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List Of Draft Rights Expiring August 15

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Aug. 15: Save for a few updates made in the last few weeks, all the players below have not signed entry-level contracts and will become free agents today.

July 25: Every year on August 15, NHL-drafted players coming off their final season of collegiate hockey see their exclusive signing rights expire if not inked to an entry-level contract. This year’s crop of prospects set to hit the free agent market after wrapping up their NCAA careers can be found below.

This list was compiled using reserve list data over at CapWages but was modified at PHR’s discretion to remove players who have confirmed their return to NCAA play for a fifth/graduate season, thus delaying the expiry of their signing rights to August 2025. If a player has signed a contract elsewhere for this season, we’ve noted that as well.

Anaheim Ducks

F Jack Perbix (116th overall, 2018)

Boston Bruins

F Quinn Olson (92nd overall, 2019) signed AHL contract with Ontario Reign (LAK) for 2024-25

Chicago Blackhawks

F Liam Gorman (177th overall, 2018)

Dallas Stars

G Cole Brady (127th overall, 2019) drafted by Devils, rights acquired in this year’s Chris Tanev three-way trade with Flames

Detroit Red Wings

D Cooper Moore (128th overall, 2019)
F Sam Stange (97th overall, 2020)

Florida Panthers

D Carter Berger (106th overall, 2019) signed AHL contract with Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) for 2024-25
C Owen Lindmark (137th overall, 2019)

Los Angeles Kings

D Ben Meehan (140th overall, 2020)

Montreal Canadiens

F Ty Smilanic (74th overall, 2020) drafted by Panthers, signing rights acquired in 2022 trade for Ben Chiarot

Nashville Predators

F Alexander Campbell (65th overall, 2019) signed AHL contract with Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) for 2024-25
G Ethan Haider (148th overall, 2019) signed AHL contract with Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) for 2024-25

Philadelphia Flyers

F Bryce Brodzinski (196th overall, 2019)

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Chase Yoder (170th overall, 2020)

San Jose Sharks

F Alex Young (196th overall, 2020)

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nick Capone (157th overall, 2020)
D Eamon Powell (116th overall, 2020)
F McKade Webster (213th overall, 2019)

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Veeti Miettinen (168th overall, 2020) signed with KalPa (Liiga) through 2025-26

Utah Hockey Club

F Carson Bantle (142nd overall, 2020)

Vancouver Canucks

F Jack Malone (180th overall, 2019) signed AHL contract with Utica Comets (NJD) through 2025-26
G Matthew Thiessen (192nd overall, 2018)

Vegas Golden Knights

F Ryder Donovan (110th overall, 2019)

Winnipeg Jets

F Harrison Blaisdell (134th overall, 2019)
G Logan Neaton (144th overall, 2019)

International Notes: Filppula, Has, Andrighetto

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Triple Gold Club member Valtteri Filppula appears to be returning home for what is likely his final professional season. The 40-year-old is expected to join Jokerit of Finland’s second-tier Mestis for 2024-25, Sami Hoffrén and Marko Lempinen of Helsingen Sanomat report.

Filppula, a third-round pick of the Red Wings back in 2002, won the Stanley Cup with them six years later as part of a 16-year, 1,056-game NHL career. Split between the Wings, Lightning, Flyers and Islanders, he amassed 197 goals, 333 assists, 530 points, a -4 rating, and a 50.5% career win rate in the dot in the regular season.

The two-way pivot returned to Europe after becoming a free agent in 2021, and he’s spent the last three seasons in Switzerland with Genève-Servette HC of the National League. He was a premier offensive presence there, even in his late 30s, scoring 47 goals and 84 assists for 131 points in 145 games. But after a pair of seasons around a point per game, his production dropped off to 33 points in 51 games last year.

Filppula was a member of the Finnish national team that won gold at the Winter Olympics and the World Championship in 2022, making him the first Finn to win both in addition to a Stanley Cup. He now returns to Jokerit, where he played for two seasons before coming to the NHL in 2005.

