After a flurry of long-term deals were handed out last week, this week was much quieter on the transaction front. However, there was still some news of note from the past seven days, recapped in our key stories.
Barnes Promoted: Even hockey fans who aren’t entirely familiar with advanced statistics have likely heard of the terms Corsi rating and Fenwick rating. Those were created by Tim Barnes, under the pseudonym Vic Ferrari. Barnes joined Washington’s front office more than a decade ago and he now has a new role with the team as he has been promoted to Assistant GM. He becomes the third AM under Craig Patrick, joining Ross Mahoney and Don Fishman. The Capitals are no stranger to getting creative with some of their front office moves; late in the spring of 2024, they purchased the former cap-tracking site CapFriendly, adding the staff from their site into the fold as well.
Back To Russia: Vitali Kravtsov’s return to North America didn’t go as well as he had planned. A so-so preseason saw the 2018 ninth overall pick land on waivers and after passing through unclaimed, the Canucks sent him to AHL Abbotsford. Things didn’t go better there as he managed just four points in ten games and with several others getting an NHL look before him, he requested and was granted a termination of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. He won’t be unsigned for long as it’s expected that he will sign a three-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, returning to the team he spent the last two seasons with, including putting together a 27-goal, 58-point performance in 2024-25.
Dubois Out Long Term: Pierre-Luc Dubois had a strong first season with Washington in 2024-25, posting a career-high 66 points while helping lead them to the Eastern Conference regular season title. Year two didn’t start strong with no points in six games and it has gotten even worse. He recently underwent surgery to address injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles; the estimated timeline for a return is three to four months. His absence will be a big one for a Washington team that has been slow out of the gate, sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division heading into tonight’s action. Dubois will be eligible for regular LTIR which would give them up to $3.82MM in additional spending flexibility. However, since they have more than that in regular cap room per PuckPedia, it’s unlikely they’ll be dipping into LTIR.
Kampf Suspended By Maple Leafs: After deciding he wanted to step away from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to ponder his playing future, the Maple Leafs suspended David Kampf without pay, further fueling speculation about a change being on the horizon. Believed to be a key issue here is the $1.325MM signing bonus paid back in July. If Kampf requests a contract termination, Toronto could be seeking repayment of that while the NHLPA would argue that it should remain with him. Kampf has been away from the Marlies for more than a week now so it feels like this should be coming to a conclusion in the near future.
Kyrou Scratched: One of the bigger stories of the week came from St. Louis. With the Blues struggling to start the season, head coach Jim Montgomery sent a message to his group by scratching Jordan Kyrou. The winger has had an okay start to his year with nine points in 15 games but after being in trade speculation over the summer, this could get him back in the rumor mill. Speaking of that rumor mill, reports are beginning to surface that the Blues could be looking to retool or at least shake up their roster so they could be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. One of those retooling moves won’t involve veteran winger Milan Lucic, at least for now, as he was released from his PTO and signed a PTO with their AHL affiliate in Springfield where he’ll continue his NHL comeback efforts.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.