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Tomas Tatar On EV Zug’s Radar

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In his prime, veteran winger Tomas Tatar was a quality secondary scorer, notching seven seasons of at least 20 goals.  However, his production and role have dropped in recent years and it appears that has caught the eye of at least one international team.

Speaking with the Zuger Zeitung last weekend, EV Zug’s manager Reto Klay acknowledged that Tatar is on a shortlist of players the team intends to target this offseason, one that also includes former NHL winger Dominik Kubalik.  Zug has seven import players to sign for next season so they’ll be casting a wide net to do so; Klay acknowledged that his shortlist currently consists of somewhere between 20 and 30 players.

After his contract with Montreal ended in 2021, Tatar inked a two-year, $9MM contract with New Jersey.  However, his market wasn’t the strongest in 2023 despite a 20-goal, 48-point campaign, resulting in him settling for a one-year, $1.8MM pact.  Then this past summer, he opted to sign quickly, taking $1.5MM to return to the Devils.

Last season, Tatar had just nine goals and 15 assists in 70 games between Colorado and Seattle.  This year, he has just seven tallies and ten helpers in 71 contests while his playing time is down to just 11 minutes a night, a career low.  Given the sharp drop in production, there’s a strong possibility that Tatar could have a weak market this summer, potentially landing in PTO territory.  With that in mind, it’s understandable that Zug (and perhaps other international teams) have him on their radar for next season.

It remains to be seen if Tatar would be open to playing overseas at this point of his career.  Now 34 and with over 900 NHL regular season games under his belt, would he prefer a low-cost NHL contract or even a tryout opportunity to try to extend his career at the top level?  Or, would he be open to heading overseas where he’d take a pay cut but get to play in the top-six role that he’s best suited for?  He still has a few more months to make that determination.

Oilers Sign Atro Leppanen

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The Oilers will soon be announcing the addition of Quinn Hutson and they’ve made another addition to their prospect pool today.  The team announced that they’ve signed defenseman Atro Leppanen to a one-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal, which begins next season, were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that it will carry a $975K cap hit.

The 26-year-old is the definition of a late bloomer.  Just two seasons ago, Leppanen was playing in Finland’s second-tier Mestis but that year, he had a dominant showing with Kiekko-Espoo that saw him put up 23 goals and 35 assists in 51 games, finishing fourth in the league in scoring, tops among defensemen.  That earned him a tryout agreement with Sport at the Liiga level, one that he was able to convert to a full-season contract.

Last season, Leppanen did well in his first season with Sport, tallying 12 goals and 16 assists in 55 games, good numbers for a first-year defenseman.  But this year, he found an entire new gear.  Leppanen set a new league record for points by a blueliner (breaking a record shared by former NHLers Brian Rafalski and Pekka Rautakallio) while leading the entire league in scoring, collecting 21 goals and 42 assists in 60 games while averaging more than 23 minutes a night of playing time.

That performance had Leppanen on the radar heading into free agency.  It’s believed he had an SHL contract on the table but he was able to beat that with this deal.  It will be interesting to see if the Oilers envision Leppanen pushing for a spot at the end of the NHL roster to provide some secondary offense from the back end or if their intention is to start him with AHL Bakersfield.  As things stand, Edmonton has five of their regular blueliners under contract for 2025-26 with Evan Bouchard and Ty Emberson needing new deals as restricted free agents.

Oilers Sign Samuel Jonsson

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The Oilers have agreed to terms on a contract with one of their goaltending prospects.  The team announced that they’ve signed Samuel Jonsson to a three-year, entry-level deal. He’ll earn a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season for a cap hit of $855K, per PuckPedia. While the release didn’t specify when the agreement begins, it’s likely that it won’t start until next season.

The 21-year-old was picked in the fifth round back in 2022, going 158th overall.  At that point, the highest level he had played at was Sweden’s Under-20 league and was coming off a rather pedestrian season.  However, Jonsson stands 6’5 and many teams around the league have taken late-round dart throws on taller goaltenders.

This particular throw could still pan out for the Oilers.  While Jonsson has yet to play at the SHL level, he had an impressive season with BIK Karlskoga of the second-tier Allsvenskan.  He played in 24 games this year, posting a 1.88 GAA and a .922 SV% along with six shutouts, earning himself Goalie of the Year honors.