The Helsinki-based franchise was once one of the top clubs in Europe, but their decision to leave the top Finnish league for Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in 2013 proved fateful. They withdrew from the KHL midseason in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and missed 2022-23 entirely before restarting operations in Mestis last year.

More notable items from abroad:

  • Former Capitals defense prospect Martin Has has signed a tryout with HC Plzen of the Czech Extraliga, per a team announcement. A fifth-round pick back in 2019, Has never rose above the ECHL level in the Washington organization, spending 2022-23 with the South Carolina Stingrays before his signing rights expired, making him a UFA. Has, 23, spent last season with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, where the 6’4″ right-shot was limited to five points and a -14 rating in 62 games. The Czech native will now look to latch on in one of the premier European professional leagues.
  • It doesn’t appear that an NHL comeback is in the cards for Sven Andrighetto, as he’s inked a four-year extension with the Swiss National League club ZSC Lions. Andrighetto, 31, is a Zurich native, and he had 31 points in 40 games for his hometown club last year before leading them to an NL championship. The 2013 third-round pick of the Canadiens scored 31 goals and 83 points in 216 NHL games with Montreal and Colorado between 2014 and 2019.

Snapshots: CHL/NCAA, Hovorka, Tiefensee

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The NCAA is facing major pressure to lift one of its biggest barriers to entry for men’s ice hockey after a class-action lawsuit was levied against them on Monday, alleging the association is “violating antitrust laws by preventing hockey players who appeared in Canadian Hockey League games from competing for NCAA teams.”

Today, Sean Gentille of The Athletic broke down the potential implications of the suit. The elimination of the rule preventing CHL players from making the jump to Division I hockey has been in discussion for a while, at the very least dating back to a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in March.

However, if CHL players were allowed to move to NCAA play at any given time, it would likely necessitate a revision of the NHL’s transfer agreements with both organizations. Players drafted out of the three CHL sub-leagues have a two-year exclusive signing window after being drafted by an NHL club. In contrast, players on the college track have their signing rights stay with their NHL team until Aug. 15, following the year they’ve graduated from their program.

The suit’s basis alleges that the NCAA’s rule barring CHL players from entrance isn’t to protect amateurism. It’s to “harm the CHL — the NCAA’s primary competition for elite young players — and that, in practice, it constitutes a ’group boycott’ that violates U.S. antitrust law. It’s also a ’carve-out’ of sorts that exists in men’s hockey and skiing, but no other sport,” Gentille writes.

Yet removing the rule would severely handicap other high-level junior leagues in North America, such as the USHL and other Canadian junior leagues, who routinely have their players go on to have successful Division I careers. They’d be at greater risk of losing their primary talent to the three CHL leagues. “Avoiding that, along with more generally making changes during what has been a profitable and positive run for college hockey, would seem to be the reason the rule is still on the books in 2024,” Gentille says.

Elsewhere from around the sport:

  • The Panthers are looking for undrafted free-agent signing Mikulas Hovorka to take major strides in his development in his first season in North America, AHL head coach Geordie Kinnear told George Richards for NHL.com. “His size is obvious, but his passion to practice and to play is infectious,” Kinnear said. “The coaches just gravitated to him due to his willingness to be coached. He may have been going against teammates and peers, but you could see his physicality, which is how we want him to play. We think he will take a big step, but we also know it is a process.” Hovorka, 23, is a right-shot defenseman who checks in at 6’6″ and nearly 230 lbs. He spent last season in his native Czechia, recording 16 points and a +14 rating in 51 games with Extraliga club Motor Ceske Budejovice.
  • Early into his post-playing career, Stars player development coordinator Ben Bishop is already making an impact. The two-time All-Star netminder has been working closely with Dallas 2023 fifth-rounder Arno Tiefensee, he tells NHL.com’s Taylor Baird, traveling to the player’s native Germany to work with him throughout last season. It’s panned out so far, as the 22-year-old took over as the starter for the DEL’s Adler Mannheim last year with a .907 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 32 games. Tiefensee must put pen to paper on an entry-level contract before June 1 of next year before the Stars lose his signing rights.

