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Marc-Andre Fleury Will Decide Playing Future After Season

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Likely future Hall-of-Fame netminder Marc-Andre Fleury won’t examine retiring until the 2023-24 season draws to a close, as he told The Athletic’s Joe Smith yesterday during the first day of Wild training camp.

Fleury, 38, is entering the second season of a two-year, $7MM contract extension signed by Wild GM Bill Guerin in July 2022. He’s again expected to shoulder a significant workload as a 1B tandem netminder behind the younger Filip Gustavsson, and he begins 2023-24 on the precipice of multiple milestones, such as the 1,000 games played mark and second-place on the NHL’s all-time wins list behind Patrick Roy. He currently trails Roy by just six and could likely surpass him by the new year.

“I thought about it this summer and stuff, but I just told myself I would give myself this season, see how it goes, see how I feel physically, mentally, if I still can stop the puck and just make a decision at the end,” Fleury told Smith. “There will be ups and downs this season. I’ll try to get through it and make a decision at the end.”

A few years ago, few thought Fleury would be in this position. After becoming an integral part of the Vegas Golden Knights as their first starting netminder in franchise history and winning the Vezina Trophy in 2021, the team ran into salary cap constraints that forced them to trade the final season of a three-year, $7MM AAV contract to the Chicago Blackhawks, whom Fleury did not have on his ten-team no-trade list. At that time, Fleury reportedly considered retiring instead of reporting to the rebuilding Blackhawks after the trade.

He’s still going strong two years later, though, and he’ll play a key support role to a Wild team that continues to have aspirations for a deep playoff run. He remains an above-average netminder, recording a decent .908 save percentage while actually starting the lion’s share of Minnesota’s games last season (he started 45 out of 82) despite Gustavsson’s brilliance. A fourth Stanley Cup championship, should the Wild win, would tie Fleury for third in NHL history among goalies. Montreal Canadiens legends Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante each won six, while Toronto Maple Leafs pre-expansion star Turk Broda won five.

The Wild acquired Fleury near the 2022 trade deadline from the Blackhawks, sending their 2022 second-round pick to them in return. Chicago used the pick to select playmaking center Ryan Greene, who’s about to begin his sophomore campaign at Boston University.

If Fleury opts to continue his playing career after 2023-24, though, it may not be in the State of Hockey. After an additional year of seasoning in the AHL, 2021 first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt will likely be ready for a full-time backup role behind Gustavsson.

PHR Chatter: Schedule Surmising

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As we near the beginning of the 2023-24 season, PHR is excited to announce the return of a feature to encourage discourse between reader and writer. On Friday mornings, we’ll post a topic of discussion that we think will draw out varied and interesting perspectives from both our commenters and the other staff writers.

For too long, there have only been a couple of outlets for our readers to interact with the PHR staff. Live chats and mailbags offer a chance at some discussion but also run the risk of being too crowded or even outdated by the time the answer arrives. With PHR Chatter, we’re hoping to get weekly talks going on a topic that normally would have to be brought into the spotlight by a reader before even being discussed.

Last week, the topic centered on expansion, the potential benefits and drawbacks of adding to the league’s talent pool, and the merits of certain expansion destinations. Today, with the preseason kicking off (depending on which time zone you’re in), we think it’s worthwhile to open up discussion around one of the most contentious talking points in recent league administrative history: the 82-game schedule.

Is it too long? Too short? Should there be a playoff play-in for teams that finish outside the de facto top eight in their conference? Should preseason schedules be longer or shorter? Most seem to have an opinion about changes to the league’s normal operations one way or another. Let’s open things up here: chime in on any changes you’d like to see the NHL make to their normal schedule… or, if you think things are perfect the way they are, tell us why!

Snapshots: Barabanov, Duclair, Ruff, Hornqvist

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Alexander Barabanov has been one of the most valuable and cost-efficient players on the San Jose Sharks over the past two seasons. He broke out to the tune of 39 points in 70 games in 2021-22, and then followed that up with 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games last season. Set to turn 30 in the summer, Barabanov is entering a platform year for a potential trip to unrestricted free agency. When asked about the possibility of extending Barabanov as well as summer trade addition Anthony Duclair, San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier told the media (including Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka) that “there’s definitely some merit to thinking about extending those guys and having them around here.”

