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Bruins Sign Pavel Shen To Entry-Level Contract

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Tuesday: The Bruins have officially announced the contract.

Monday: From seventh-round flier to an NHL contract sooner than anyone might have expected, CapFriendly reports that the Boston Bruins have signed forward prospect Pavel Shen to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will carry the maximum $925K AAV, $809K of which is salary and the remainder in bonuses. Shen will join the Bruins immediately for the 2019-20 season.

It was evident early on that the Bruins had found a diamond in the rough in 2018 with Shen, the 212th overall pick. The Russian center fell into the seventh round even after playing 29 games in the KHL as a 17-year-old in his draft year and the Bruins jumped at the opportunity to snag him late, despite limited production at the top level. He immediately showed that there was more to his game with a standout World Junior Championship performance. Shen recorded four points in seven games and was easily Russia’s most effective defensive forward. His regular season was less eventful, as he bounced back and forth between the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa and the MHL’s Tolpar Ufa and failed to produce on the score sheet.

However, the Bruins and others had already seen enough to identify what Shen might bring to the table down the road with his two-way intelligence and raw skill. He entered the team’s recent development camp with high expectations and performed up to par. It was no surprise that he then returned to Russia and negotiated a termination of his contract, allowing him to begin his Bruins career right away. Shen is likely still years away from pushing for any action in Boston, but the AHL’s Providence Bruins look to be a Calder Cup contender this year and Shen should have both the talent and veteran guidance around him to learn the North American game quickly and begin to make an impact. The likeness is not fair just yet, but Bruins fans will hope to soon compare Shen to another well-known late-round Pavel out of Russia.

Minor Transactions: 07/22/19

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As July marches on and we get into arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • Erik Condra has signed with the Colorado Eagles, giving the team another veteran forward for what looks like a Calder Cup run. Condra has played 372 NHL games over a long career, and put up 54 points last season for the Texas Stars of the AHL. The 32-year old settled for an AHL contract, meaning he can’t be called up to the Avalanche without first clearing waivers and signing an NHL deal.

Snapshots: Maroon, Rantanen, Ryczek, Puutio

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Defending Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon tells NHL.com’s Lou Korac that “it’s tough right now” for veterans to find a contract. Given the meager increase of the salary cap and the immense number of restricted free agents still unsigned, there has been a considerable break in unrestricted free agent signings over the past week or two. 14 of PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents still remain available, including Maroon, with little chatter pertaining to any of them. Maroon at least offers a glimmer of hope for his own situation, also informing Korac that he has had discussions with GM Doug Armstrong about a return to his hometown St. Louis Blues, saying that they’ve “had good conversations.” However, the Blues still have four RFA’s to sign, including three potential arbitration cases in Joel Edmundson, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. Maroon will also be looking for fair value from St. Louis after taking a hometown discount last summer and becoming a key contributor for the team down the stretch and in the postseason. An extension won’t come easy for either side, but both parties and fans would surely like to see Maroon back in town next season. He and other unsigned veterans may just have to wait a while longer for offers to finally come through.

