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Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie Not Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp

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The Washington Capitals released their group of 72 skaters who will participate with the team in training camp including forwards Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. Tom Gulitti of the NHL reported that the team will hold media availability after the first practice on Wednesday; Backstrom and Oshie were not listed indicating they won’t be on the ice with the team for their first practice.

The report is unsurprising given that Backstrom has been away from the team since November 1st, 2023 due to chronic hip issues. Oshie indicated earlier in the summer that his back issues may prohibit him from playing this season. Washington was expected to place both players on LTIR at the first available opportunity allowing them to free up $14.95MM in salary cap space.

It’s been status quo regarding Backstrom over the last calendar year. The veteran center underwent hip resurfacing surgery in the summer before the 2022-23 NHL season and he seemingly responded well with seven goals and 21 points in 39 games to end the year. Backstrom entered the 2023-24 NHL season at full health but would unfortunately only appear in eight contests. He cited his hip was not responding well and he’s been away from the team ever since.

Oshie’s future with the organization is a bit murkier with Gulitti also reporting that the general manager of the Capitals, Chris Patrick, stated last month that the team would know more about Oshie’s availability closer to the start of training camp. Each player will get a physical done by the team medical staff before skating which outlines the timeline of any decisions regarding his availability.

The veteran winger is coming off one of the worst performances of his career as he only scored 12 goals and 25 points in 52 contests. Oshie was placed on the injured reserve three times throughout the 2023-24 season but did manage to suit up in all four playoff contests for the Capitals. There would be cap ramifications if Oshie can play in the 2024-25 NHL season as Washington would still sit $1.02MM above the cap if they can only put Backstrom on LTIR.

Atlantic Notes: Kulich, Komarov, Danielson

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Buffalo Sabres’ prospect Jiri Kulich has played himself into a decent situation heading into training camp after dominating the Buffalo Prospect Showcase. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff argued earlier today that Buffalo must get Kulich to the NHL as soon as possible for him and the team to flourish.

Kulich was drafted by the Sabres organization with the 28th pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and has transitioned well in the AHL with 51 goals and 91 points through his first 119 regular season contests. Buffalo had a genuine logjam of forward prospects looking to make their way to the NHL level but the team’s trade of prospect Matthew Savoie this summer paved the way for Kulich to make the opening night lineup.

He can play at all three forward positions and has elevated his play away from the puck with one scout saying, “But now you’re seeing the intensity away from the puck, too. It’s a work in progress but he has come a long way in making himself more rounded“. It’s difficult to see where exactly Kulich fits into the opening night roster for the Sabres Still, a strong showing at camp could allow Kulich to wrestle away ice time from anyone currently pencilled in the team’s bottom six.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • If you ask Scott Wheeler and Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, the Sabres got the steal of the draft in 2022 (Subscription Article). Defenseman Vsevolod Komarov was a relatively unknown commodity after scoring two goals and 19 points in 60 games with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts during his draft year. He helped the Remparts to a Memorial Cup championship in 2023 but became another player entirely after being traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs last year. Komarov exploded for 11 goals and 50 points in 38 games for the Voltigeurs while adding another five goals and 15 points in 19 postseason contests. The 2023-24 QMJHL Defenseman of the Year and Playoff MVP is expected to join the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season with plenty of excitement around him.
  • The Detroit Red Wings are eager to see how the ninth overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Nate Danielson, responds to more pressure at this year’s training camp says Max Bultman of The Athletic (Subscription Article). Danielson played well in training camp last year but was assuredly headed back to the junior level no matter how well he played. Bultman asked assistant director of player development, Daniel Cleary, where he thought Danielson would end up this year to which he responded, “I have inner thoughts that I don’t want to say out loud. But not a lot would surprise me, for Nate“. He’s showing more offensive talent than previously expected finishing last year’s WHL playoffs with seven goals and 24 points in only 18 games.

Flyers Making Alexei Kolosov Available In Trade Talks

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The Philadelphia Flyers continue to look for a resolution with goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov regarding his future with the organization. The young netminder spurned the Flyers this week by not reporting to their rookie camp and he’s not expected to join the team for training camp either as he hopes to return to his home country of Belarus for the 2024-25 season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote this morning that Philadelphia has made Kolosov available to interested teams but there’s no indication a change of scenery would dissuade his desire to return home.

