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Archives for June 2024

Canadiens Select Ivan Demidov Fifth Overall

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The Canadiens have taken star Russian winger Ivan Demidov, who’s fallen past his consensus No. 2 public ranking to Montreal at fifth overall.

The Canadiens organization should be pinching themselves with the reality that Demidov fell to them at fifth overall. Outside of Macklin Celebrini, there was a consensus that Demidov was the most talented player in the draft. However, much like the fall of Matvei Michkov in last year’s draft, it may take some time for Demidov to find his way to North America.

Demidov played most of the 2023-24 season with SKA-1946 of the MHL, a junior hockey league in Russia. With his contract rights owned by SKA St. Petersberg of the Kontinental Hockey League, Demidov should suit up for them as soon as next year.

This season, Demidov showed why he was one of the most dynamic players available in the 2024 NHL Draft with 23 goals and a 60-point effort in only 30 games. In the postseason, Demidov continued to put points on the board with 11 goals and 28 points in 17 playoff games.

There are some questions surrounding his play on the defensive side of the puck, but his offensive characteristics should play nicely for the Canadiens. Even if Demidov spends the next 2-3 years in his native Russia, he projects to be worth the wait for Montreal.

Blue Jackets Select Cayden Lindstrom Fourth Overall

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The Blue Jackets have taken center Cayden Lindstrom with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. In just two years the Blue Jackets have selected their 1-2 combo at the center position at the top of the draft.

Lindstrom is a prototypical center who can score goals and use his size to his advantage. With a high motor and his ability to work in the corners, Columbus will not have any complaints about Lindstrom being their second-line center for the foreseeable future. In the WHL this season, Lindstrom scored 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games while scoring 46 goals and 88 points in 99 total games in the major junior league.

With a glut of forwards already on the roster at the NHL level, Lindstrom may be a prime choice to spend another year in the WHL to expand on his skills. Nevertheless, given that his body is already NHL-ready, the Blue Jackets may be bullish enough on the selection to have him crack the roster as soon as next season.

It was always going to be difficult for Columbus to make a bad selection at fourth overall since the team could use talent at nearly every position. In Lidstrom, the team maximized their selection in the top five by adding a top-notch heavy sniper.

Ducks Select Beckett Sennecke Third Overall

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The Ducks have gone off the board at third overall, selecting forward Beckett Sennecke from the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. In the earliest surprise of the night, Sennecke was recently projected as the 10th overall selection in our 2024 NHL Mock Draft.

In Oshawa, Sennecke scored 27 goals and 68 points in 63 games while putting up another 10 goals and 22 points in 16 postseason games. Unfortunately, even with the efforts of Sennecke in the postseason, the Generals were swept by the London Knights in the 2024 OHL Finals. However, because of his strong play in the postseason, Sennecke was a very late riser in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Sennecke is similar to recent draft picks by the Ducks with his ability to play on both sides of the puck. He is a quality playmaker but has demonstrated a keen ability to steal the puck from opponents to control the game. Because of his play with the puck, Sennecke can pull opposing defenders to him while creating space for his teammates.

It was expected that Anaheim would draft for offense this year as their prospect cupboard on the blue line is already one of the best in the league. The team finished 30th in the league in offense while averaging 2.48 goals a game.

Blackhawks Select Artyom Levshunov Second Overall

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With the top pick of the rest of the draft, the Chicago Blackhawks have selected Artyom Levshunov with the second overall pick. The product of Michigan State University is the first defenseman to come off the board in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Levshunov made a statement for the Spartans during the 2023-24 NCAA season, earning All-Big Ten First Team and All-Big Ten Freshmen Team honors. Additionally, the young Belarusian won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Becoming one of the best all-around defensemen rather quickly — Levshunov scored nine goals and 35 points in 38 games while collecting a whopping +44 rating. Leading the blue for Michigan State, the team soared to the fifth-ranked team in the nation and made it to the Second Round of the Frozen Four tournament.

