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Minor Transactions: 07/19/22

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It hasn’t even been a week since free agency opened but things have already slowed to a crawl. After hundreds of NHL contracts were handed out, minor league deals are starting to come fast and furious. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Manitoba Moose have agreed to terms with three players to AHL deals, bringing back Evan Cormier, Thomas Caron, and Isaac Johnson. Cormier, a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2016, had a .905 save percentage in 14 games for the Moose this season.
  • In addition to first-round pick Emile Poirier, the Laval Rocket have also signed Alex Green and Kevin Poulin to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. Poulin, 32, was excellent for Laval this season, registering a .920 save percentage in 30 appearances.
  • Scott Wilson, Stanley Cup champion and veteran of more than 200 NHL games, has signed another AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers. The 30-year-old winger was a force for the team this season, scoring 24 goals and 40 points in 71 games while being his normal hard-working two-way self.
  • The ECHL’s Allen Americans have added an interesting player fresh out of college hockey. Hank Crone, 24, signed a one-year contract with the Americans after a strong final collegiate season with Northern Michigan University. In 32 games Crone had 44 points and showcased his all-around game as one of the team’s most heavily relied-upon forwards. Crone will make his pro debut in Allen and hope to translate his collegiate success to professional hockey.
  • Veteran professional winger Andrew Johnston was among the British EIHL’s top scorers in 2019-20, and now he’s returning to that league after two successful seasons in France. Johnston has signed a contract for 2022-23 with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers, per a team announcement. The former ECHL journeyman had 31 points in 39 games for the Rouen Dragons of the French Ligue Magnus and will join a Panthers squad eager to improve on last season’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.
  • The Minnesota Wild AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, announced that they have signed three players to one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) contracts: Mitchell Balmas, Kevin Conley, and Patrick Curry. Balmas, 24, is a former junior hockey star who led the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in scoring in his final season in juniors. 2021-22 was Balmas’ professional debut and he split time between the AHL and ECHL, and had five points in ten AHL games and 12 points in 17 ECHL games. Conley, 25, is the former captain of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks and made his professional debut as well last season, with three points in six games for the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Curry, 26, hasn’t quite cut it as an AHL forward yet, with just eight points in 53 career games, but he had a lot of success as an upperclassman at Boston University and had eight points in his five-game ECHL run with the Toledo Walleye.
  • Orli Znojmo of the European ICEHL could have a tough time repeating last season’s run to the playoffs. Two days ago, the team lost their leading scorer, Anthony Luciani, and it seems they’ve lost their captain this offseason as well. Per an announcement from his new club, Radim Matus, Orli Znojmo’s captain, has signed with Eisbaren Regensburg of Germany’s second-tier DEL-2. Regensburg are looking to establish themselves in DEL-2 after being promoted from the German third tier earlier this year, and Matus should be able to help them achieve that goal.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Emile Poirier Signs AHL Contract

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Emile Poirier is coming back to North America, signing a one-year AHL contract with the Laval Rocket. He returns after two years of playing overseas, splitting time between the KHL, SHL, and Slovakian professional league.

Selected 22nd overall in 2013, Poirier would quickly make it to the NHL with the Calgary Flames after an outstanding junior career that blended offensive skill and a good level of physicality. It would be a short-lived stint at the highest level though, as after eight games in his first two professional seasons, Poirier would be stuck in the AHL for the next several years.

In 2018 he would fail to receive a qualifying offer from the Flames when his entry-level contract expired, and after two fairly unspectacular seasons with the Manitoba Moose, it was off to Europe.

Now returning at the age of 27, perhaps the 6’2″ forward can carve out a new role with the Rocket and get his career back on track. Notably, however, this deal is a two-way minor league contract, meaning he will earn a different salary at the AHL and ECHL levels. That suggests his spot with the Rocket is by no means guaranteed, quite a fall for a first-round pick.

That pick was always likely an overreach by the Flames scouting staff–a group who had made Mark Jankowski their top pick just a year earlier. Perhaps buoyed by the confidence of picking three times in the 2013 first round, the Flames took Poirier quite a bit higher than many had him ranked, with NHL Central Scouting even putting him 39th among North American skaters in their final pre-draft list.

