Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

AHL

David Ullstrom Returning To KHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Sometimes European free agents don’t work out in the NHL. That’s the case with David Ullstrom, who spent last season in the Arizona Coyotes organization but is heading back to the KHL. Ullstrom has signed a contract with Dinamo Riga, the league’s Latvian team, for 2019-20. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 when his one-year deal with the Coyotes expires.

Ullstrom, 30, signed a one-year, two-way contract last spring with the Coyotes after an excellent season for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, but failed to crack the NHL roster. He was injured to start the season, and eventually spent the year in the minor leagues with the Tucson Roadrunners. In 29 AHL games he recorded 23 points, but will be heading back overseas after not receiving any time with the Coyotes.

Originally a fourth-round pick of the New York Islanders back in 2008, Ullstrom did play parts of two seasons in the NHL but never made a huge impact. His skating ability for a 6’4″ forward is excellent, but it has led to much more success in the KHL than in North America. That’s where he’ll continue his career, though it is not out of the question that he could look for another NHL opportunity at some point in the future if a team is willing to take a chance on him.

AHL Notes: Popugaev, Jevpalovs, Weinger

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As NHL teams prepare their rosters for the pending free agent frenzy, AHL teams are doing the same. The clubs are trying to retain as much talent as possible to set themselves up for a strong 2019-20 campaign without necessarily having to rely on their parent club. With that in mind, here are some minor transactions that have taken place today:

  • The Binghamton Devils signed Nikita Popugaev to a one-year AHL deal, meaning he won’t be heading back to the KHL just yet. Popugaev came over from Russia this season and played 17 games for the Devils, recording five points and finishing a -9. The Russian winger stands 6’6″ and was an interesting prospect coming out of the CHL in 2017 when the Devils decided to use the 98th overall pick on him. His stint in the KHL went poorly from a production standpoint, but he’ll hopefully take the next step in his development for the Devils next season.
  • The Laval Rocket have agreed to terms with Nikita Jevpalovs on a one-year AHL contract. Jevpalovs went undrafted out of the QMJHL despite his 100-point campaign in 2014-15, and first signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately he was not issued a qualifying offer after the 2016-17 season and decided to go overseas to the KHL. Following a disappointing season there, Jevpalovs joined the Rocket last season and recorded 25 points in 69 games.
  • The San Jose Barracuda have signed Evan Weinger to a one-year AHL contract, bringing the 22-year old forward back for another season. As a rookie in 2018-19, Weinger posted 22 points in 60 regular season games and was one of the team’s best players in a first round playoff loss. Born in Los Angeles, Weinger will get a chance to keep playing close to home next season.

San Jose Sharks Sign Jeffrey Viel

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The San Jose Sharks have decided that Jeffrey Viel has done enough to deserve an NHL deal, signing him to a two-year entry-level contract. Viel had been playing on an AHL deal for 2018-19. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a statement on the young forward:

Jeff parlayed his first professional contract into a very successful season with the Barracuda and earned this NHL contract thanks to a mixture of hard-nosed play along with the ability to play a skilled, team-first game. He has a long track record of proven leadership qualities, having captained his team to the 2018 Memorial Cup and we are excited to watch his continued development with our organization.

Viel, 22, went undrafted through his junior career but ended up captaining the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to the Memorial Cup in 2018 after being named QMJHL playoff MVP. The physical winger was as equally effective scoring a goal as laying a hit, and seemed like a perfect fit for professional hockey. He signed with the San Jose Barracuda in 2018 and finished with 22 points and 94 penalty minutes in 68 games this season.

The Sharks will hope that Viel is a typical late-bloomer, that can develop into a legitimate bottom-six player for them at the NHL level. His first taste of professional hockey went well enough to earn an NHL contract, and now he’ll try to build on that moving forward. San Jose his always proactive in finding talent outside of the draft, and Viel is just the latest lottery ticket worth taking a chance on. He’ll be waiver-exempt to start next season, meaning he can rejoin the Barracuda right away—provided he doesn’t wow head coach Peter DeBoer in training camp.

Morning Notes: Madden, Canucks, Thomas

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that John Madden will not return as head coach of their AHL affiliate next season. The announcement states that the parting was mutual, and that Madden will pursue other opportunities around the league. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic suggests that a role may already be in the works for Madden elsewhere, and mentions how he had previously been an assistant with the Florida Panthers.

