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AHL Transactions Ledger: 07/13/23

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A busy summer in the minors continues with AHL teams loading up on talent to supplement their players on loan from their NHL parents. We’re keeping a list of today’s moves across the second-best league this side of the Atlantic here:

  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have agreed to terms with defenseman Zach Berzolla on a one-year deal, the team announced Thursday. The move marks his second stint as a member of the Wolf Pack, where he played eight games in 2021-22 and scored one goal. He spent last season mainly with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones while on an AHL contract with the Rochester Americans, finishing second among Cyclones defenders in scoring with six goals and 19 assists for 25 points in 56 games. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound defenseman is likely destined for ECHL assignment again, heading back to Cincinnati after the Cyclones entered an affiliation agreement with the Wolf Pack and New York Rangers earlier this summer.
  • The Rochester Americans signed former Minnesota Wild prospect Damien Giroux to a one-year contract today. The 2018 fifth-round pick made his NHL debut last season, notching an assist in an April 13th overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. After scoring just three goals in 67 AHL games, however, the Wild opted not to issue him a qualifying offer with his contract expiring this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. The former captain of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit still managed 22 points in the minors this season, though, placing him eighth on the Iowa Wild.
  • The Rockford IceHogs have signed center Seamus Malone to a one-year, AHL contract, according to a team announcement. Malone, 27, is a former Wisconsin Badger who has spent the last three seasons with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. Malone has scored 97 points in 110 games over the last two seasons and made his first ECHL All-Star game last year. While Malone hasn’t yet had much success at the AHL level (he has eight points in 41 career games in the American League) the IceHogs are hoping Malone’s recent exceptional ECHL performance will translate to the next level.
  • The Henderson Silver Knights signed 27-year-old defenseman Peter Tischke to a one-year AHL contract, according to a team announcement. Tischke spent last season with the Rochester Americans, skating in 24 games and notching four points. He’s played 78 career games at the AHL level and has 56 career games in the ECHL, almost entirely from 2019-20, his first campaign as a professional hockey player. The four-year Wisconsin Badger will now compete for a role on new head coach Ryan Craig’s Silver Knights blueline.
  • The Milwaukee Admirals have added defenseman Griffin Luce from the Springfield Thunderbirds on a one-year AHL contract. The 25-year-old is a six-foot-three physical presence who played four seasons at the University of Michigan before working his way into the AHL after starting in the East Coast league. Luce only played in 19 games last season but managed 45 games in 2021-22, and he even played in two playoff games as the Thunderbirds made a run to the Calder Cup Finals.
  • Former Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Eric Hjorth is reportedly signing a contract with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, according to Uffe Bodin of Hockeysverige. Hjorth, 22, was a fourth-round pick of Columbus at the 2019 draft, and the team allowed their exclusive rights to sign him elapse rather than sign him to an entry-level deal. Hjorth is a six-foot-one right-shot blueliner who has played the last two seasons in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second division. The Canadiens could have a relatively crowded AHL blueline due to prospects graduating from junior leagues, so Hjorth could be more likely to play with their ECHL affiliate in Trois-Rivieres than in Laval itself.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Nicolas Beaudin, Lucas Condotta

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The Montreal Canadiens have signed a pair of depth players this morning, inking defenseman Nicolas Beaudin to a one-year, two-way contract and forward Lucas Condotta to a two-year, two-way contract.

CapFriendly reports Beaudin’s contract has an NHL salary of $775K, an AHL salary of $90K, and a minimum guaranteed salary of $110K. Condotta’s compensation hasn’t been reported yet.

A 2018 first-round pick, Beaudin found himself in the Canadiens organization this season after they acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for minor-league forward Cameron Hillis just weeks into the campaign. The move has since panned out extremely well for both Beaudin and the Habs.

The 23-year-old defenseman had gone through some troubles adjusting to the pro game while in Chicago, issues undoubtedly exacerbated by the inconsistencies of playing time during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s also got a rather slight frame, standing at just 5-foot-11 and 168 pounds.

