Montreal Canadiens Hire Jean-Francois Houle
The Montreal Canadiens have hired Jean-Francois Houle as the next head coach of their AHL affiliate. Houle served as an assistant coach with the Bakersfield Condors the last six seasons, but will now join the Laval Rocket in the head coach spot that was vacated recently by Joel Bouchard. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin released a statement on the hire:
The Montreal Canadiens organization proudly welcomes Jean-François Houle as head coach of the Laval Rocket. After meeting with him, we quickly concluded that his philosophy and values aligned with ours. His dedication, passion for hockey, attention to detail, and leadership ability are among his top qualities. Jean-François’ many years of experience, along with his knowledge of the American Hockey League and the Quebec market, made him the perfect candidate for the position. He has proven himself at all levels and has a great reputation. His expertise will be a key element in the development of our organization’s young players.
Houle, 46, has a long coaching history that also includes several years as the head coach of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL and as an assistant with Clarkson University. It is something of a family homecoming, as he is the son of Rejean Houle, the long-time Montreal player who won five Stanley Cup championships with the team in the 70s and even served as general manager a decade after his retirement.
Jean-Francois Houle meanwhile never did play in the NHL, but had a short successful minor league career before joining the coaching ranks in 2003. He has progressed quickly through various levels and is on a path that will eventually lead him to an NHL job, should his success continue. The next step is taking over in Laval, where he’ll be tasked with a combination of winning and development.
Manitoba Moose Hire Mark Morrison
After Pascal Vincent left the Manitoba Moose for the Columbus Blue Jackets the team, and their NHL affiliate the Winnipeg Jets, were on the lookout for a replacement. They’ve found it in Mark Morrison, who will become the next head coach of the Moose after several seasons with the Anaheim Ducks.
Morrison is a familiar face, having served as an assistant with the Jets affiliate when it was in St. John’s and then in Manitoba for two years. His last head coaching job was for the Victoria Salmon Kings, which at the time was the organization’s ECHL affiliate. Though he has spent the last four years as an assistant with the Ducks, there are long ties to Canada for Morrison, who twice represented the country at the World Juniors as a player and suited up many other times for his country internationally.
His time in the NHL spanned all of ten games, but Morrison had a long, successful playing career that included more than a decade with the Fife Flyers, serving as a player-coach up until his retirement in 2005. He’s now back with the Jets, where he’ll be tasked with developing the next wave of talent in the AHL.
Winnipeg had some outstanding young players at the AHL level this season, headlined by top prospect Cole Perfetti. The 19-year-old forward, selected 10th overall in 2020, put up 26 points in 32 games at the minor league level despite being too young to normally even qualify. With the OHL not playing, Perfetti took his opportunity to play with the Moose and ran with it. Unfortunately, unless the league issues exemptions, Perfetti won’t have that same opportunity in 2021-22. Still too young, he’ll either have to make the NHL squad or return to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL at the start of the season.
The Moose went 18-13-5 this season, meaning there is lots of room for improvement by Morrison. The team will start off the 2021-22 season on October 15.
Toronto Hires Spencer Carbery As Assistant Coach
The Toronto Maple Leafs have plucked one of the top coaches from the AHL ranks to take over their vacancy at assistant coach. The team has announced that Hershey Bears head coach Spencer Carbery has been hired to join Sheldon Keefe‘s staff. Carbery replaces Dave Hakstol, who left to become the inaugural head coach of the Seattle Kraken.
Even as a minor league coach, Carbery should be a recognizable name for many. The 39-year-old is the reigning AHL Coach of the Year, named the recipient of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award after leading Hershey to a 24-7-2-0 record. Carbery only just completed his third season as an AHL head coach, but in that time the Bears went 104-50-9-8 for a .658 points percentage that was among the AHL’s best in that span. Carbery previously won the ECHL Coach of the Year Award as well, taking home the honor in his third of five seasons spent as the head coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the South Carolina Stingrays. He is no stranger to Ontario either, spending one season as the head coach of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.
