Flames Re-Sign Goaltender Jon Gillies
Tuesday: The Flames have officially announced the contract, confirming the financial details reported by Lavoie.
Monday: The Calgary Flames may have hinted at who they feel their goalie of the future is with a contract inked this evening. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Flames have signed 24-year-old Jon Gillies to a two-year contract extension worth $750K against the cap in each season. The first year of contract is of a two-way nature, while the second is a one-way deal, according to Lavoie.
Gillies made a career-high 11 NHL appearances last year in his third pro season, but his .896 save percentage, 2.88 GAA, and five losses were not overly impressive. However, Gillies enjoyed a second straight strong season with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, posting a .917 save percentage and 2.53 GAA in 39 games. Yet, fellow up-and-coming keeper David Rittich outplayed Gillies in the NHL and saw more action, even though he struggled in the AHL. Based on last season alone, many would have assumed that Rittich had the upper hand heading into training camp this fall, where the two are expected to battle for the backup spot behind Mike Smith.
Yet, Gillies’ extension may prove otherwise. A one-way contract in 2019-20 could indicate that the Flames fully expect Gillies to be a full-time NHLer in two years. If he isn’t, then Calgary risks losing him on waivers at that time. Flames beat writer Ryan Pike also points out that Gillies needs 16 appearances – five more than last year – or he will otherwise become a Group 6 free agent at the end of the contract. If the Flames want to protect Gillies long-term, they need to get him into some games. Of course, this whole status quo all change with the arbitration decision in Rittich’s case, but it certainly seems as if the organization may be leaning toward Gillies as their goalie of the future.
San Jose Sharks Place Noah Rod On Unconditional Waivers
It sounds like the end of the line for Noah Rod in a San Jose Sharks uniform, as the team has placed him on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. Rod only signed his entry-level contract in March of 2017, but will likely return to Switzerland after playing just 11 games for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. Selected in the second round in 2014, Rod is only 22 years old.
It’s a tough end to the relationship for a young prospect and team, given that there wasn’t much of an evaluation period. Rod made it clear that he only wanted to play for the Sharks, not the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, and returned to Switzerland quickly after failing to make the NHL. Though he wasn’t playing against the very top competition in the AHL or NLA, he did go up against some of the best in the world at the most recent World Championships where Switzerland took home a silver medal. He was held scoreless in the tournament, which isn’t very surprising given his relatively low point totals throughout his professional career.
Rod is a ball of energy on the ice, banging and crashing in all three zones. It’s that limited offensive ceiling that makes this loss easier to swallow for the Sharks, who while sinking some expensive draft capital into the player couldn’t have expected a top-six player at this point. There is a chance he catches on with another NHL team at some point, but if he remains unwilling to go to the minor leagues first there may not be a spot for him. Instead, the winger will likely continue to suit up in the NLA and for his country internationally, trying to develop his game further.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Three Players
The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed three minor league players, inking Teddy Blueger, Thomas Di Pauli and Ethan Prow to one-year two-way contracts worth $650K at the NHL. All three signings had been noted previously, but are now officially on the books for the Penguins.
All three players are still waiting on their NHL debuts, but will continue to contribute to what has become a very successful minor league development system over the years. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were among the AHL’s best teams last year, and the Wheeling Nailers have been a true lower-level development program for the Penguins for some time. In fact, Prow even played three games for the Nailers this season when there wasn’t enough minutes to go around in the AHL, something the Penguins have embraced in their three-tiered system. Prow, an undrafted defenseman out of the NCAA, also recorded 17 points in 40 games for WBS this season.
Out of the three players Blueger likely has the best chance at ever making an impact at the NHL level, though that chance remains quite low. The second-round pick scored 45 points in the AHL last season and continued to grow into a legitimate offensive threat. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a short call-up this season if the Penguins get into injury trouble, but all three players should spend the majority of the season in the minor leagues. The Penguins are fine with paying for experienced depth in the AHL though, and have continually brought in four-year college players to fill out their ranks.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Three RFAs
The Colorado Avalanche are down to one restricted free agent remaining – defenseman Patrik Nemeth – after announcing three contract extensions today with RFAs. Goaltender Spencer Martin, defenseman Ryan Graves, and defenseman Mason Geertsen, whose deal had already been leaked, have all signed one-year contracts for upcoming season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Martin, the most well-known of the trio, has been a mainstay in net in the minors for the Avalanche for the past few years. Martin has made 84 starts for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage over the past two seasons as well as three NHL appearances. Martin’s numbers at both levels are rather pedestrian, but the 23-year-old was Colorado’s top goaltender prospect until the team used a third-round pick on big Finnish keeper Justus Annunen this June. Between losing that title and the team’s additions of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz in net, Martin is facing a big season in 2018-19 with his relevance in the Avs’ system in doubt.
