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Archives for July 2023

Evening Notes: Gustavsson, Crammarossa, Iowa

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Joe Smith of The Athletic writes that it appears the Minnesota Wild and goaltender Filip Gustavsson will decide their contract dispute in arbitration. Smith writes that the deal will get done but will most likely be done through an arbitrator as the sides appear unlikely to reach an agreement without the intervention. The Wild and Gustavsson are set to go to arbitration on August 4th, and with Ilya Samsonov’s ruling now official and Jeremy Swayman’s case set to be heard later this week, both sides should have a clearer picture of what would be a fair contract from the club and the 25-year-old goaltender.

Gustavsson excelled in his first year in Minnesota after coming over in an off-season trade from the Ottawa Senators. It was expected that the native of Skelleftea, Sweden would backup Marc-Andre Fleury, however by the time the playoffs rolled around Gustavsson owned the Minnesota net having gone 22-9-7 with a .931 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average.

The Wild are dealing with a very precarious cap situation as they deal with the blowback from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts that are eating up about $15MM of Minnesota’s cap space. However, they do still have around $5MM in cap space remaining to re-sign the young netminder.

In other evening notes:

  • Joseph Cramarossa has officially signed a contract with the Löwen Frankfurt of the DEL league. Cramarossa played in the NHL as recently as the past season as he played four games for the Minnesota Wild, scoring just a single goal. He also posted four goals and five assists in 18 games with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Back in January of this year, Cramarossa had his contract terminated by the Wild and at that time he went overseas to play for Adlern Mannheim of the DEK. While in Germany Cramarossa posted two goals and six assists in 15 games.
  • Lastly, the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL have announced that they’ve come to terms with defensemen Robbie Stucker and Ben Brinkman on contracts for the 2023-24 season. The club also announced that forward Jake Durflinger has agreed to a deal as well. Brinkman and Stucker were formerly teammates at the University of Minnesota from 2018-21 while Durflinger will enter his second season with the Heartlanders having played 50 games last season posting 10 goals and 10 assists. The 25-year-old finished the season strong scoring seven of his ten goals between March 18th and April 7th.

Free Agent Profile: Danton Heinen

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This is the time of the summer when NHL signings are few and far between. Many teams have made their moves and are now tweaking around the edges, while other teams are looking to figure out how to become cap compliant in October. For the unrestricted free agents who remain unsigned, it must be a stressful time of year, it’s almost like a game of musical chairs, everyone has their seat, and only a select few are left standing.

For winger Danton Heinen he is familiar with this waiting game, he wasn’t signed last summer until late July when he inked a one-year $1MM deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the time, Heinen was coming off a career-high 18 goals and a very respectable 33 points. It seemed like an absolute steal at that price point, but then Heinen failed to match that production this past season. Coming off a very disappointing season it’s hard to see Heinen topping his salary from this past season, and it appears he might have to wait even deeper into the summer to find an NHL deal.

Heinen entered this past season with an opportunity to capture a spot in the Penguins lineup next to Evgeni Malkin. At the beginning of the season, the Penguins weren’t sure how Jason Zucker would fit into the lineup and Heinen was brought in as a depth piece who could fill in admirably in the top six, and that is what he did to start the season. Heinen began the year with six points in his first five games including a two-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in October as he filled in for an injured Jake Guentzel alongside Sidney Crosby. However, over the course of his next 34 games, Heinen would put up just five assists and didn’t score another goal until late January, a period of over three months between goals. Heinen finished the season with eight goals and 14 assists in 65 games and ended up in Mike Sullivan’s doghouse many times throughout the year.

While Heinen’s offensive numbers took a nosedive last season from the year previous, they fell close to his career average as he has typically been a 10-15 goal scorer and a player who can contribute 25-30 points. Outside of a single 47-point season, Heinen has never topped 34 points in any other NHL season. His lack of offensive ability wasn’t an issue earlier in his career as his shortcomings could be glossed over because he offered a lot more defensive prowess and the ability to disrupt plays in the defensive zone. He could also get to the front of the net, but that seemed to disappear last season as he appeared to lack the confidence to get to the dirty areas of the ice to distract defenders away from some of the Penguins more gifted offensive players. Overall, it was a tough season for Heinen and the Penguins as he seemed to struggle more and more as the season went on, as did the entire Penguins lineup.