Carbery is a well-regarded head coach and should be a natural fit with a Toronto staff that is young and innovative, much like the culture of the team. There could be an adjustment period, seeing as Carbery has no NHL experience to this point, but having fellow young coaches around who went through the same transition not long ago will help the process. Meanwhile, Carbery’s loss will be felt in a major way in Hershey and the Washington Capitals must now work quickly to find a new bench boss for their AHL affiliate.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Joseph Cramarossa
Rather than ending at the deadline, the flurry of trades and signings essentially only began once the NHL Expansion Draft roster freeze began. Several hours later, it seems the final move has finally been reported. Amongst the chaos of several major trades a few key signings, the Minnesota Wild took care of some housekeeping with a new deal for depth forward Joseph Cramarossa. CapFriendly reports that Cramarossa has signed a two-year, two-way extension. The contract carries the minimum $750K NHL salary and AHL salary that escalates from $170K to $182.5K in year two.
Cramarossa, 28, is not the flashiest of forwards, with modest offensive totals even in the AHL. However, he continues to land two-way NHL contracts due to his solid defensive play at the forward position. A hard-working, versatile forward, Cramarossa is a nice depth piece that can be plugged in anywhere in the bottom-six.
Minnesota did just that this season, employing Cramarossa in a bottom-six role for four games. He also spent considerable time in a next-man-up role on the practice squad, only playing in eight games for AHL Iowa. Moving forward, Cramarossa will likely be based out of Iowa but has shown he can play at the top level if needed. Minnesota has a deep forward corps and is looking to add this summer, but should they need him Cramarossa played 59 games with the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17, recording ten points and 60 PIM, so he is capable of playing a regular role if necessary.
Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Fredrik Claesson
The deal seemingly has no real Expansion Draft implications whatsoever, but the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions snuck it in before the transaction freeze anyway. The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that depth defenseman Fredrik Claesson has signed a one-year, two-way extension with the team. The contract carries a minimum $750K NHL salary and $250K AHL salary.
Though seemingly a minor deal, with the serious cap crunch facing the Lightning this off-season there is no minimum salary player that can be ruled out from earning a regular role on the team. Claesson, 28, has six NHL seasons on his resume, including a full-year stint with the Ottawa Senators a few years ago, and could be ready to challenge for a consistent NHL roster spot once again. Tampa GM Julien Brisebois did go out of his way to acquire Claesson from the San Jose Sharks at the Trade Deadline, head coach John Cooper played him in a pair of games down the stretch, and now his extension has been prioritized this summer. It all points to Claesson being more than just AHL depth next season.
A journeyman defenseman who has mostly played bottom-pair minutes, Claesson has nevertheless been able to produce at a moderate level with 28 points in 161 games, .67 points per 60 minutes. In his standout season with Ottawa in 2016-17, Claesson was also extremely aggressive, logging 158 hits in 64 games. Playing a regular role on a team with the talent of Tampa and an elite goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy taking some pressure off of the defense, Claesson could actually make a difference.
Minnesota Wild Not Expected To Qualify Dmitry Sokolov
The Minnesota Wild are going to say goodbye to a prospect that never could quite reach the next level. Dmitry Sokolov will not be tendered a qualifying offer from the Wild according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent. The young forward has already signed a contract in the VHL, meaning he wasn’t going to return to the Iowa Wild anyway, but with this, the Wild will also forfeit his rights.
Sokolov, 23, was a seventh-round pick by the Wild in 2016, who always came with plenty of question marks. His conditioning and skating were both inconsistent, and though he showed an excellent scoring ability, could not impact the rest of the game in a positive way. Despite those issues, the Wild still gave him a chance, signing him to a three-year entry-level contract in 2018, hoping to fix some of the problems and create an NHL player.
In 2018-19, his first year of AHL hockey, there were some promising signs. He scored 16 goals and 30 points in 60 games, seemingly committed to his development in the minor league level. Unfortunately, that development has stalled in the years since, with Sokolov recording just three goals and four points in 14 games this season for the Wild.
Russo also mentions Alexander Khovanov, who the Wild hope to bring back to North America after spending this year in Russia. Khovanov, 21, was the team’s third-round pick in 2018 and scored 99 points in 51 games for the Moncton Wildcats in 2019-20. Russo tweets that it “sounds like” the young center will return, meaning he’ll be in line for some AHL time under his entry-level contract.