San Jose Sharks Sign Luke Kunin, Kaapo Kahkonen

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The San Jose Sharks have signed Luke Kunin to a two-year contract, according to PuckPedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.75MM. Kunin was eligible for salary arbitration this summer but chose not to file. Sharks general manager Mike Grier also announced Monday afternoon that the team has signed goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to a two-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the deal carries a cap hit of $2.75MM.

Kunin, 24, was acquired from the Nashville Predators this offseason in exchange for John Leonard (who also signed today) and a third-round pick. The young forward has changed his game in recent years to lean into his physicality, and after racking up a whopping 223 in 2021-22, he offers something new to the San Jose bottom six.

There’s also a bit of offensive skill in the 2016 first-round pick, who has double-digit goals in each of his last three seasons, all of them coming at even-strength or while short-handed. That kind of scoring upside will come in handy as the Sharks start to tear apart the old core and rebuild it under new general manager Mike Grier.

Notably, it will leave Kunin as a restricted free agent at its expiry, giving the Sharks a chance to re-assess whether he can be a long-term solution. He will once again be up for arbitration at that point.

Kahkonen excelled after San Jose acquired him at the Trade Deadline from the Minnesota Wild. The 2020 AHL Goalie of the Year had just a 2-6-1 record, but that was no fault of his own, posting a more-than-respectable .916 save percentage in 11 games played (10 starts). Kahkonen has a career .908 save percentage through 65 NHL games, 54 of which came with the Wild. He’ll join a crowded crease in San Jose next year that also includes James Reimer and Adin Hill.

The 25-year-old Finn will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when his new contract expires.

Minor Transactions: 07/18/22

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The NHL free agent frenzy has slowed down considerably as we head toward the end of the month but there are still lots of spots to fill in the AHL. While we head into the summer, we’ll be keeping track of all the notable minor moves around the hockey world.

  • The Utica Comets have signed Filip Bratt, Dylan Blujus, Xavier Parent, and Nolan Stevens to AHL contracts. Bratt, the younger brother of New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt, joins the organization after going undrafted and will try to work his way up to his brother’s level. His deal is a two-way minor league contract, meaning he’ll earn even less if he ends up in the ECHL.
  • The Providence Bruins have signed Fedor Gordeev to a one-year AHL deal, potentially giving the big defenseman a chance to play in the AHL after spending 2021-22 in the ECHL with the Iowa Heartlanders. Originally a fifth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017, he was eventually traded to the Minnesota Wild, where he signed his entry-level deal. This summer he was not issued a qualifying offer, making him a free agent and able to sign wherever he wanted.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Ottawa Senators Sign Rourke Chartier

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The Ottawa Senators have signed Rourke Chartier to a one-year two-way contract, confirming the terms first reported by CapFriendly a few days ago. The deal will pay the minor league forward $750K in the NHL and $165K in the AHL.

Chartier, 26, had been playing for the last few seasons on AHL contracts, after failing to receive a qualifying offer in 2019 from the San Jose Sharks. In 33 games for the Belleville Senators this year, he scored ten goals and 25 points, another one of the success stories from the upstart minor league club. Belleville went 40-28-4 this year and was loaded with talent from top to bottom, leading players like Chartier to resurgent years.

Originally selected 149th overall by the Sharks in 2014, Chartier eventually made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season and scored one goal in 13 appearances. His career other than that has been generally unremarkable, though this new contract will give him another opportunity to at least compete for a call-up.

Adam Clendening Signs AHL Contract

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The Rockford IceHogs are bringing back one of the best players in the minor leagues, signing an AHL contract with Adam Clendening for the 2022-23 season.

Clendening, 29, has played nearly 450 games in the AHL over parts of nine seasons, while also adding 90 NHL appearances over the years. One of the most consistent offensive defensemen in the league, he’s racked up nearly 285 points in his minor league career, been named a First and Second Team All-Star, and even won a bronze medal at the World Championship for the U.S. in 2021.

Coming off a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, Clendening taking an AHL deal shouldn’t be much of a surprise. His last NHL appearance came in 2018-19 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and though he is an excellent minor league option, his offensive playstyle doesn’t fit the mold of NHL depth defenseman very well. Instead, he is best used as a difference-maker in the minor leagues, and a return to Rockford will certainly give him that opportunity.