A lack of communication has been made apparent between the Flyers’ brass and Kolosov as many people within the organization are confused by Kolosov’s request. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic recently spoke to the head coach of the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ian Laperriere, and he said players on the Phantoms made repeated attempts for Kolosov to join them for team activities but were rejected.

Kolosov debuted with the organization at the end of last season. The young netminder skated in two games for the Phantoms while securing a 1-1-0 record with a .885 save percentage. He spent most of last year with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk (the team he is looking to rejoin) producing a 22-21-3 record in 47 games with a .907 SV%.  He holds a career .909 SV% over four years in the KHL and does not appear interested in continuing his development in North America.

The Flyers are reportedly asking for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft but many teams are hesitant to pay that price. There has not been any confirmation either way if Kolosov is not comfortable playing in a foreign place or if he’s unhappy with the Flyers organization specifically. No team will sacrifice a second-round pick in a relatively deep draft class if Kolosov has no intentions of returning to North America. If Kolosov is willing to return to the NHL under a new organization it is reasonable to assume the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and Tampa Bay Lightning would maintain some level of interest in the former 78th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft.

The Flames could use a stronger long-term option next to Dustin Wolf and the Blackhawks may be looking for someone to upseat Drew Commesso as the organization’s top goaltending prospect. Colorado’s reported interest in Yaroslav Askarov indicates the team is looking to address their long-term answer in the crease despite their limited draft capital. Lastly — the Lightning currently has Los Angeles’ and Toronto’s second-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft thanks to a couple of trades this offseason. The team may be willing to part with one of them to solve their backup goaltending situation heading into the 2024-25 regular season.

Metropolitan Notes: St. Ivany, Tuomaala, Duclair

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Jack St. Ivany has the inside track at landing the third pairing right defense spot that will be up for grabs during Penguins training camp, opines Josh Yohe of The Athletic.

St. Ivany, 25, was a fourth-round pick of the rival Flyers in 2018 but didn’t sign with them following his senior season at Boston College in 2022. He instead landed in Pittsburgh as a free agent, signing a two-year, entry-level contract.

The California native reached the NHL last season after spending his first pro campaign entirely in the minors, recording an assist while averaging 13:42 per game over 14 contests over a late-season call-up. He didn’t have many visible mistakes, only logging three giveaways, although his overall defensive impact was questionable, with a -6.5 relative CF% at even strength in tough but not overwhelmingly difficult minutes.

But as Yohe points out, St. Ivany doesn’t have many legitimate challengers for the role, at least among right-shot defenders. Free agent addition Sebastian Aho could flip to his off-side and be a higher-upside option offensively if the Penguins wish, though.

St. Ivany signed a three-year, league-minimum extension back in May and has a two-way salary structure this year and next. He’s also still waiver-exempt, so if he falls behind off-handed competition like Aho and Ryan Shea during training camp, there’s nothing stopping Pittsburgh from assigning him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton without incident.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Flyers prospect Samu Tuomaala remains absent from rookie camp and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The 21-year-old right-winger has two years remaining on his entry-level contract and is coming off an impressive first season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he finished third in scoring with 43 points (15 G, 28 A) in 69 games. The 2021 second-round pick is destined for the Phantoms once again to open the season but should put himself under consideration for an NHL call-up and corresponding debut over the course of the season.
  • The Islanders will indeed kick off camp with free agent signing Anthony Duclair riding shotgun on the top line with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters today (via Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News). The 29-year-old Duclair did quite well in a similar role in a limited time for the Lightning after they acquired him from the Sharks at last year’s deadline, posting 15 points in 17 games next to their star-powered duo of Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. The Isles signed Duclair, who’s averaged 21 goals and 43 points per 82 games throughout his career, to a four-year, $14MM deal on July 1.

Ilya Sorokin Had Back Surgery, Not Expected To Miss Time

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Star Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin underwent back surgery this offseason, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters Monday (via Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News). General manager Lou Lamoriello said Friday that Sorokin sustained an undisclosed injury this summer but had already returned to the ice and was expected to be a full participant shortly after training camp began.