In Chicago, Levshunov quickly becomes the best-ranked defensive prospect in the system. As a right-handed shot, Levshunov should fit in nicely next to Kevin Korchinski on the Blackhawks’ blue line long term.

Out of the gates, Levshunov should be able to keep up fairly well defensively with the rest of the NHL, but his offensive capabilities may take a bit to develop fully. He shows top-tier explosiveness and can join the play very quickly. Furthermore, he has demonstrated the ability to make quick shots off the stride which is rare for a defenseman.

Sharks Select Macklin Celebrini First Overall

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As expected, Macklin Celebrini is a San Jose Shark. He’s the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, heading to San Jose to begin his major league career, likely next season.

Celebrini is coming off a freshman season at Boston University that will be regarded as one of the most impressive in NCAA history. The Vancouver native entered tonight as the consensus No. 1 pick after collecting 15 collegiate honors all before his 18th birthday.

He was one of the very best two-way threats in the nationwide circuit this season, finishing third in NCAA scoring with 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games. His 1.68 points per game were second only to Boston College’s Will Smith, who he’ll likely team up with on the Sharks next year after the latter signed his entry-level contract last month.

In their 2024 NHL Draft Guide, Elite Prospects called Celebrini “the best draft-year college prospect we’ve ever scouted” with “franchise center potential.” He’s not viewed as quite as dynamic an offensive talent as last year’s franchise-altering selection, Chicago’s Connor Bedard, but he’s a bonafide first-line center with an eye for the Selke Trophy in his future.

While the Sharks have done well to rebuild a previously empty prospect pool over the last couple of years under general manager Mike Grier, this will likely be viewed in retrospect as the cornerstone point of their rebuild. Much like the Blackhawks, he won’t change their fortunes immediately in his rookie season with a severely understaffed group of defensemen and many of his young teammates still in the development stage, but he should be viewed as one of the favorites for next year’s Calder Trophy and shouldn’t look out of place averaging north of 17-18 minutes per game next season.

That’s if the 6’0″, 196-lb center opts not to return to BU for his sophomore season, of course. However, the general consensus is that he’ll be signing his rookie deal this summer and suiting up for the Sharks come October.

Bruins, Wild Among Top Suitors For Rutger McGroarty

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News broke last week that Jets 2022 first-round pick Rutger McGroarty was seeking a trade, with most assuming that a deal could come across the finish line as soon as a few days ago so Winnipeg could recoup a first-rounder in this year’s draft. It hasn’t happened yet, but there’s still a strong chance he could be moved as the first round kicks off in less than an hour.

Among the teams with significant interest are the Wild, The Athletic’s Michael Russo relays. The Bruins have also held “ongoing talks with Winnipeg regarding McGroarty, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reported last night. McIntyre added that the Blue Jackets, Islanders and Sabres have also checked in but didn’t use as strong language to describe their interest.

Winnipeg selected McGroarty 14th overall in 2022, one pick later than the selection Minnesota holds this year (No. 13). The idea of a one-for-one swap makes sense. As for Boston, they ended up back with their own first-rounder (No. 25) after it traveled to Detroit and then Ottawa in the past 15 months, recouping it as part of the return for sending 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to the Senators. They’d likely need to add an additional pick or an equivalent asset in the form of a roster player or prospect in order to land McGroarty.

McGroarty, 20, was one of the best players in college hockey this season. Suiting up in his sophomore campaign at the University of Michigan, he finished top ten in NCAA-wide scoring with 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists) in 36 games. He was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in collegiate hockey and captained the United States to a gold medal at the 2024 World Juniors, scoring five goals and four assists in seven games.

But he wasn’t given a clear role on Winnipeg’s roster next season, and as such, he’s decided to return to Michigan for his junior season rather than play for their AHL affiliate in Manitoba. Of course, he could decide to turn pro after a trade and make his NHL debut for a different team in the fall.

Oilers Extend Calvin Pickard, Cam Dineen

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4:40 p.m.: Pickard’s deal is now official, with the Oilers confirming the terms as reported.

