Prospect Notes: Sykora, Gorman, Moore, McCarthy
Rangers prospect Adam Sykora got a taste of playing in North America down the stretch last season, including four playoff games with AHL Hartford. The 18-year-old spent most of the year in Slovakia in 2022-23 (producing 21 points in 39 games) and could return to that league next season but he told Mollie Walker of the New York Post that his preference is to play in the minors with the Wolf Pack. Sykora was the 63rd pick by New York in the 2022 draft and has already signed his entry-level deal. His CHL rights are held by Medicine Hat but it seems unlikely that he’d be sent to play major junior after seeing time in Slovakia’s pro league in each of the last three seasons.
Other prospect news from around the hockey world:
- Blackhawks prospect Liam Gorman has transferred to the University of Massachusetts, the school announced. Originally a sixth-round pick by Pittsburgh back in 2018 (177th overall), the 23-year-old had a strong senior season at Princeton, notching 12 goals and 12 assists in 32 games. In his first two campaigns (he didn’t play in 2020-21), Gorman had just 12 points in total. With 2023-24 being his final year of eligibility, Gorman will be looking to earn a pro contract with how he plays for the Minutemen next season.
- Still with Chicago, the Blackhawks tried to move up with their second selection in the first round of last month’s draft, notes Ben Pope of the Chicago-Sun Times. Their target was center Oliver Moore out of the US National Team Development Program but after being ranked as a likely late lottery selection, they didn’t expect him to slip to 19. However, that’s exactly what happened, allowing Chicago to add their second middleman after picking Connor Bedard with the first-overall selection.
- Sabres prospect Gavin McCarthy was part of the trade that saw Shane Wright get traded close to the OHL trade deadline last season. However, he indicated to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that despite his inclusion in the swap, he intends to honor his original commitment to Boston University. The 18-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick last month (86th overall) after putting up 27 points in 42 games with USHL Muskegon last season.
Coyotes Sign Montana Onyebuchi
Jul 11: Arizona has confirmed the two-year agreement over a week later.
Jul 2: The Coyotes are set to add to their prospect pool as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that Arizona is signing defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to an entry-level deal. As a 23-year-old, that should be a two-year agreement for Onyebuchi; financial terms are not yet known.
The blueliner went undrafted after a five-year WHL career between Everett and Kamloops but landed in San Jose’s system in 2021 on an AHL contract. After splitting the season between the Barracuda and Orlando of the ECHL, Onyebuchi again inked a one-year AHL pact with the Barracuda. Last season, he put up three goals and seven assists in 35 games while picking up 73 penalty minutes.
Since the start of free agency yesterday, we’ve seen a handful of players that were on minor league contracts earn NHL entry-level deals with new organizations and it appears that Onyebuchi will be the next to do so. He’ll push for playing time with AHL Tucson, Arizona’s affiliate, next season in the hopes of moving up their depth chart.
East Notes: Islanders, Amerks, Leblanc
The Islanders were one of the teams interested in winger Alex DeBrincat with Newsday’s Andrew Gross reporting that Jean-Gabriel Pageau and winger Oliver Wahlstrom were part of their pitch to Ottawa to try to get DeBrincat’s services. Presumably, the offer would have also featured a first-round pick and another younger element. Pageau is no stranger to Ottawa having spent parts of eight seasons with the team but the 30-year-old has three years left on his contract with a $5MM AAV, a price tag the Sens likely didn’t want to take on. The total salary in the trade they did make with Detroit was assuming the final year and $2.5MM of Dominik Kubalik’s contract.
Elsewhere in the East:
- The Sabres announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches for AHL Rochester, naming Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal to the role. Paetsch has worked as a development coach for Buffalo for the last two seasons while Prospal most recently served as the head coach for HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga with that stint ending after the 2020-21 campaign. The two former NHL veterans will take the place of two other former veterans that have been promoted to jobs at the top level with Paetsch replacing Mike Weber (Blues) and Prospal filling the spot of Mike Peca (Rangers).
- Anthony Leblanc has stepped down as Ottawa’s President of Business Operations and Alternate Governor, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Leblanc had held that role since 2020 and had previously spent time in the NHL with Arizona from 2013-2017. Changes shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise with Michael Andlauer set to take over soon as the new owner of the team. Andlauer was advised in his pursuit of the team by former Senators executive Cyril Leeder; Garrioch suggests that Leeder could return to the club once the purchase is officially finalized.
Maple Leafs Linked To Brian Elliott
The remaining unrestricted free agent market for goaltenders isn’t exactly the deepest with the options mostly being veteran backups or third-stringers. But it appears at least one netminder has a potential suitor as Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that Brian Elliott could be on his way to Toronto.
The 38-year-old is a 16-year NHL veteran and has spent time with six different teams. Tampa Bay was the last of those squads as Elliott suited up for two seasons with them, posting a 2.96 GAA along with a .900 SV% in 41 games. Notably, Elliott has only surpassed the .900 SV% mark once in the last four seasons.