A significant offseason procedure likely isn’t the way either side wanted to preface the eight-year, $66MM extension he signed last summer. But if a back injury was plaguing him last season, it offers an explanation for his more down-to-earth .908 SV% and 3.01 GAA that ended up losing him the starters’ crease to Semyon Varlamov in playoff action. Sorokin did start in Game 3 of the First Round against the Hurricanes, but he allowed three goals on 14 shots before getting the yank from Roy.

Despite those struggles, there’s little question that Sorokin remains a top-10 netminder in the NHL entering this season. He still finished eighth in Vezina Trophy voting last season and built up quite the acclaim in the two years prior, posting a .924 SV% and 2.37 GAA with 13 shutouts in 114 appearances across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. He was the no-contest runner-up to Linus Ullmark in Vezina voting in 2023.

But if Sorokin’s recovery stretches into the regular season for whatever reason, the Isles still have a spectacular backup plan with Varlamov. Due to Sorokin’s brilliance, the 36-year-old Russian has been limited to fewer than 30 starts in each of the past three seasons, but he’s still been well above average. He had a .918 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and three shutouts in 28 appearances last season.

Sorokin, 29, was a third-round pick of the Isles back in 2014. He has a .919 SV% in 192 regular-season NHL games since arriving in North America in 2020.

Red Wings Sign Jonatan Berggren

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The Red Wings have signed restricted free agent winger Jonatan Berggren to a one-year deal worth $825K, per a team announcement.

It’s a fair pact for a player looking to return to a regular NHL role in 2024-25. After recording 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games during his rookie campaign in 2022-23, the 24-year-old Berggren spent most of last season with the Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He was limited to 12 NHL appearances in various call-ups throughout the year, still managing a pair of goals and six points while averaging 10:52 per game.

Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman hoped to save Berggren’s deal until after they came to terms with a pair of household-name RFAs in Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, but it wasn’t to be. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported earlier this month that having Berggren signed by the time training camp begins was a must for the Wings, giving him a full-length runway to reclaim a roster spot over the coming weeks.

Raymond and Seider remain without deals and will officially be training camp holdouts if they don’t sign by Wednesday morning. After signing Berggren, the Red Wings have $16.82MM in cap space to accommodate the RFA duo, per PuckPedia.

Despite the demotion, Berggren was electric in Grand Rapids. The 2018 second-rounder led the Griffins in scoring with 56 points (24 G, 32 A) in 53 games and added 10 points in nine playoff contests.

Even upon Raymond’s return, Berggren has a decent shot at claiming a top-nine role in Detroit this season with Robby Fabbri, David Perron, and Daniel Sprong out of the picture. If he holds out into the regular season, Berggren could even serve as a top-six placeholder for his countryman.

Berggren is no longer waiver-exempt, so the Red Wings would likely lose him to another club if they attempt to send him back to Grand Rapids again. He’ll have arbitration rights if he reaches restricted free agency next summer.

Penguins Sign Sidney Crosby To Two-Year Extension

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The Penguins have signed captain Sidney Crosby to a two-year, $17.4MM contract extension, the team announced. It carries a cap hit of $8.7MM.

Crosby’s deal will be paid out mostly in signing bonuses, per PuckPedia. He’ll earn $780K in base salary with a $9MM signing bonus in 2025-26 and a $1.09MM base salary with a $6.53MM signing bonus in 2026-27. As suspected, his contract includes a full no-move clause.

In an instant, a giant cloud that would have loomed over Pittsburgh’s training camp later this week dissipated. The two-year pact ends an unexpected extension saga that began two months ago after reports that Crosby and the Pens were finalizing a deal went unfulfilled.

Some anxiety returned when Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on the “32 Thoughts” podcast earlier this month that Crosby was still weighing multiple extension offers from the Penguins but had yet to put pen to paper because he wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to “handle” missing the playoffs on a retooling club while still performing at an elite level. The 37-year-old told Friedman last week that he was “pretty optimistic” an extension would be done before training camp.

