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Devils Sign Jeremy Groleau To An Entry-Level Contract

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The Devils have added some defensive depth to their prospect pool.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that the team has signed defenseman Jeremy Groleau to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

The 18-year-old went undrafted back in June but has clearly made a positive impression with his showing at training camp so far.  Last season, Groleau played in 63 games with Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, picking up 15 points (4-11-15) along with 18 penalty minutes.  He also suited up in six postseason contests but was held off the scoresheet.  The Sagueneens also confirmed the contract (via Twitter).

Assuming he doesn’t make the Devils’ roster and play in ten or more games (a likely outcome), Groleau’s contract will slide a year so he will still have three years on his contract next season.  He also won’t count against New Jersey’s 50-contract limit which is notable considering the team already has 47 on the books and will want to keep some flexibility for in-season moves.

Snapshots: Seattle, Fabbri, Dauphin, Letestu

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Another key checkpoint has been reached in Seattle’s quest to be awarded an expansion NHL franchise.  The NHL to Seattle group announced that Seattle City Council unanimously approved their $700MM privately-financed proposal to renovate KeyArena to be the home for the team.  Now with an arena agreement in place and approved, the focus now turns to getting the franchise awarded.  Representatives from the Seattle group are expected to meet with part of the Board of Governors on October 2nd but a full vote on their expansion application isn’t expected until sometime in December at the earliest.

More from around the hockey world:

  • The Blues received a scare on Sunday when winger Robby Fabbri had to leave after one period following a lower-body injury. Considering he has missed the bulk of the last two seasons with ACL tears, some were understandable fearing the worst.  Fortunately, the news isn’t too bad as the team announced (Twitter link) that the 22-year-old is listed as day-to-day with a Grade One groin sprain.  He’s not expected to suit up tomorrow night but could potentially be back by the end of the preseason.  While it’s certainly concerning that he’s missing time already, it could have been a whole lot worse.
  • Coyotes center Laurent Dauphin is getting close to being cleared for contact following offseason knee surgery, notes Craig Morgan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He split last year primarily between Chicago and Arizona’s AHL affiliates but already has 34 career NHL contests under his belt.  If he is available near the start of the season, he could certainly push for a roster spot given their sudden uncertainty down the middle due to recent injuries.  If the team wants to send him back to the minors, he will have to first pass through waivers.
  • Following his release from the Panthers earlier today, unrestricted free agent center Mark Letestu plans to take a few days to assess how rosters are shaping up around the league before determining his next move, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 33-year-old is still a reliable player at the faceoff dot and is only one year removed from scoring 16 goals in Edmonton.  Portzline adds that a return to Columbus where he finished last season is a possibility though it may have to be on a two-way contract.

2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Through the first dozen picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)
10th Overall: Derick Brassard (Florida Panthers)
11th Overall: Bryan Little (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Nick Foligno (Atlanta Thrashers)
13th Overall: Semyon Varlamov (Toronto Maple Leafs)

After narrowly missing going one spot earlier, Varlamov won the nod here by a fairly notable amount, earning himself a ten spot boost over where he initially went.  While he has had some ups and downs as a starter with Colorado (after spending three years as the backup in Washington), he has carved out a reasonable career for himself as a number one netminder.  While Varlamov wouldn’t really fit in with their current roster, adding him in this spot may have prevented them from making as many moves chasing starting goalies as they did shortly after this draft class.  (In fact, they made one of those moves on draft day in 2006, swapping the rights to Tuukka Rask to Boston for Andrew Raycroft, a deal they’d like a mulligan on).

Now we’ll move on to the fourteenth overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally held by the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks turned to the WHL for their pick, selecting Austrian winger Michael Grabner who was coming off a strong 36-goal season.  However, he didn’t spend much time with Vancouver as he played in just 20 games with the team before being dealt to Florida in the 2010 offseason.  His time with the Panthers was even shorter as he was waived in training camp and picked up by the Islanders.

