Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

AHL

Washington Capitals Extend Bobby Nardella

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals have come to terms on a new deal with defenseman Bobby Nardella. CapFriendly reports that the two sides have agreed on a two-year extension that will keep the 25-year-old under contract through 2022-23, at which point he will be an unrestricted free agent. The contract carries the minimum NHL salary of $750K and is two-way this coming season, at $110K in the minors, before transitioning to one-way in year two.

If Nardella’s name does not immediately come to mind, it may be because he was under contract with Washington but playing in Sweden this past season. Nardella joined Djurgardens IF back in September, but rather than re-join the Capitals when training camps opened, the team allowed him to say overseas where he was thriving. Nardella recorded 33 points in 47 games this year in just his second professional season. He led Djurgardens in scoring and finished in the top five among SHL defenseman. He returns to North America having tasted what it is like to be an elite scoring defenseman in the pros and the Capitals hope to see that continue.

An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2019, Nardella is an undersized and offensive-minded blue liner, but has not let that limit him from making a difference in all three zones through his NCAA career and a season apiece in the AHL and SHL. Likely to return to the Hershey Bears to at least begin the 2021-22 season, Nardella could quickly earn a recall if he can show that his time in Sweden improved his game. The Capitals have no shortage of talented left-handed defense prospects such as Alexander Alexeyev, Martin Fehervary, and Lucas Johansen, but they could need immediate help at that area with Jonas Siegenthaler gone, Zdeno Chara heading for free agency or retirement, and Brenden Dillon a potential Expansion Draft casualty. Washington could be inclined to go with their most experienced option among that young group if they need defensive depth and that would be Nardella.

Minor Transactions: 06/16/21

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The further into the summer it gets, the busier the transaction wire becomes. While the rumor mill has been heating up in recent days, there have been a fair share of confirmed moves as well that include names familiar to NHL fans and impacting NHL fans. Take a look:

  • So much for the Alexander Khokhlachev comeback. The former Boston Bruins prospect whose NHL rights finally expire this off-season had previously hinted at a return to North America following five years in the KHL. When he walked away from the reigning Gagarin Cup champions Avangard Omsk, it only added fuel to the fire. However, it was all for not. Khoklachev has returned to former KHL club Spartak Moscow, the team has announced. It is only a one-year deal, so the speculation of an NHL return for the 27-year-old scoring center return next season. Yet, if Khokhlachev was ever going to make the jump, it seemed that this was his chance given years of sustained success capped off with a title and his newfound free agency. It could be Khokhlachev simply stays in Russia for the rest of his career.
  • Jori Lehtera is also not returning to North America, though it should come as no surprise. Lehtera’s production decreased continually through his NHL career and fell off immensely following a move to the Philadelphia Flyers from the St. Louis Blues in 2017. Between poor play and off-ice issues, he seemingly wore out his welcome in North America. Upon returning to Europe last season, he immediately re-discovered his scoring touch in the KHL and scored at better than a point-per-game pace for Spartak this year, leading the team. Spartak has rewarded him with a one-year extension. The 33-year-old will take that short-term commitment, especially with the likes of Khokhlachev and Vasili Ponomaryov joining him in Moscow next season to potentially make the team could be a surprise contender.
  • Cole Clayton has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and while you might not know his name yet, you could soon. The big, mobile, two-way defenseman from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers led all league defensemen with nine goals and 30 points this season in just 23 games. At 6’2″, 210 lbs. but able to skate at a high level, Clayton is an impact player all over the ice and surely had some NHL interest before settling for a job with Cleveland. If his play translates to the pros, it is a safe bet that the Columbus Blue Jackets will have him signed to an entry-level deal sooner rather than later. The Monsters also announced the signings of veteran forwards Brett Gallant and Adam Helewka for next season.

Snapshots: Hanley, Marlies, Kirk

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In April, the Dallas Stars decided to hand depth defenseman Joel Hanley a two-year contract extension. At the time, it was clear that the deal had at least some level of expansion draft motivation, given he needed just three more games to fill the exposure requirements for Dallas. He did end up playing those games, finishing with 35 contests on the season, but will now face a long rehab. Hanley underwent successful surgery to repair a core muscle injury today. He is expected to be recovered in time for the 2021-22 season, though these surgeries are notorious for keeping players at less than full strength for some time after they are cleared to return.

Even though that extension was at least partially due to the expansion draft, it’s not like Hanley didn’t deserve it. The 30-year-old has been a perfect extra defenseman for the Stars the last few seasons, coming in and out of the lineup when necessary to provide bottom-pairing minutes. He even played in 12 games during last year’s bubble playoffs, scoring his first NHL goal to open the scoring in game one of the Stanley Cup finals.