Jakub Vrana Joins Capitals On PTO

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The Capitals are bringing in free-agent winger Jakub Vrana on a PTO for training camp, per a team announcement.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Vrana, who the Caps drafted 14th overall in 2014. The 6’0″, 195-lb winger once looked to be well on his way to becoming a top-six fixture in the nation’s capital, recording back-to-back seasons of 24 and 25 goals just before the COVID-19 pandemic. But Washington decided to part ways with him the following season, trading him to the Red Wings at the 2021 deadline as part of a package that fetched them Anthony Mantha.

Things started well for Vrana in Detroit. He finished 2020-21 on a tear, recording eight goals and three assists for 11 points in 11 games. An RFA that summer, he inked a three-year, $15.75MM deal that looked to be good value for a player who had established himself as a consistent 20-goal threat.

However, a shoulder injury sustained during training camp in the fall cost him most of 2021-22, a setback he’s never truly recovered from. Vrana played just 31 games for Detroit after the surgery amid a months-long stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and multiple minor-league assignments, culminating in a trade to the Blues at the 2023 deadline.

Once again, early returns were strong for Vrana after a change of scenery. He averaged 15:10 per game across 20 appearances for St. Louis to close the season, his highest usage since his post-deadline stint with Detroit two years earlier. He responded with 10 goals and 14 points in 20 games, finishing second on the team in goals during that span.

Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t carry over into last season. Vrana started the season back in a bottom-six role and had just two goals and six points in 19 games before the Blues placed him on waivers in mid-December. He cleared without incident and, aside from a brief call-up in January, spent the rest of the season on assignment to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.

Vrana had good numbers on the farm, posting 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 42 games. His 0.86 points per game ranked second behind Adam Gaudette’s 1.06. But after failing to land an everyday role in St. Louis, it wasn’t surprising to see them let him walk to unrestricted free agency this summer.

Now 28, Vrana faces an uphill climb to earn a spot on the NHL roster out of camp with the Capitals. He’ll be in competition with a pair of recent first-round picks in Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroshnichenko, and he also may need to supersede UFA pickup Taylor Raddysh, who had 14 points in 73 games with the Blackhawks last season. There will be a spot for him if he can show enough flashes of his pre-surgery form, though, and he could end up being a bargain-bin pickup on a two-way deal.

In 284 games with Washington from 2016 to 2021, Vrana had 76 goals, 81 assists, 157 points, and a +36 rating in 284 regular-season games. He shot 13.1% and averaged 13:41 per game. He contributed three goals and five assists in 23 playoff games during the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup win but had no points in 15 combined playoff games in 2019 and 2020.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Logan Brown To Sign PTO With Lightning

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Free-agent center Logan Brown is set to sign a PTO with the Lightning, Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest relays.

The 2016 first-round pick inked a two-way deal with Tampa Bay last summer but sustained a hip injury in training camp that required surgery and cost him the entire 2023-24 season. The 26-year-old was free to sign anywhere after the Lightning opted not to issue him a qualifying offer by the June 30 deadline, but with no interest from other teams for a guaranteed contract, he’ll stick with the Bolts on a tryout.

Brown, selected by the Senators with the No. 11 pick eight years ago, has only appeared in 99 NHL regular season games. He’s totaled seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points while averaging 10:32 per game.

The North Carolina native played parts of four seasons in Ottawa before a trade to St. Louis in 2021. He played a career-high 39 games upon arrival in 2021-22 and looked to be a more impactful contributor in 2022-23, but an upper-body injury limited him to 30 games. The Blues didn’t tender him a qualifying offer the following summer, making him a UFA for the first time.

Brown’s size and strength has always been his most effective asset, checking in at 6’6″ and 227 lbs. He’s produced strong offensive numbers at both the junior and AHL levels, averaging 0.85 points per game across 115 minor-league appearances since turning pro, but he hasn’t been able to convert it into success on the scoresheet at the NHL level.

