’t good enough in my view to contend in the playoffs.  I expect they’ll be trying to address that in-season if they want to best position themselves for a long postseason run.

Gmm8811: Wondering if you can share any info on how the salaries work in the KHL? Cap? Minimum salary? Top pay? Any info on AHL salaries also? Does a player on a non-NHL contract have a minimum?

For the KHL, I can give you numbers from recent seasons at least.  Their cap in 2022-23 was 900 million rubles (around $12.8MM US) with a floor of 315 million rubles (roughly $4.8MM US).  Last June, Championat in Russia revealed the top-13 salaries in the league from the year before.  Blackhawks ‘prospect’ Max Shalunov was the highest in 2021-22 at 90 million rubles (around $1MM US).  A 2011 draft pick, Shalunov is still property of Chicago should he decide to try his hand in the NHL.  I assume there’s a minimum salary in that league although I wasn’t able to find what it was.

As for the AHL, I can fill in some blanks.  There is a CBA for that league (which expires in August 2024) and the minimum salary for the upcoming season is $52,725 US for players on one-way AHL contracts.  For players on two-way deals with the ECHL as well, the minimum is $41,625 for US-based teams or $54,100 for Canadian-based clubs paying in that currency.  There is no salary cap or maximum salary for that league.  Players on AHL-only contracts seldom have the financial terms released but we’ve seen some recent NHL two-way contracts around the $500K mark in AHL salary (or at least a guaranteed portion).

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Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Tanner Jeannot

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Back at the trade deadline, Tampa Bay paid a high price to land Tanner Jeannot from Nashville, sending five draft picks (one in each of the first five rounds over the next few years) along with defenseman Cal Foote to get him.  The team confirmed that it will be a two-year, $5.33MM contract for Jeannot, paying him an AAV of $2.665MM per season. After they put Brent Seabrook on LTIR at the beginning of the season, Tampa Bay will have just under $300K in salary cap space.

Financial terms are not yet known but it’s worth noting that Jeannot’s qualifying offer was for just under $900K.  He had filed for salary arbitration with a hearing scheduled for July 24th and it wouldn’t be surprising to see this deal check in for more than double that qualifier.  A two-year term would give Tampa Bay one extra year of team control.

The 26-year-old had a breakout campaign in 2021-22 with the Predators.  He put up 24 goals and 17 assists that year in 81 games while adding 130 penalty minutes and 318 hits.  That was enough to land him in seventh place in Calder Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year and it appeared as if the Preds had a core power forward on their hands.

That wasn’t the case in 2022-23, however.  Instead, Jeannot saw his production drop sharply with Nashville, down to five goals and nine helpers in 56 games along with 85 penalty minutes and 213 hits.  Despite that, Tampa Bay felt that he could be a difference-maker for him down the stretch and in the playoffs with the hopes that they could then make him part of their future core.

That didn’t exactly happen.  Playing through some injury woes, Jeannot was limited to just a goal and three assists in 20 games following the swap while he missed three of their six playoff games in their first-round loss to Toronto.  And with this contract more or less amounting to a second bridge deal, he isn’t exactly going to be viewed as a long-term core piece now.

Despite that, there is still some room for optimism for Jeannot with the Lightning.  He should slot in on their second or third line next season and with a full training camp under his belt in the fall along with a return to health, he should be in line for a stronger showing next season.  In an Atlantic Division that has added some toughness this summer (Ryan Reaves, Milan Lucic, and Zack MacEwen have all entered the division), Tampa Bay will be relying on Jeannot to help them on that side of the table as well.  His initial impression might not have been the most favorable but things should only be looking up from here for him.

Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the two sides agreed on a two-year deal. 

PuckPedia was the first to report the financial details of the contract. 

East Notes: Rangers, Sabres, Svechnikov

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The cap situation for the Rangers has limited them for the most part this summer.  Accordingly, Larry Brooks of the New York Post opines that the best chance they have to take a step forward next season might be to take a step back out of the gate and give their young trio of Alexis Lafreniere (still an unsigned restricted free agent), Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil extended looks in offensive roles.  With a forward group that skews older otherwise, New York’s best chance for offensive growth might very well be those three younger options taking a step forward in their development.  The Rangers are certainly in win-now mode which might make it seem counter-intuitive to potentially have some early struggles while evaluating those players in those roles but if they can hit another gear offensively, they could certainly be dangerous offensively when the playoffs come around.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Sabres have reached a new ECHL affiliation agreement for next season as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that Buffalo will be partnered up with Jacksonville, formerly an affiliate of the Rangers. Buffalo had been with Cincinnati since 2017 but needed a new one when the Rangers signed with that franchise; this move basically makes it a trade of affiliates.  A press conference is scheduled for Monday to make it official.
  • Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov returned to the ice on Friday as he works his way back from ACL surgery, notes team reporter Walt Ruff. The 23-year-old made his first All-Star appearance last season while picking up 23 goals and 32 assists in 64 games before suffering the injury in March.  At the time, the procedure carried a recovery of six to nine months; October (when the season starts) is near the short end of that timeline so it’s not a guarantee that Svechnikov will be ready on opening night.

Capitals Confirm Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Earlier Trade Request

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In recent months, there has been speculation that Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov had asked for a change of scenery.  Yesterday, in an article on their team site from Mike Vogel, they confirmed that the middleman did indeed request to be traded.