  • On the off chance that RFA Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche cannot come to terms on an extension this summer, his KHL rights holder is preparing their pursuit. However, it’s not exactly a Godfather offer. Sport Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Ak Bars Kazan is willing to offer Rantanen a one-year, $4MM contract. While Eronko notes the lower tax rate in Russia and lack of escrow concerns, it’s still a very underwhelming number for a 22-year-old star forward coming off back-to-back 80+ point seasons. The Avalanche would be happy to top that salary, even taking the differences in tax and escrow into consideration. Rantanen is well within his right to be seeking a long-term contract with an AAV of $10MM+ or at least a bridge deal in the $8MM range, so Ak Bars’ offer is unlikely to move the needle toward a return to Europe.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jake Ryczek will have to prove himself in the AHL before earning an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs, the team announced. Ryczek was a 2016 seventh-round pick, expected to be a long-term project developing at Providence College. Instead, Ryczek left the Friars midway through his freshman year and joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. The problem now is that Ryczek has aged out of the junior level with just a year and half of QMJHL experience and is still a raw prospect. Rather than use a limited roster spot to sign an unproven commodity, the Blackhawks will see what he can do in the AHL for the time being. Ryczek remains Chicago’s exclusive property until June 1st of next year.
  • The first overall pick in the CHL Import Draft has signed. Finnish defenseman Kasper Puutio, taken at No. 1 by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in June, has officially joined the team. Puutio began turning heads this past season when he was called up to the top level of Finland’s junior ranks at the age of 16 and performed well to boot. Draft source Future Considerations ranks Puutio as the No. 67 prospect for the 2020 NHL Draft in their early initial rankings, but some have called him a first-round caliber player, and that was before he joined the Canadian junior ranks. If he can continue to grow and produce in the more competitive WHL as a very young prospect, he could easily climb into the top 31 picks next year. Either way, the Broncos hope that they can take advantage of his puck-moving ability and competent defensive game for several years to come.

Minor Transactions: 07/18/19

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As July marches on and we get closer to arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league:

  • The Toronto Marlies continue to add more depth, signing Ryan Johnston and Michael Kapla to AHL contracts. Kapla spent last season with the Binghamton Devils and Iowa Wild, recording 24 points in 66 games. The defenseman is a former Umass-Lowell captain that played five games in the NHL during the 2016-17 season. Johnston meanwhile spent the last two seasons in the SHL, but also has ten games of NHL experience under his belt.
  • The Hershey Bears have signed Tariq Hammond to an AHL deal, bringing in another former Binghamton defenseman. The 25-year old played 43 games for the AHL Devils last season, recording three points. Hammond was part of the 2017 NCAA champion University of Denver squad alongside other NHL players like Troy Terry, Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell and Will Butcher, and took over as captain the following season.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have signed Ryan Dmowski to another AHL deal, keeping him in the organization after he joined them earlier this spring out of college. The 22-year old left winger had four points in ten games down the stretch for the Wolf Pack, and will likely be asked to play a bigger role in his first full professional season.
  • Carolina has brought in some AHL depth, announcing the signings of wingers Hunter Shinkaruk and Colin Markison plus defenseman Derek Sheppard to AHL deals.  Shinkaruk, a first-round pick of Vancouver back in 2013, had a disastrous season with Montreal’s farm team and was non-tendered last month.  Meanwhile, Markison has posted back-to-back 27-point seasons with Texas of the AHL while Sheppard was quite productive at the ECHL last season with 40 points in 57 games.

Lightning Re-Sign Dominik Masin

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Another day, another restricted free agent back under contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After inking Ben Thomas to an extension yesterday, the team has announced that fellow RFA defenseman Dominik Masin has also re-signed. It is a one-year, two-way contract for Masin. No financial terms were disclosed, but CapFriendly anticipates a minimum $700K NHL salary.

Masin, 23, has been a long-term project for the Bolts whose potential is still unclear. A 2014 second-round pick out of the Czech Republic, Masin played two productive years in the OHL before turning pro in 2016. He immediately jumped into a starting role with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, but struggled to put up points in his first season. That changed in 2017-18, when Masin finished second among Crunch defenders with 24 points in 72 games. Yet, he regressed offensively this season, dropping to 12 points in 69 games. On the other hand, his defense improved and his +36 rating led the team and was among the best in the league. Masin has yet to make an NHL appearance, but this season may finally offer him a chance to debut and for Tampa to get a better idea of what they have in the prospect.

With Masin locked up, the Lightning are down to just two RFA’s left to sign: Adam Erne and Brayden Point. Point has been and will continue to be Tampa Bay’s biggest priority this summer. The team has a projected $5.58MM in cap space, but will need much more than that to get Point re-signed, not to mention Erne.