Graves, 23, was just recently acquired by Colorado at the trade deadline in a swap of defensive prospects with the New York Rangers. The big blue liner was a 2013 fourth-round pick who has produced well in the AHL to this point in his pro career, but has yet to get a shot at the NHL. Graves is far from a polished prospect but still has some upside to his game that brings both physicality and play-making ability.
Like Graves, Geertsen has also failed to make it to the highest level yet in his career. Similar to Graves in size and experience, at 23 Geertsen still lacks a pro-caliber offensive game. Last season was his first spent entirely in the AHL, as Geertsen has previously spent extensive time in the ECHL.
Snapshots: KHL, Steelheads, Buchberger
According to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, Philip Holm has signed with the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo of the KHL, ending his North American career before it ever really took off. After signing last summer with the Vancouver Canucks, Holm played in one NHL game and was eventually traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Brendan Leipsic. Given no NHL playing time in Vegas, he’s decided to go to the KHL where he should receive plenty of minutes and be able to show off his offensive upside. Holm was given a qualifying offer meaning the Golden Knights will retain his rights.
Former Canucks top prospect Nicklas Jensen will also be remaining in the KHL next year, after agreed to use his one-year option with Jokerit. Jensen scored 37 points to lead Jokerit last season, after failing to carve out a role with the New York Rangers in 2016-17. A talented offensive forward who has dominated the AHL at times, Jensen is now 25 and may not get another chance at the NHL level in his career.
- The Dallas Stars have reached a two-year agreement with the Idaho Steelheads to continue their minor league partnership, extending a long affiliation with the ECHL club. The Steelheads have won two Kelly Cups during their partnership with the Stars, and will be looking for another one in 2018-19 after going 44-20-8 last season. One of the most successful ECHL teams (and before that WCHL teams) in history, Dallas will continue to supply them with talented players for at least the next two seasons.
- Kelly Buchberger is the latest New York Islanders assistant coach to find work elsewhere, hired as head coach of the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. When Barry Trotz was brought in as the new head coach of the Islanders it was expected he would bring an entire new staff, and Buchberger has found a nice landing spot as the bench boss of the Americans. Tri-City has been to the WHL playoffs in 14 of the last 15 seasons, though they are still looking for a championship; Buchberger will be asked to take them there.
Devon Toews, Kyle Burroughs Agree To Terms With New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have locked up a pair of restricted free agents, agreeing to terms with Kyle Burroughs and Devon Toews to two-year contracts. Burroughs’ contract will be two-way, paying him a lower salary at the AHL level. No other financial details have been released.
Neither Toews nor Burroughs has made their debut at the NHL level yet, but are key parts of a Bridgeport Sound Tigers team that is looking to take another step forward this season. Toews especially could give the team a big boost after playing in only 30 games due to a shoulder injury. He had 22 points in those 30 contests though, showing off his offensive upside once again. In his first professional season in 2016-17, Toews recorded 45 points and was a dominant powerplay option for the Sound Tigers who at that point also had Ryan Pulock recording nearly nightly points. While Pulock has now moved on to the NHL, Toews will remain a strong option for Bridgeport this season.
Burroughs doesn’t have the same sort of offensive upside, but has developed into a solid minor league player over the last few seasons. Originally selected in the seventh round five years ago, he spent some time in the ECHL before cementing his spot with the Sound Tigers and providing a solid physical option for the club. With 25 points last season he showed that he can effectively move the puck as well, and should log big minutes this season in the AHL.
Neither signing represents much for the NHL team outside of potential injury call-ups, but does keep a solid core in place for Bridgeport. New GM Lou Lamoriello is determined to create a winning organization in New York, and part of that starts with a successful minor league development program. Though Toews and Burroughs aren’t likely to make a huge NHL impact given their ages (24 and 23 respectively) and lack of experience, they fill out an organizational depth chart that has been made deeper this offseason despite losing some of their very best players in John Tavares and Calvin de Haan.
Calgary Flames Sign Morgan Klimchuk To One-Year Deal
The Calgary Flames announced they have signed restricted free agent Morgan Klimchuk to a one-year, two-way deal with a $700K AAV.
Klimchuk, the team’s 2013 first-round pick, has played in just one NHL game, but been able to post solid numbers while he’s been developing his game with the Stockton Heat the last few years. The 23-year-old has put up two 19-goal seasons in the AHL. With Calgary adding several forwards to their team this offseason, including James Neal, Elias Lindholm, Derek Ryan, Alan Quine and Austin Czarnik, Klimchuk, a Calgary native, is not likely to break camp with the Flames and is likely to return to Stockton for another season.
The signing leaves the Flames with eight more restricted free agent contracts to deal with, including Lindholm, Mark Jankowski, Garnet Hathaway, Noah Hanifin, Brett Kulak, David Rittich, Hunter Shinkaruk and Jon Gillies.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Justin Bailey To One-Year Contract
The Buffalo Sabres have signed another restricted free agent as they have signed Justin Bailey to a one-year, two-way contract worth $715K. The winger will still have two RFA years remaining after next season. It marks the third restricted free agent to ink a new deal after Danny O’Regan signed earlier today, while Nicholas Baptiste signed on Saturday.
