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San Jose Sharks Sign Noah Gregor

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4:00pm: The Sharks have officially announced the deal, with GM Doug Wilson releasing a short statement:

Noah showed last season that he has the tools to be an effective player at the NHL level by utilizing his speed. We feel that he will elevate the competition among our forward group for a roster spot this season.

1:38pm: The San Jose Sharks have signed their final restricted free agent, inking Noah Gregor to a one-year, two-way contract according to Jason Gregor of TSN (his uncle). CapFriendly reports that the deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K, an AHL salary of $150K and a $200K minor league guarantee.

Gregor, 23, played in 30 games for the Sharks last season but still wasn’t able to contribute much offensively, recording just six points. The 2016 fourth-round pick has some upside in that department, but will be in a battle with many other forwards at training camp just to get a spot on the roster. The fact that Gregor is still waiver-exempt likely hurts him in that battle, as he’ll be able to be sent to the minor leagues without risk.

Still, there will certainly be a battle at training camp between Gregor and other signings like Nicholas Merkley or Lane Pederson, who are both eligible for waivers but could likely clear at the end of camp if necessary. How things shake out in San Jose is entirely unclear, especially with the speculation surrounding the futures of Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl.

One thing is certain and that’s the solid minor league salary that Gregor secured. He’ll be paid handsomely even if he’s not able to secure an NHL spot.

Minor Transactions: 09/13/21

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Players from all across the NHL are hitting the ice for informal pre-camp workouts, but the majority of jobs have already been handed out. That’s not necessarily the case in the minor leagues, where teams are still tweaking their rosters and will be right up until the start of the season. As always, we’ll keep track of all those notable minor moves right here.

  • The Stockton Heat have announced a quartet of players, inking Westin Michaud, Ryan Olsen, Matt Greenfield and Andrew Shortridge to two-way minor league contracts. Olsen, who was a sixth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2012, spent last season playing in the German second league and dominated, putting up 48 points in 44 regular season games and then another 15 in ten postseason contests. In all these players will likely spend a good chunk of the season with the Kansas City Mavericks, the Flames ECHL affiliate.
  • If you were impressed with Romain Loeffel’s play at this summer’s IIHF World Championship and wondered if he’d consider a shift to North America, think again. The veteran defenseman has signed a four-year contract with Bern (which starts in 2022-23) to remain in Switzerland. The 30-year-old led all defensemen in goals at the tournament and has represented his country on many occasions including the 2018 Olympic Games.
  • The San Jose Barracuda have re-signed Steenn Pasichnuk to a one-year AHL contract. The 26-year-old forward is the older brother of Sharks prospect Brinson Pasichnuk and split last season between the AHL and ECHL.

This page will be updated as further transactions are reported.

Minor Transactions: 09/12/21

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With NHL training camps opening up later this month, those unsigned players who aren’t willing to wait around for a PTO will have to start making tough decisions. That could mean settling for a contract in the minors, making the move overseas, or perhaps even retiring. Keep up with all of those moves for familiar names right here:

  • Former NHL forward Jordan Caron has called it a career. The 30-year-old has retired “surprisingly”, reports the ICEHL’s Vienna Capitals, who only signed Caron in July. The team reports that he has decided to return home to Quebec for personal reasons. A first-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2009, Caron was never more than a depth asset in the NHL with Boston, Colorado, and St. Louis, with highs of 48 games and 15 points set early in his career. However, he has been a much more dominant scorer over the past five years in Europe, playing Germany, Russia, Switzerland, and Austria.
  • For the first time since leaving the NHL in 2018, Christoph Bertschy is on to a new team, though not making a return to North America (any time soon). The Swiss forward is staying at home, but moving on from the NLA’s Lausanne HC to HC Fribourg-Gotteron. This is not a small commitment, either. Gotteron has announced a whopping seven-year contract with Bertschy, who was considered one of the top names on the Swiss market. At 27 years old with three seasons of strong production in the NLA before missing most of last season, Bertschy has proven himself a valuable asset and Gotteron stated that he will play a “central role”. The former Minnesota Wild may have been a candidate to return to the NHL if he continued to excel in Switzerland, but seems content to likely play out his career in his native country.
  • After playing on an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild last season but only seeing ECHL action with the Allen Americans, veteran journeyman forward Jesse Mychan has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks, the team announced. A former WHL standout power forward who has produced at a high level in the ECHL and proved himself valuable as an enforcer in the AHL, Mychan’s career has also taken him to the UK, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Denmark.
  • A former OHLer and longtime ECHL player, Matt Carter has opted to continue his career with the Fife Flyers in the EIHL after taking the 2020-21 campaign off. Carter has been playing professionally since 2011-12 after the now 34-year-old forward finished his college career with the University of Prince Edward Island. Undrafted after scoring 30 goals in 2007-08 for the Owen Sound Attack, Carter was a true journeyman, playing ECHL contests for the Phoenix Roadrunners, Cincinnati Cyclones, San Francisco Bulls, Las Vegas Wrangles, Elmira Jackals, and Fort Wayne Komets. He’s spent the majority of his career in the EIHL and French Ligue Magnus since going overseas in 2014-15.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Atlantic Notes: Cozens, Seider, Sogaard