But things took off for the left-shot defender with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, where he scored twice and added 23 assists for 25 points in 39 games after the trade, trouncing last season’s offensive production. He saw some limited minutes at even strength, but he dominated them defensively – per data from Pick224, he was on the ice for just 16 goals at even strength in 42 total AHL games last year. He’s not expected to earn a spot with the Canadiens out of camp, but do look for him to take on an increased role in Laval next year.

The 25-year-old Condotta, meanwhile, made his NHL debut last April against the Boston Bruins, scoring a goal in the process. An undrafted free agent signing out of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Condotta scored 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 72 games with the Rocket in his first full pro season in 2022-23. He did so largely in a bottom-six role in the minors, where he’ll likely stick around as some younger and higher-ceiling Canadiens prospects take precedence.

Beaudin will be a restricted free agent again at the end of his deal, while Condotta’s extension walks him to unrestricted free agency in 2025.

AHL Transactions Ledger: 07/12/23

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The AHL remains a hotbed of activity as teams actively maneuver during this bustling offseason. From signing intriguing prospects passed over by NHL teams to adding seasoned veterans, AHL organizations are diligently fortifying their rosters, providing crucial support to their NHL affiliates. Today marks yet another day of action across the league, building upon the flurry of acquisitions witnessed in recent days. Here’s a compilation of all the notable moves that unfolded today as teams shape their squads in preparation for the upcoming season.

  • Forward Gabriel Bourque has reached an agreement with the Laval Rocket, the affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, on a one-year, one-way contract for the 2023-24 season. The 32-year-old, standing at 5-foot-9 and weighing 200 pounds, tied for ninth on Laval in scoring last season, notching 14 goals and 17 assists in 66 games. Given his status as the oldest and most experienced skater on the roster, Bourque assumed the role of captain for the Rocket from February 2023 through the Calder Cup playoffs after Montreal recalled then-captain Alex Belzile to finish the season in the NHL. With 413 NHL games and 321 AHL games under his belt in his career, the seasoned winger is set to embark on his third consecutive season with the Rocket after not suiting up during the 2020-21 campaign.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack, the affiliate of the New York Rangers, has announced the signing of defenseman Seth Barton and forward Drew Worrad to one-year contracts. Both players spent last season in the Detroit Red Wings organization, mainly with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Barton, 23, recorded two goals and three assists in 36 AHL games and two goals and six assists in ten games for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. He shone through in Toledo in the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs, impressing with 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) in 13 games. Selected 81st overall in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Red Wings, Barton has now amassed 12 career points (three goals, nine assists) in 60 AHL games over the past three seasons.
  • Meanwhile, Worrad, 26, also split his time between the Griffins and the Walleye in the 2022-23 season. In 47 AHL games, he contributed just two goals and two assists but excelled in the ECHL with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 25 games. Like Barton, Worrad continued to post solid numbers with Toledo in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, amassing five goals and three assists in 13 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

AHL Transaction Ledger: 07/11/23

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The AHL continues making moves in one of its busiest periods of the year. These signings include both promising young players and experienced veterans, as AHL teams aim to bolster their rosters and provide valuable support to their NHL affiliated-players. Today continues to be a flurry of activity in the league, adding to the numerous acquisitions made over the past few days. Here’s a comprehensive list of all the moves that took place today as teams continue to shape their squads for the upcoming season:

  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed hulking 6-foot-7 center Austin Rueschhoff for the 2023-24 season. Rueschhoff has played 134 AHL games thus far in his pro career, accumulating 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points. Starting out with the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2020-21 after signing an entry-level deal with the New York Rangers, he then led the team’s rookies with 14 goals in 2021-22 and then joined the Milwaukee Admirals late this season as part of a minor swap between the Rangers and Nashville Predators. In the Calder Cup Playoffs, Rueschhoff contributed five points (three goals, two assists) in 15 games for Milwaukee.
  • While the Penguins organization gained one player today, they also lost one to the Rockford IceHogs, as they’ve signed defenseman Josh Maniscalco to a one-year contract. The 24-year-old from Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, set a career-high in games played with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, recording four points (two goals, two assists) and a +4 rating. He spent most of the season with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL, though, where he’s truly excelled the past two seasons. In 2021-22, Maniscalco earned ECHL All-Rookie Team and ECHL Second All-Star Team honors after tallying 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists) in 64 games and contributing seven points (three goals, four assists) en route to a Division Final loss in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