Despite the disappointment of being a healthy scratch many times this past season, Heinen is still very much an NHL player. The flat salary cap has put him and many others in the precarious position of being left without a job deep into the offseason despite having a small track record of NHL success. Heinen has 70 goals and 106 assists in 413 career NHL games, and while those offensive numbers aren’t eye-popping, he does offer several intangibles that could be attractive to many teams. He is a decent skater and doesn’t mind taking a hit to make a play, however, he does get pushed around a lot and could probably stand to put on a bit of muscle to help him when he does get into the dirty areas of the ice.

Stats

2022-23: 65 GP, 8-14-22, -5 rating, 12 PIMS, 96 shots, 40.0% faceoffs, 51.3% CF, 10:45 ATOI
Career: 413 GP, 70-106-176, +10 rating, 72 PIMS, 675 shots, 31.3% faceoffs, 51.9% CF, 13:35 ATOI

Potential Suitors

After spending seven years in the league, it is unlikely that Heinen would want to be part of a rebuilding team, however, given his precarious position in the league he doesn’t have the luxury of being picky. Heinen has dressed for three different franchises at this point and may never see the security of a long-term deal with any one team. That doesn’t mean he won’t have suitors as teams are always looking for solid depth options late in the summer and around training camp when injuries begin to pop up.

In the East, one team that could use some good forward depth is the Ottawa Senators. They’ve had success before taking on reclamation projects and Heinen could certainly be categorized as that. Heinen doesn’t need to be fully rebuilt but he does need to be put in a spot where he can play with good players in the bottom six and get the opportunity to jump up into the top six from time to time. Ottawa could offer exactly that as Heinen would be a good fit on their third line next to your center Shane Pinto. The Senators could also use a good depth forward who could jump up and replace Dominik Kubalik should he struggle with his new team. The Senators will also be dressing a few young forwards in their bottom six and could use a solid veteran to help guide the youngsters and show them what it takes to be a pro.

Sticking with the East, Heinen could also be a good fit with one of the Penguins closest rivals the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets don’t have much in the way of offensive firepower in their bottom six forward group and Heinen would actually represent an upgrade on several of their current options. Thus far the Blue Jackets have prioritized acquiring defensemen this offseason, however, Heinen could represent a cheap upgrade who wouldn’t require much term or cap space.

Out West, a couple of teams could make sense of potential destinations for Heinen. A native of Langley, British Columbia, a trip home to Vancouver would make for a nice story and a fit for both player and team. The Vancouver Canucks currently have Teddy Bleuger pencilled in as their third-line center; a player Heinen knows well having played on a line with him in both of the past two seasons. Heinen would be a more than capable replacement for Phil Di Giuseppe and could also add a bit of depth on the wing for the Canucks, something they are certainly lacking.

Staying in the West, the Winnipeg Jets lost a few forwards this offseason and seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern. Much has been made of the trade targets on the Jets, but it appears that they do want to make another run at the playoffs next season with much of the same core. If Heinen were to sign with the Jets, it would most likely be as a 13th forward and the opportunity to push fourth-line winger Morgan Barron. The 24-year-old Barron had similar numbers to Heinen last year but battled injuries early in the year. The Jets have a few terrific young forwards and adding a solid veteran like Heinen could help provide some mentorship to the youth in the Jets forward ranks.

Projected Contract

Heinen wasn’t mentioned as one of our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents before free agency began. He fell well outside that list as this past season in Pittsburgh really damaged his free-agent stock. While Heinen has his shortcomings, he is still just 28 and has had recent success when sheltered in the right situation. He can contribute on a third or fourth line and chip in a bit of offence as well. At this point Heinen would do well to top his deal from last July, he is likely to still get a one-year deal, but it will probably fall around the $1MM guarantee he received from Pittsburgh last summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AHL Notes: Akhtiamov, Empey, Callin

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Sporting a solid goaltending trio of Joseph Woll, Erik Kallgren, and Keith Petruzzelli, last season, there were some soft expectations that goaltender Artur Akhtyamov would be making the move to North America to join the Toronto Marlies. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Akhtyamov impressed in the VHL last season, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign the young goalie to a three-year, $2.55MM entry-level contract.