That’s where Grabner really made his mark.  He scored 34 goals in his first season with the team (his career high to this date) and picked up 144 points in 297 games with New York before being flipped to Toronto in what amounted to a salary dump in the 2015 preseason.  He played out that year in Toronto before joining the Rangers where he restored his value, collecting 52 goals in 135 games before being a deadline acquisition of the Devils as a rental player.  This summer, he joined the Coyotes in free agency, inking a three-year, $10MM deal.

Overall, Grabner ranks 21st among games played by players in this draft class (553) and 19th in points (249), making him a quality first rounder from this group.

With the benefit of hindsight, was he the right pick for the Canucks?  Have your say by making your pick for the fourteenth selection in the poll below:

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Minor Transactions: 9/24/18

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With AHL training camps starting up this week, several free agents that remained unsigned will be looking to latch on with a minor league squad.  Those are highlighted among today’s minor moves.

  • Wild UFA forward Adam Gilmour has signed a tryout deal with Ontario of the AHL, the Kings’ affiliate announced. The 24-year-old had a successful college career but has not found much success at the professional level.  He missed all of last season due to shoulder surgery and was non-tendered by Minnesota back in June.
  • Golden Knights UFA defenseman Chris Casto has caught on with Bridgeport of the AHL, per a team release. The 26-year-old was of the first players Vegas signed at the beginning of free agency last summer but he played strictly at the AHL level with Chicago, recording nine points in 61 games.  He qualified for Group Six unrestricted free agency because he has yet to play in 80 NHL games despite having five seasons of professional experience.
  • Goalie Justin Peters is trying out for the Toronto Marlies, per their training camp roster. He split last season between Latvia and Germany while also being on Canada’s Olympic squad.  Depending on what happens with Toronto’s goalie glut, the veteran of 83 career NHL games may be needed to give the organization some depth between the pipes this coming season.
  • Flames UFA winger Luke Gazdic has joined Anaheim’s AHL affiliate on a PTO, according to their camp roster. The 29-year-old spent all of last year with Calgary’s minor league affiliate in Stockton, picking up a pair of points and 59 penalty minutes in 61 games.  He last played in the NHL with New Jersey back in 2016-17.
  • Oilers prospect Ostap Safin is off to a new junior team. The Halifax Mooseheads announced that they’ve acquired the winger along with a 2021 fourth-round pick from Saint John in exchange for a 2020 first-rounder.  Safin was Edmonton’s fourth-round selection (115th overall) back in 2017 and signed his entry-level deal back in March.  However, unless he plays in ten NHL games in 2018-19 (which is very doubtful considering he has already been cut), his deal will slide a year and actually start in 2019-20.

Capitals Sign Alexander Alexeyev To A Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract

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Sept. 24: The Caps have officially announced the deal and revealed that the contract will carry an AAV of $925K.

Sept. 23: The Capitals have inked their top pick from the draft back in June, signing defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The blueliner announced the contract himself via his Instagram page.  Financial terms of the deal are not yet known.

The 18-year-old was the final pick of the first round (31st overall) of the draft following an impressive season with Red Deer of the WHL.  Injuries limited him to just 45 regular season games but he still led the Rebels in scoring from the back end with 37 points (7-30-37) while collecting five more (2-3-5) in three postseason contests.

Alexeyev has already been returned to Red Deer for the upcoming season so it’s extremely unlikely that he will reach the ten NHL games required to actually start the contract in 2018-19; he can now only be recalled under emergency conditions.  Accordingly, his deal will slide a year and will still have three years left on it starting in 2019-20.  He’s already off to a good start to his junior campaign with a pair of goals in as many games with the Rebels.

2018-19 Season Primer: Nashville Predators

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With the NHL season now less than two weeks away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Nashville Predators.

Last Season: 53-18-11 record (117 points), first in the Central Division (lost in the second round of the playoffs to Winnipeg, beat Colorado in the first round)

Remaining Cap Space: $8.73MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: D Dan Hamhuis (free agent, Dallas)

Key Subtractions: D Alexei Emelin (free agent, Avangard Omsk, KHL), F Mike Fisher (retirement), F Scott Hartnell (free agent, unsigned)

[Related: Predators Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Ryan Johansen – There has justifiably been plenty of talk about all of the team-friendly deals that the Predators have on the books that Johansen’s struggles have largely gone under the radar.  They acquired him midway through 2015-16 with the hope that he would become their number one center.  He hasn’t played poorly but he hasn’t lived up to expectations either.

