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Islanders Sign Dennis Cholowski To Two-Year Deal

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The New York Islanders have re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Dennis Cholowski to a one-year, two-way contract extension that guarantees the 26-year-old $300K next season (as per PuckPedia). The former first-round pick (20th overall) in 2016 will receive a $775K salary at the NHL level and a $250K salary if he plays in the AHL.

Cholowski hasn’t dressed for an NHL game since January 19th, 2023, and spent all of last season in the AHL with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. He has played just two NHL games during his time with New York but played in 68 AHL games last season, posting seven goals and 24 assists.

Cholowski will enter his seventh season of professional hockey and remains a project as he has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular. He has developed into a terrific skater who can get involved in the play offensively, however, his defensive play leaves a lot to be desired and he needs to play a bigger game if he wants to become an everyday NHLer. Cholowski’s mobility remains one of his biggest assets, but he hasn’t utilized it to improve his play in his own zone.

Given his play in recent seasons, it seems likely that Cholowski will find himself in Bridgeport once again next season. He could receive a call-up to the NHL if the Islanders run into injury issues, as he is arguably the eighth defenseman on their depth chart.

San Jose Sharks Sign Henry Thrun

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The San Jose Sharks have shored up the left side of their defense as the team announced they have signed defenseman Henry Thrun to a two-year, $2MM contract. The deal will keep the young defenseman in San Jose for the next two years after the team acquired him towards the end of the 2022-23 NHL season.

General manager of the Sharks, Mike Grier, sang high praises for Thrun by saying, “Henry has been a reliable addition to our defense corps since he joined the organization. We are encouraged by his development since he came to San Jose and look forward to seeing him continue to grow his game with our club“.

San Jose acquired Thrun in February of 2023 from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Thrun was selected with the 101st overall pick by the Ducks organization in the 2019 NHL Draft but may have indicated he was unwilling to sign with Anaheim.

The Southborough, MA native spent three years with Harvard University in the NCAA and was named team captain ahead of the 2022-23 season. In his last two years with the Crimson, Thrun scored 14 goals and 63 points in 68 games before eventually signing his entry-level deal with the Sharks after his junior campaign.

In his first full season in San Jose, Thrun scored three goals and 11 points in 51 games while posting a -22 rating. He held an expected +/- of -16 according to HockeyReference which indicates he was disadvantaged by playing in a poor Sharks defense. The young defenseman finished tied for eighth on the team in blocked shots in limited action with 71.

Now that San Jose has decided to keep defenseman Mario Ferraro after some trade chatter and has added to the left side of their defense with the offseason acquisition of Jake Walman, Thrun should slot in on the team’s bottom pairing. Being one of the better puck movers on the team’s blue line, Thrun should also slot in one of the team’s two powerplay units.

Sabres Sign Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen To Five-Year Contract

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The Buffalo Sabres have solidified their goaltending situation for the next half decade as the team announced they signed Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to a five-year, $23.75MM contract. The deal will pay Luukkonen an AAV of $4.75MM each year of the contract and keep the young netminder in Buffalo until the 2028-29 NHL season.

The deal comes just under the current contract of Vancouver Canucks’ netminder Thatcher Demko who secured a five-year, $25MM contract back in 2021. Luukkonen is arguably coming off a better season than when Demko signed his extension in 2021 which may indicate this deal is somewhat of a bargain for the Sabres.

If any positives came from Buffalo during the 2023-24 season, they largely centered around Luukkonen. The start of the year was disappointing as he produced a 6-8-2 record in his first 17 games with a .893 save percentage. At the turn of the calendar, however, Luukkonen went on an impressive stretch to end the season.

Since his first game at the start of the calendar year, Luukkonen concluded the season with a 20-14-2 record in 36 games while maintaining a .919 SV%. Luukkonen finished the season with a 27-22-4 record in 51 starts while earning a .910 SV% and 2.57 goals against average.

Aside from becoming the undisputed starter for the Sabres, the young Finnish netminder recorded five shutouts, 10.1 goals saved above average, and 2.65 adjusted goals against average according to HockeyReference. All of these served as career highs for Luukkonen after coming off a disappointing season the year prior.

This will be the major question surrounding this contract in Buffalo as Luukkonen has only produced one good season in the NHL. This is not to take away from his dominance last year but he has failed to produce back-to-back quality seasons in the best league in the sport.

Luckily, the Sabres do have a fallback option if this contract doesn’t pan out as expected with Devon Levi ready for full-time NHL responsibilities. The young netminder split time between Buffalo and the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans and he produced a 16-6-4 record in the AHL with a .927 SV% and 2.42 GAA.

General manager of the Sabres, Kevyn Adams, acknowledged this in the announcement when he said, “We really like the position we’re in with having UPL and Devon Levi as still young, developing goaltenders, guys we think are going to continue to grow and get better, that are extremely talented, hard-working, and character people“.