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With the never-ending rumors of Jack Eichel’s eventual trade on top of the departures of several other core Sabres this summer, its fair to wonder who will fill the leadership vacuum in Buffalo. However, young standout Dylan Cozens is more than ready to take on that role. Appearing on WGR 550 in Buffalo, the 2019 seventh overall pick stated that he is confident in his ability to lead this next generation of Sabres. “I think definitely I could go out and be a leader on this team,” Cozens said. “Just by the way I play, leading by example and being a voice in the room. I think it’s something I’m ready to do. I want to lead by example and be a guy that guys can look to if they need anything or look to to inspire them. That’s what I’ve always been growing up – the guy that wants to lead and do things the right way.” Part of what makes Cozens a great candidate to lead Buffalo for years to come is an optimism that has been missing from other core members through a dark stretch for the franchise. “I think that we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year,” Cozens believes. “Everyone’s doubting us because we’re a young team, but if you look at the second half of last season, we were beating those veteran teams. So I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people and we’re going to have a good year.”

    • The Detroit Red Wings are looking forward to prodigious defenseman Moritz Seider developing into a leader for their club in the future. Yet, he was nowhere to be found on the team’s roster for the upcoming Traverse City Prospects Tournament. However, Red Wings Director of Player Development Shawn Horcoff tells The Athletic’s Max Bultman that this is actually an endorsement of Seider’s position in the organization rather than an indictment. Although Seider has yet to see any NHL action, Detroit is so confident in his ability to make the roster this season that they did not feel they needed to use a roster spot on him in the development tournament. “With Moritz, he’s played two years of pro now – he spent a full year in Grand Rapids, spent a full year over in Europe playing,” Horcoff explained. “Frankly, there’s some younger players that we wanted to see on the (Traverse City Tournament) roster and we just wanted to make sure that Mo was ready to go for main camp.” Fear not, Wings fans; the team clearly has no concerns about their top prospect stepping into the NHL lineup and making an impact this year.
    • The Ottawa Senators could face a difficult decision with young goaltender Mads Sogaard this season. As Bruce Garrioch details for the Ottawa Sun, the impressive prospect keeper could very well be in line for a roster spot at the Olympics for Team Denmark, making their first men’s hockey appearance at the Winter Games. Sogaard served as the team’s backup in qualifying tournaments this summer and while the those contests were played without presumptive starter, the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen, Sogaard is still likely to be the Danes’ first choice at third-string behind Andersen and qualifying starter Sebastian Dahm. The problem is that the AHL does not have an Olympic break like the NHL. While Ottawa’s players will have full flexibility to attend the Games if selected, Belleville’s may not. Garrioch points out that the farm team has ten games during the NHL’s Olympic break and, depending on how the organization’s goalie depth plays out this season, that could be a number of missed starts for Sogaard and a detriment to Belleville as well. The massive 6’7″ keeper had a strong first pro season last year and if fellow promising youngster Filip Gustavsson cracks the Ottawa roster, Sogaard could be the starter for Belleville. Will the Senators allow him to leave the team for an extended period in order to ride the bench for his country?

Minor Transactions: 09/10/21

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A few more signings occurred today in the NHL as camp is now just two weeks away, but there’s also been some movement in the minor and European leagues. As always, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves right here.

  • Josh Dickinson, who became an unrestricted free agent this summer when the Chicago Blackhawks decided not to issue him a qualifying offer, has signed with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL for the upcoming season. The younger brother of Vancouver Canucks forward Jason Dickinson, Josh went undrafted and has played just 47 games at the AHL level to this point. The entry-level deal he signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2018 is now expired and it seems unlikely he’ll get another NHL deal unless he takes a significant step forward in his development.
  • The Walleye announced another signing later in the day, acquiring former Dallas Stars draft pick Chris Martenet. Martenet, now 24, was largely drafted in the fourth round in 2015 because of his massive frame. Standing at 6′ 7″ and 216 pounds, his physical brand of hockey has kept him in the game. He’s played in just a handful of AHL games in his career, playing all but two games over the last four seasons in the ECHL. An NHL contract in his future seems unlikely now, but he’ll try and put himself back on the map this year in Toledo.
  • Josh Jooris is staying in Switzerland, but won’t be playing for Lausanne HC anymore. The former NHL forward has been transferred to Geneve-Servette HC for the rest of the season, after which his contract will expire. Now 31, it’s been several years since Jooris suited up in the NHL, last making an appearance for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018. In 213 career NHL games, he posted 55 points.

