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Chicago Blackhawks Sign Three Players

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If you wondered who else would play goal for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, wonder no more. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that Alex Stalock has signed a one-year, $750K contract with the team. They also signed Luke Philp to a one-year, two-way deal ($750K NHL / $250K AHL) and Brett Seney to a one-year, two-way deal ($750K NHL / $400K AHL).

Stalock, 34, is an experienced backup goaltender who played in a backup role for the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild from 2013-14 to 2019-20. Stalock did so with moderate success, and he owns a career .908 save percentage. Stalock’s final year in Minnesota was perhaps his most impressive, as he posted a .910 save percentage playing 38 games. After that year, Stalock missed an entire year of hockey battling a heart condition he contracted after an earlier bout of COVID-19.

Stalock made a recovery and returned to the ice in 2021-22, but could not re-discover his game. In 12 games for the AHL San Jose Barracuda, Stalock went 1-8-2 with a .872 save percentage, and in 46 minutes of NHL action Stalock let in six goals on 28 shots.

The Blackhawks are signing Stalock with the hope that he can return to the form that saw him become one of the more reliable backup goalies in hockey, unless, of course, you subscribe to the belief that  GM Kyle Davison and the Blackhawks are intentionally fielding a flawed roster in order to land the highest draft pick possible at the 2023 draft. Because if that’s their goal, Stalock having a similar 2022-23 to his 2021-22 could help them to get them there.

Philp, 26, has spent three productive seasons with the AHL’s Stockton Heat after leaving the University of Alberta. After his first 20-goal season in the AHL last year, he’ll be counted on within the top-six forward group next season for the Rockford IceHogs. The same can be said for Seney, although with him having more NHL experience, he could find a home as an extra on the NHL roster with Chicago’s paper-thin NHL depth.

Boston Bruins Expected To Sign Dan Renouf

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The Boston Bruins are getting some AHL depth on defense, according to Bally Sports’ Andy Strickland. They’re bringing in Dan Renouf on a two-year, two-way deal.

While Renouf’s a name most NHL fans aren’t going to be familiar with, fans of the Grand Rapids Griffins are certainly going to know his name. The 28-year-old undrafted player returns to New England for the first time since he manned the blueline for the University of Maine from 2013-14 to 2015-16.

Since turning pro, Renouf has been a steady, reliable defensive specialist at the AHL level. Last season, Renouf played 63 games for the Griffins, scoring 14 points. More importantly, Renouf played over 20 minutes per night and anchored the Griffins’ penalty kill. The Griffins’ shorthanded unit ranked 29th out of 31 AHL teams, but one has to consider the inconsistent goaltending the team received before pinning that all on Renouf.

Renouf has 23 career NHL games to his name and heads to Providence after a year where he played in four NHL games. He’ll likely be down on the list of defensemen GM Don Sweeney will call up when he needs to fill in for an injured Bruins defenseman, though that won’t stop him from likely playing a valuable role as a top-four defenseman and penalty killer on the Providence Bruins.

Seattle Kraken Sign Andrew Poturalski

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The Seattle Kraken are signing one of the AHL’s best, getting forward Andrew Poturalski on a two-year, one-way deal, per his agency Bartlett Hockey. Poturalski is coming off of a Calder Cup championship with the Chicago Wolves.

The 28-year-old undrafted forward may have only four NHL games to his name, but make no mistake: this is one of the deadliest scorers the AHL has to offer. Forming a lethal partnership with Stefan Noesen, Poturalski scored 28 goals and 101 points in just 71 games and topped that regular-season brilliance off with 23 points in 19 playoff games. This year wasn’t a fluke, either, as Poturalski has been a highly productive player for the majority of his AHL career.