AHL Transaction Ledger: 07/10/23

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With NHL rosters quickly getting filled up after free agency opened at the beginning of the month, we’re entering one of the busiest times of the year for the AHL. Players are now flocking to the minors for playing security next season, allowing AHL teams to snap up promising young talents and veteran players alike as they round out their complementary players to their NHL affiliate’s prospects and farmhands. AHL teams have been busy acquiring talent this morning, so we’re listing all of today’s moves in the league:

  • After getting his NHL contract with the New York Islanders mutually terminated, reigning AHL goal-scoring leader Andy Andreoff has officially left the North American pro circuit for KHL club Sibir Novosibirsk, signing a one-year contract. An alternate captain for the Bridgeport Islanders during his two seasons there, Andreoff’s 37 goals in 69 games were good enough to capture the league’s Willie Marshall Award for the first time in his career. This will be the 32-year-old’s first overseas experience, as the Canadian-born center developed through the OHL before beginning his pro career with the Los Angeles Kings organization in 2012.
  • Czech defenseman Andrej Sustr is joining Andreoff in heading overseas, signing a contract for 2023-24 with DEL side Kolner Haie. The veteran of 362 NHL games spent all of 2022-23 in the minors, posting three goals, 11 assists, 14 points, and a +8 rating in 51 games split between the Iowa Wild and San Diego Gulls. His NHL negotiating rights were temporarily dealt from the Anaheim Ducks to the San Jose Sharks at the end of last month, but the UFA has opted to return to Europe for his first overseas experience since spending two years in China with Kunlun Red Star from 2019 to 2021.
  • KHL club Dinamo Minsk joins Novosibirsk in nabbing some AHL talent today, inking forward Sam Anas and defenseman Yanni Kaldis to one-year deals. The 30-year-old Anas has played the last seven seasons exclusively in the AHL, accumulating 398 games of experience without ever receiving an NHL chance. The 2019-20 league leader in assists is fresh off a Calder Cup victory with the Hershey Bears, where he notched 12 points in 20 games of postseason play. Kaldis, 27, had spent the last three seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, where he registered 13 goals, 51 assists, 64 points, and a -2 rating in 132 games.
  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed one of their parent club’s unsigned prospects to a one-year deal for 2023-24, getting Austrian defender Thimo Nickl under contract. A 2020 fourth-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh acquired the 21-year-old defender’s signing rights in a minor swap at the end of March 2023. Nickl spent the last two seasons with AIK in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan, amassing 18 points and a -14 rating in 85 games. He’s a likely candidate for ECHL assignment and could spend a large portion of next season with the Wheeling Nailers.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have signed Canadian free agent forward Sahil Panwar to a one-year contract after he concluded his junior career in 2022-23. The 21-year-old exploded offensively after a mid-season move in the OHL to the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he would finish third on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 52 points despite playing just 34 games. A very late bloomer, Panwar also attended the New York Rangers’ recent development camp on an invitation basis.
  • Canadian defenseman Devante Stephens is returning to the Syracuse Crunch on a one-year contract. The 26-year-old registered 17 points in 64 appearances for the Crunch between 2019 and 2021, but spent the last two seasons with the Abbotsford Canucks and Tucson Roadrunners. A responsible bottom-of-the-lineup defender, he should compete for an everyday role in Syracuse among the Tampa Bay Lightning’s thin organizational defensive depth.
  • Nine players are heading to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, who are filling out their roster completely by themselves as they will not have an NHL affiliate next season. Forwards Peter Abbandonato, Hudson Elynuik, Kyle Marino, Cole Schneider, and Chris Terry, defensemen Tory Dello and Tyson Feist, and goaltender Adam Scheel have all signed one-year deals. The headliners here are Marino, who will rejoin the team in a bottom-six role after appearing in their 2022 Calder Cup championship run, and a pair of forwards with some limited NHL experience in Schneider and Terry. The Wolves now have 12 forwards, four defensemen, and one goalie signed to their roster for next season, so they still have a fair bit of work to do until their full complement of players is set.
  • A former second-round pick, Tyler Benson, has signed a one-year agreement with the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Henderson Silver Knights. The Silver Knights are getting an above-average player in Benson, as he scored 176 points in 217 career games with the Bakersfield Condors. During the 2020-21 season, although there were no Calder Cup playoffs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the AHL’s Pacific Division did have playoffs, and Benson was on the Condors team that defeated the Silver Knights in the finals.
  • The Utica Comets, an AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, announced a trio of signings today, adding Ryan Fitzgerald, Yushiroh Hirano, and Eric Cooley to AHL contracts today. Fitzgerald is the most recognizable of the group, spending the last three seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 45 games played over the last three years, Fitzgerald has 13 goals and 10 assists. Fitzgerald is the son of the Devils’ General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald.
  • The Manitoba Moose have signed forward C.J. Suess to a two-year contract, giving him playing security through 2025. Once a prospect of Manitoba’s parent club, the Winnipeg Jets, Suess spent last season in the San Jose Sharks organization, where he tallied 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 46 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and made one NHL appearance for the Sharks. The 2014 fifth-round pick previously amassed 166 games with the Moose during his time in the Jets organization, recording 45 goals and 83 points.