With that in mind, the connection to the Maple Leafs might seem a bit surprising. However, projected backup Joseph Woll is still inexperienced with just 11 career NHL regular season appearances under his belt. Matt Murray remains in the organization for the time being but with Toronto’s salary cap situation, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be suiting up for them in 2023-24 as things stand.
Meanwhile, among their other four goalies on an NHL contract (Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov, Keith Petruzzelli, and Vyacheslav Peksa), none of them have played a single minute at the top level. Only Petruzzelli (30 games) and Hildeby (two games) have played in the AHL. Accordingly, counting on any of them to come up and serve as an injury replacement for Ilya Samsonov or Woll would be risky.
Perhaps that’s where Elliott could fit in. While playing in the AHL seems unlikely at this stage of his career, he could be someone who is waived and officially stashed with the AHL Marlies but doesn’t actually suit up for them, instead simply skating to stay ready. Basically, something similar to what they did with Wayne Simmonds for long stretches of last season.
A role like that might not be the most endearing but it would give Elliott a chance to sign with his hometown team and – who knows – perhaps get a few more NHL appearances under his belt. If not Elliott, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Toronto look at another veteran to fill this type of role in 2023-24.
Snapshots: Snow, Flames, Morozov
Former Islanders GM Garth Snow hasn’t been officially on the job since 2018 but is only now officially a free agent with his payout from the team ending last month. Now that he’s allowed to speak publicly, he told Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription link) that he is hoping to join another franchise in some sort of front-office capacity. Snow had a rather strange journey to the front office, going from being New York’s backup goalie to their GM in a matter of weeks. The team didn’t have a lot of playoff success under his watch (they got past the first round just once) but several players he drafted during his tenure are playing key roles for the Isles. While a GM job doesn’t seem likely, it’s possible that Snow could land a different role in someone’s front office in the coming months.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Speaking with reporters today including Ryan Pike of Flames Nation (Twitter link), Calgary GM Craig Conroy stated that he’s hoping to have a new AHL head coach in place within the next week or so. Mitch Love was the reigning two-time Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award winner for Coach of the Year but after being passed up for the top job in Calgary, he accepted an assistant coaching role with Washington earlier this summer.
- Vegas’ AHL team in Henderson announced that they have loaned winger Ivan Morozov to Spartak of the KHL for next season. The 23-year-old played his first full season in North America last season, picking up six goals and 11 assists in 57 games. Morozov has one year left on his contract with the Golden Knights and considering that he’ll be spending next season overseas, it seems safe to infer that he’s unlikely to be re-signed at this point in time. If that’s the case, it won’t be a great return on a late second-round selection from back in 2018 (61st overall).
Coyotes Agree To Terms With Nathan Smith
Saturday: The team has officially announced the signing. Per club policy, financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Wednesday: One player that was eligible to file for salary arbitration earlier today but didn’t was Coyotes center Nathan Smith. There’s a good reason for that, however, as Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports (Twitter link) that the two sides have agreed on a one-year contract and the paperwork is just getting finalized.
The 24-year-old was a third-round pick by Winnipeg back in 2018 (91st overall) but didn’t sign with the Jets. Instead, he was moved along with the LTIR contract of Bryan Little to Arizona back in March of 2022, quickly turning pro thereafter.
While Smith played ten games down the stretch that season with Arizona, playing time at the top level was harder to come by last season. He got into just four games with the Coyotes, averaging just 7:27 per night of playing time. Things went a bit better for him with AHL Tucson as he got into 64 games down there, tallying a dozen goals along with 15 assists.
A one-year, presumably two-way contract would certainly make sense for both sides to allow Smith to try to show that he’s capable of being a part of Arizona’s plans like it seemed was the case a little over a year ago. Still waiver-exempt for one more season, it’s likely that Smith will have to start with the Roadrunners again and try to play his way into a recall as the season progresses.
Coyotes Have Held Preliminary Extension Talks With Andre Tourigny
Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny is set to enter the final year of his contract. Typically, teams don’t like having coaches in ‘lame duck’ years although we’ve seen that happen a few times in recent years. The bench boss indicated to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan that so far, talks about a new contract have strictly been preliminary with the term of an agreement and the fate of his staff being among the elements discussed.
The 49-year-old has been the bench boss for Arizona for the past two seasons and while his 53-90-21 record isn’t overly exciting on the surface, the Coyotes are squarely in the heart of a rebuild. To that end, they’ve been a fairly competitive squad most nights in spite of the fact they haven’t iced the more talented team in most of their games.
Perhaps more importantly, there appears to have been a positive culture established, something both Nick Bjugstad and Troy Stecher acknowledged as a factor in their decisions to return to Arizona as free agents earlier this month. It also likely played a role in them landing Jason Zucker and Alex Kerfoot, two capable forwards, on the open market.