West Notes: Rockford, Pryor, Connelly

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The Rockford IceHogs made a handful of signings today as the team announced four separate one-year AHL contracts for Kevin Lombardi, Lucas Brenton, Colin Felix, and Adam McCormick. None of the four are a needle mover at the AHL level but it does improve the team’s overall depth — especially on the blue line.

As the only forward of the group, Lombardi recently ended his five-year NCAA career at Sacred Heart University. Lombardi showed some offensive growth during his last two years at school as he scored 23 goals and 26 assists in 72 games. He has good size for a forward and almost became a member of the IceHogs last season before deciding to return to school for his last season of eligibility.

Felix and Brenton are both physical defensemen who have had success in recent years. The former put up four goals and 32 points in 140 games at the University of Massachusetts from 2018-2022 while helping the program win its first National Championship in 2021. Brenton, on the other hand, spent the last four years with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors and earned a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament after sweeping Portland in the WHL Championship series.

If any defensemen of the trio projects to make an impact on the score sheet it would be McCormick. He recently wrapped up a three-year run at the University of New Brunswick in the USports league in Canada. In his junior campaign, McCormick scored eight goals and 41 points in 28 games which was good for fourth on the team in scoring.

Other West notes:

  • The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly set to hire a new man to lead their Amateur Scouting Department as Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe reports Nick Pryor will be leaving the Penguins organization to take on a new role in Denver. It will be a major change for Pryor as the new vice president of player personnel in Pittsburgh, Wes Clark, looks to reshape the Penguins scouting departments. Pryor previously served as an amateur scout for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-2021 before spending the last three years as director of amateur scouting for the Penguins.
  • According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, there are no long-term concerns for the recent 19th overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, Trevor Connelly. The young forward prospect will not participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase and was limited to one scrimmage the the Golden Knights’ development camp due to a knee injury. Connelly is committed to Providence College for the 2024-25 NCAA season and is still expected to start the season on time.

NBA Owner Mat Ishbia Expresses Interest In Bringing NHL Back To Phoenix

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With former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo out of the picture, most have turned their focus to NBA Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia as the likeliest option to bring an NHL franchise back to the Phoenix area. Speaking with Sportico’s Barry M. Bloom, Ishbia confirmed acquiring an expansion franchise for Phoenix is something he’s “interested in.”

Doing so would require a new home. After all, the Coyotes’ inability to land a suitable permanent arena within the Phoenix metro area was what ultimately led to their hockey operations being sold to Salt Lake City’s Smith Entertainment Group, taking on new life as the Utah Hockey Club.

Ishbia realizes this and is keen on addressing it, even selfishly for his Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which he also owns. He told Bloom that “a new downtown Phoenix edifice is part of the long-term plan,” regardless of whether NHL expansion to Phoenix occurs or not.

Asked about what transpired with the Coyotes under the Meruelo regime, Ishbia told Bloom that he was “disappointed we don’t have a hockey team here.” “Phoenix is a four-sport town… and I hope that one day we’ll be able to get hockey back,” he added.

But the NHL returning to Phoenix after the disbanding of the Coyotes in short order was already part of the plan. The original deal struck with Meruelo upon the sale of the Yotes’ assets to Utah in April assured him an exclusive five-year window to reactivate the Coyotes and trigger an expansion draft should he get a suitable arena built to replace the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena that hosted them for the last two seasons. But Meruelo’s plan to develop a lot in north Phoenix fell through after a city auction to purchase the land was canceled due to Meruelo’s group failing to obtain the proper zoning permits beforehand.

Ishbia “wouldn’t say if he’s already talking to the NHL, and the league didn’t respond when asked to comment,” Bloom wrote. But if discussions advance in the next few years alongside plans for a new arena, it wouldn’t surprise many to see the Phoenix market re-added to the league within the next ten years. The league retained the branding rights to the Coyotes when Meruelo conceded his rights to the franchise earlier this month, which could be sold to Ishbia as part of an expansion deal.

Arbitrator Awards Predators’ Spencer Stastney Two-Year Deal

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Predators RFA defenseman Spencer Stastney has a contract for the next two seasons after his arbitration case reached a hearing Monday, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. It carries a cap hit in the $837.5K neighborhood and is a two-way deal in 2024-25 before converting to a one-way pact in 2025-26 at “$850K-ish.” The breakdown for this season is a $825K NHL salary and a $400K AHL salary.

Stastney, 24, is the first to have his arbitration case settled by a hearing this offseason. Out of the 14 players who initially filed for salary arbitration, only five are still awaiting contracts (Ryan Lindgren, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Kirill Marchenko, Martin Nečas, Oliver Wahlstrom).