One could question why the Sharks would be interested in extending Barabanov and Duclair, players who will be 30 and 29 in the summer, respectively, and those questions would be reasonable. Committing cap dollars to wingers at or near their 30’s is the kind of move contending teams make, not rebuilders. But despite trading away Norris Trophy Winner Erik Karlsson, the Sharks aren’t yet plunged into a full rebuilding process. The twin pillars of the franchise remain Logan Couture and Tomáš Hertl, and Grier may be interested in fielding as competitive a roster as possible  while those players are still in teal.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told the media today, including team reporter Amanda Stein, that the club is “working towards extending” head coach Lindy Ruff “beyond this year.” Ruff, 63, had a season for the ages in 2022-23, and very well could have taken home the second Jack Adams award of his career had Jim Montgomery not led the Boston Bruins to a historic 65 regular-season wins. Ruff’s Devils went 52-22-8 and defeated their arch-rival New York Rangers in the postseason, so it’s easy to see why Fitzgerald would want to keep the veteran coach moving forward.
  • The Florida Panthers announced changes to their hockey operations department, and the biggest-name addition to the team’s front office is that of Patric Hornqvist as a scouting and development consultant. Hornqvist recently officially retired, ending a playing career that saw him appear in 901 regular-season NHL games. The 36-year-old was a widely respected leader and locker room presence for the Panthers, and will now be able to contribute his services to the organization off the ice.

Minor Transactions: 09/21/23

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As NHL training camps officially open, the professional hockey season is finally getting started in North America. While there’s still a way to go before the regular season begins in the NHL, AHL, or ECHL, we can finally see puck drop on the horizon.

In Europe, the pro hockey season is fully underway, and today’s slate of games featured numerous notable moments. Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov scored an electric game-winning goal for Sochi in the KHL, while historic Finnish club Jokerit earned a long-awaited victory on the back of an overtime goal from Leevi Lemberg. It was Jokerit’s first victory in the Finnish hockey system (they play in the second division, Mestis) since 2014, before the club left Liiga for the KHL.

Teams in Europe and North America are still completing transactions to add players or otherwise modify their rosters, and as always we’ll keep track of those moves here:

  • The potential number-one pick in the 2025 NHL draft, James Hagens, announced his college commitment on social media. He and his brother, Michael, have committed to play NCAA hockey at Boston College. The Eagles already boast a wealth of highly-drafted prospects on their roster, such as 2023 fourth-overall pick Will Smith and 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier. While both of those names are likely to be in the NHL by the time Hagens arrives on campus, Hagens’ commitment ensures that Boston College’s pipeline of elite NHL prospects will remain intact.
  • Former Chicago Blackhawk Buddy Robinson signed a one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL. For Robinson, 31, this will be his first opportunity to play for an overseas club in his pro career. The six-foot-six physical winger played in 52 games for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs last season, scoring 20 points. He also played in nine NHL games, and has 62 total NHL games on his resume. In the late 2010’s Robinson was a productive AHL scorer, potting 25 goals and 53 points in 74 games for the Manitoba Moose in 2017-18. But that scoring has dried up as he’s reached his late twenties and early thirties, and that could have contributed as to why Robinson has elected to sign in the KHL rather than continue in North America.
  • Saku Mäenalanen, who played 64 games for the Winnipeg Jets last season, was supposed to be spending training camp with the Colorado Avalanche on a PTO. But he reportedly failed his physical and was released from that deal. So instead of in Colorado, Mäenalanen will hit the ice in Switzerland, where he’s signed a three-year contract with the SCL Tigers of the National League. Mäenalanen has yet to play in the Swiss NL, but he has extensive experience overseas in both Liiga and the KHL. Mäenalanen has won a Liiga championship, a IIHF Men’s World Championship gold medal, and an Olympic gold medal, and now he’ll join his former Charlotte Checkers teammate Aleksi Saarela in Switzerland.
  • Fans of the Florida Panthers or Springfield Thunderbirds might recognize the name of Finnish winger Henrik Haapala from the 25 games he played in North America for those clubs in 2017-18. While Hapaala didn’t last long in the NHL or AHL, he went on to have a productive career in Europe. This past season, Hapaala scored at a point-per-game rate for Ilves Tampere in Liiga, and now he’s headed to Switzerland to continue his career. The 29-year-old has signed a one-month tryout contract with HC Genève-Servette, the reigning Swiss champions.
  • HPK Hämeenlinna of the Finnish Liiga have signed two defenders to contracts: veteran Juuso Pulli and 26-year-old Elias Ulander. Pulli spent last season with Vaasan Sport in Liiga, skating in 52 games and scoring seven points. He’s collected three Liiga bronze medals in his career and was once an alternate captain for Ilves Tampere. Ulander spent last season with HK Spisska Nova Ves in the Slovak league, and has had success in Finland before, such as in 2016-17 when he was named the U20 SM-Liiga’s best defenseman. Pulli’s contract is a one-year deal with a tryout option through November, while Ulander is on a tryout deal.
  • 2017 Anaheim Ducks fourth-round pick Kyle Olson has signed a one-year contract with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Despite scoring at above a point-per-game rate in his final two WHL campaigns, Olson did not receive an entry-level deal from the Ducks and instead signed an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in 2020. Olson has spent the last three seasons in Pennsylvania and managed 12 goals and 21 points in 71 games in 2021-22. This past year, Olson’s production tanked, and he only managed six points in 55 games. He’s now signed with the Royals in the ECHL, likely with the hope that he’ll have a productive season in North America’s third-tier league and work his way back into the AHL.
  • The ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits have signed a one-year contract extension with 23-year-old Brett Kemp, ensuring one of the league’s more productive young talents will remain with the only ECHL franchise he’s ever known. Kemp, who once scored 77 points in 62 WHL games for the Medicine Hat Tigers has compiled 82 points in 76 career ECHL games. He’ll now be able to return to Greenville and will likely remain one of the team’s top scorers as he looks to earn more AHL call-ups to the Ontario Reign.
  • Former Baie-Comeau Drakkar scorer Jordan Martel was one of the ECHL’s breakout players last season, scoring 18 goals and 44 points in just 45 games for the Utah Grizzlies. The team confirmed he’d be returning for the 2023-24 season today, signing Martel to a one-year ECHL deal.  Martel hadn’t found much success in pro hockey until he arrived in Utah, and now he’ll have the chance to build some continuity and momentum in Utah as the team chases its fifth consecutive playoff berth.
  • The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have signed Chase Gresock to a one-year contract, according to an official announcement. The 25-year-old forward dipped his toes into the waters of pro hockey last season, skating in two games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda at the conclusion of his collegiate career. Gresock was an effective NCAA player, captaining Merrimack College and scoring 31 points in 36 games for Bowling Green State in his final collegiate campaign.
  • Fiery Wheeling Nailers winger Cam Hausinger has re-signed with the only ECHL team he’s ever played for. The 24-year-old will play a third season in West Virginia and is coming off a solid 2022-23 season. He didn’t play in as many ECHL games as the year before, but he still scored 19 points in 23 games for the Nailers to go alongside his 70 penalty minutes. Hausinger also earned AHL call-ups with two franchises, the Iowa Wild and Milwaukee Admirals. It was with Milwaukee where Hausinger scored his first AHL goal, and his hope will be to get some more AHL contests under his belt in 2023-24.
  • Star scorer Johnny Curran has transferred to the most dominant club in the EIHL, signing a one-year contract with the Belfast Giants. The 28-year-old forward, who represents the United Kingdom internationally, has scored 126 career points in 155 EIHL games. He’s thus far only suited up for the Coventry Blaze, but now will get to join a Champions Hockey League-caliber team that took home the EIHL title last season.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Ottawa Senators Officially Sold To Michael Andlauer

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5:00 PM: The NHL has now officially announced that Andlauer’s purchase of the Senators has been unanimously approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors.