Johansen is coming off of his lowest output since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, posting 15 goals and 39 assists in 79 games.  Those numbers aren’t terrible but not comparable to many other first line centers in the league and it’s certainly not great value for an $8MM contract.

His play last season also continued what has to be a somewhat concerning trend when it comes to his goal scoring.  In his final two full years in Columbus, he had 59 goals.  In the three seasons since then, he has just 43.  It’s safe to say that they were hoping for closer to 30 per year when they moved core blueliner Seth Jones for him.

With Nashville returning the majority of the roster from last season, they’ll be banking on internal improvements to help them take that next step forward.  Johansen is certainly going to be a key part of that.  Their attack is already pretty strong and if he can return to his form from just a few years ago (at 26, it’s still a realistic possibility), the Preds would become a much tougher team to beat.

Key Storyline: A changing of the guard is coming between the pipes in Nashville.  Pekka Rinne turns 36 in November and is entering the final year of his contract meaning he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in July.  Given his age and higher cost, he’s not going to be part of their long-term plans, even if he does ultimately re-up for another year or two.

Jusse Saros is viewed as their potential goalie of the future and really made a name for himself in the playoffs when Rinne struggled.  Nashville gave him a three-year deal over the summer (another one of those team-friendly contracts) and they may want to see if he’s ready to take on a larger workload.

With that in mind, will they bring their workloads closer to even and make a platoon situation?  Or will they run with Rinne as the lead goalie for one more year?  The Predators don’t have a whole lot of things to watch for this season but whether or not they start to up Saros’ workload in an effort to see if he can be their starter of the future (as early as 2019-20) is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Overall Outlook: Nashville was one of the top teams in the West last season and they’ve given no reason to think they won’t be in 2018-19 with every single core player returning.  So far, they’ve been a popular choice to contend for the Stanley Cup although there’s a pretty good chance they’ll have to get through Winnipeg in the second round to make it that far.  Either way, they’re a contender.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Islanders Sign Luca Sbisa

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Luca Sbisa’s tryout with the Islanders was a successful one as the team announced that they have signed the defenseman to a one-year contract.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the deal is worth $1.5MM.

The 28-year-old spent last season with Vegas but injury trouble limited him to just 30 regular season games.  He did fare relatively well in those contests, however, collecting 14 points (the second-best point total of his career) while logging over 19 minutes of ice time per game.  His role was more limited in the postseason though as he averaged just 16:07 of playing time in a dozen playoff games.  Even though Vegas is without RFA Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt (suspension), a reunion with the Golden Knights wasn’t in the cards.

Over his career, Sbisa has played in 495 regular season games between the Flyers, Ducks, Canucks, and Golden Knights, recording 18 goals and 84 assists along with 344 PIMS.

The Islanders lost some defensive depth on the left side with the departure of Calvin de Haan to Carolina as well as their decision to not retain midseason acquisition Brandon Davidson.  As a result, Sbisa could push to be their number six defender when the season gets underway less than two weeks from now.  If he fails to do so, he’ll at least be a capable injury replacement while being one of their more experienced rearguards (only two of their defensemen have more NHL games played than Sbisa does).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Nylander, Donato, Frk, Johnson