A 2018 fifth-round pick of the Preds, Stastney worked his way up the depth chart last season after making his NHL debut in an eight-game stint in 2022-23. The Illinois native looked at home in a bottom-pairing role, posting four points (two goals, two assists) and a +9 rating in 20 appearances while averaging nearly 16 minutes per game. The 6’0″, 184-lb defender was rarely involved physically, registering just two hits, but he did control play well with a 51.9 CF% and 59.3 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference.

Those advanced numbers, plus the trust of head coach Andrew Brunette to utilize him for three of Nashville’s six playoff games before exiting with injury, is likely why he filed for a one-year, one-way deal worth $950K. The Predators asked for a two-year, two-way deal with a league-minimum cap hit in the NHL and AHL salaries below the $200K line each season. The cap hit falls a bit closer to Nashville’s filing, but the overall guaranteed cash awarded to Stastney in this deal is much more in line with the player’s request.

Despite the two-way structure next season, there’s a strong chance Stastney is on Nashville’s opening night roster. They have less than $600K in cap space with a bare-minimum roster after their free agency spending spree, per PuckPedia, meaning they don’t have any flexibility to recall an extra skater from the AHL for last-minute absences. The Preds will likely move out one of their NHL-rostered depth defensemen, all of whom cost at least $2MM against the cap, for added flexibility. Stastney’s six-figure cap hit as a replacement would give Nashville the flexibility they need to effectively manage their roster in-season.

East Notes: Hurricanes, Demidov, Strome

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The Hurricanes are continuing to rebuild their minor-league pipeline after spending 2023-24 without full-time AHL or ECHL affiliates. They inked a three-year agreement to re-affiliate with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves earlier this offseason, but they remain without a full-time third-tier affiliate.

That won’t change for 2024-25, but they have landed what the team calls a “working agreement” with the Bloomington Bison, an expansion franchise beginning play in the fall. Bloomington has already landed an outright affiliation agreement for next season with the Rangers, but they’ll also be the preferred destination for the handful of players under contract with Carolina who get demoted all the way down to the ECHL. The Hurricanes had the same setup with ECHL Norfolk last season, whose primary affiliate was the Jets. Six players who were under contract with Carolina – Domenick Fensore, Griffin Mendel, Blake Murray, Yaniv Perets, Justin Robidas and Ronan Seeley appeared in action for Norfolk under the agreement.

Elsewhere from the East:

  • Following up on a report from The Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan earlier this week, it’s becoming more certain that 2024 fifth-overall pick Ivan Demidov will play out the final season of his contract with the Kontinental Hockey League’s SKA St. Petersburg next season. Speaking with matchtv.ru, SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg confirmed the plan is for Demidov to remain on the KHL roster instead of being loaned to a lower-level league (via Marc Antoine Godin of Radio-Canada). Demidov spent nearly all of last season on loan to SKA’s junior club in the MHL, where he had arguably the best draft-eligible season in league history with 60 points and a +47 rating in 30 games.
  • Coming off back-to-back Calder Cup championships, the AHL’s Hershey Bears have retained a core part of their club. The Capitals’ primary affiliate has re-signed left winger Matthew Strome to a two-year deal, per a team announcement. The brother of Washington center Dylan Strome and Ducks forward Ryan Strome had a career-best 20 points in 50 games with the Bears last season and scored the overtime winner in the series-clinching Game 6 of the Calder Cup Final against Coachella Valley. He was a fourth-round pick of the Flyers in 2017 but hasn’t been under an NHL contract since his entry-level deal expired in 2022 after not receiving a qualifying offer.

Oilers Hire Stan Bowman As General Manager

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The Oilers have named Stan Bowman their general manager and EVP of hockey operations, the team announced Wednesday. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report.

Bowman, 51, has not worked in the league since resigning as GM and president of hockey operations of the Blackhawks in October 2021. His resignation came following an independent report detailing his “inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks’ Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club’s video coach.” The league then moved to make Bowman, as well as former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and senior VP of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, ineligible to work for any NHL team.

Earlier this month, the league announced that all three had been reinstated and would be available to hire as early as July 10. The NHL supplemented the news with this statement:

While it is clear that, at the time, their responses were unacceptable, each of these three individuals (Messrs. Bowman, MacIsaac and Quenneville) has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have, particularly personnel who are in positions of leadership. Moreover, each has made significant strides in personal improvement by participating in myriad programs, many of which focused on the imperative of responding in effective and meaningful ways to address alleged acts of abuse. The League expects that they will continue this commitment in any future capacity with the NHL and/or one of our Clubs.

Upon the news of their reinstatement emerging, Bowman was immediately viewed as the top contender for Edmonton’s GM vacancy, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported at the time.