If Brown can successfully shake off the rust in training camp, he’s a strong candidate to earn a two-way deal and look to have success in a depth role in Tampa Bay. He’ll join a group contending for bottom-six spots that includes Mitchell Chaffee, Jesse Ylonen, and 2022 No. 11 pick Conor Geekie, fresh off being acquired from the Utah Hockey Club.

Summer Synopsis: Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres haven’t played in a playoff game in more than a decade even though they have drafted in the top 10 on almost an annual basis. Despite the Sabres being a mess for much of this time, there have been a few instances where it seems like the team is ready to turn the corner and get back into the postseason. Last year it felt like the team would remain in contention for a wild card spot but once again they exited the playoff picture early. This year it is hard to gauge whether or not Buffalo will be in the mix as an uneven summer has left some fans scratching their heads and wondering when this team will once again be a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Draft

1-14: C Konsta Helenius, Jukurit (Liiga)
2-42: D Adam Kleber,  Lincoln (USHL)
3-71: F Brodie Ziemer, USNTDP
4-108: D Luke Osburn, Youngstown (USHL)
4-123: D Simon-Pier Brunet, Drummondville (QMJHL)
6-172: D Patrick Geary, Michigan State University (NCAA)
7-204: F Vasili Zelenov, RB Hockey Juniors
7-219: G Ryerson Leenders, Mississauga (OHL)

The Sabres don’t have a ton of recent experience drafting outside of the top 10 but this year they picked Helenius with the 14th overall pick. The youngster from Ylojarvi, Finland played at home last season in the top league and registered a respectable 14 goals and 22 assists in 51 regular season games which isn’t far off of the 48 points Aleksander Barkov’s scored in the league as an under-18-year-old. Helenius plays a high-energy game and plays much bigger than his size, he is a good forechecker and is responsible defensively. Helenius does everything pretty well and should be a good two-way player in the NHL.

Buffalo selected Kleber in the second round after he helped Team USA earn bronze at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer. The massive 6’6” defenseman is committed to playing next season at the University of Minnesota Duluth and should continue to develop into a strong defensive defenseman. Kleber isn’t the prettiest skater, but he gets around the ice well for a big man which allows him to cover a lot of ground in the defensive zone. His offensive instincts aren’t strong, nor is his ability with the puck but he does offer a solid breakout pass which should aid him in his defensive work.

The Sabres used their third-round pick to draft another undersized forward in Ziemer who had a solid season with the U.S. National Team Development Program tallying 27 goals and 43 assists in 61 games which was good enough for fourth on the team in points. Ziemer has a good shot and is good in tight spaces around the net, his offensive instincts allow him to find soft areas on the ice to capitalize on breakdowns in coverage.

Trade Acquisitions

F Ryan McLeod (Edmonton)
F Tyler Tullio (Edmonton)

Buffalo traded Matthew Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers for McLeod and Tullio in what many analysts felt was a sell-low move by the Sabres. Savoie was drafted ninth overall by the Sabres in the 2022 NHL entry draft and many believed he would be a huge part of their core moving forward. But with the trade to Edmonton, all of Savoie’s upside goes out the door and Buffalo makes the move for the player who is a safer bet but has a much lower upside.

McLeod is a proven NHL player, and at just 24 years old he has improved in every NHL season. Last year he tallied 12 goals and 18 assists in 81 regular season games but had just four goals in 24 playoff games. McLeod has some upside of his own and is a bit of an analytics darling, but if his finishing abilities remain the same, Buffalo could end up coming out on the bad end of the trade.