Instead, it appears that Toronto believes that Akhtyamov could use more seasoning overseas, and will be spending the 2023-24 season on loan with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (Tweet Link). There will be a lot of pressure on Akhtyamov to join Ak Bars, as they recently won the regular season title of top team in the league’s Eastern Conference, and made it to Game Seven of the Gagarin Cup Finals.

Playing for Neftyanik Almetievsk of the VHL last season, Akhtyamov accrued a 20-12-6 record, posting a .943 SV% and a 1.74 GAA in 39 games. He also managed to play in six Petrov Cup playoff games, managing a .952 SV% and a 1.53 GAA. With seemingly nothing left to prove in the minor league levels in Russia, the Maple Leafs are hoping that Akhtyamov can build on his recent success, and become an option for them in the net shortly.

Other notes:

  • Playing primarily with the Tucson Roadrunners for the last several seasons, veteran forward Tyson Empey will be making the move to Pennsylvania (Link). Now joining the Hershey Bears of the AHL, Empey will now become a part of their repeat effort for the Calder Cup next season. Playing in 79 games across two years in the Arizona Coyotes system, Empey has four goals and 11 assists all time, but has also accrued 127 PIMs in that time as well. Taking into account his play in the AHL over his career, it is reasonable to assume Empey will be lower on the depth chart in Hershey and may see himself become an extra forward altogether.
  • The Springfield Thunderbirds (St.Louis Blues AHL affiliate) announced today they have re-signed Drew Callin for the 2023-24 AHL season. Last year, Callin became a serviceable depth piece for the Thunderbirds, scoring eight goals and nine points in 67 games played. He did manage one pointless playoff game, as Springfield was quickly ousted by the Hartford Wolf Pack in the First Round of the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs. A long-time veteran of the ECHL, Callin will now continue his career with the only AHL team he has ever known.

 

USA Hockey Announces Roster For 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup

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Headlining the first major international tournament of the new league year, the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup will run from July 31st-August 5th in both Czechia and Slovakia. Almost two weeks ago, Hockey Canada announced their roster for the tournament, and today, USA Hockey announces there’s. In this tournament, they will have much to prove, as the United States team has not medaled since 2016, losing in the Gold Medal game to then-Czech Republic. The team did receive a fourth-place finish in 2018 but has failed to reach a semi-final game since that year.

The United States full roster for the tournament is as follows:

F Euro Betalla (Chicago, HPHL)
F Trevor Connelly (Tri-City, USHL)
F Colin Frank (Anaheim, T1EHL)
F Callum Hughes (Mount St.Charles, NEPACK)
*F Ryker Lee (Shattucks-St.Mary’s, USHS)
F John McNelis (Long Island, NEPACK)
F JJ Monteiro (Mount St.Charles, NEPACK)
F Aidan Park (Shattucks-St.Mary’s, USHS)
F AJ Spellacy (Windsor, OHL)
F Chase Stefanek (Mount St.Charles, NEPACK)
F Mac Swanson (Fargo, USHL)
F Grant Young (Long Island, NEPACK)
F Will Zellers (Shattuck-St.Mary’s, USHS)

D Alex Bales (Yale, BEAST)
D William Felicio (Madison, USHL)
D Tanner Henricks (Anaheim, T1EHL)
D Owen Keefe (Muskegon, USHL)
D Adam Kleber (Lincoln, USHL)
D Finn McLaughlin (Canmore, AJHL)
D Tory Pitner (Youngstown, USHL)

G Thatcher Bernstein (Noble & Greenough, USHL)
G Caleb Heil (Sioux Falls, USHL)
G Kam Henrickson (Chanhassen High, USHS)

* not draft-eligible until 2025

Forwards Connelly and Swanson are projected to be two of the better options at the United States disposal for the tournament, as both are currently projected to be second round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. Next season, Connelly will be headed to the Hockey East division joining Providence College, while Swanson will head to the NCHC joining North Dakota. On defense, Felicio will likely be relied upon plenty by the Americans, being one of the better defenseman in the USHL last season. Felicio is set to join on with the NCAA powerhouse, Denver University Pioneers, for the 2023-24 season.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Tony DeAngelo

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3:49 PM: PuckPedia confirms it will be a one-year, $1.675MM contract for DeAngelo and the Hurricanes.