The Blackhawks have been very clearly hoping to load up their AHL team this summer while doing the opposite for their NHL club. Clendening’s return–he last played for the IceHogs in 2018 but has several stints in his career–should only help the success in Rockford. He is already the club’s all-time leader in points from a defenseman, a record he will add to this year.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Lawrence Pilut

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July 15: Pilut has sign a one-year, $750K contract to return to the Sabres.

July 8: When Lawrence Pilut decided to leave the Buffalo Sabres and take his talents to the KHL in 2020, the team still extended him a qualifying offer to retain his exclusive rights. That appears to have paid off, as Pilut’s contract in the KHL has been terminated and the Sabres are now “very interested” in bringing him back to North America, according to Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News.

Pilut, 26, was an undrafted free agent signing in 2018, following his offensive explosion at the SHL level. In his first season with the Sabres organization, he split time between the Sabres and Rochester Americans, making a huge impact at the AHL level with 26 points in 30 games. While his numbers haven’t been quite as good when deployed in the NHL, the 46 games he experienced were sporadic and inconsistent.

Now, after two years in the KHL, the puck-moving defenseman could be a nice addition to give the Sabres some additional depth at the position. Notably, if the Sabres wanted to bring him in and use him in Rochester, he would now have to clear waivers. That would give other teams a chance to claim him if they believed he can contribute in the NHL.

Seattle Kraken Sign John Hayden

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Last night, PuckPedia reported that John Hayden had signed a one-year two-way contract with the Seattle Kraken, and today the team confirmed the deal. Hayden will earn $750K at the NHL level and $325K in the AHL.

Now 27, Hayden played this season with the Buffalo Sabres, racking up 84 penalty minutes in 55 games. The 6’3″ forward has morphed into something of an enforcer type, after finding it difficult to contribute much offense in the NHL. A star for Yale University, he has just 15 goals and 35 points in 240 NHL games.

Still, it’s not like he’s been toiling in the minor leagues during that time. Hayden has just 24 games played in the AHL, all of them coming during his 2017-18 rookie season. Since then, he has been bouncing around the league but staying in the NHL, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, and Sabres over the last four seasons.

In Seattle, it’s hard to see him landing a full-time role but he might be able to stick around as a 13th or 14th forward, moving in and out of the lineup when necessary. No longer waiver-exempt, he would have to clear to be assigned to the minor leagues.

Ottawa Senators Sign Tomas Hamara To Entry-Level Contract

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Just the second pick outside of the first round from the 2022 NHL Draft has now signed the entry-level contract. Per CapFriendly, the Ottawa Senators did so today with Czech defenseman Tomas Hamara, who they selected in the third round (87th overall). His entry-level deal carries a cap hit of $852K with the following breakdown:

2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $15K performance bonus, $80K minors salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $80K minors salary
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $80K minors salary

Most public scouts would agree Hamara was a bit of a steal in that range, with most pegging him to go in the mid-to-late second round. Hamara played in a lot of different leagues and tournaments this past year, but he spent most of his time with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga, split between their main team and their junior team. He had a strong performance in juniors with 25 points in 32 games, and played in 24 games in the Liiga as well. He also saw some time in the Champions League tournament with Tappara, playing in four games.

In all likelihood, Ottawa will loan Hamara back to Tappara for the next two seasons, as he’s under contract there until 2024. He’s also a more raw prospect, and he likely needs some more conditioning before he’s even ready for AHL ice. Yet, he projects as a well-rounded two-way defenseman who should add nicely to Ottawa’s defensive depth on the left side with players like Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson.

New York Rangers Sign Turner Elson

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The New York Rangers have signed some AHL depth, inking forward Turner Elson to a two-year, two-way deal with a $762.5K cap hit, per CapFriendly. He’ll make $750K NHL salary in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24, while earning a minor salary of $225K in both seasons. He’s also guaranteed $250K in both years.

The 29-year-old Elson saw his first NHL action this year since he got his first NHL game all the way back in 2015-16. He’d spent the last five years in the Detroit Red Wings organization, serving as an alternate captain with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. His leadership there has obviously helped the Wings as the prospects they developed begin to hit NHL ice.

He’ll try and keep the same role in the Rangers organization, this time with the Hartford Wolf Pack. A dependable bottom-six AHL option, Elson should only see ice time with the Rangers if an extreme number of injuries occur.

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