  • The Toronto Marlies have signed a pair of forwards, inking Antti Suomela and Ryan Chyzowski to AHL contracts today. Suomela, 27, has played in 51 NHL games, all with the San Jose Sharks and was acquired by the Maple Leafs in a deal for Alexander Barabanov at the deadline. Chyzowski perhaps is the more interesting of the pair, if only because of his age. The 21-year-old undrafted forward has spent the last five seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers and scored 11 goals and 29 points in the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Chyzowski is on a two-year minor league deal, while Suomela signed for just one.
  • When Liam Kirk was selected by the Arizona Coyotes 189th overall in 2018, he became the first player born and trained in England to be drafted. The Sheffield Steelers product then spent two seasons in the OHL, before heading overseas once again in 2020-21. Just recently, Kirk put the NHL on notice when he scored seven times to tie for the lead at the World Championship, despite his Great Britain team only 13 goals in the whole tournament. Now, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports, Kirk has been given permission to speak to other teams around the league despite still being under the control of Arizona. His draft rights will expire next June, so a trade would actually have to happen before he could sign an entry-level contract.

Snapshots: Capuano, Tardif, Asselin

at CDT | by 5 Comments

With the divisional playoffs now over, the days of the North, East, West, and Central (sort of) are over. Teams are already shifting their mindsets back to the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific, and the true Central, working out how best to beat out their division rivals and make the postseason next year. After taking a step forward this season, albeit against lesser competition, the Ottawa Senators are no exception. The long-time bottom-dwellers are just as cutthroat in their pursuit of success, even if that means handicapping one of their own. Joe MacDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that the Senators have blocked associate head coach Jack Capuano from interviewing for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy. Buffalo will be Ottawa’s divisional rival once again next season and beyond and the team will not lose a valued member of their staff with inside knowledge of the organization to one of their most frequent competitors. After leading Team USA to a bronze medal and the best record in group play at the recent IIHF World Championships, Capuano’s name is back in the mix as a head coach candidate. The long-time New York Islander bench boss is still held in high regard around the league and the Sabres may not be the only team kicking his tires. Perhaps the Senators will let him go elsewhere, just not within the Atlantic Division.

  • After wrapping a strong junior career in the QMJHL, capped off by a stellar run with the Victoriaville Tigres that ended with a league title, Ben Tardif was expected to have some NHL interest. The 21-year-old forward had scored at better than a point-per-game clip in each of the past two seasons, culminating in 11 goals and 22 points in 19 games for Victoriaville en route to the President’s Cup. However, Tardif seemingly did not receive the attention he might have expected and has settled for an AHL contract. The Colorado Eagles announced that they have signed Tardif to a two-year contract. The Colorado Avalanche obviously have some stock in the move as well, hoping that Tardif can use the time to round out his game and show that his offense can translate to the pro level. If he succeeds, Tardif will find himself in a great spot as part of an Avs club that looks like it will contend for many years to come.
  • One player whose career Tardif will likely be following is Samuel Asselin. A QMJHL star himself –  a Memorial Cup champion and league-leading goal-scorer – Asselin too was surprisingly unable to land an NHL contract after his junior career ended. Like Tardif, he signed a two-year deal with the AHL’s Providence Bruins instead. Following a point-per-game, All-Star season in the ECHL last year, Asselin was a full-time member of the P-Bruins this season and showed that there is more to his game than scoring ability with a gritty, high-energy style. And other teams took notice. Mark Divver of The New England Hockey Journal writes that NHL competitors are sniffing around Asselin and time is running out for the Bruins to lock him in to an entry-level contract. The club holds the right of first refusal to match any competing offer, but only while Asselin remains under contract. Once the off-season arrives, Asselin could depart with Boston having nothing to show for two years of development.

San Jose Sharks Sign Jeffrey Viel, Jonatan Dahlen, Nicolas Meloche

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The San Jose Sharks have come to terms with three young players, signing Jeffrey Viel, Jonatan Dahlen, and Nicolas Meloche. Viel has inked a two-year, two-way contract, while Dahlen will be coming to North America on a one-year one-way contract. Meloche will be back on a one-year, two-way deal, the same structure he spent 2019-20 on. All three contracts will carry an average annual value of $750K, the league minimum.

In the Viel release, Sharks GM Doug Wilson explained why they re-signed the 24-year-old forward:

Jeff showed his compete level last season, playing a hard-nosed, physical game. He is a player who has great character and leadership qualities, being a former captain of his junior team, and we feel that he will push to make the jump to the NHL. We are happy to have him in our organization.

The undrafted winger managed to grind his way up through the minor leagues in San Jose, earning an NHL contract in 2019 after a full season with the San Jose Barracuda. The bang-and-crash forward ended up playing 11 games this year for the Sharks, though he failed to register a single point. He did however rack up 23 penalty minutes, one of his calling cards through junior and the AHL. On a two-year deal, he’ll bring a physical presence to the fourth line whenever needed.