2:12 PM: The Carolina Hurricanes are closing in on a one-year deal for defenseman Tony DeAngelo in the $1.6MM range, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The signing concludes a weeks-long courtship of DeAngelo by the Canes, who previously had the right-shot defender on their roster for the 2021-22 campaign.

DeAngelo’s former team, the Philadelphia Flyers, bought out the 27-year-old earlier this month after a proposed trade to send him back to Carolina at 50% salary retention fell through. While he is coming off three straight 40-point campaigns, his defensive deficiencies and a laundry list of off-ice controversies are nothing to shy away from. He’s now the only player in NHL history to get bought out twice.

Despite leading the Flyers’ defense in points and finishing second in average time on ice, head coach John Tortorella scratched DeAngelo multiple times to finish off last season, fracturing the relationship between the player and his hometown team. The league blocked the reported trade sending DeAngelo back to Carolina at a cap cost of $2.5MM, half of his $5MM salary with the Flyers, citing cap circumvention as their reasoning.

DeAngelo now heads back to Raleigh, where the Hurricanes have demonstrated an ability to cover up the defender’s deficiencies that arise from his one-dimensional play. Recording ten goals and 51 points in 64 games, DeAngelo recorded a career-high +30 with Carolina during his only season there and spent most of his time alongside Jaccob Slavin on the team’s top pairing, whose elite shutdown play helped DeAngelo play to his strengths offensively without hurting the team in the goals against column.

The question is now where DeAngelo fits in on Carolina’s defense, which has seen a significant makeover with Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov added to the fold in back-to-back offseasons after DeAngelo’s departure. Right-shot Brett Pesce remains with Carolina, but without a contract extension in place beyond next season, he’s a likely trade candidate as the offseason draws on.

A looming wild card is where Carolina stands in trade talks for San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, whose status on the block is no secret after a Norris Trophy-winning campaign. Multiple reports state the Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two frontrunners for his services, which would undoubtedly plug up a deep right side and make it hard for DeAngelo to earn much ice time in his second stint with Carolina. Could DeAngelo find himself on the move again in a matter of weeks as part of a trade package for Karlsson? Per Seravalli’s initial report, it’s unclear whether his short-term pact with the Hurricanes includes trade protection.

A $1.6MM cap hit leaves Carolina with roughly $900K in cap space as things stand, per CapFriendly, so DeAngelo is likely the last of their major free agent additions. The team has been quite busy on the open market this summer, adding Michael Bunting and Brendan Lemieux in addition to DeAngelo and Orlov.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken Re-Assign Jani Nyman To Finland

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The Seattle Kraken re-assigned forward prospect Jani Nyman to Ilves in the Finnish Liiga today, according to a team announcement. The move solidifies Nyman’s home for next season and returns him to the organization where he’s spent the past six seasons developing.

Seattle selected the 18-year-old right winger with the 49th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. After a strong rookie season in the Liiga, registering ten goals in 29 games for Ilves, Seattle signed the bulky sniper to a three-year, entry-level contract in June. He also appeared for the Finnish national junior team at the 2023 IIHF World Juniors, notching two goals and an assist for three points in five games.

While 2022-23 was his rookie season in Finland’s top men’s league, it wasn’t his first full professional season. Nyman spent his draft year on loan with KOOVEE in the Mestis, the country’s second-tier league behind the Liiga. While not a standard league for draft-eligible prospects to suit up in, Nyman excelled there, leading the team (by far) with 18 goals and 35 points in 34 games.