Columbus ended up hiring Madden in 2016 after a string of events that left the Monsters without a head coach just a few months after winning the Calder Cup. First, Patrick Roy stunned the Colorado Avalanche by resigning not long before training camp was set to open, leaving them scrambling to fill the role. They landed on Jared Bednar, the Monsters’ coach that had just gone 43-22-11 in the AHL before taking home the league title. Madden was hired as a replacement just a few days later at the end of August, but was never able to duplicate Bednar’s success at the minor league level.

  • The Vancouver Canucks will not be signing Kristoffer Gunnarsson or Matt Brassard according to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet, meaning both will see their exclusive draft rights expire on June 1. Gunnarsson will become an unrestricted free agent, but Brassard will be re-entering the draft this year. The Canucks already have 31 contracts for next season and still have 12 restricted free agents to sign. Given Gunnarsson and Brassard would both count towards the 50-contract limit, they were deemed expendable. The pair were late round picks in 2017, and part of a large group of players that will see their rights expire this weekend.
  • Robert Thomas will not play tonight in game two of the Stanley Cup Final, but head coach Craig Berube says it’s not because of the Torey Krug hit that was the talk of the hockey world over the last few days. Vince Dunn will also not suit up just yet, meaning Robby Fabbri likely draws in as the 12th forward for the Blues, playing on a line with Patrick Maroon and Tyler Bozak.

Nashville Predators Re-Sign Jarred Tinordi

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Wednesday: The team has officially announced the contract.

Tuesday: The Nashville Predators, home to arguably the deepest blue line in the NHL, nevertheless value having a wealth of options on defense and have agreed to terms to retain one of their many defensemen. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the team has re-signed AHL captain Jarred Tinordi to a two-year extension. It is a two-way deal for Tinordi that will pay him the minimum $700K at the NHL level but a comfortable $300K in the AHL.

Tinordi, 27, is coming off a career year in the minor leagues with the Predators’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. Tinordi paced the Admirals defensemen with 75 games played and 85 penalty minutes and a dependable stay-at-home defender and physical force. The former first-round pick also set a career high offensively with eight goals and 22 points on the year. While many will only ever see Tinordi as a first-round bust – the 22nd overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, Tinordi has six points in 53 NHL games – he has slowly but surely grown into a reliable depth defender. At 6’6″ and 230 lbs., Tinordi has always been a dominating presence, but his hockey IQ has caught up with his physical stature and he has become a more composed player on the ice and a leader in the dressing room for Milwaukee. Although he has not appeared at the top level since a brief stint with the Arizona Coyotes three years ago, it’s safe to say he has improved in that time.

With Tinordi signed, Nashville now has their top ten blue line options locked up through next season. Even if he resumes his strong play next season, Tinordi will very likely never see any NHL action. The Predators have ten defensemen on one-way contracts next year: top-four mainstays Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, reliable bottom pair Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin, veteran Dan Hamhuis, and rookie Dante Fabbro. Experienced AHLer Matt Donovan, who led all Admirals defenders in scoring last season, also acted as the team’s first man up on the back end and returns for the second of his own two-year, two-way deal. Barring a trade, Tinordi will likely be asked to again lead the Predators’ young prospects in Milwaukee and to be an emergency depth option, as Nashville is simply loaded on defense.

Snapshots: Kessel, Malmquist, Vladar

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been confirmed by many sources now that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel himself nixed the proposed deal that would have sent him to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker, among other pieces. What was unclear is exactly why. Kessel is a native of nearby Wisconsin and played his college hockey for the University of Minnesota. It would seem that the Wild would have been a nice fit for the veteran scorer. However, as noted by the Athletic’s Michael Russo, Kessel’s reasoning for turning down the destination is quite simple: he doesn’t think the team is a contender. In fact, after talking to those close to Kessel, Russo phrases it as Kessel didn’t think the team was even “close to contending”. GM Paul Fenton certainly left a mark in his first season at the helm, trading away established veterans Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, and Nino Niederreiter and on paper the team does look to be in more of a rebuild than a title window. Fenton reportedly called Kessel to try to change his mind, but to no avail. Kessel will be 32 next season and has already showed signs of slowing down, so the star winger apparently has his sights set on competing for more Stanley Cups before his playing days are over. That could make the prospect of dealing him that much harder for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, further limiting Kessel’s trade options to contenders on his eight-team trade list that have both the means and interest in acquiring him. Meanwhile, Fenton and the Wild have to hope that other prominent players, free agents or trade targets, don’t share in Kessel’s pessimistic outlook on the team’s chances or they may have a hard time improving this off-season.