Dahlen is the opposite, a high draft pick whose game is predicated on offensive skill. The 23-year-old was originally a draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, but found his way to San Jose through trade via the Vancouver Canucks. The last two seasons playing for Timra in the Swedish second league, Dahlen has racked up 148 points in 96 games, earning Forward of the Year honors both years. Wilson also released a statement on him:

Jonathan went back to Sweden this past year with goals of being the captain for his team and winning the championship in the Allsvenskan. He delivered on his promises by being the MVP and leading scorer in the league and matured in his path to success. He will take this experience he has earned and challenge for a spot in the NHL.

The fact that the Sharks GM specifically mentioned competing for an NHL spot is interesting because the lack of an opportunity at that level is what many believed kept Dahlen in Sweden. He did play one season in the AHL during the 2018-19 campaign, scoring 33 points in 57 games, but still has not made his NHL debut. Perhaps that will come now after his two dominant campaigns.

Meloche, 23, made his NHL debut and played in seven games for the Sharks this season, spending the rest of the year in the AHL where he has been for the past four years. A second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2015, he arrived in the Sharks system thanks to a 2019 trade for Antoine Bibeau. Wilson hinted at what comes next for the young defenseman:

Nicolas is a steady, reliable presence on the blueline. He continued his development last season with the Barracuda and the Sharks and improved over the course of the season. We feel that he is ready to compete for a spot in our lineup in the NHL.

Competing for a spot on the Sharks blueline certainly isn’t easy, given how much money they already have invested in it. Even at the bottom, Mario Ferraro and Nikolai Knyzhov were both full-time players on entry-level contracts, not leaving a lot of room for competition. That perhaps suggests that there could be some changes coming, but as it stands, Meloche will be hard-pressed to land a full-time roster spot in 2021-22.

St. Louis Blues Extend Tanner Kaspick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The St. Louis Blues are already getting started with their off-season moves. The team has announced that minor league forward Tanner Kaspick has signed a new one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal includes a raise at the NHL level (by default) and AHL level, moving from his entry-level values of $739K and $70K in the minors to the increased league minimum of $750K and slight uptick to $80K in the AHL. Kaspick, 23, was set to be a restricted free agent this summer.

If Kaspick’s name is unfamiliar, it shouldn’t be a surprise. The forward has yet to make his mark on the NHL through three pro seasons. A 2016 fourth-round pick out of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings following their league championship, Kaspick went on to captain the team before joining St. Louis in 2018. He spent his first two seasons with the San Antonio Rampage before joining the Utica Comets this year when the Blues’ new AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, announced they would sit out the 2020-21 season.  In 125 career AHL games, he has recorded 27 points, but only 20 games and five points came this year as Utica tried to balance a mass amount of prospects and remained focused on developing those of their own parent club, the Vancouver Canucks.

While St. Louis clearly sees Kaspick as valuable to the club, his ceiling appears to be as a fourth-line forward in the NHL. His final two seasons in the WHL included impressive scoring, but that has fallen off tremendously in the pros. Instead, Kaspick’s high-end hockey IQ and sizeable 6’1″, 205-lb. frame appear to be his greatest assets rather than his scoring skill and could lead to him to taking on a checking and penalty kill role at the next level. However, after a relatively inactive season, not to mention a deep St. Louis forward corps, he will likely stay in the AHL for at least one more season before having the opportunity to see any consistent NHL action.

Gabriel Bourque Signs AHL Contract With Laval

at CDT | by 1 Comment

After a year off from hockey, Gabriel Bourque is back. The Montreal Canadiens may still be focused on their Stanley Cup pursuit, but GM Marc Bergevin and company know opportunity when they see it and have locked in the NHL veteran and Quebec native for the 2021-22 season. Locked him into an AHL contract that is. It is the Laval Rocket who have announced the signing of Bourque to a one-year deal. After a year away from the game, Bourque will have to prove that he can still be an impact player by at least starting the season in the minors.

Bourque, 30, was unable to find an NHL contract last off-season and without much of a PTO market and a then-unknown future for the AHL in 2020-21, the experienced winger opted to take the season off rather than jump to Europe for the first time in his career in the midst of a pandemic. This is not as unusual as it may seem, as a number of players did the same thing. Included in that list is a fellow established NHL veteran in Brian Boyle, who after suiting up for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships is also hoping to make a comeback next season. Bourque also struggled through a lingering lower-body issue in 2019-20, so health may have played a part in his decision as well.