By signing in Seattle, Poturalski has secured a starring role on the AHL’s newest team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. In signing Poturalski, the Firebirds have made a major splash and signed the player who is likely to lead them in scoring. Coach Dan Bylsma now has a top-of-the-lineup scoring threat and this signing is indicative of the Kraken organization’s desire to give their AHL affiliate all the tools they need to have a strong first season.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Charles Hudon, Andreas Englund

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The Colorado Eagles will be happy today, as their NHL affiliate has provided a top forward. Charles Hudon has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Colorado Avalanche according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal carries an NHL salary of $750K, an AHL salary of $400K, and a minor league guarantee of $450K. The team also announced a one-year deal for defenseman Andreas Englund.

Hudon, 28, is an accomplished AHL scorer and is getting a hefty $450K guarantee as proof of that. Hudon had 30 goals and 57 points in 66 games last season for the Syracuse Crunch and 35 points in 46 games in his last AHL season before that. In 2020-21, Hudon proved he could be productive at other levels of hockey outside of North America, scoring 32 points in 33 games for Lausanne in Switzerland. Hudon joins the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, a team that has lost a few key contributors already today, such as top defenseman Jordan Gross.

One AHL-er who won’t be leaving the Colorado Eagles is Englund. The 26-year-old Stockholm native has re-upped with Colorado on a one-year deal. Englund was a bottom-pairing defenseman for the Eagles playing a very specific style. He’s a big, bruising defenseman who spent 106 minutes in the penalty box last year. The 2014 second-round pick has 33 games of NHL experience and should occupy a similar AHL role in 2022-23 to the one he occupied last season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Xavier Ouellet

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added a bit of depth, signing Xavier Ouellet to a two-year contract according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal will be a two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750K and AHL salary of $450K.

The thing that sticks out about this signing is Ouellet’s $450K AHL salary. That’s a premium number for an AHL-er, and likely a representation of the Penguins’ desire to improve things in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Ouellet can help them do that, there’s no question about that. Ouellet, the Captain of the Laval Rocket, led the Rocket on a run to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Final and led them there as the team’s number-one defenseman. Ouellet, 178 career NHL games, led the Rocket in average ice time, eating over 22 minutes per night. He also was a major player on both the Rocket’s special teams units and finished with 41 points in 61 games.

Make no mistake, this deal is a major win for Wilkes-Barre Scranton and unlikely to have any major impact in Pittsburgh. Ouellet’s last NHL action came during the Canadiens’ two-round run in the bubble, and over the course of his NHL career, Ouellet has been simply a fine injury replacement/depth defensive defenseman. That’s the role he’ll occupy in Pittsburgh, and he may get games if the team suffers poor injury luck, as they often do.

But in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, his impact will be far greater, as the Penguins have just gotten an AHL number-one defenseman for their affiliate, at a price that affirms the Penguins’ new ownership’s commitment to building a winner at the AHL level as well as the NHL level.

Nashville Predators Sign Devin Cooley, Jimmy Huntington

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July 13: Nashville made the contract official today, also announcing that they’ve signed forward Jimmy Huntington to his qualifying offer. Huntington, who Nashville acquired mid-season in a minor swap with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was strong down the stretch with the Milwaukee Admirals, notching 28 points in 43 games across both the regular season and playoffs.

July 12: After receiving a qualifying offer yesterday, Devin Cooley isn’t going to wait around. PuckPedia reports that Cooley will accept the offer, meaning he’ll sign a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators worth $787.5K at the NHL level and $70K in the AHL.

Cooley, 25, was signed as an undrafted goaltender out of the University of Denver in 2020 and has spent the last two years climbing the minor league ladder. Starting in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades, he has since made his move up to the Milwaukee Admirals, where he started 24 games during the regular season. Then, in the playoffs, he took his game to an entirely new level with a .926 save percentage in seven games, likely enough to land him that qualifying offer in the first place.

Standing 6’5″ and with steadily increasing performance, Cooley is an interesting player to follow this season. If his overall AHL numbers go up again, the Predators might have a late-bloomer on their hands with a legitimate NHL future. It’s worth a one-year deal to find out, given he’ll be waiver-exempt again and can go right to the minor leagues.