  • Kessel’s home of Madison, Wisconsin is set to see another promising player make his way into town in a couple of years. Liam Malmquist, a standout high school forward from Edina, Minnesota, has announced his commitment to play his college hockey for the University of Wisconsin. However, Malmquist will not join the Badgers until 2020-21 and will play next season for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, the team announced today. Malmquist, 18, is an undersized scoring forward, whose lack of stature and relatively weak competition level likely kept him off the radar of NHL team’s in his first time through the draft last year. However, after recording 52 points in 24 games this year, he’s entered the conversation as a possible late-round overage waiver this June. Malmquist’s older brother, Dylan Malmquist, remains unsigned but just wrapped up a strong collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame. Even if Malmquist is not drafted, he can stay in the pro picture if he is able to replicate or top his brother’s numbers while at Wisconsin. He should be surrounded by plenty of talent too, as Malmquist joins a talented Badgers team that will add top 2019 prospects Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield, Ryder Donovan, and Owen Lindmark, as well as intriguing 2020 name Dylan Holloway next season and another top 2020 prospect in Tanner Latsch the year after.
  • The Boston Bruins have already lost forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and defenseman Emil Johansson to Europe this off-season – even though the team’s off-season has yet to begin – and for the good of their minor league depth hope to avoid any other such losses. However, it is worth noting that AHL goaltender Dan Vladar was the subject of a recent trade in the KHL. Vladar’s rights were acquired by contender Lokomotiv Yaroslavl from HK Sochi in exchange for 22-year-old active KHL forward Alexander Polunin, a somewhat hefty price for just a player’s rights. There has been no word as to whether Vladar has talked about jumping overseas, prompting the trade, but it certainly shouldn’t be ruled out. Vladar, a 2015 third-round pick of the Bruins, is still only 21 but has yet to make an NHL appearance in three pro seasons. Vladar played as the Providence Bruins’ backup this season, making 31 appearances to starter Zane McIntyre’s 47. Both goalies put up just pedestrian numbers and McIntyre, a pending unrestricted free agent, is not a lock to return. With NHL backup Jaroslav Halak also signed for just one more season, it could be that Vladar remains on the fast track to start for Providence next season and one day back up Tuukka Rask. One would think that position would keep the young net minder stateside. However, he now faces a challenge from other promising young goalies in the pipeline like Kyle Keyser and Jeremy Swayman and may no longer feel that he is guaranteed to ever see time with the Bruins. Such a mindset could see Vladar off to Russia this summer.

AHL Notes: Milner, Whitney, Ollas Mattsson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Goaltender Parker Milner provided the Washington Capitals with some depth in net this season, but the organization is content to move forward with him on an AHL contract instead of continuing his short-term NHL pact. Milner, 28, signed his first NHL contract back in February to close out the 2018-19, simply to serve as emergency depth as Washington pushed toward the playoffs. Milner has mostly played in the ECHL in his pro career after coming out of Boston College as a well-regarded prospect, but has settled in with the Capitals organization, splitting the past three seasons between the AHL’s Hershey Bears and and the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. The Bears announced today that they have re-signed Milner to a one-year contract, bringing him back for yet another year. Between potential future starter Ilya Samsonov and another promising young keeper in Vitek Vanecek, Milner is not guaranteed starts in Hershey again next season, but has shown that he is more than willing to spend time in the ECHL if asked.

  • The Bears have also signed forward Steven Whitney to a one-year extension. Whitney is a long-time teammate of Milner’s, as the 28-year-old also played at Boston College and has spent the past two years with South Carolina and Hershey, respectively. Whitney stands just 5’7″, but like brother and former NHLer Joe Whitney, he doesn’t let his size (or lack thereof) prevent him from being a difference maker. Despite heading toward the latter part of his career, Whitney had arguably his best pro season in the AHL last year and will continue to be a valued forward for Hershey.
  • As expected, Adam Ollas Mattsson is headed back home to Sweden. The SHL’s Malmo Redhawks have announced a two-year contract with the promising 22-year-old. Ollas Mattsson was a sixth-round pick by the Calgary Flames back in 2014 and, while it took some time, he broke out this year, skating in 65 games on an AHL contract with the Stockton Heat, recording 18 points and +22 rating. Yet, the depth on the blue line in Calgary made it unlikely that Ollas Mattson would be in the NHL ice time conversation any time soon. Rather than even wait to see if he was offered an NHL contract, Ollas Mattson is set to depart, as was reported earlier in the month. The former junior star in Sweden will switch teams, jumping from Djurgardens to Malmo, who are very excited to add the big defender.