Tourigny negotiated his first contract on his own but indicated that he wants to hire an agent to get this next one finalized. That hasn’t happened yet which should further hammer home that the discussions so far have been more casual. However, Tourigny has clearly indicated to GM Bill Armstrong that he wants to remain with Arizona beyond the 2023-24 campaign and with how they’ve performed under his watch despite the talent mismatch, it seems reasonable to think an extension will get done eventually. Tourigny is comfortable going into the season without a new contract but it shouldn’t get to that point.
East Notes: Bruins, Blue Jackets, Hirvonen
The Bruins are hopeful that they’ll be able to avoid arbitration with their three free agents who filed earlier this week, GM Don Sweeney told reporters (video link). Goaltender Jeremy Swayman highlights that group as his reward will ultimately determine if they need to make another cost-clearing move; recent comparable signings could push his award past the $4MM mark in a hearing. Winger Trent Frederic will be in for a nice raise after putting up a career-best 31 points in 79 games and could double his previous $1.05MM AAV on his next deal. Meanwhile, blueliner Ian Mitchell is the other filer but he isn’t likely to get much more than his $874K qualifying offer; it wouldn’t be shocking to see them settle for a lower NHL price tag in exchange for a pricier AHL salary. Boston has just shy of $7MM in cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly, and it’s possible that it could cost more than that to sign these three.
Elsewhere in the East:
- The Blue Jackets are still looking to add a veteran goaltender this summer, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). With Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov in place as the tandem in Columbus, they’re instead looking for a third-stringer with some NHL experience that can split time in the minors with Jet Greaves but also be called upon if one of their top two get injured. There are a handful of players in free agency that can fill that role while they could also look to pick one up in a swap if they try to make a move from their potential forward surplus.
- Maple Leafs prospect Roni Hirvonen suffered a concussion earlier today in a scrimmage game at Toronto’s development camp, notes David Alter of Sports Illustrated. Assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser indicated that the 21-year-old will need some time to recover. Hirvonen was a second-round pick by Toronto back in 2020 (59th overall) and spent last season on loan to HIFK in Finland where he had 28 points in 57 games. He’s expected to play in North America this upcoming season with the AHL Marlies.
Kings Re-Sign Akil Thomas
The Kings have signed their final remaining restricted free agent, announcing they’ve inked forward Akil Thomas to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay the NHL minimum of $775K at the NHL level.
The 23-year-old was a second-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2018 (51st overall) and was a prolific point producer at the OHL level, recording 186 points in just 112 games in his two post-draft seasons. That helped Thomas earn an entry-level deal back in 2019, one that expired at the end of last month.
However, Thomas spent the entirety of that entry-level pact in the minors with AHL Ontario. He got off to a nice start last season with the Reign, picking up five goals and three assists in 13 games. However, in mid-November, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, undergoing surgery soon thereafter. It’s the second time Thomas has had shoulder trouble; he had double-shoulder surgery back in 2021.
In his career, Thomas has just 93 professional games under his belt with Ontario where he has done relatively well, totaling 24 goals and 23 assists. He will be waiver-eligible in the fall so he’ll need to pass through unclaimed if he’s to return to the Reign. But with a little over a year’s worth of cumulative professional experience and coming off another shoulder surgery, it seems like there’s a good chance he’ll be able to do so successfully and will try to show that he’s fully recovered in the fall with Ontario, trying to earn his first NHL recall from there.
Sabres Notes: Free Agency, Wahlberg, Amerks
While Buffalo was active on the opening day of free agency, their NHL signings were on the back end with the pickups of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton. However, GM Kevyn Adams told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that they were also looking to make an addition up front and even got close to one before it fell through. With Jack Quinn tearing his Achilles tendon in offseason training which will keep him out for a couple of months in-season at least, there’s now an open spot on the wing that they could have been looking to fill on a short-term deal. With that in mind, the Sabres are a team to keep an eye out on as the UFA market slows down; perhaps a bargain option will present itself later in the summer. Alternatively, Quinn’s injury could also put a possible Victor Olofsson swap on hold.
More from Buffalo:
- Last month, the Sabres selected center Anton Wahlberg with the 39th selection in the draft. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News relays that Buffalo tried to trade for a second first-round pick without success and then tried to trade up in the second round (also without success) to secure Wahlberg, who was clearly rated much higher on their list. Wahlberg was close to a point-per-game player in Sweden’s junior level last season and is poised to have a full-time spot with Malmo of the SHL in 2023-24.
- Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester brought back three veterans yesterday, announcing the re-signings of forwards Mason Jobst and Brendan Warren along with goaltender Michael Houser on minor-league deals. Jobst had a career-best 38 points in 63 games for the Amerks last season while Warren chipped in with seven in 43 contests before putting up five in seven playoff appearances. As for Houser, he had a 2.80 GAA with a .906 SV% in 21 appearances while having his contract converted to an NHL one for the third year in a row back in February.