Notably, a one-year deal will also make Cooley a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer (unless he somehow gets into 28 games in the NHL), meaning you might see a mid-year extension if he’s doing well for the Admirals.

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Stefan Noesen

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The Carolina Hurricanes announced Tuesday that the team has reached a new agreement with forward Stefan Noesen on a two-year, partial two-way deal to keep him in the Carolina organization. The contract has a cap hit of $762,500, with the breakdown as follows:

2022-23: $750,000 NHL salary, $500,000 minors salary, $550,000 guaranteed
2023-24: $775,000 NHL and minors salary

Noesen had a successful first year with the Hurricanes, guiding their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to the 2022 Calder Cup. Noesen led the AHL in goals with 48 and added on 37 assists for 85 points in 70 games. He had a strong Calder Cup Playoffs run as well, notching 25 points in 18 games. It marked a full-time return to the AHL for Noesen, who had spent the majority of his time in the NHL from 2016-17.

Now 29, Noesen is still a reliable call-up in case of an injury but doesn’t have much everyday NHL upside anymore. He hasn’t registered a point in the NHL since 2019-20 when he had seven goals and two assists in 40 games split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks.

Poised to reprise his role as an alternate captain in Chicago next year, Noesen will be charged with helping lead a group of young Carolina forward prospects that includes Jack Drury, Ryan Suzuki, Jamieson Rees, and Noel Gunler.

 

St. Louis Blues Sign Hugh McGing

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The St. Louis Blues have signed Hugh McGing to a one-year, two-way contract extension, after giving him a qualifying offer yesterday. The deal will pay him $750K at the NHL level and $90K in the AHL, the kind of compromise you’ll see from lots of players over the next few weeks. McGing’s qualifying offer would have been worth $874K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL but since he isn’t likely to spend much time at the upper level, he took the slightly higher AHL salary.

Originally selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, the 24-year-old McGing was only in his second season of professional hockey this year after a long career at Western Michigan University. In 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, he scored 14 goals and 34 points and was a strong contributor during the team’s run to the Calder Cup Final.

Now back on a one-year deal, he’ll be a restricted free agent again next season and arbitration-eligible.

The signing leaves St. Louis with five restricted free agents, including Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich, and Klim Kostin. The team decided not to issue Tanner Kaspick a qualifying offer yesterday, making him a UFA.

Minor Transactions: McIntyre, Huntington, Dronov

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While the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins were handing out long-term extensions to Valeri Nichushkin and Rickard Rakell respectively, and as the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired their next starting goalie in Matt Murray, a few bits of business were still getting done around the league, with a pair of minor leaguers getting contract extensions, and the Coyotes extending an invite to training camp.

The first of these is the Minnesota Wild extending goaltender Zane McIntyre with a one-year, two-way contract extension to stay in the organization according to CapFriendly. The contract is worth $750K at the NHL level and $300K at the minor league level, but does guarantee the goaltender a minimum of $325K. McIntyre appeared in eight games with the Boston Bruins back in 2016-17, but has otherwise made a solid career in the AHL, most recently splitting the 2021-22 season between the Tucson Roadrunners and the Iowa Wild.

  • Shortly thereafter, the Nashville Predators extended forward Jimmy Huntington on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level and $80K in the minors, leaving him an RFA at the conclusion of the deal, per CapFriendly. Huntington spent five years in the QMJHL, finishing his career with an incredible 92 point season with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2018-19 before turning pro, spending parts of the previous three seasons between the ECHL and AHL. The undrafted forward spent 2021-22 with the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 13 goals and 22 assists in 61 games combined.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have made a move to continue looking at depth options, extending a professional tryout to defenseman Grigori Dronov, according to CapFriendly. An undrafted free agent, Dronov has spent his professional career as a member of Magnitogorsk Metallurg in the KHL, featuring as a steady defenseman, though not much of a point producer. Dronov also appeared as a member of team Russia at the 2017 World Junior Championships, where he had one point in seven games.

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