This page will be updated with any further transactions

West Notes: Oilers Defense, Yamamoto, Chechelev

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It has been speculated over the past few weeks that the Oilers are likely to bring a right-shot defenseman on a tryout basis for training camp.  It appears they have a couple of targets in mind as Postmedia’s Jim Matheson pegs veterans Michael Stone and Jason Demers as the likeliest candidates to sign one of those deals with Edmonton.  Stone is no stranger to the PTO route having been on one with Calgary last year before ultimately signing a two-way deal where he got into 21 games with the Flames and four more with AHL Stockton.  Demers hasn’t been in that situation before but after a tough year with Arizona that saw him dropped to a third pairing and reserve role, he may have to settle for a tryout at this stage of free agency.

More from Western Canada:

  • In an interview with 630CHED (audio link), Oilers GM Ken Holland provided a small update on negotiations for RFA winger Kailer Yamamoto. He indicated that both sides took a break from discussions for most of August but recently resumed discussions with more scheduled for early next week.  With Edmonton’s cap space being limited, a short-term bridge deal is likely all they’ll be able to afford barring a trade that opens up some extra room.
  • The Flames announced that 2020 fourth-round pick Daniil Chechelev has signed a one-year AHL deal. The 20-year-old goaltender spent last season split between the VHL and MHL in Russia, suiting up in 40 games along the way.  He joins Dustin Wolf, Adam Werner, and Tyler Parsons as those that will be battling for time with AHL Stockton next season and as a result of that battle, Chechelev may find himself with ECHL Kansas City if they want to give him ample playing time.

Minor Transactions: 09/09/21

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September keeps creeping along, inching closer to official training camps across the NHL. Minor league players are taking part in pre-camp skates and others are still finding homes for the 2021-22 season. As always, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor contracts right here.

  • The Stockton Heat have signed four players to AHL contracts. Alex Gallant, Reid Perepeluk, Mark Simpson and Koletrane Wilson will all be with the club this season. Gallant, 28, played with the heat in each of the last two years, racking up 171 penalty minutes in 61 games. The undrafted forward certainly isn’t known for his offense, which has produced just 18 points in 202 AHL games, but has still been invited to Calgary Flames training camp later this month.
  • The Iowa Wild have signed Nate Sucese to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him over from the Tucson Roadrunners where he spent last season. The former Penn State standout had 13 points in 36 games during his first professional season in Tucson, but was not given a qualifying offer by the Arizona Coyotes this offseason.
  • After being non-tendered by the Kings this summer, forward Drake Rymsha has inked a one-year contract with Fort Wayne of the ECHL.  This will be Rymsha’s second stint with the Komets as he notched 17 points in 24 games with them back in 2019-20.  The 23-year-old was limited to just two games last season but one of them came with Los Angeles as he logged more than 13 minutes in their final game of the year.

This page will be updated with any further transactions.

Minor Transactions: 09/08/21

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NHL hockey is almost back, with training camp just around the corner and the regular season a month away. While the focus for many fans will be on the last few remaining free agents, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves right here.