Standing at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, he possesses a pro-ready frame despite being more than a year away from his 20th birthday. He does bring an intriguing blend of shooting ability and size, and while he’s far from a sure thing at the NHL level, he is one of the Kraken’s more intriguing forward prospects.

Nyman now looks to build on his skills in a familiar environment before likely coming stateside in 2024. Given his age, he’s an entry-level slide candidate, meaning his ELC will toll to 2024-25 unless he plays ten or more NHL games in the coming season, an unlikely event given today’s news.

2024 Top Prospect Artyom Levshunov Commits To Michigan State

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17-year-old Artyom Levshunov, projected as one of the best defensemen available in next year’s 2024 NHL Draft, has made a rather impactful decision regarding his short-term future. The potential top-five pick has committed to Michigan State University and will suit up there for the 2023-24 season, Nathaniel Bott of The Lansing State Journal reports.

The right-shot Belarusian defender suited up for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers last season, notching 13 goals, 29 assists and 42 points in 62 games. After earning USHL All-Rookie Team honors, he’ll stay in the American Midwest as he looks to preface a long pro career with a solid collegiate stint.

Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff ranked Levshunov third overall behind the projected one-two punch of Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman earlier this month in a pre-season ranking of 2024 draft-eligible prospects. A staunch two-way defender, he carries added value as a right-handed shooter. He’s on track to become the highest-drafted Belarusian in NHL history, surpassing Ruslan Salei (drafted ninth overall by Anaheim in 1996).

Notably, Levshunov has opted not to head to state rival University of Michigan, who’s churned out a remarkable four top-five picks in the past three seasons, including just the third freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker Award – Columbus Blue Jackets third-overall selection Adam Fantilli.

It’s a gigantic commitment for Michigan State. They now look to elevate themselves into the Big Ten conference’s upper echelon alongside Michigan and Minnesota with some new faces, including Tampa Bay Lightning first-round selection Isaac Howard via the transfer portal.

Minor Transactions: 07/24/23

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It’s another busy Monday in the wide world of professional hockey, with quite a few players either finding new teams for next season or securing new contracts with the clubs they’ve already represented. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves from minor leagues and foreign professional leagues across the world.