The two-year length shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It allows the Penguins more salary cap flexibility in the future should the aging curve finally come for Crosby, as alluded to by Friedman on Friday, and it also gives him another opportunity to move on from Pittsburgh in 2027 should the Penguins’ record not return to a meaningfully competitive level.

Entering his 20th season, Crosby is still the heart and soul of hockey in Pittsburgh. The 2005 first-overall pick finished ninth in both Hart and Selke Trophy voting last season after leading the Penguins in goals (42), assists (52), points (94), and shots on goal (278).

“There are no words to properly describe what Sidney Crosby means to the game of hockey, the city of Pittsburgh and the Penguins organization,” said general manager Kyle Dubas. “Sidney is the greatest player of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the game. His actions today show why he is one of hockey’s greatest winners and leaders. Sid is making a tremendous personal sacrifice in an effort to help the Penguins win, both now and in the future, as he has done for his entire career.”

Crosby could have become an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer without an extension. The three-time Stanley Cup champion is entering the final season of the 12-year, $104.4MM mega-deal with an $8.7MM cap hit he signed in 2012. The first deal he signed following the expiry of his entry-level contract, a five-year, $43.5MM pact that covered from 2008-09 to 2012-13, also had an $8.7MM AAV.

He is still playing at a superstar level, yet this is a much more cost-effective contract for Pittsburgh than his previous ones. That first extension cost 15.34% of the cap when it went into effect in 2008, while today’s deal takes up just 9.89% of the salary cap at its start. That’s not to say his previous deals weren’t bargains, though – The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn estimates Crosby has left roughly $43MM on the table throughout his career by taking deals lower than market value.

Assuming a $92MM salary cap for 2025-26, the Pens have $23.3MM in projected cap space for next season with seven open roster spots, per PuckPedia. They only have one notable pending RFA, fresh trade pickup Cody Glass. But there’s a decent slate of pending UFAs on Pittsburgh’s books, headlined by defenseman Marcus Pettersson. Those extension talks are expected to shift into high gear with Crosby’s deal becoming official.

Crosby sits 21st in league history in goals (592), 14th in assists (1,004), 10th in points (1,596), and eighth in points per game (1.25) among players with at least 500 appearances. The latter is the most telling stat, with concussions costing ’Sid The Kid’ a good chunk of his prime in the early 2010s. He was rightfully named among the 100 greatest players in NHL history during the league’s centennial celebration in 2017.

The Penguins have missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, their first time outside the playoff picture since Crosby’s rookie season in 2006. Both sides hope Crosby’s discount deal helps them return to form.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Devils Sign Andy Welinski To PTO

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The Devils have signed defenseman Andy Welinski to a professional tryout, general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced Monday. The team also confirmed that former Sharks forward Kevin Labanc will be in camp, as initially reported Sunday by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Welinski, 31, hasn’t seen NHL ice since he was a part of the Ducks organization in the 2020-21 season. The Anaheim 2011 third-round pick has 46 games of NHL experience – all in Orange County – with a goal, five assists, six points, and a -2 rating while averaging 15:46 per game.

The organizational depth defender has been an AHL fixture in recent years. After a PTO with the Blues last year proved unsuccessful, Welinski settled for an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild. He posted 10 points in 27 games with the Minnesota affiliate before being sent to the Panthers organization at the minor-league trade deadline. He went without a point in eight appearances for the Charlotte Checkers.

Welinski looks to earn his first NHL contract in camp with the Devils since inking a two-way pact with the Rangers for 2022-23. The native of Duluth, Minnesota, is still a capable veteran puck-mover at the AHL level and would benefit New Jersey’s affiliate, the Utica Comets, especially early on in the season. They’ll likely be without a regular for the first few weeks of the campaign with Luke Hughes out with a shoulder injury, creating a ripple effect that will have one of the Comets’ top names on the NHL roster as a reserve on opening night.

In parts of nine AHL seasons, Welinski has 42 goals, 110 assists, 152 points, 119 PIMs, and a -17 rating in 319 appearances.

Devils Optimistic About Signing Dawson Mercer Before Camp

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The Devils continue to grind away at contract negotiations with restricted free agent forward Dawson Mercer, and there’s a sense of optimism the two sides will agree on a bridge deal before training camp opens Wednesday, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.