UFA Signings

F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (one-year, $1.5MM)
F Josh Dunne (two-year, $1.55MM)*
D Dennis Gilbert (one-year, $825K)
F Mason Jobst (one-year, $775K)*
F Sam Lafferty (two-year, $4MM)
F Brett Murray (one-year, $775K)*
D Jack Rathbone (one-year, $775K)*
G James Reimer (one-year, $1MM)
D Colton Poolman (one-year, $775K)*
G Felix Sandstrom (one-year, $775K)*
F Jason Zucker (one-year, $5MM)

* denotes a two-way contract

The Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner this summer and opened up a significant amount of cap space which excited Sabres fans that the team would make some big moves to try and get back into the playoff picture. Ultimately the team whiffed in free agency and settled into a series of underwhelming signings that appeared more like panic moves than pieces of a plan falling into place.

Zucker is a solid NHL veteran who has been a 20-goal scorer in the NHL on multiple occasions. However, the fact that he was the Sabres big splash certainly alarmed some fans. Zucker can still play but is overpaid at this stage of his career and isn’t much of a playdriver. Zucker has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career but could provide the Sabres with solid veteran minutes if he can remain in the lineup.

Lafferty is another former Pittsburgh Penguin who is a solid depth forward. He finally had a breakthrough in recent seasons and was terrific last year for the Vancouver Canucks posting a career-high 13 goals and 11 assists in 79 games. While Lafferty has firmly established himself as a regular NHLer, he isn’t going to move the needle offensively or offer a significant improvement on some of the Sabres departures from last season.

Aube-Kubel is another fourth liner that the Sabres brought in to try and improve their bottom six. The 28-year-old has been a solid pro for several years but is a few seasons removed from being a good fourth-line scoring option and a $1.5MM AAV feels like an overpay given the players that remain on the free agent market who are still looking for work and are likely to sign for league minimum.

RFA Re-Signings

D Jacob Bryson (one-year, $900K)
D Kale Clague (one-year $775K)*
D Henri Jokiharju (one-year, $3.1MM)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (five-year, $23.75MM)
F Beck Malenstyn (two-year, $2.7MM)

* denotes a two-way contract

Buffalo’s big RFA signing was locking up netminder Luukkonen to a five-year deal. UKL could be poised for a breakout season and the Sabres opted to lock him up and avoid having to dish out a more significant extension in the near future. The 25-year-old’s new deal does come with a significant amount of risk though as last year was his first season as a starter and his sample size beyond that isn’t overly big.

Buffalo also acquired Malenstyn in a trade with the Washington Capitals that was received with lukewarm reviews at best. Malenstyn then signed a two-year extension with the Sabres and will most likely be counted on to play fourth-line minutes. He plays an honest game, gets around the ice well and should open up room for his teammates but given what the Sabres gave up getting him, they better hope that the 26-year-old has more to his game than what he showed in Washington.

Departures

F Brandon Biro (Seattle, one-year, $775K)*
D Joseph Cecconi (Minnesota, one-year, $775K)*
G Eric Comrie (Winnipeg, one-year, $825K)
D Jeremy Davies (Ottawa, one-year, $775K)*
F Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay, three-year, $2.55MM)
C Tyson Jost (Carolina, one-year, $775K)
F Victor Olofsson (Vegas, one-year, $1.075MM)
F Justin Richards (signed with Düsseldorfer EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga)
F Eric Robinson (Carolina, one-year, $950K)
F Matthew Savoie (traded to Edmonton)
D Calle Sjalin (signed with Rögle BK of the SHL)
F Jeff Skinner (Edmonton, one-year, $3MM)
D Riley Stillman (Carolina, one-year, $775K)*
G Dustin Tokarski (unsigned UFA)
F Linus Weissbach (signed in SHL)

* denotes a two-way contract

Buffalo’s biggest departure was Skinner who left the team after a volatile six seasons. Skinner was a 40-goal scorer in Buffalo in his first season but never lived up to expectations after signing his eight-year $72MM extension in June 2019. He did score 30 goals in three of his six seasons in Buffalo, but his shortcomings defensively became too much to ignore, particularly when he went into scoring droughts.

The remaining Sabres departures were of the depth variety, with most of them being players who were playing in the team’s bottom six. Girgensons moved onto Tampa Bay after ten years in Buffalo, and while it is always difficult to see a tenured player leave town, his on-ice production should be easy to replace.