Minor Transactions: 07/17/19

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Arbitration hearings start in just a few days and we’re still waiting on new deals for many of the league’s top restricted free agents. In the meantime, teams continue to fill out their organizational depth charts. We’ll keep track right here:

  • Chris Conner has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Binghamton Devils, ending a four-year run with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Conner is an excellent offensive player at the minor league level and does actually have 180 games of NHL experience under his belt. The 35-year old winger will give Binghamton another veteran to help their attack and mentor their young forwards.
  • Brandon Saigeon has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Colorado Eagles, giving him a chance to start his professional journey with the organization that drafted him. A fifth-round pick in 2018, Saigeon’s exclusive rights with the Colorado Avalanche will actually expire next June, at which point they would need to decide whether he’s worth an NHL entry-level deal. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that deal is already expected to be signed in March, 2020.
  • The Bakersfield Condors have signed Anthony Peluso and Vincent Desharnais to AHL contracts, adding some depth to the minor league organization. Peluso has played 148 NHL games over his career, most recently with the Calgary Flames. The 30-year old forward has never been much of an offensive threat though, and scored just eight points with the Stockton Heat last season.

Minor Transactions: 07/16/19

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It’s been a shockingly busy day for mid-July and the moves don’t end at the NHL level. There have been even more notable transactions around the minors today to go along with an unexpected surge of signings and trades in the NHL. Keep up with all the action here:

  • The AHL’s Bakersfield Condors have signed three players. The team announced an extension for defenseman Jake Kulevich and the addition of free agent forward Jakob Stukel. College hockey insider Mark Divver also reports that former Providence College defenseman Vincent Desharnais has signed with the club. Kulevich, 26, and Desharnais, 23, are both shutdown defenseman. At 6’4, 216 lbs. Kulevich’s game is in the defensive end, but he also recorded eight points in 29 games for the Condors last year as a part-time player. Desharnais is even bigger at 6’6″, 216 lbs., and just wrapped up an impressive NCAA career with the Friars, capped off by 13 points and a +22 rating in 42 games last year. Stukel, 22, is a former Vancouver Canucks prospect who impressed in Bakersfield last season on a try-out deal late in the year, recording six points in ten games. The performance earned him an AHL contract this year and the shot at a full-time role with the Condors.
  • Cam Johnson has been unable to find a two-way NHL deal and has settled for an AHL pact. The former University of North Dakota standout keeper signed a one-year entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils last summer, but did not appear for the team this season and split the campaign between the AHL and ECHL. His numbers in his first pro season were less than stellar, leaving Johnson without many options this off-season. He has signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, the team announced, and will look to get back to his collegiate numbers in the upcoming campaign.
  • When the Colorado Eagles moved from the ECHL to the AHL last season, they took Michael Joly with them and the forward hardly missed a beat. He went from 67 points in 52 games to 30 points in 47 games, continuing to be a key player despite the boost in talent among his teammates and competitors. As a result, Joly has earned a contract extension, the Eagles announced. The 24-year-old will join the team for at least one more year and will again push to be among the top scorers on the roster.

Snapshots: Boikov, Morrow, Kings

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The Colorado Avalanche won’t be bringing Sergei Boikov back for another season in the AHL, at least not in 2019-20. The 23-year old defenseman has returned to the KHL to play for Dynamo Moscow, signing a two-year contract. Boikov is a restricted free agent for the time being, and since Colorado issued him a qualifying offer they will retain his exclusive rights.

Selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Boikov had already been playing in North America for two seasons. He remained for another year in the QMJHL before jumping to the professional ranks, where he has suited up the last two seasons for Colorado’s AHL affiliate. The 6’2″ defenseman has some upside as a shutdown defender, but will try to take his offensive game to another level back in Russia.

  • The Dallas Stars have announced several changes to the business side of the front office, including hiring former captain Brenden Morrow as the Director of Business and Hockey Development. Morrow played 835 regular season games for the Stars across parts of 13 seasons, captaining them for seven of those. He finished his career with 575 points in 991 games. A gold medalist at the Olympics, World Championship and World Cup, Morrow certainly has a winning pedigree when it comes to hockey.
  • Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times expects there to be at least one restricted free agent signing by the Los Angeles Kings today, which makes sense given it is the final day those who were issued qualifying offers can accept them. Adrian Kempe, Matt Roy, Michael Amadio, Sheldon Rempal, Daniel Brickley and Calvin Petersen are all still unsigned, and even the ones who were eligible (Petersen, Roy) did not file for arbitration. The team already has 43 contracts on the books, but maintains some flexibility since several of those will not count towards the total as they are headed back to their junior or European clubs.