Talks seemed to be at a standstill for much of the summer until New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald told James Murphy of Responsible Gambling last month that he’d exchanged proposals with Mercer’s camp and was working toward an agreement. Multiple reports since then indicated a short-term contract was the likeliest outcome. PHR’s Brian La Rose examined possible comparables for Mercer’s pending deal earlier this month, exhausting any long-term options.

The Devils have less than $5MM in projected cap space to get a deal done, per PuckPedia. That number could increase slightly to begin the season if they place defenseman Luke Hughes on long-term injured reserve while rehabbing a shoulder injury. Still, they’d need to clear enough cap space to activate him quickly, as his absence isn’t expected to stretch past early November.

A bridge deal with a sub-$5MM cap hit seems fair to both sides after the season Mercer just had. The 2020 first-round pick’s third NHL season was his worst, posting career lows in assists (13), rating (-26), and shots on goal (134). That came despite a career-high 17:13 ATOI and playing in all 82 games yet again, continuing his career-opening ironman streak.

Yet Mercer, who turns 23 in October, hit 20 goals for the second time and projects as a reliable, versatile top-six utility piece who can play any forward position, even if his overall production this season reflected someone better suited for a third-line role offensively. After hitting 56 points in his sophomore campaign, it’s clear Mercer’s contract year was a bump in the road – one with unfortunate effects on his short-term earnings.

Avalanche, Canadiens, Flyers, Hurricanes Had Interest In Yaroslav Askarov

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The Avalanche, Canadiens, Flyers, and Hurricanes were the main contenders in trade talks with the Predators for top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov before he was dealt to the Sharks, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun writes for The Athletic.

Sources didn’t divulge details about those teams’ losing offers for the netminder, LeBrun said, but he did mention the Predators are high on Golden Knights 2023 first-rounder David Edstrom, who San Jose picked up in last season’s Tomáš Hertl blockbuster. That was likely the primary factor that led Nashville general manager Barry Trotz to pick the Sharks’ offer over the four others, all of which presumably included a first-round pick to have any degree of seriousness in discussions.

“I think we did a fair deal with San Jose,” Trotz told LeBrun. “In negotiating with [Sharks GM Mike Grier], it was always, ‘Let’s do a good hockey trade.’ You get the best prospect, you’re going to win the trade most times, but I’m really happy to get David Edstrom because we want to continue to add to our center ice. Our scouts really liked him. He was something we really liked at the draft. And getting the pick (Vegas’ 2025 first-round pick), it gives us a lot [of] draft capital now with three first-round picks next year.”

The full trade came across the wire on Aug. 23, just four days after Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported Askarov had submitted a formal trade request. San Jose also acquired forward prospect Nolan Burke and the Avalanche’s 2025 third-round pick, while the Preds also picked up goalie prospect Magnus Chrona in the swap.

But Nashville managed to keep the request under wraps before it leaked to the rest of the hockey world, per LeBrun. Askarov and his agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, told Trotz in a Zoom meeting on Aug. 2 that he wouldn’t report to training camp if he weren’t moved.

For the four runner-up clubs, it’s easy to see why they had interest. They each have quality goaltending prospects/youngsters in their own right, whether it be Justus Annunen in Colorado, Jacob Fowler in Montreal, Carson Bjarnason in Philadelphia, or Pyotr Kochetkov in Carolina. But aside from the latter, none of them profile as the potential true gamebreaker San Jose now has in Askarov.

The Avs didn’t have their 2025 first-rounder available after trading it to the Flyers for Sean Walker at this year’s deadline, making it hard for them to construct a competitive offer. The Flyers had plenty of first-rounders available – three of them – but they don’t have a low ’A’-tier prospect in their pool that they would have been willing to part with, like Edstrom. The Canes also had draft capital but were likely wary of moving on from their more polished prospects, many of whom they expect will make an NHL impact this season after losing a lot of names to free agency. The Habs have plenty of picks and prospects still stockpiled, but how many were they willing to make available without fully turning the corner in their rebuild?

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