Sheldon Keefe Signs Two-Year Extension With Toronto Marlies

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have to worry about someone poaching their minor league head coach. Not yet anyway. Today the club announced that Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe has signed a two-year extension to stay in the AHL. GM Kyle Dubas explained the contract:

Over the last four seasons Sheldon has done a great job developing our individual prospects into Maple Leafs while also guiding the Marlies deep into the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the organization, including the Calder Cup in 2018. Ensuring that Sheldon remains tasked with guiding the development of our prospects was very important to our program and the reason we began the discussion to extend Sheldon months ago.

Keefe, 38, is a rising star in the coaching world that has found incredible success at the AHL level. In his four years coaching the Marlies, the team has advanced to the Conference Final three times and won a Calder Cup in 2018. That success has come even as the Maple Leafs continue to pull talent up every year, graduating players like William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Travis Dermott to full-time NHL status. The blend of winning and development is an important one for a minor league team, and one that Keefe has navigated well over the last few years.

That success is exactly why many called for him to be promoted to the NHL squad after another disappointing exit by the Maple Leafs this spring. Head coach Mike Babcock was criticized by fans and media alike for his player usage against the Boston Bruins in the first round, and some speculated that he might be on his way out when Dubas failed to give him a vote of confidence right away. That vote came a few days later, when Dubas confirmed that Babcock and he were on the same page going forward.

Still, with teams calling on Keefe to see if he would be interested in interviewing for an NHL job somewhere else, Dubas and the Maple Leafs had to find a way to keep him in the organization. His contract is expected to pay much more than his AHL contemporaries, and there does seem to be a path to the Toronto NHL head coaching position down the road if Babcock doesn’t find a way to advance past the first round.

Harri Sateri Signs In KHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings won’t be bringing back Harri Sateri next season. The 29-year old goaltender has signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk in the KHL for the 2019-20 season. Sateri was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his one-year contract with the Red Wings expired.

Sateri was originally a fourth-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2008, but failed to ever make it to the NHL with them during his time in the organization. In 2014 he left for the KHL and played three seasons with Podolsk Vityaz, before returning to try again in North America. Signing this time with the Florida Panthers, Sateri would make his NHL debut in early 2018 and would end up going 4-4 with a .911 save percentage in nine appearances. He signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings last summer, but only suited up for their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. Appearing in 40 games with the Griffins, Sateri posted just an .899 save percentage.

The last time that the Finnish goaltender played in the KHL he was among the best in the league, and could very well find some more success this time around. The one-year deal will allow him to return to North America once again in 2020-21 if he so chooses, but for now he’ll be removed from the list of potential depth signings this summer.

Chris Bourque Signs In Germany

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It was a dream come true when veteran minor league forward Chris Bourque was named to Team USA for the Olympics in 2018. He just so happened to not be on an NHL contract at the time and was allowed to participate, a reward for a life spent in hockey battling for opportunity wherever it presented itself. That opportunity has now taken the forward to Germany, where he will play for EHC Munchen next season in the DEL.

Bourque, 33, has played in the AHL, NHL, KHL and NLA prior to this trip to Germany, and found great success at almost every level. While his professional career may not be as well-known as his father Ray’s, he is among the most productive scorers in AHL history with 746 regular season points in 794 career games. His 118 postseason points are also among the best ever, and has hasn’t lost a step even as he heads into the back half of his career. The dream of a real shot at the NHL may be long gone however, as Bourque last suited up for the Boston Bruins in 2012-13.

With three Calder Cup championships under his belt to go along with multiple individual awards, Bourque will go down as one of the best players the AHL has ever seen. If this journey to Germany ends that minor league career, he’ll have gone out on another great season. In his lone year for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Bourque recorded 54 points in 72 games.

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