  • Patrick Bajkov, who was not given a qualifying offer by the Florida Panthers this offseason, has signed with the Reading Royals of the ECHL. The 23-year-old forward earned an NHL entry-level deal after his outstanding 100-point season for the Everett Silvertips, but managed just 18 games in the AHL before being demoted to the low minors. It’s a good signing for the Royals though, as Bajkov had 39 points in 53 games last season for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
  • Speaking of Panthers players who didn’t receive qualifying offers, Brad Morrison has signed with HC Pustertal of the ICEHL. Morrison was a fourth-round pick by the New York Rangers in 2015 and has had quite the ride to this point. He eventually signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2018, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Olli Maatta in 2020, and then flipped for Vinnie Hinostroza a few months ago. The 24-year-old forward had five points in six AHL games this season.
  • The Calgary Flames announced that Daniil Chechelev has signed an AHL contract for 2021-22, meaning he will be playing in North America for the first time. The 20-year-old goaltender was selected 96th overall in 2020 and split last season between the VHL and MHL. He hasn’t yet signed his entry-level deal, but this is a good sign that he will eventually join the Flames depth chart.
  • It doesn’t happen very often that a player splits his season between the NHL and AHL only to sign in the ECHL, but that is the current predicament of forward Drake Rymsha. Of course, it worth noting that Rymsha played only two games in 2020-21, one with the Los Angeles Kings and the other with the Ontario Reign. When the young center’s entry-level contract expired and he was not extended a qualifying offer, it seemed that his time in L.A. was likely over. However, one would think that a prospect the Kings felt was worth an NHL look this season might fare better on the open market. Instead, he has returned to the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets on a one-year deal, the team announced. Rymsha spent the majority of his 2019-20 campaign with the Komets.
  • Chaz Reddekop is yet another player moving from an NHL contract with the Kings to and ECHL contract. Having not received a qualifying offer, Reddekop has signed a one-year deal on the other side of the country, as the South Carolina Stingrays announced a pact with the young defenseman. A seventh-round pick that was always more project than prospect, Reddekop has shown little so far in his pro career but has earned another shot nevertheless.

Minor Transactions: 09/07/21

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The shortened offseason is almost over as NHL training camps are just a few weeks away, with the regular season following close behind. European leagues have gotten underway and the minor league season is just around the corner. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves right here as teams attempt to round out their rosters.

  • Patrick Sieloff, who spent last season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, has signed with Kolner Haie of the German DEL for the upcoming season. The 27-year-old defenseman has bounced around to several teams in the AHL over the years, suiting up in Abbotsford, Adirondack, Stockton, Binghamton, Belleville, San Diego, Syracuse, and Hartford, while only receiving two games at the NHL level.
  • The Utica Comets have added some toughness, signing Patrick McGrath to an AHL deal for 2021-22. The 28-year-old McGrath split last season between the ECHL’s Indy Fuel and the AHL’s Rochester Americans, being his normally in-your-face self no matter where he was playing. The undrafted forward has carved out a role as a fourth-line agitator and has just nine points in 106 AHL games. Even at the ECHL level, there isn’t much difference, as McGrath has just 15 points in 162 games at the low minors.
  • After a short but stellar appearance in the AHL last season, goaltender Parker Gahagen is hoping to make it a whole season. The Milwaukee Admirals have announced a one-year deal with the veteran keeper, who has had a journeyman career to say the least but may be on the cusp of sustained success. Gahagen played in 17 games with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies last year, recording a stunning .929 save percentage and 2.02 GAA, but was even better on loan with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, logging a .939 save percentage and 2.09 GAA for a 2-0-0 record in three appearances. While previous AHL outings have not been as successful for the West Point grad, he hopes to build on his recent results and find a role for himself in Milwaukee behind Connor Ingram. 
  • Trades in the ECHL are not common, but even more rare is a trade involving names familiar to NHL fans. Such a deal occurred today, as a pair of 2017 NHL Draft selections were swapped for one another. Defenseman Luke Martin was acquired by the Utah Grizzlies in exchange for forward Cedric Pare heading to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Martin was a second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes who played four seasons at the University of Michigan but was not signed by the team when he turned pro last season. Pare was a sixth-round pick of the Boston Bruins who was never signed, but made headlines anyway as the center for Alexis Lafreniere with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic in 2019-20.

Toronto Marlies Hire Hannu Toivonen, Troy Paquette

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The Toronto Marlies have made a duo of coaching hires today. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reports that the team will bring on Hannu Toivonen as their goalie coach and Troy Paquette as their video coach.

Toivonen’s a name that will likely ring a bell for some. Drafted by the Boston Bruins in the first round in 2002, Toivonen could never stick around at the NHL level despite strong showings early in his career in the AHL. Toivonen’s NHL career lasted just three seasons between 2005 and 2008, but he continued playing overseas and in minor leagues until his retirement just recently in 2019. After taking 2019-20 off, Toivonen got his first coaching gig as a goalie coach with the University of New England last season. He’ll now join the Marlies as his first professional coaching job, looking to make an impact with prospects such as Joseph Woll, Ian Scott, and Erik Kallgren.

The hire of Toivonen comes after the Marlies quickly announced and renounced the hiring of Dusty Imoo last month after social media backlash.

Paquette is somewhat of an early bloomer in the coaching world at just 25 years old. A former goalie, Paquette never played at a level higher than junior hockey with his last game action in 2015-16. However, this will be Paquette’s fourth season already as a video coach. He’s been with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs for the past three years, as well as serving as the goalie coach for Queen’s University the past two seasons.

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