It will be interesting to see what Edmonton’s plans for Jonsson are next season.  They have Connor Ungar and Nathaniel Day under contract already, while Olivier Rodrigue will be a restricted free agent and seems likely to be retained.  With that in mind, will the Oilers look to bring Jonsson over to North America and potentially play him in the ECHL or might they decide to leave him in Sweden and hope that he lands with an SHL team to continue his development closer to home?  They’ll at least have a few months to determine the best course of action on that front.

Sharks Recall Thomas Bordeleau

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This hasn’t been the type of season that Sharks forward Thomas Bordeleau had hoped for.  Instead of landing a full-time spot in San Jose, he has played exclusively with the AHL’s Barracuda thus far.  However, it appears as if he’ll gets at least one chance with the big club as the team announced (Twitter link) that Bordeleau has been recalled.

The 23-year-old played in 27 games with the Sharks last season, notching six goals and five assists in a little over 15 minutes a night, appearing to give himself a realistic shot at securing a regular role in the lineup.  He accepted his qualifying offer in late July but after spending the first two weeks of the season on injured reserve, Bordeleau was sent down and until today, hadn’t been recalled.

Bordeleau has had a decent season with the Barracuda.  Through 59 games, he has 14 goals and 24 assists, putting him three points shy of his personal best set back in 2021-22, his first full professional campaign.  However, his assist total is a new career-high.  He’ll once again be a restricted free agent this summer and should sign for close to his new qualifying offer of $917.8K.

Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News notes (Twitter link) that the Sharks have already used their four post-deadline regular recalls, meaning that this is an emergency recall.  It’s unclear which forward’s availability for Sunday’s game against Calgary is in question at this time but head coach David Warsofsky noted earlier this week that Alexander Wennberg has been playing through an injury for a while now.

Panthers Sign Jack Devine

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After an impressive college career, Jack Devine is turning pro.  The Panthers announced that they have signed the winger to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  GM Bill Zito released the following statement:

Jack is an agile skater with high-end offensive talent who has excelled throughout his collegiate hockey career over the past four seasons with the University of Denver.  We are thrilled for Jack to join the Florida Panthers organization.

The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick in 2022, going 221st overall after playing his freshman season at the University of Denver that saw him record 19 points in 31 games.  It’s fair to say that he has significantly outperformed that selection already.

After upping his point total to 31 in his sophomore year, Devine found another gear offensively last season.  In 44 games for the Pioneers, he notched 27 goals and 29 assists, leading Denver and all of Division I in scoring while helping lead Denver to the NCAA title.  This season, he showed that the uptick wasn’t a one-off as he collected 13 goals and 44 helpers in 44 games, once again leading all of Division I in points.  Overall, his four-year college career ends with him averaging just over a point per game with 163 points in 162 games.

While Devine won’t be able to play for Florida down the stretch, he will be able to make his professional debut.  While not announced by the team, he has signed with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The Checkers have already locked up a playoff spot so it might not take long for Devine to see game action with them.  A good showing with them could help Devine get on the NHL radar for next season with the Panthers likely needing some low-cost forwards to round out their roster, especially if they re-sign or replace pending UFAs Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad.

Canucks Recall Nikita Tolopilo And Ty Mueller

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The Canucks have brought up a pair of players for their game tonight against Minnesota, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Nikita Tolopilo and forward Ty Mueller from AHL Abbotsford on an emergency basis.

It’s the third recall in the last two months for Tolopilo, who has still not made his NHL debut.  The 25-year-old has played in 34 games with Abbotsford this season, putting up a 2.68 GAA and a .901 SV%, numbers that are pretty close to his first year in North America last season (2.83 and .905, respectively).  He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.  Sportsnet 960’s Brendan Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Thatcher Demko didn’t take part in the morning skate, suggesting that Tolopilo’s recall is to cover Demko’s spot on the roster.

As for Mueller, it’s his first career NHL recall.  The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Canucks in 2023 and signed one year later.  This is Mueller’s first professional season and he has fared reasonably well, sitting fourth on Abbotsford in scoring with 12 goals and 26 assists in 62 games.  Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Max Sasson is not taking part in the morning skate so it appears Mueller – who lined up on the second line at the skate – is up to take Sasson’s place.

With both moves qualifying as emergency recalls, they won’t count toward Vancouver’s post-deadline regular recall limit.