  • 1001-game NHL veteran Tomáš Plekanec isn’t retiring anytime soon. The 40-year-old longtime NHL center signed a contract extension to remain the captain of Rytíři Kladno, his hometown team in the Czech Extraliga. Plekanec ended his NHL career in 2018-19 and after two seasons playing for Brno, he joined Kladno upon their promotion back to the top division. Joining all-time great Jaromir Jagr with the club, Plekanec has scored at almost a point-per-game rate the last two seasons and will likely continue to play a major role for the team in the coming campaign thanks to this new contract.
  • Luke Adam, a former Buffalo Sabres top prospect, has elected to leave Germany after a seven-year run in the DEL to sign with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. The 33-year-old was a Sabres second-round pick at the 2008 draft and a few seasons after he was drafted he looked to be a long-term piece for Buffalo. In 2011, The Hockey Writers projected him as “a formidable 3rd line center for the Sabres for many years down the road,” and it’s easy to see why they did so by looking at Adam’s rookie season in pro hockey. He scored 29 goals and 62 points in 57 AHL games, winning the AHL’s Rookie of the Year award as well as AHL All-Star honors. But Adam’s standout qualities in the AHL never translated to the NHL, and he left for the DEL in the summer of 2016. Adam has a strong 233 points in 317 career DEL games and scored 17 goals and 36 points in 54 games for the Straubing Tigers last season. While the Tigers have made some major additions this summer, such as veteran NHL defenseman Justin Braun, they’ll be without Adam next season.
  • Former Winnipeg Jets prospect Scott Kosmachuk has signed a one-year, one-way KHL contract with Lada Togliatti in Russia. The player, who has eight NHL games on his record from 2015-16, is a 29-year-old 2012 third-round pick who played last season with TPS Turku in the Finnish Liiga, scoring 17 points in 29 games. Before arriving in Turku, Kosmachuk had a two-year run as the leading scorer for VSV EC in the ICEHL, racking up 93 points in 90 games and earning All-Star honors. If he can translate some of the production he’s had in Liiga, the ICEHL, and even the AHL going back to his 2017-18 campaign with the Hartford Wolf Pack, he’ll be a quality addition to Lada.
  • Lada added a second international import today: 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Troy Josephs. The 29-year-old has been around a point-per-game scorer with both the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers and Swiss second-tier’s EHC Visp. Though he struggled in the AHL, which presents a step up in talent level compared to the ECHL, Joseph more recently established himself in Switzerland’s top division with Lugano, posting 49 points in 86 games and proving he can hang in one of the world’s better pro leagues.
  • James Shearer, a former captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and WHL champion, has made the decision to leave the ECHL after his first full season in the league to sign a contract in the United Kingdom with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. While Shearer is far from the first player to head to the EIHL after his ECHL rookie season, the move is somewhat surprising given the role Shearer played for the Utah Grizzlies as a rookie. In addition to posting 23 points in 54 games, the 26-year-old blueliner was, as Blaze head coach Danny Stewart put it, “eating up good minutes in playoffs and relied upon in key situations,” and also serving as a team alternate captain. The Grizzlies added defenseman Brian Yoon, the captain of the NCAA’s Colorado College, a few days ago, though, which may have prompted Shearer’s exit.
  • Former Dallas Stars prospect Emil Molin signed a one-year contract extension with KooKoo Kouvola in the Finnish Liiga, securing a second season with the club he joined last July. The 30-year-old winger had a decent debut season in Liiga, scoring 11 goals and 25 points. Those numbers are more in line with how Molin produced in his earlier days with Brynas IF, his former club, rather than his form later in his tenure there. Molin has one season of hockey in North America on his record, with 11 games total in the AHL and a 46-points-in-54-games run with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.
  • 2015 Philadelphia Flyers fourth-round pick Samuel Dove-McFalls is headed to Germany, signing a contract with Lausitzer Füchse of the DEL2. Dove-McFalls was a high-end QMJHLer earlier in his career, winning a league championship with the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2016-17 and captaining the Rimouski Oceanic the year after. Dove-McFalls also was named the QMJHL’s Best Defensive Forward in his final season of major junior before beginning a four-year run of Canadian University hockey. The 26-year-old scored 13 goals and 34 points in 38 games for the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and earned 16 AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors in what was his first full season as a professional hockey player. He’ll now join a team looking for promotion to the DEL and will likely play a major role at the club.

Dallas Stars Extend GM Jim Nill

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The Dallas Stars have announced a two-year contract extension for reigning GM of the Year Jim Nill, who is entering his 11th season at the top of Stars hockey operations. Stars owner Tom Gaglardi issued the following statement regarding the extension:

Jim has proven himself to be one of the best general managers in the NHL. He has meticulously built a team through free agency, trades and the NHL Draft that’s among the best in the League, while also ensuring that the Stars are championship contenders for years to come. He’ll be able to continue his vision of working toward our goal of bringing another Stanley Cup to the state of Texas.

Although some have speculated about when Nill, 65, would retire and leave the Stars to another GM, it seems he has at the very least another two seasons in his current role. Like every GM, Nill has made his fair share of mistakes, but looking at his overall body of work it’s abundantly clear that he’s done an exceptional job building the Stars. Although a Stanley Cup has eluded them, the Stars have gone on multiple deep playoff runs under Nill’s watch, including to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final.

Nill could have very easily built a team to compete around their core of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, and then once those players regressed plunged the team into a rebuild. But instead of doing so, he proactively built a new competitive window, a new core of players for the next generation of Stars hockey while the incumbent core players were still at the top of their game.

While a significant amount of credit must also go to the franchise’s scouting staff, Nill’s 2017 draft is the stuff of legend. Armed with two first-rounders and a second-round pick, the Stars drafted Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson. That’s a franchise-defining number-one defenseman, a potentially elite starting goalie, and a game-breaking winger who recently scored 109 points in his age-23 season.