Bailey has been solid at every level he’s played so far, but hasn’t been able to break into the Sabres’ lineup. While he has the size and speed to play in the NHL, he hasn’t found the skill or consistency yet. The 23-year-old potted 20 goals twice with the Rochester Americans of the AHL and spent a lot of time going back and forth between Rochester and Buffalo this past year. The Buffalo native scored 10 goals and five assists in 37 games with the Americans this season, while posting three goals and an assist in 12 games with the Sabres.
Bailey’s contract is for less than he made during his entry-level deal when he was making $894K at the NHL level. The Sabres still have two restricted free agents remaining as they still have to sign winger C.J. Smith and most importantly center Sam Reinhart.
Minor Transactions: 7/15/18
As the off-season wears on, players are feeling the pressure to make a decision. Restricted free agents have until 4pm CT tonight to accept their qualifying offers, while veterans are also beginning to feel like they should take the best offer on the table. Keep up with all of the action here:
- CapFriendly reports that New Jersey Devils defenseman Michael Kapla has accepted his qualifying offer of a one-year, two-way deal worth $874,125 at the NHL level and $70K at the AHL level. Kapla originally signed a two-year deal with the Devils back in 2017 at the end of the NCAA season. The UMass-Lowell captain even suited up for five games with New Jersey down the stretch. However, Kapla did not make an NHL appearance last season, playing the entire campaign with the Binghamton Devils. Even in the AHL, he was overshadowed by the likes of Steven Santini and Jacob MacDonald. With MacDonald signing elsewhere and Santini likely to be full-time in New Jersey – once he signs his own contract – Kapla could be the top minor league option on the blue line for the Devils, but newcomers Eric Gryba and John Ramage may have other plans.
- One defenseman who won’t be in the mix for any NHL teams is Evgeny Medvedev. The Russian rearguard has re-signed with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, per a team release. Medvedev is coming off the best season of his KHL career; the Avangard captain led the team in average time on ice and recorded a career-high 30 points in 54 games. There was some speculation that, at 35 years old, this performance might spike some interest from Medvedev in taking one last shot at the NHL. He previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015-16, but underwhelmed with just 12 points in 45 games. Whether the interest was lacking from Medvedev or the NHL market, it seems he opted to just return to Omsk and – assuming he can’t top last season as he enters the twilight of his career – is likely done with the NHL for good.
Flyers Sign RFA’s Taylor Leier And Tyrell Goulbourne
The Philadelphia Flyers have had a busy morning, announcing new one-year contracts for both Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne and confirming the signing of Danick Martel, also to a one-year deal which had been previously reported. While Martel simply accepted his qualifying offer, the other two contracts were negotiated. No salary terms were revealed by the team, but CapFriendly reports that Leier will make $720K on a one-way deal, while Goulbourne will likely play on a two-way deal similar to Martel’s.
Leier’s contract is interesting for many reasons. The first, and most pressing, is that it negates an August 3rd arbitration hearing date. Leier had filed for salary arbitration after spending the entire 2017-18 season in Philadelphia. While Leier only played in 39 games, it is easy to see why he might not be agreeable to a two-way deal after avoiding the AHL for an entire campaign. However, Leier’s qualifying offer was of a two-way nature. Rather than agree to that deal, the two sides worked out a contract that actually comes in below the qualifying offer value, but with a one-way status. Leier, 24, collected five points last season and will be looking to improve his production in the coming season.
Goulbourne finally cracked the NHL last season after his first two pro years were spent entirely in the minors, including half a season in the ECHL. The 24-year-old managed to get into nine games with the Flyers, though he was held scoreless and saw under six minutes of ice time per night in a fill-in role. Goulbourne wasn’t super productive with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms either, recording just 19 points in 63 games. Although Goulbourne is a more defensive-minded forward, he’ll need to show a more well-rounded offensive game if he wants to earn another long stay in Philadelphia.
With these three forwards locked up, Philadelphia has just two more restricted free agents to deal with. Defenseman Robert Hagg, who was very reliable in 70 games as a rookie on the Flyers’ blue line, is a interesting case to follow, as the team needs to be careful about the length and value of the contracts they hand out to their many promising young defenseman, as setting a bad precedent could bury them. The situation with goaltender Anthony Stolarz is also curious, as the young keeper missed most of last season due to injury after previously looking like a future star in seven starts with Philly in 2016-17. He now has to compete with Alex Lyon and Carter Hart for the honor of “heir apparent” and the Flyers might be wondering if that is one goalie too many to compete or at least how much they are willing to pay to keep another young backstop around.