2:18 p.m.: The Oilers are finishing up on a two-year contract extension for backup netminder Calvin Pickard, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It’s a $2MM deal ($1MM cap hit), according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. He was slated to become a UFA on Monday.

They also have a piece of completed business done for depth defenseman Cam Dineen. The pending Group VI UFA has been retained on a two-year, two-way deal, per PuckPedia. It’ll pay him $775K NHL/$275K AHL ($325K guaranteed) in 2024-25 before bumping to $775K NHL/$350K AHL ($400K guaranteed) in 2025-26.

The extension marks a return to consistent NHL time for Pickard, a 32-year-old journeyman who’d largely been a minor league option since 2019. But a stretch of poor play from Jack Campbell to open Edmonton’s season caused them to waive him and assign him to the AHL early on, paving the way for Pickard to earn his keep as a backup to Stuart Skinner.

At the time, it was an easy decision. Campbell had struggled ever since signing with the Oilers in free agency in 2022, and sending him down opened up $1.15MM in cap space. Meanwhile, Pickard had gotten off to a strong start on the farm, putting up a .939 SV% in his first four outings for the Bakersfield Condors.

Pickard didn’t blow the doors off in his first extended NHL chance in a while, nor did anyone expect him to. But he was a much more stable option to insert in relief of the developing Skinner, and did manage to give the Oilers some above-average play with a .909 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 23 appearances. The Avalanche 2010 second-round pick also made his playoff debut in relief of Skinner in Game 3 of their second-round win over the Canucks, also starting Games 4 and 5 before Skinner returned after a much-needed reset for Game 6. Pickard held his own with a .915 SV%, helping Edmonton recover and advance all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

A $1MM cap hit is still fully buriable in the minors if the Oilers fail to find a way to move on from the remainder of Campbell’s contract this summer and he fights for a spot in training camp, but it’s a good indication they envision Pickard seeing NHL time for the next two years. His 23 outings this season were his most since being forced into starting action for the Avalanche during their last-place finish in 2016-17.

Meanwhile, Dineen is expected to reprise a top-four role in Bakersfield after spending all of this season in the minors. Since acquiring the 26-year-old via trade from the Coyotes in March 2023, he’s put up seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points in 77 games with the Condors while logging a -3 rating. He has seven assists and a -16 rating in 34 career NHL appearances, all of which came in Arizona in 2021-22. Dineen was a third-round pick of the Coyotes in the 2016 draft.

LeBrun’s Latest: Guentzel, Skjei, Stamkos, Kane, Marchessault, Askarov

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The 2024 NHL Draft is mere hours away, but this year’s compressed schedule means we also only have three days until the opening of the UFA market. That means for most of the usual insiders, there’s a lot of reporting tidbits coming out on the fly. That was the case today for Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, who has more than a few notable updates about some of the top pending UFAs and some ripple effects of this week’s moves:

  • While things have seemingly been trending in the wrong direction between the Hurricanes and trade deadline pickup Jake Guentzel for weeks, LeBrun writes the Hurricanes have upped their offer in a last-minute bid to retain his services. Their last pitch comes in at around $64MM total on an eight-year deal, working out to an $8MM cap hit. That’s close to what Guentzel’s camp was asking for at the beginning of negotiations with Carolina, LeBrun writes, but with his name still available this close to going to market, there are likely other teams willing to offer more annually. It is worth pointing out that the Hurricanes still hold an advantage by having the ability to offer him an eighth year of term, allowing them to sign him for the same amount of total cash for a slightly lower cap hit. A seven-year, $9MM AAV deal that he’s rumored to be able to land on the open market would leave him $1MM short of the total compensation he’d get from Carolina.
  • There’s still “a chance for Carolina” to retain defenseman Brady Skjei, who checks in as the top left-shot option available should he remain unsigned come Monday. But it still appears unlikely at this stage, especially considering he could command in the $7MM AAV range on the open market. LeBrun expects the Predators to be one of the most aggressive teams in pursuit of Skjei should he not ink a new deal with the Canes.
  • Following up on a statement from Steven Stamkos’ agent earlier today that the longtime Lightning captain projects to hit the open market, LeBrun said Tampa GM Julien BriseBois is trying to make his tight cap situation work by offering Stamkos a low-AAV deal at the maximum eight-year term. He speculates they’ve offered him a deal with a $3MM cap hit, working out to a total value of $24MM. On a four-year deal, something the 34-year-old is much more likely to land on the open market, that would be twice the cost against the cap ($6MM annually). It’s something BriseBois has tried and failed to do before, with LeBrun confirming that was his strategy to attempt to keep winger Alex Killorn from departing in free agency last year. He ended up rejecting an eight-year, $20MM deal ($2.5MM cap hit) from Tampa to sign a four-year, $25MM deal ($6.25MM AAV) with the Ducks.
  • If Patrick Kane moves on from the Red Wings next week, don’t expect him to travel very far. LeBrun reports the future Hall-of-Famer’s preference is to stick in the Eastern Conference as he signs what could be the final contract of his career.
  • The Golden Knights remain hard at work trying to retain 2023 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault, but they’re not on the verge of an extension, his agent Pat Brisson told LeBrun. Vegas has around $6.2MM in projected cap space with Robin Lehner on long-term injured reserve, which they’d likely use all of on a Marchessault extension. More moves are needed for financial flexibility, and LeBrun reports Marchessault is “readying himself for the realistic possibility that he might have to move on.“
  • Lastly, Predators top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov is all but officially on the trade block with yesterday’s report that Juuse Saros is nearing an eight-year extension to stay in Smashville. There’s still a strong chance Askarov remains with Nashville last season and enters his first full-time NHL campaign as Saros’ backup, but LeBrun reports the Preds are leveraging him to try and move into the top five of tonight’s draft. It’s not the first time they’ve done this – we wrote the exact same piece last year about the Preds trying to send him to the Canadiens to acquire the fifth-overall pick. Montreal holds the same selection this year.

Brandon Montour Expected To Reach Free Agency

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Days after winning the Stanley Cup, it appears Brandon Montour’s time in South Florida is drawing to a close. The defenseman, who checks in at No. 4 on our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents list, will be available on July 1, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier Friday on the Pat McAfee Show (via The Hockey News’ Max Miller). Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest seconds the belief.

Montour is one of many pending UFAs on the Panthers’ roster, but he and 57-goal winger Sam Reinhart are the big fish. With Montour likely heading to market, there’s a high likelihood of Florida being able to retain Reinhart’s services on a likely eight-year deal, Strickland reports.

The 30-year-old is coming off a more down-to-earth year but was still a top-pairing threat with eight goals and 33 points in 66 games while logging 23:27 per night. His season got off to a late start thanks to offseason shoulder surgery, which he required after playing through an injury en route to Florida’s losing trip to the Cup Final in 2023.

The smooth-skating yet physically involved defender still has a lot of market value stemming from his spectacular 2022-23 campaign. Montour flourished in his first season in top-pairing duties, racking up 57 assists and 73 points in 80 games that helped him place 12th in Norris Trophy voting. He leveraged 242 shots on goal, 107 PIMs, and controlled 54.6% of expected goals when deployed at 5-on-5, per Hockey Reference.

That showed he can flourish as a dual-threat top-pairing talent when healthy. While repeating that point production is highly unlikely elsewhere (his previous career high was 37), he was on pace for 41 this year and will likely continue to challenge the 40-60 point range in another market, especially if given an opportunity on the top power-play unit.

We mocked Montour to Utah as their first big free-agent splash in our Top 50 list, earning a six-year deal at $7.15MM per season. With Florida’s season ending so late, there hasn’t been much credible information about which teams will display serious interest when he becomes available Monday, but he’d certainly make sense there as they reshape their blue line after moving the roster from Phoenix to Salt Lake City.

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