Olofsson is a three-time 20-goal scorer and scored 28 goals just last year but given how little he provides when the puck isn’t going in, Buffalo opted to move on from the player. Olofsson can skate and can create offense with his playmaking as well, but his defensive shortcomings became a problem in Buffalo, and his size created more issues, particularly when contests became physical.

Salary Cap Outlook

Buffalo enters August with just under $8.5MM in projected cap space which is more than enough room to sign their remaining RFA Peyton Krebs. The Sabres are positioned well for the future as most of their core is locked up long-term to reasonable contracts and the cap will be increasing in future seasons. The Skinner buyout will be a burden between 2025-2027, which makes the decision to buy him out this summer all the more puzzling given that they still haven’t utilized that additional cap space to get better.

Key Questions

Can The Scorers Rebound? Almost all of Buffalo’s offensive stars struggled last season, with some of them taking massive dips in production. The hope is that a new coaching staff can spark the offense to get back to their offensive numbers from the 2022-23 season. Buffalo doesn’t have a lot of offensive pieces in their bottom six, which creates additional pressure on the top two lines. Tage Thompson will be counted on to stay healthy and get back to the 40-goal mark as will Dylan Cozens and Alex Tuch who both had 20-point drops last season.

Will Jack Quinn Stay Healthy? Quinn has dealt with a series of injuries in his first two seasons as an NHLer, and while the former eighth-overall pick has been productive when healthy, he still needs to prove he can play for an entire season. The Cobden, Ontario native is likely to be a fixture in the Sabres top-6 for years to come, but first, he must prove he can be a fixture for an entire season. Quinn had nine goals and 10 assists in 27 games last season which averages out to a 58-point pace over an entire season and demonstrates just how effective Quinn can be offensively when he is healthy. Much of the Sabres playoff hopes will rise and fall on the performance of their top-6 and if Quinn can be a regular contributor, it will be huge for Buffalo.

Can Lindy Ruff Change This Group?  Ruff was hired to bring change into the organization by teaching this group structure and how to be accountable to each other. But the biggest thing the Sabres need Ruff to bring is stability given that Ruff was fired by Buffalo during the 2012-13 season and since then the Sabres have had six head coaches and no playoff appearances. The Sabres need Ruff to find a balance between letting the stars play and also having everyone buy into a system that allows the team to win games and get back to the playoffs. Ruff may or may not be the coach to do that and he likely wasn’t at the top of many wish lists in Buffalo, but he will have the team working hard and playing for each other, which might be just the thing to get the team back into the playoff picture.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Evening Notes: Flames, Getzlaf, Glass

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Calgary Flames players have reportedly been told that the team is unlikely to add any other pieces between now and the beginning of the regular season (as per Elliotte Friedman of the 32 Thoughts podcast). Friedman added that the Flames’ management wants to get a look at their group and see how they start the season, which makes sense given the turnover that has occurred in Calgary.

The Flames barely resemble the team that started the 2023-24 season, as most of the veteran players have been dealt to other teams in the past 12 months, including Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane, who were both traded to Eastern Conference teams this summer. Calgary has largely tried to avoid calling their roster construction a rebuild, and in their defense, they did add a few veterans this summer on short-term deals. However, the team is certainly in sell mode, and they will likely look to move out more names during the regular season as they get closer to the NHL trade deadline.

In other evening notes:

  • Former Anaheim Ducks star Ryan Getzlaf has left the organization to join the NHL’s Department of Player Safety (as per NHL announcement). The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be reunited with his former Ducks teammate George Parros and will work in some capacity for the NHL. It is unclear what exactly Getzlaf will do, but as Parros noted today in a press release, Getzlaf’s experience on the ice should have a lot of value for the department. The former Stanley Cup champion retired after the 2021-22 season and re-joined Anaheim just over a year later in June 2023, serving as the player development coordinator for the team.
  • Newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguins forward Cody Glass entered this summer to work on his speed during his offseason training (as per Nick Kieser of the Nashville Predators radio network).  Glass knew that he wasn’t good enough last season for Nashville and was feeling the pressure heading into the summer as he will be a restricted free agent on July 1st, 2025. If Glass can improve his speed next season, it could be a good fit with the Penguins, as Pittsburgh hasn’t had much speed in their bottom six since they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan loves to use speed and deploy an aggressive forecheck, and if Glass can work on that part of his game, he could find himself in the top nine next year.