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Maple Leafs winger William Nylander is one of just three remaining restricted free agents and it doesn’t appear as if a deal is particularly close.  In an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested that there haven’t been many talks as of late between Nylander’s camp and the team.  The belief remains that Toronto is hoping to lock the 22-year-old on a long-term pact somewhere in the $6MM range but Nylander is seeking more than $7MM per year to be locked up long-term.  Understandably, the Leafs are going to try to hold a hard line knowing that contracts for top youngsters Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are on the horizon for next season.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While the Bruins appear to have a pair of roster spots up front, one of them has already been taken. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, that youngster is expected to break camp with the team.  That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the 22-year-old put up nine points in a dozen games after joining the team late last season although he was a frequent scratch in the postseason.  That leaves the rest of the roster hopefuls, including veteran tryout wingers Lee Stempniak and Daniel Winnik, vying for one last position.
  • Winger Martin Frk returned to practice for the first time since straining an oblique muscle at the beginning of training camp, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. He’s coming off of a career year after putting up 25 points in 68 games for the Red Wings last season and was eventually rewarded with a $1.05MM contract for the upcoming season but his spot on the roster isn’t exactly guaranteed with several youngsters pushing for spots.  Meanwhile, defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Danny DeKeyser will miss at least the next two games with what head coach Jeff Blashill is calling “minor tweaks”.
  • Lightning center Tyler Johnson will miss the remainder of the preseason due to an upper-body injury, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters, including Fox Sports’ Caley Chelios (Twitter links). Fortunately for him, Tampa Bay opens their 2018-19 campaign relatively late (October 6th) so he could still be available for when the puck drops on the season.

Brian Gionta Announces Retirement

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This time last year, many had written off veteran forward Brian Gionta as having played in his last game. Instead, the 39-year-old captained the U.S. Olympic team at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea and then returned home to a contract with the Boston Bruins for the stretch run and two rounds of postseason play. With that adventure added to a 16-year NHL career, Gionta now feels he can hang up his skates. The respected veteran announced at a press conference with the Buffalo Sabres today that he has retired from playing professional hockey. Gionta will remain with Sabres in a small off-ice role moving forward.

One of the most famed locker room leaders of his generation, Gionta served as the captain of both the Sabres and Montreal Canadiens during his career. He began as top prospect of the New Jersey Devils, a 1998 third-round pick out of Boston College. At BC, Gionta was a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist and helped the Eagles to three Hockey East championships. In his second pro season, Gionta helped the Devils to a Stanley Cup championship in 2003, during which run he played in all 24 playoff games and chipped in nine points. Gionta truly broke out in the first post-lockout season, finishing in the top ten in goal scoring with 48 goals and 89 points in 2005-06. After seven years in New Jersey, Gionta played five seasons with Montreal and then returned home to upstate New York for three seasons with Buffalo.

Altogether, Gionta recorded 595 points in 1026 NHL games. An extremely durable player, Gionta played in 75+ games in nine different seasons, often averaging upwards of nineteen minutes of ice time per night. At just 5’7″, Gionta was a pioneer of the movement toward smaller players in the NHL, as his play proved that small stature doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of toughness and grit. Gionta was also a model player, especially considering his two-way nature, as he stayed out of the penalty box for much of his career. Gionta will always be remembered for his unique style, versatility, hockey IQ, and of course, leadership. Should he really embrace the management side of the game with Buffalo, he will likely continue to find success in the game of hockey.

Ryan Kesler Cleared For Contact, Aiming For Season Opener

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At one point this off-season, there were major questions about Ryan Kesler’s health and whether the Anaheim Ducks center would play at all in 2018-19. While Kesler has a ways to go before he is back at 100%, he is certainly trending in the right direction and far from the doomsday speculation. According to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, Kesler has been cleared for contact and may even be available to the Ducks when the team debuts this season on October 3rd.

Kesler, 34, has been dealing with chronic hip issues for the past two seasons. After undergoing surgery during the 2017 off-season, Kesler began last season on the injured reserve and missed the Ducks’ first 37 games of the season. Yet, even once he returned, Kesler was still plagued by a sore hip and it showed in his play. He registered only 14 points in 44 games, saw a decrease in ice time, and was even forced to sit for a game and leave several others early. Kesler continued to rehab his hip this summer, but both he and the Ducks were unsure what the results would be in camp.

Per Stephens, Kesler’s performance to this point has been far better than expectations. Kesler has been skating throughout camp, but working separately from the rest of the team. That changed yesterday, when Kesler finally took part in line rushes and contact drills. Now the only question is how his body handles this increased workload. If Kesler is able to get back to full strength and work through a healthy level of pain management, then perhaps an opening night appearance is not out of the realm of possibility. However, working slowly and avoiding any further setbacks will be the primary focus of Kesler and the team.

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