Don’t be surprised if Bourque pushes for more than just a full season spent in the minors, though. A veteran of over 400 NHL games who has also topped 100 points in that time, Bourque is a proven NHL commodity. Since turning pro in 2010-11, the versatile wing has played in at least half of his NHL team’s games in six of nine seasons, including 50+ games played in each of the three seasons leading up to his gap year. A two-way forward with a strong turnover differential and good checking ability, Bourque is an asset as a bottom-six forward. Both the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche kept him around for several seasons as a result, before a one-and-done stay with the Winnipeg Jets. If the Canadiens find that they are impressed by his play in training camp or suffer a bottom-six injury during the season, it would not be a shock to see Bourque get bumped up to an NHL contract. There is also potential for a partnership beyond next season for the local product and the team.

Joakim Ryan Signs With SHL’s Malmo Redhawks

at CDT | by 1 Comment

When rumors emerged in early May that Sweden’s Malmo Redhawks were interested in signing defenseman Joakim Ryan, it didn’t make much noise. After all, the Carolina Hurricanes were marching towards the postseason and Ryan was not going to sign before the end of the season, even if he wasn’t seeing regular ice time with the club. Well, the postseason came and went for the ’Canes and Ryan stayed firmly planted in the press box through two series. It was apparently enough to convince him that perhaps a break from the NHL was in order. Ryan’s camp returned to negotiations with Malmo and the result was today’s announcement that the blue liner has signed a one-year deal with the Redhawks.

This is not exactly the homecoming that some might be thinking. Sure, Ryan is of Swedish descent and holds Swedish citizenship. However, Ryan was born in New Jersey and spent more of his childhood in the United States than in Sweden, including all of his formative hockey years. Yet, what little time Ryan did spent overseas meant something to him. Ryan has stated on several occasions that he has an affinity for the Malmo area and would like to play there at some point in his career. This coming season, he will get that chance.

The real question now is just how long Ryan’s stay in Sweden will last. As part of an incredibly deep Carolina defense corps in 2020-21, it is no surprise that he was used sparingly, playing in four games apiece in the NHL and AHL. However, Ryan is just a few years removed from being an everyday starter for the San Jose Sharks, where he spent the first four years of his pro career. Even last season, spent with the Los Angeles Kings, Ryan only played in 35 games – about have of L.A.’s shortened schedule – but saw top-four minutes when he was on the ice. A player who is known for dependable performance in a pinch, Ryan has demonstrated his value as an NHL depth asset. He seemingly chased a dream with this Malmo signing, but a strong year in the SHL and the potential promise of more money and the chance to compete at the highest level once again could have back home in North America soon. At 27, Ryan still has plenty of gas in the tank.

Josh Currie, Philippe Maillet Sign In KHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Two more players that saw NHL action this season are headed overseas, as both Josh Currie and Philippe Maillet have signed with Mettalurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL. Each was scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer and spent most of the 2020-21 season in the minor leagues.

Currie, 28, was on a one-year, two-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins and suited up just once for the NHL squad. A veteran minor league performer, he added 23 points in 24 games and served as captain for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The former Edmonton Oilers prospect now has 22 NHL games to his name, but will continue his playing career overseas where a new opportunity is waiting.

Maillet, 29, has a very interesting hockey story to this point. Undrafted out of the QMJHL, he signed with the Ontario Reign in 2017 after spending several years at the University of New Brunswick and earned himself an NHL contract with the Capitals in 2019. That two-year, two-way deal is set to expire with just two NHL games played for the minor league forward. Another successful AHL scorer, Maillet recorded 21 points in 16 games for the Hershey Bears this season but failed to register an NHL point in his two appearances with Washington. He’ll also be headed overseas to continue a career that has already been one of determination and perseverance.

Snapshots: Svechnikov, Marincin, Devane

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Carolina Hurricanes may be focused on an extension for head coach Rod Brind’Amour and his staff, but there’s another big-ticket item to work on this summer. Andrei Svechnikov is scheduled for restricted free agency and will be looking for a huge raise coming off another successful season.

If you are a Hurricanes fan hoping for a painless negotiation, you might just get your wish, as Svechnikov told reporters including Sara Civian of The Athletic that he would love to stay in Carolina “forever.” Svechnikov scored 15 goals and 42 points in 55 games with the Hurricanes this season and is an integral part of the young leadership group they have upfront.

  • Martin Marincin may be finally moving on from the Toronto Maple Leafs, as a report out of Europe has him expected to sign with HC Ocelari Trinec in the Czech Republic. Marincin has been with the Maple Leafs since 2015, getting more opportunities at the NHL level than many fans hoped he would. The 29-year-old didn’t play a single NHL game this season though and looks like he’ll be heading overseas to continue his career.
  • Not so for minor league forward Jamie Devane, who has signed an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the 2021-22 season. Devane, 30, is known much more for his physicality and size than offensive performance, racking up 712 penalty minutes in his 366-game AHL career.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top