Beyond just 2017, Nill’s draft record is among the best of any GM in the NHL. He drafted a number-one center in Roope Hintz in the second round of the 2015 draft, and a player who looks like a star in the making in Wyatt Johnston with the 23rd pick of the 2021 draft, to name a few notable hits.

Although Nill has made his fair share of moves he’s likely preferred to have not made (the Ryan Suter signing from the summer of 2021 is beginning to look like a mistake) his mistakes are generously outweighed by his success stories. As Dallas Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine put it, you may not “find a General Manager who is more universally liked and respected” than Nill, who now has two more years to chase down a Stanley Cup in Dallas.

Five Key Stories: 7/17/23 – 7/23/23

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While activity across the NHL has certainly slowed down compared to a few weeks ago, there was still some notable news around the league over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Four For Colton: Avalanche forward Ross Colton currently has just under $3MM in career earnings, per CapFriendly.  That will be going up in a hurry as the two sides agreed to a four-year contract to avoid salary arbitration with the deal carrying a cap hit of $4MM per season.  The 26-year-old was acquired from Tampa Bay before the draft for a second-round pick that was part of the package they picked up when they moved Alex Newhook to Montreal.  Colton saw his numbers dip slightly last season but he still managed 16 goals and 16 assists in 81 games during the regular season despite averaging just over 12 minutes a night while recording 188 hits and winning over 56% of his faceoffs.  Colorado has shaken up their bottom six group with Colton being the centerpiece acquisition on that front and he should get a bigger opportunity to produce than he did with the Lightning.

Hakstol Extended: Last season was a successful one for the Kraken as they locked down their first-ever playoff berth in their sophomore year.  On top of that, they knocked out the defending Cup champs in the first round before falling to Dallas in seven in a hard-fought second round.  That performance certainly reflected well on head coach Dave Hakstol who was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year contract extension that gets him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign; financial terms were not disclosed.  Hakstol will be entering his seventh year as an NHL head coach next season (he also spent four years in Philadelphia) and is now one of ten coaches known to be signed through 2026.

Four For Dunn: The biggest settlement of the arbitration process thus far was done by Seattle and defenseman Vince Dunn.  The two sides worked out a four-year, $29.4MM front-loaded contract, buying out his final year of arbitration eligibility while giving the Kraken three extra years of club control.  The deal, which makes Dunn their highest-paid player, also carries some form of trade protection in the final three seasons.  The 26-year-old had a breakout showing last season, notching 14 goals and 50 assists in 81 games while logging nearly 24 minutes a night.  That performance put him tenth in the NHL in scoring by a blueliner while helping him finish 11th in Norris Trophy voting.

Arbitration Awards: While most players that filed for arbitration so far have settled, two made it to a hearing.  First, Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev was awarded a two-year, $4.5MM contract with Chicago electing for a two-year award instead of the one-year agreement Kurashev requested.  The 23-year-old set new benchmarks last season, notching nine goals along with 16 assists and should have a chance to improve on those numbers in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov received a one-year, $3.55MM award, nearly doubling his salary from 2022-23.  The 26-year-old had by far his best NHL season, posting a 2.33 GAA with a .919 SV% in 42 games but was only eligible for a one-year award since it was his final season of UFA eligibility.  Toronto now has nearly $96MM in commitments on the books per CapFriendly against an $83.5MM salary and will be deep into LTIR with Jake Muzzin for next season while some have suggested that buyout candidate Matt Murray could also land on there.  Even with those two on there, some roster trimming would still need to occur.

More Settlements: There were two other contracts of some note that were done to avoid salary arbitration.  The Golden Knights settled with forward Brett Howden on a two-year, $3.8MM contract after the 25-year-old took a step back offensively last season, recording just six goals and seven assists in 54 regular season games.  Notably, the deal will walk Howden straight to UFA eligibility in 2025.  Winnipeg also got in on the settlement fun, reaching a two-year, $6.875MM agreement with forward Gabriel Vilardi.  Arguably the centerpiece of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, the 23-year-old had his best showing in 2022-23, collecting 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games with the Kings last season.  Vilardi will still have one more RFA year remaining in 2025.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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