Sabres Notes: Free Agency, Wahlberg, Amerks

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While Buffalo was active on the opening day of free agency, their NHL signings were on the back end with the pickups of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton.  However, GM Kevyn Adams told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that they were also looking to make an addition up front and even got close to one before it fell through.  With Jack Quinn tearing his Achilles tendon in offseason training which will keep him out for a couple of months in-season at least, there’s now an open spot on the wing that they could have been looking to fill on a short-term deal.  With that in mind, the Sabres are a team to keep an eye out on as the UFA market slows down; perhaps a bargain option will present itself later in the summer.  Alternatively, Quinn’s injury could also put a possible Victor Olofsson swap on hold.

More from Buffalo:

  • Last month, the Sabres selected center Anton Wahlberg with the 39th selection in the draft.  Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News relays that Buffalo tried to trade for a second first-round pick without success and then tried to trade up in the second round (also without success) to secure Wahlberg, who was clearly rated much higher on their list.  Wahlberg was close to a point-per-game player in Sweden’s junior level last season and is poised to have a full-time spot with Malmo of the SHL in 2023-24.
  • Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester brought back three veterans yesterday, announcing the re-signings of forwards Mason Jobst and Brendan Warren along with goaltender Michael Houser on minor-league deals. Jobst had a career-best 38 points in 63 games for the Amerks last season while Warren chipped in with seven in 43 contests before putting up five in seven playoff appearances.  As for Houser, he had a 2.80 GAA with a .906 SV% in 21 appearances while having his contract converted to an NHL one for the third year in a row back in February.

Minor Transactions: 07/06/23

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The music is slowing down in this year’s game of free agent musical chairs, and fewer and fewer players remain without a seat for next season. Some top names such as Vladimir Tarasenko and Matt Dumba linger on the market, but by and large, teams have shifted towards making signings more geared to depth roles in their lineup.

Free agents of that general caliber are also the players minor-league teams and teams in foreign leagues are targeting, meaning there’s been quite a bit of player movement today across the hockey world. As always, we’ll log those transactions and provide some context to them here.