Minor Transactions: 07/15/21
With next week’s Seattle Expansion Draft putting a wrench in an already compressed offseason for NHL general managers, teams are gearing up to prepare for every possible eventuality. This means that personnel at all levels of organizations are being shuffled. AHL teams and teams in other leagues have all been dealing with the effects of transactions at other levels, leading to a very eventful month in the non-NHL world. Here are today’s minor transactions:
- The AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins today announced that they’ve re-signed forward Dominik Shine to a one-year AHL contract. The 28-year-old forward has never seen NHL action, but has remained with the Detroit Red Wings organization since turning pro at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. A Michigan-born product, Shine played his junior hockey with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars before playing four seasons of college hockey with Northern Michigan University. Shine hasn’t exactly blown away with his production, scoring just two goals and four points in 29 contests this past season, but was extended for his leadership and professional experience. He’ll help mentor a group in Grand Rapids in 2021-22 that could contain some of Detroit’s future superstars.
- Defenseman Nikolas Brouillard was extended by the San Diego Gulls today, giving him a home for the 2021-22 season. The 26-year-old impressed in his first full season of AHL hockey, posting a respectable 14 points in 29 games. Despite never being drafted, Brouillard’s put up consistently solid point totals across all leagues during his career, but his undersized 5′ 10″, 150-pound frame has left him off the radar of NHL teams. Brouillard will look to continue to impress the Ducks internally and work his way up the depth chart.
- The Iowa Wild announced the extension of defenseman Keaton Thompson to a one-year AHL deal. Thompson, a third-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2013, failed to build on a solid rookies season in the USHL and has yet to play an NHL game. Thompson remained in the Ducks organization through 2018-19, but wasn’t given a qualifying offer after tallying just seven assists in 53 games. Thompson’s since spent two seasons with the Wild on AHL contracts, totaling 20 points in 78 contests. He’ll get another chance to play with their defense core this season, but the days of NHL upside for Thompson are over.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed goalie Cam Johnson to a one-year, two-way deal today. Per PuckPedia, the contract carries a $750,000 cap hit with $75,000 in minor-league salary. Johnson has yet to make an NHL appearance, but the 27-year-old netminder was impressive in the ECHL this season, earning a 6-1-0 record and .941 save percentage in seven appearances. Johnson could report for AHL duty next season, and the NHL deal gives Columbus the flexibility to use him as an emergency call-up.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Nashville Predators Sign Cole Smith
The Nashville Predators have signed minor league forward Cole Smith to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $750K at the NHL level and $70K at the AHL level. Smith was scheduled to be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent later this month.
Now 25, Smith was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota in 2020 and managed to make his NHL debut with the Predators this season. The 6’3″ forward scored ten points in 23 games with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and is likely headed back to the minor leagues next season. He does represent a potential injury callup, but it’s hard to imagine him grabbing a full-time roster spot without an incredible performance in training camp.
Still, he should give the AHL club some good depth and could land a few more opportunities in the NHL throughout the season. Even though he’ll be 26 next summer, he won’t qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency as Smith will have just two years of professional experience. That means restricted free agency is awaiting him once again, hopefully with a full successful season under his belt.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Alex Belzile
The Montreal Canadiens will bring back a depth forward, signing Alex Belzile to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $750K in the NHL and $250K in the AHL, though also includes a $300K minor league guarantee.
Belzile, 29, will have one of the more interesting NHL debuts to recount years after he retires. Undrafted, he played eight full seasons in the minor leagues before suiting up for the Canadiens in the bubble playoffs a year ago. He played six games for the team then, and returned for two more during the season this year. Still, his place is as a minor league depth piece and injury replacement.
The Laval Rocket certainly won’t complain. Since arriving in Laval, Belzile has been a force, scoring 30 goals and 82 points in 111 games. Unless he really impresses in camp, that’s likely where he’s headed once again. At the end of the one-year deal, Belzile will once again be an unrestricted free agent.
New Jersey Devils Sign Colton White
The New Jersey Devils have signed Colton White to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2021-22 season. The deal will pay White $750K at the NHL level and $130K at the AHL level.
White, 24, was scheduled for restricted free agency this summer after spending most of the season in the AHL. The minor league defenseman wore an “A” as an alternate captain for the Binghamton Devils and could very well be ticketed to have a leadership role on the new Utica team in 2021-22. Originally selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, he has managed just 11 games at the NHL level to this point. He has become a core piece at the AHL though, and certainly had enough upside to bring back.
Because he will turn 25 next season, White will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency a year from now, unless he plays most of the season with New Jersey. That seems very unlikely, meaning he’ll get a chance to hit the open market after this one-year deal expires. For now, he’s headed back to the Devils to compete for playing time on a league-minimum deal.