The 31-year-old had one of his best offensive seasons in 2021-22, picking up 24 goals and 54 assists in 79 games.  However, Kuznetsov wasn’t able to build on that last season as his goal total was cut in half while he still managed 43 helpers.  A report out of Russia last month suggested that the relationship with the team wasn’t past the point of no return but that he was seeking more offensive freedom; it’s possible that new head coach Spencer Carbery could give him that freedom.

In his piece, Vogel notes that Washington typically tries to accommodate trade requests and that GM Brian MacLellan was looking to make a move that would make his top-six group a little younger in the process.  Clearly, that didn’t come to fruition with Kuznetsov still being a member of the Capitals.

The struggles last season certainly didn’t help his trade value and neither does his contract.  Kuznetsov still has two years left on his contract, one that carries an AAV of $7.8MM.  As we’ve seen in recent weeks, moving expensive contracts has been difficult enough on its own let alone extracting full value.  Look no further than Nashville’s trade of Ryan Johansen to Colorado, one that saw them hold back $4MM per season for two years for what amounted to no return.  For a Washington team that still intends to compete next season, that type of move isn’t exactly palatable considering Kuznetsov is still their most reliable middleman (with Dylan Strome and Nicklas Backstrom also in the mix).

MacLellan acknowledged that he took an “aggressive” approach when it came to trying to find a trade fit for Kuznetsov but he hasn’t had success in terms of finding a swap that both sides are happy with.  He added that some players they were pursuing haven’t been moved yet so speculatively, Kuznetsov could be a part of one of those swaps.  Otherwise, he’ll at least need to start next season with Washington where a strong start in Carbery’s new system could help boost his value to the point where his value goes up and a trade can be reached if he still wants to be moved at that time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Philadelphia Flyers Waive Tony DeAngelo For Purposes Of Buyout

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Saturday: DeAngelo has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports, paving the way for the buyout to be completed.

Friday: It appears the rumored trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes won’t be happening after all. Today, the Flyers placed defenseman Tony DeAngelo on unconditional waivers, which CapFriendly initially clarified is for the purpose of contract termination. The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor later contradicted CapFriendly’s initial report, claiming DeAngelo’s waiver placement is for the purposes of a buyout, which was later confirmed.

After the Flyers acquired DeAngelo’s negotiating rights from the Hurricanes last summer and promptly signed him to a two-year, $10MM deal, his relationship with head coach John Tortorella became tenuous, culminating in a string of healthy scratches to end the season. Reporting suggested the Flyers and Hurricanes had worked out a deal to send DeAngelo back to Raleigh this offseason, which would have involved the Flyers retaining half of DeAngelo’s $5MM cap hit on the final season of his contract and receiving center prospect Massimo Rizzo in return. However, the league blocked the trade at the time, claiming it circumvented the salary cap, and didn’t permit the deal to go through until July 8, 2023, exactly one year after the initial trade, which sent DeAngelo’s rights to Philadelphia.

The trade never actually went through, though, and now DeAngelo will find himself free to sign with any team that will have him – including Carolina. The buyout option became available to the Flyers after settling with forward Noah Cates before his arbitration hearing.

The buyout will cost the Flyers $1.67MM against the cap for the next two seasons compared to a one-time $2.5MM cap hit next year via salary retention. While the team is in the throes of a rebuild and doesn’t anticipate spending to the salary cap, the decision to buy DeAngelo out rather than trade him does offer slightly more short-term financial relief.

DeAngelo is an elite offensive-minded defender but a rather significant defensive liability, which chiefly contributed to his fallout with Tortorella in Philadelphia. When taking into consideration he’s played on three teams in the past three seasons and has now been bought out twice in that time frame, it seems unlikely he’ll find any long-term commitments on the open market.

Moving on from DeAngelo will certainly shift more point-producing burden onto youngster Cam York, who looked quite capable last season with 20 points in 54 games. The 22-year-old signed a two-year, $3.2MM extension with the Flyers earlier this week.

DeAngelo, 27, led Flyers defensemen in scoring last season with 42 points in 70 games. It was his third straight full season posting more than 40 points – he played just six games in 2020-21 before getting involved in a post-game altercation with then-teammate Alexandar Georgiev, which resulted in a waiver placement and assignment to the team’s taxi squad for the remainder of the season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Golden Knights Sign David Edstrom

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The Golden Knights have signed their top pick from last month’s draft, announcing the signing of center David Edstrom to a three-year, entry-level deal.  Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 18-year-old was the final selection of the first round, going 32nd overall to the Stanley Cup champs.  Edstrom spent last season in Frolunda’s system, splitting time between their Under-18 team, Under-20 squad, and their SHL group.  The bulk of his action came at the Under-20 level where he was productive, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 28 games.  Edstrom also didn’t look out of place in the pros, collecting two goals and two helpers in 11 contests while averaging just shy of eight minutes a night.  Internationally, he represented Sweden at the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup as well as the World Under-18s.

Edstrom is under contract in Sweden next season with Frolunda and it’s probable that he’ll be loaned back there where he’ll split time once again between the Under-20 team and the SHL squad.  If that happens, his contract will slide a year and still have three years left on it this time next summer.  He’s still likely a few years away from being NHL ready but Vegas feels that Edstrom should become a middle-six contributor for them down the road.

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