1:08 PM: Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that, per his sources, Michael Andlauer and partners are set to officially sign for the sale of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. This concludes what’s turned into a bit of a saga, following the Senators’ official offering of the club 10 months ago.

A slew of potential future owners of the Senators came forward in those 10 months, including a bidding group led by music artists Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd and one involving actor Ryan Reynolds. Other names rumored to be involved at one point or another included Toronto-based brothers Jeffery and Michael Kimel, founders of Harlo Entertainment.

But in the end, it was a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens that stepped forward with the winning bid. As part of his journey to own the Senators, Andlauer had to complete a sale of his 10 percent stake in the Canadiens – with majority owner Geoff Molson purchasing those shares.

Andlauer’s bidding group includes Anna and Olivia Melnyk – daughters of the late Eugene Melnyk who will maintain a 10 percent stake in the team – Ottawa-based businessman Jeff York, the Ottawa real estate-based Malhorta family, the Toronto-based investment group Yorkville Asset Management, owners of Alinea Group Holdings Paul and Michael Paletta, and Rocco Tullio: the owner of the Oshawa Generals.

The group came together to offer a $950MM (USD) bid, $150MM more than a Forbes valuation that was cited by many outlets during much of the sale’s journey. This marks the highest price an NHL team has ever sold for.

Andlauer and his team are expected to announced as the official fourth owners in franchise history at a press conference on Friday, barring any last minute hiccups, per Garrioch.

West Notes: Couture, Mäkiniemi, Oilers Injuries

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As reported by Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka, San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture is out with a lower-body injury. He’s been assigned a week-to-week status, although Couture elaborated that there’s “no timetable” for when he’ll be returning to the ice. Any extended Couture absence would be a major blow to the Sharks’ ability to compete in the wake of this offseason’s Erik Karlsson trade. Couture scored 67 points last season and operates in a crucial role centering one of the Sharks’ top two lines, the other driven by Tomáš Hertl.

Sharks head coach David Quinn told the media that he’s giving offseason trade acquisition Mikael Granlund a look down the middle in Couture’s absence. While Granlund is certainly a player with a lot of NHL experience and scored 64 points in 2021-22, his play more recently (specifically as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins) drew some harsh criticism. Although some focus will be on the young talent that may emerge in the preseason, Couture’s health status could end up being the number-one storyline to watch for Sharks fans in the lead-up to opening night.

  • San Jose netminder Eetu Mäkiniemi had his 2022-23 season cut short in March, when he underwent hip surgery. Mäkiniemi said today that he’s still not quite at 100 percent, though he does feel on track to begin playing games by the start of the season. The 24-year-old Finnish international played in a total of 24 games last season and posted a .906 save percentage in the NHL and a .900 mark in the AHL.
  • The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman shared two injury updates from Edmonton Oilers training camp. 23-year-old center Ryan McLeod had a “soft-tissue tweak and was kept off the ice for precautionary reasons,” while minor-league netminder Ryan Fanti is out with a “hip issue” on a month-to-month basis. McLeod is expected to be a major part of the Oilers’ bottom-six plans, so the hope is that he’ll quickly resume full participation in training camp. Fanti, who is also 23, played in 34 games in the ECHL last season and is likely to return there once he is fully recovered.

Ottawa Senators Sign Djibril Touré To Entry-Level Deal

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The Ottawa Senators have made their first official signing of the Michael Andlauer era. Late-blooming defenseman Djibril Touré has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the club.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion issued the following statement regarding the signing:

Djibril’s growth over the last two years has been remarkable. He’s come a long way, from playing in the CCHL as recently as two seasons ago, to earn this contract. He’s a rangy defender who skates well and who has shown consistent improvement in his game.

This signing is an intriguing one, especially given that Touré has only one season of OHL hockey under his belt. Ranked 178th by NHL Central Scouting for the 2023 draft, Touré went undrafted in the 2023 process. Touré is clearly a player the Senators have been tracking, though, and after an impressive showing with the Senators in the prospect tournament in Buffalo he earns his entry-level deal.