  •  Zachary Fucale, once a top goalie prospect earlier in his career, will likely play in Europe for the first time as a pro hockey player in a few months. The 28-year-old former Washington Capitals farmhand signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL. Fucale posted a .902 save percentage in 38 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears this past season and won the Calder Cup. As a two-time Spengler Cup winner, Fucale has had some success playing against European club competition, and he’ll say goodbye (for now) to North American pro hockey having appeared in four NHL games and registered a memorable shutout in his NHL debut.
  • 2018-19 AHL Defenseman of the Year and three-time AHL All-Star Zach Redmond has agreed on a mutual contract termination with his club, DEL champions EHC Red Bull Munich. The soon-to-be-35-year-old rearguard had spent the last three seasons in the Bavarian capital, leading the DEL in points by a defenseman in his first year and goals by a blueliner in his second. His seven points in 12 playoff games helped propel Munich to a DEL title over ERC Ingolstadt, and now Redmond could be eyeing a return to North American pro hockey with this contract termination.
  • The New York Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, announced the signings of three forwards to AHL contracts: Cole Bardreau, Jeff Kubiak, and Joey Cipollone. Bardreau, 29, scored 15 goals and 31 points in 67 AHL games last season and has been a top-nine staple in Bridgeport since 2019. Kubiak, also 29, is a defensive specialist at the AHL level who routinely features on Bridgeport’s penalty kill. He’s been with the Islanders organization since he turned pro out of Cornell University in 2017. Finally, Cipollone, 23, is a winger who won the NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship last season with Quinnipiac University and is now set to make his pro debut.
  • Former Minnesota-Duluth captain and two-time NCAA Men’s Hockey National Champion Nick Wolff has signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, confirming his exit from the Providence Bruins after three seasons in Rhode Island. Wolff is a 26-year-old left-shot blueliner who stands six-foot-five, 223 pounds. He’s brought physicality to a reserve role with Providence so far in his pro career, and now heads out west to a revamped San Diego Gulls squad, where he could end up playing along the right side next to one of the Ducks’ high-end young defenders, such as Olen Zellweger or former Minnesota Golden Gopher Jackson LaCombe.
  • The AHL’s Utica Comets have signed rugged defenseman Colin Felix, an NCAA Men’s Hockey National Champion at UMass Amherst, to a one-year, one-way AHL contract. The 24-year-old turned pro last fall and skated in 72 games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. He scored eight goals and 27 points and collected 139 penalty minutes, bringing physical two-way ability to the Royals’ blueline. Now, the Comets are hoping Felix can do the same for their back end, a defense that needed to replace a right-shot blueliner after the trade of Reilly Walsh to the Boston Bruins. The Comets have also signed Jeremy Brodeur, son of legendary Devils netminder Martin Brodeur, to a two-way NHL/ECHL contract, bringing him over from the EIHL where he was the starter for the Manchester Storm.
  • Alex-Olivier Voyer, a former QMJHL star with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, has signed a one-year, one-way AHL contract with the Laval Rocket. Getting a one-way deal in the AHL is a victory for Voyer, who dropped from playing mostly in the AHL in 2021-22 to the ECHL in 2022-23. Voyer had scored only eight points in 41 games with the Providence Bruins in 21-22, but managed 23 goals and 43 points in 48 ECHL games this season, not only securing himself a spot back in North America’s second-tier pro league but also a spot in his home province.
  • Former Hobey Baker Award finalist Dylan McLaughlin has signed a contract with Vaxjo Lakers HC, the reigning champions of Sweden’s SHL. The deal is McLaughlin’s first foray into European pro hockey. The 28-year-old had a difficult 2022-23 campaign, playing just nine games total. The year before, though, McLaughlin broke out, scoring 42 points in 55 games for the Rockford IceHogs. Now McLaughlin will compete for a role in Sweden and potentially help Vaxjo secure a second consecutive title.
  • Undersized 25-year-old blueliner Joseph Duszak has climbed the pro hockey ladder since concluding an exceptional three-year NCAA career, but hasn’t yet received any NHL call-ups. He began in the ECHL with the Newfoundland Growlers, and scored 35 points in 34 games from the blueline. He was named an ECHL All-Star and ended up earning a job in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. Duszak excelled in Toronto, scoring 52 points in 61 games in 2021-22 and earning AHL Second-Team All-Star honors. After that strong AHL campaign, Duszak likely viewed excelling overseas as his next step towards earning NHL consideration, so he signed in the KHL with Dynamo Minsk. Duszak was exceptional in Belarus, finishing behind former Boston Bruin Ryan Spooner for the team lead in points with 45 in 68 games played. Now, he’s signed a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds likey with the hope of producing well once again and finally earning an NHL shot.
  • Former Buffalo Sabres prospect Jordon Southorn, one of the top blueliners in Slovakia’s Tipos Extraliga, has signed a one-year deal with the Augsburg Panthers of the DEL. The 33-year-old Canadian moved to Slovakia in 2018-19 mid-season, and made an instant impact with Banska Bystrica HC 05, winning a championship there. He led the Slovak league in points by a defenseman with 51 in 2019-20, and took home another league championship a few months ago with HC Kosice. Now, he’ll head to Germany to bolster the blueline of a club that only narrowly avoided relegation to the DEL2 in 2022-23.
  • Austrian national team defenseman Dominique Heinrich is returning to his hometown of Vienna after playing over 600 games at Austria’s top level of pro hockey with EHC Red Bull Salzburg. The five-foot-eight 32-year-old won a sixth title with Salzburg this past season, though he skated in a career-low 26 regular-season games. Now both Heinrich and Salzburg are moving in a different direction, as Heinrich has signed a contract with the Vienna Capitals, a rival ICEHL club. It’s a major signing for a Vienna team looking to finally push themselves across the finish line next season, as their many deep playoff runs since their 2016-17 title have ended in failure.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Bruins Sign Kyle Keyser To One Year Contract