Anaheim Ducks Hire Kevin Dineen As AHL Coach

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The Anaheim Ducks recently promoted their AHL head coach Dallas Eakins to the NHL, leaving a vacancy behind the bench for the San Diego Gulls. That vacancy has been filled today with the announcement of Kevin Dineen as the team’s next head coach. GM Bob Murray released a short statement on the hiring:

Kevin brings more than 30 years of valuable experience as a player and coach in professional hockey. We are committed to continue a winning tradition in San Diego, and Kevin will help the organization achieve those goals.

Dineen, 55, played 19 seasons in the NHL and amassed 760 points in 1,188 regular season games. A two-time 40-goal scorer, he was also a strong defensive forward that would never back down from a physical engagement—he recorded 2,229 penalty minutes over his long playing career. Immediately joining the Columbus Blue Jackets front office after his retirement, Dineen was quickly promoted to assistant general manager before eventually taking on the head coaching job for the Portland Pirates of the AHL.

After spending several years in the minor league coaching ranks, Dineen was given his first chance at the NHL level when he was hired as head coach of the FLorida Panthers in 2011. He led the Panthers to a 38-26-18 record and their first playoff appearance in more than a decade in his first season with the team, but things didn’t go so smoothly in the following year and just 17 games into his third season he was fired. Dineen would end up coaching the Canadian women’s team at the 2014 Olympics, winning gold.

He had served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks for the last several seasons, but was fired along with head coach Joel Quenneville last November.

Eastern Notes: Leddy, Ristolainen, Carcone, Shalagin

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The New York Islanders have made quite a few moves this offseason, re-signing Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson as well as adding goaltender Semyon Varlamov to their franchise, but the team may not be done yet.

Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post mentions that the team may seriously consider trading defenseman Nick Leddy later this offseason. The 28-year-old Leddy has three years on his contract at $5.5MM per season and with several teams in need of help for a top-four blueliner, the team might be willing to unload him if they can add more offensive talent, especially with prospects Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde not far from arriving in New York.

  • In a roundtable discussion on what the chances are that the Tampa Bay Lightning might acquire Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) writes that while the Lightning has had interest in him in the past, the only way the team would be interested in acquiring him now would be if it were an upgrade and with no obvious trade candidates on their defense, a deal between Buffalo and Tampa Bay seems unlikely. Throw in the fact the team still has to sign restricted free agent Brayden Point to and the chances of acquiring Risolainen seems unlikely.
  • There were many moving parts two week ago when the Ottawa Senators acquired Nikita Zaitsev from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Cody Ceci. The Senators acquired forward Connor Brown, but also picked up forward Michael Carcone as part of the deal, a 23-year-old restricted free agent who has battled his way through three AHL seasons and might be ready for a bottom-line role with the Senators now that the team acquired him. The Athletic’s Chris Stevenson reports that he hears that the Senators and Carcone are close to a new deal and could be a name to watch at training camp this fall. The Vancouver Canucks were received quite a bit of interest from Carcone at the trade deadline by both Toronto and Ottawa. He ended up going to Toronto in the Josh Leivo trade, but has since been traded again.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be bringing one of their 2019 draftees over to North America sooner than they had expected as a Russian website, spartak.ru (translation required), reports that Mikhail Shalagin, the team’s 2019 seventh-round pick, is expected to play in the Tampa Bay’s system, presumably with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, although nothing has come from the Lightning yet and it’s unknown whether the team will offer him an entry-level deal right away or offer him an AHL deal. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound forward scored 48 goals in the MHL and was the MVP of the league last year.

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