The biggest reason as to why Touré is an intriguing player is undoubtedly his size. Touré stands six-foot-seven, and as a result has the type of reach and overpowering physical ability that can make life miserable for opposing attackers. He also is quite a bit more mobile than one might expect of someone his size, and Touré’s skating is at times genuinely impressive.

While he didn’t put up a ton of offense in his lone season for the Sudbury Wolves (16 points in 57 games) Touré’s abilities in his own end should give him a chance to succeed as a professional.

With this entry-level deal in hand, he’ll be able to take the ice for the Belleville Senators in the AHL this fall. He’ll look to continue to develop his game with an eye on eventually making a push for an NHL call-up.

Calgary Flames Sign Parker Bell To Entry-Level Contract

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The Calgary Flames have announced that prospect forward Parker Bell has been signed to a three-year, $857k AAV entry-level contract.

The 19-year-old British Columbia native was a fifth-round pick of the Flames at the 2022 draft, selected 155th overall. In his draft year, he potted 18 goals and 49 points, placing him as the second-highest scorer on a low-scoring Tri-City Americans team. This past season, the rangy six-foot-four Bell took a step forward in terms of effectiveness, finishing with 25 points and 64 points in 55 games.

Bell’s uptick in production combined with the emergence of 2023 second-rounder Lukas Dragicevic helped Tri-City return to the WHL’s playoffs last spring, and now Bell earns his entry-level deal as a reward for his improved play.

Set to turn 20 in just a few days, Bell will have the opportunity to begin his professional career with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL this fall. He has already played in two AHL games, and has scored his first pro point.

It’s always a difficult task for junior scorers to translate their production against their peers to production against seasoned pros, and that’ll be the major test for Bell in 2023-24.

Bell does have a physical game and impressive size to boot, meaning he could still stand to make an impact as a pro even if he doesn’t end up lighting the lamp as frequently as he did in the WHL.

Mason McTavish Is Day-To-Day With Injury

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that center Mason McTavish is day-to-day with an injury. Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune tweeted that Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek told reporters that McTavish tweaked something at yesterday’s practice while he was reaching for a puck. Verbeek remained optimistic that the injury was of the minor variety adding that he believed it was a muscle spasm that likely needed a day or two of rest before the 20-year-old could get back on the ice.

The Ducks are already missing several key young pieces at training camp who are without contracts for next year and can ill afford to miss McTavish for any length of time. Although the Ducks aren’t expected to be a contender this season the club is hoping that their young players like McTavish can take a big step forward and develop into frontline NHL players.

McTavish was the Ducks’ third overall pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft and had a good rookie season last year posting 17 goals and 26 assists in 80 games. Despite his decent numbers, McTavish ran out of gas for the last stretch of the season posting just a goal and an assist in the final 12 games of the regular season. He also suffered an injury on April 11th that effectively ended his season. A strong training camp will go a long way to getting McTavish some of his confidence back that he seemed to lose towards the end of last year.

If Verbeek’s assessment is correct it shouldn’t be an issue for the young McTavish to be well-prepared for the Ducks regular-season opener on October 14th against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Colby Barlow To ELC

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The Winnipeg Jets took care of some business today as they announced that they’ve signed 2023 first-round pick Colby Barlow to a three-year entry-level deal. Barlow was drafted 18th overall back in June out of the OHL after he captained the Owen Sound Attack last season. The native of Orillia, Ontario had good numbers as a winger last season with the Attack registering 46 goals and 33 assists in 59 games. In two seasons in the OHL with the Attack, Barlow has 76 goals and 50 assists in 118 games.

On top of his short, but successful OHL career, Barlow has also seen a lot of success internationally. In 2022, Barlow helped the Canadians win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Barlow’s ELC will pay him an NHL salary of $950K to go along with a signing bonus that will be paid out in three-year installments of $95K. He will carry an annual cap hit of $1.2MM at the NHL level, and should he play in the minors, he would receive a salary of $82,500.

It’s unlikely that Barlow will make the Jets out of training camp, but he’s done enough to earn his first NHL contract and can hang his hat on that should he be sent back to the OHL for more seasoning.

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