The Oilers were without a GM after opting not to renew Ken Holland’s contract after five years at the helm. Jeff Jackson, who had served above Holland last season as the team’s CEO of hockey operations, took over as acting GM at the draft and during the beginning of free agency. In his weeks-long tenure in the position, Jackson was quite active, notably acquiring Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner on the UFA market and acquiring the organization’s new top prospect, 2022 ninth-overall pick Matthew Savoie, in a trade with the Sabres.

Jackson now hands the keys to Bowman, whose first year as GM in Chicago coincided with their 2010 Stanley Cup championship. He remained at the helm for their Cup wins in 2013 and 2015, all in all spending parts of 12 seasons in the role. Before being promoted to GM, Bowman served as the Blackhawks’ director of hockey operations from 2005 to 2007 and as assistant GM from 2007 to 2009.

In regards to Bowman’s hiring, Jackson issued the following statement:

I believe his vast experience and proven success in this role, together with the important work he has done in his time away from the game, fits our goal of being best in class when it comes to all facets of our organization. Through our many conversations, we share a common vision of where we are as a team and what is required to achieve another Stanley Cup title.

While Bowman did well to maintain the core built by previous GM Dale Tallon and oversee the greatest sustained period of success in franchise history, he also oversaw its downfall. The Blackhawks still haven’t advanced past the first round since winning it all in 2015 and have made the playoffs only thrice. In the final three seasons of Bowman’s tenure, the Blackhawks’ best point total was 84.

Now, much like he did in Chicago, Bowman inherits a superstar core of Evan Bouchard, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. He’s got less time on the clock to win, though. Draisaitl and McDavid are 28 and 27, respectively, while Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were both in their age-21 seasons when he took over.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Morning Notes: Teplý, Swayman, Red Wings, Utah

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Czech Extraliga side HC Oceláři Třinec announced the signing of a trio of players, one of which is former Blackhawks winger prospect Michal Teplý. The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Hawks in 2019 and signed his entry-level contract the following summer, but became a UFA on July 1 this year after not receiving a qualifying offer.

Teplý was drafted out of his native Czechia but landed his rookie deal with Chicago after coming to North America for his post-draft season, spending 2019-20 in juniors with the Western Hockey League’s Winnipeg Ice, where he finished second in scoring with 63 points in 53 games. Aside from a brief loan back to Czechia during the pandemic, Teplý spent the following four seasons in the pros with AHL Rockford, where he accumulated 34 goals, 57 assists and 91 points with a -29 rating in 206 games. It was solid production but not enough to get the 6’3″, 187-lb winger an NHL call-up.

He heads to a Třinec club that’s one of the most successful in Europe, coming off five consecutive Extraliga championships (not including 2020, when their playoffs were canceled). It’s a three-year deal for Teplý in his home country, Elite Prospects reports. A strong stint with one of the best teams in Europe could land him NHL consideration on the international free-agent market if he wants to make a return to North America when his contract expires in 2027.

More notes from around the hockey world this morning:

  • There are only four notable RFA goalies who remain without a contract for next season, the most consequential of which is newly-undisputed Bruins starter Jeremy Swayman. In a mailbag published early Wednesday, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen posits Swayman could land north of $9MM per season when a deal eventually comes across the finish line. Swayman, 25, notably didn’t elect for salary arbitration this summer despite being eligible to do so. He spent last season on a one-year, $3.475MM pact that was awarded via an arbitrator. He’s coming off a career-best 43 starts and 25 wins in 2023-24, supplementing it with a strong .916 SV% and 2.53 GAA.
  • Red Wings fans are warranted in their concern between the pipes next season, writes Jesse Granger, Sean McIndoe and Scott Wheeler at The Athletic. Detroit’s current goaltending situation checks in as the worst in the league in their ranking of NHL goaltending outlooks, with Granger believing there’s strong regression potential for journeyman Cam Talbot, who’s projected to be their opening night starter after bouncing back with a .913 SV% and 27-20-6 record in 54 appearances for the Kings last season. An injury-plagued Ville Husso, average but inexperienced AHL veteran Alex Lyon and reclamation project Jack Campbell don’t do a ton to inspire confidence, either. But no team has as much dichotomy between the present and future as Wheeler labels Detroit as having the best goalie prospect pool in the league, led by a pair of projected future starters in Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa.
  • If the NHL continues to send its players to the Winter Olympics, they’ll have it on home turf in 2034. As expected, the International Olympic Committee officially awarded the Games to Salt Lake City today. While the Utah Hockey Club will play at the existing Delta Center in its first season, shared with the NBA’s Utah Jazz, there is momentum for building a new arena district downtown in advance of the Olympics that would serve as a new home for both the NBA and NHL clubs while likely serving as a host venue for the hockey portion of the Games.

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