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Ty Anderson of NBC Sports Boston tweeted that the Boston Bruins have signed goaltender Kyle Keyser to a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775K at the NHL level and $90,000 while Keyser plays in the AHL. The 24-year-old was a restricted free agent after spending the bulk of last season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins. Anderson also added the team has signed forward Jakub Lauko to a two-year contract carrying a cap hit of $787.5K. It’s a partial two-way/one-way deal, breaking down as follows, per CapFriendly:

2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $200K AHL salary, $300K guaranteed salary
2024-25: $800K NHL salary

The native of Coral Springs, Florida, went undrafted after coming out of the OHL, where he played a single season with the Flint Firebirds before spending three years with the Oshawa Generals. He posted solid numbers in his last two years in Oshawa and caught the attention of the Bruins, who signed him to an entry-level contract in 2019.

Since signing his original deal, Keyser has spent the past four seasons in Providence but has shuffled back to the ECHL on several occasions. His best ECHL season came with the Jacksonville Icemen in 2020-21, where he went 9-9-2 with a 2.46 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Last season in the AHL with Providence, Keyser posted a .900 save percentage with a 2.72 goals-against average as he went 13-6-2. He was called up to Boston at one point during the year but never dressed for an NHL game.

At 24 years old, it’s hard to call Keyser a prospect anymore, and his play hasn’t exactly warranted a call-up, particularly with how stacked the Bruins’ goaltending depth is at the NHL level. His numbers in the AHL have been pedestrian thus far, as last season, he finished 44th in AHL save percentage out of 74 goaltenders. Given his track record, it seems likely that Keyser will continue to be a depth AHL goaltender in the Bruins system.

Lauko appeared in 23 games for the Bruins, his first set of action in the NHL. Recording four goals and seven points, he didn’t look out of place and will certainly warrant additional call-ups in the coming season – if he doesn’t make the team out of camp. Most would have him penciled in for a fourth-line role ahead of other depth signings like Jayson Megna, and he’s outperformed other Bruins prospects like Oskar Steen when given NHL minutes.