Gilles Léger Passes Away At Age 83

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The NHL is mourning the passing of Gilles Léger, a long-time executive who spent time with three organizations in a career spanning from 1979-2020. Outside of his work in the NHL, Léger spent time as a coach and a general manager in the CIAU and WHA.

After the World Hockey Association ceased operations at the end of the 1978-79 season, Léger made his way to the Quebec Nordiques as a director of player development in their first year of operations. Advancing to the role of assistant general manager for the team in 1984-85, Léger helped acquire the likes of Peter Forsberg, Guy Lafleur, Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny, and Mats Sundin to the expansion franchise. Unfortunately, with financial hardships leading to a sale of the Nordiques to COMSAT Entertainment Group after the 1994-95 season, Léger was not brought along with the team in their relocation to Denver, CO.

It would take three years for Léger to pick up another opportunity at the NHL level, this time with the Edmonton Oilers as a pro scout. When legendary general manager Glen Sather left the Oilers to take on the GM vacancy with the New York Rangers, Léger came along as a pro scout. The move to New York ended up being Léger’s last stop along his NHL journey. After two decades serving as a pro scout in the Rangers’ organization, Léger retired at the end of the 2019-20 season at 79 years old.

Léger’s story is of tremendous success as he parlayed a head coaching role with St. Francis Xavier University into four decades of work in the NHL. PHR sends our condolences to the Léger family.

Metro Notes: MacKinnon, Nedeljkovic, Rosen

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Although the Edmonton Oilers ultimately decided on Stan Bowman to fill their general manager vacancy, we now know of another candidate who was close to capturing the role. Originally reported by Elliotte Friedman on his ’32 Thoughts’ podcast and later extrapolated by James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now, New Jersey Devils assistant general manager Dan MacKinnon was very close to becoming the next GM for the Oilers.

MacKinnon began his executive career in 2000-01 for the Nashville Predators as the director of scouting before transitioning to the position of pro scout until the 2005-06 season. He would spend one year as a pro scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins before becoming the team’s director of professional scouting and then director of player personnel until 2015-16. Since his first year with the Penguins organization in 2006-07, MacKinnon has followed Devils’ GM Tom Fitzgerald the rest of the way.

He has spent the last four years as AGM in New Jersey with most of his responsibilities focused around the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Coupled with this report, and MacKinnon being one of the finalists for the Penguins’ GM vacancy a year ago, it appears that MacKinnon is looking to detach himself from Fitzgerald and craft his own team.

Other Metro notes:

  • Whatever controversy surrounds the crease for the Penguins this year won’t be generated by either of the respective netminders. After agreeing to a two-year, $5MM extension earlier this summer, Alex Nedeljkovic spoke to local media and said, “[Jarry] was one of the first ones to text me when I re-signed, to say congrats and welcome back and, ‘Looking forward to getting back at it together’”. Nedeljkovic did not indicate if he had his eyes set on the starting job in Pittsburgh. Nevertheless, he’s earned an opportunity for a goaltending battle out of camp with Tristan Jarry after nearly willing the Penguins into the playoffs last year with an 8-1-2 record down the stretch and a .902 save percentage.
  • Longtime play-by-play announcer for the New York Rangers, Sam Rosen, is set to retire after the 2024-25 NHL season according to Dan Rosen of the NHL. Rosen began his career as a backup radio host with the Rangers for the 1977-78 season and saw the organization win their first Stanley Cup in over 50 years. The Rangers will have some big shoes to fill when the current longest-serving, Hall of Fame announcer hangs them up at the end of the year.

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