Oilers Recall Derek Ryan On An Emergency Basis

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With Edmonton’s long list of injuries continuing to grow, the Oilers have brought back a familiar forward.  The team announced that they’ve recalled center Derek Ryan from AHL Bakersfield on an emergency basis.  Additionally, blueliner Cam Dineen is back up as well; he was recalled on Thursday and papered back to the minors late Friday.

Ryan spent the first half of the season in Edmonton but struggled to produce in limited minutes, notching just one goal and four assists in his first 33 outings.  That resulted in the 38-year-old being placed on waivers in January with the Oilers opting to look at some other options for that roster spot.  Eventually, they turned to the trade market to try to fill it but their most notable deadline acquisition up front, Trent Frederic, has only played once and is injured once again.

Aside from a two-game stint with the big club last month, Ryan has played with the Condors, his first taste of AHL action since the 2015-16 season when he returned to North America after playing in Sweden.  Ryan has suited up in 13 games with Bakersfield so far, picking up three goals and five assists.  His absence will certainly hurt the Condors, who remain in a close battle for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Dineen wasn’t needed last night with Mattias Ekholm returning to the lineup.  However, with Ekholm being injured just a few shifts in and Jake Walman’s availability for Sunday still in question, Dineen will get to stay with the big club a little while longer.

Ducks Sign Ian Moore

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The Ducks have officially signed one of their defense prospects, announcing that they’ve inked defenseman Ian Moore to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins this season while financial terms were not disclosed.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Anaheim in 2020, going 67th overall after playing at St. Mark’s at the high school level.  Moore then spent one season with USHL Chicago before beginning his college career at Harvard in 2021.

Moore spent four seasons with the Crimson with his best offensive showing coming in his sophomore year when he had 19 points in 34 games.  This season, he came up a bit short of that point total, notching three goals and 11 helpers in 32 contests before turning pro last month on a tryout deal with AHL San Diego.

Moore has done well with the Gulls, collecting a goal and four assists in nine games which has helped him officially secure this contract.  Speculatively, the concept of starting in the minors and then being converted to an NHL deal that begins this season was likely discussed last month when Moore first joined San Diego.  While it’s not a common route for prospects, Anaheim did this with Sam Colangelo last season, starting him with the Gulls and then converting his deal late.

With the signing, Moore will now report to Anaheim for their final three games and will join the team today for practice.  By burning a year early, he’ll become a restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason.

Blackhawks Sign Aidan Thompson

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The Blackhawks have signed another one of their promising prospects.  A couple of weeks after inking Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel, they announced that they’ve signed forward Aidan Thompson to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins next season and will carry a cap hit of $895K.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Chicago back in 2022, going 90th overall after an impressive showing with USHL Lincoln where he had 82 points in 57 games, putting him fourth in league scoring.  Thompson then made the jump to the University of Denver for the 2022-23 campaign and did well in his freshman year, notching 32 points in as many games with them.

Things didn’t go as well for Thompson from an individual standpoint last year.  While Denver won the NCAA title, his output dipped slightly to 11 goals and 19 assists in 44 games, raising some question marks heading into this season.  Those were certainly answered and then some, however, as Thompson finished the year with 21 goals and 34 assists in 44 games, good for not just second on the Pioneers in scoring but second in Division I overall.  That performance was clearly enough for Chicago to get him to put pen to paper on his first professional contract.

While Thompson’s deal doesn’t start until next season, he should have a chance to make his pro debut in the coming days as he has inked a tryout agreement with AHL Rockford.  The IceHogs have five games left in their regular season and are getting close to clinching the final playoff spot in the Central Division so Thompson should be able to get into the lineup with them in the near future.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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The Stars have added a bit of depth to their back end heading into tonight’s game versus Utah.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for the 33-year-old although playing time on the first three was hard to come by.  Petrovic has been limited to just three games this season in Dallas, being held off the scoresheet in a little over 35 minutes of action.  Still, it’s the second straight season of him getting into an NHL game which is notable as prior to last year, Petrovic’s last action at the top level was back in 2018-19.

Petrovic has once again spent the bulk of the season in Texas and through 58 outings with them, he has five goals and 20 assists.  Texas has been Petrovic’s professional home for the last four years and likely will be his home again next season as he has one season left on his two-year, two-way contract signed last summer.

Team radio analyst Bruce LeVine relays (Twitter link) that several players are questionable for tonight’s game due to illness so it appears as if Petrovic is up as insurance if some of the defensemen can’t go.  In that case, he’ll qualify as an emergency recall and not count against their post-deadline limit of four.

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