Minor Transactions: 07/04/23

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It’s another busy day across the hockey world, with NHL teams still hard at work on preparing their teams for next season. Teams across the hockey world, in both minor and overseas pro leagues, are doing the same. We’ll keep track of any notable moves they make here.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev has left the organization for Russia and signed a two-year contract with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk, according to a team announcement. Der-Arguchintsev, set to turn 23 in September, was a 2018 third-round pick of the Maple Leafs, and while he has been a quality scorer in both the OHL and AHL, he hasn’t been able to break into the NHL on any sort of consistent basis. He’s earned one NHL call-up in his career, and has played just over seven total minutes in the world’s top league. Over the last two seasons Der-Arguchintsev has scored 72 points in 101 games, but as a relatively light five-foot-ten center his profile doesn’t fit what most NHL teams want out of bottom-six players. So rather than spend more time developing in the AHL, Der-Arguchintsev is headed closer to home to see if he can become a star forward in the KHL.
  • The AHL’s Ontario Reign have signed two-time AHL All-Star Charles Hudon to a two-year contract. The two-year term of this deal is an important aspect of the contract from Hudon’s perspective, as the 29-year-old has played for a new club in each of the last three seasons. This deal re-unites Hudon with Marc Bergevin, the Los Angeles Kings executive who drafted Hudon back when Bergevin was the GM of the Montreal Canadiens. Hudon is an elite AHL scorer with 308 points in 380 career games. While it’s somewhat surprising that Hudon, who played in nine NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche last season, couldn’t earn a two-way NHL deal, he now gets some stability with this two-year AHL deal and the opportunity to be a leading scorer in California.
  • 2017 Nashville Predators second-round pick Grant Mismash has signed a one-year contract with Ostersunds IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second division of pro hockey. The 24-year-old heads overseas after just two seasons and less than 100 total games played in North American pro hockey. Mismash played four seasons at the University of North Dakota before earning a two-year entry-level deal from the Predators.  Mismash was largely ineffective for Nashville’s AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, and was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning that offseason. Traded to a team who he wasn’t drafted by, Mismash began the season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch but after failing to appear on the scoresheet after five games he was sent down to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, where he would spend the rest of the year. He scored 19 points in 32 games for Orlando and will now test his luck in Sweden hoping to help keep Ostersunds afloat and away from relegation to third-tier HockeyEttan.
  • After two full seasons in the AHL, Vegas Golden Knights prospect Maxim Marushev is headed back to Russia. The 2020 seventh-round pick has signed a trial contract to take part in training camp with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan, and is likely hoping to win a job and earn a full-time KHL contract with the side. Marushev played for Kazan before heading over to North America and scored very well for their minor-league affiliate in Russia’s VHL. Marushev managed just 37 points in 125 games in the AHL, meaning he may need to put together some strong performances at the KHL level before he earns another shot in North America.
  • Big Joseph LaBate, an AHL veteran and former Vancouver Canuck, has signed a one-year contract to play for the KHL’s Kazakh club, Barys Astana. The six-foot-five, 213-pound American winger has over 400 career AHL games on his resume. He spent last season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 53 games to go along with 100 penalty minutes. With the Wolves now going it alone as an independent AHL franchise, the team’s limited spots to dress veteran pros are at more of a premium, since they aren’t guaranteed top prospects from an NHL affiliate to fill premium lineup roles. So since LaBate is a bottom-six player, Chicago may not have been able to offer him a contract extension, leading to today’s news that he’s headed overseas for the first time in his pro career.
  • 28-year-old AHL veteran defenseman Josh Healey has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. The 28-year-old brings over 200 games of AHL experience to the table and has worn a letter on his jersey earlier in his career. Although he only played in 12 games this past season, Healey brings playoff experience and should be able to capably log minutes next to the large crop of young defensemen set to play in Rockford next season, including 2021 first-round pick Nolan Allan two-time WJC Gold Medalist Ethan del Mastro.
  • Jeremy Brodeur, the son of legendary NHL netminder Martin Brodeur, has been released by his club of last season, the EIHL’s Manchester Storm, in order to fulfill an AHL contract he has signed for this season. While Brodeur’s AHL landing spot for next season has not yet been revealed, this is a welcome development for his career after he spent his first-ever season playing pro hockey outside North America. Brodeur played 36 games in the United Kingdom’s top pro hockey league, posting a .917 save percentage and leading Manchester to the league’s playoffs. Now, he gets another chance to prove himself in the AHL or ECHL, the leagues he played in from 2017-18 through 2022-23.
  •  High-flying ECHL star Pavel Gogolev has signed a one-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, confirming his exit from North American pro hockey after three seasons as a Maple Leafs farmhand. A former high-scoring member of the OHL’s Guelph Storm, the 23-year-old forward notched 33 goals and 65 points in just 46 regular-season games for the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers. He even added 17 points in 16 playoff games after that, and will now get a chance to play in the KHL for the first time in his career.
  • The AHL’s Laval Rocket have signed netminder Zachary Emond to a one-year, two-way AHL/ECHL contract. The 23-year-old former San Jose Sharks prospect doesn’t have extensive pro experience just yet but is now in line to potentially play a regular role for the Rocket’s ECHL affiliate, the Trois-Rivieres Lions. Emond is likely to compete against fellow recent signing Strauss Mann and prospect Jakub Dobes for a backup role behind starter Cayden Primeau, though Primeau is now waivers-eligible so there is always the possibility he isn’t able to play in Laval and is instead claimed. This deal has solidified the Canadiens organization’s goaltending depth beyond just those on NHL contracts, and while Emond will have to fight for his role against the other mentioned names he’ll get a chance to do so a lot closer to where he calls home.
  • Former Boston Bruins forward and one-time AHL All-Star Carter Camper has signed a one-year contract with defending Finnish and Champions Hockey League champions Tappara Tampere. Tappara are adding Camper from Switzerland’s EV Zug, and are getting a player who only recently was a point-per-game scorer in the SHL with Leksands IF. Camper, 34, is a former college hockey star who has 421 career points in 558 total AHL games. He last played in North America in 2019-20, scoring 41 points in 48 games for the Utica Comets.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hire John Gruden

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs have added to their organizational coaching staff, naming John Gruden as the head coach of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies today.

Toronto cut ties with their entire AHL coaching staff a little over six weeks ago – in fact, it was on the same day they announced Kyle Dubas wouldn’t be returning as general manager. Head coach Greg Moore, as well as assistants A.J. MacLean and John Snowden, were let go after the team lost in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs to the Rochester Americans.

Now Gruden, 53, comes in as an AHL rookie. He’s spent the last five seasons in NHL coaching roles, serving on the New York Islanders’ bench for four years from 2018 to 2022 before joining Jim Montgomery’s staff in Boston for 2022-23. Before that, he spent three seasons (2015 to 2018) as an OHL head coach with the Flint Firebirds and Hamilton Bulldogs, as well as four seasons as an assistant coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (2011 to 2015). There, he was part of the 2012 and 2014 gold-medal-winning teams at the World Juniors, and he also guided Hamilton to an OHL championship in 2018, his final season.

A former NHL defenseman, Gruden amassed 92 games over six seasons with the Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals. The father of current Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jonathan Gruden, he last played in 2004 in Washington.

Maple Leafs assistant general manager and director of minor league operations Ryan Hardy had this to say:

We’re very pleased to name John as the Head Coach of the Toronto Marlies. John has supported the development and performance of his players throughout his coaching career while delivering team success at every level. His resume from the U.S. National Team Development Program to the OHL and eventually the NHL has armed him with a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be invaluable to both players and staff.

He’ll head up a Marlies roster next season that’s expected to include prospects like 2019 fourth-round pick Nick Abruzzese, 2020 second-round pick Roni Hirvonen, and 2020 third-round pick Topi Niemela. The team has not yet announced his assistants.

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