Red Wings Loan Filip Larsson To Sweden
Filip Larsson’s international hockey journey will continue for another year. HV71 of Sweden’s Allsvenskan announced that they’ve added the goaltender on loan from the Red Wings for the 2021-22 season and have signed him to a one-year contract.
This season, the 22-year-old started on a loan to Almtuna in Sweden’s second-tier league before transferring to Frederikshavn in Denmark in January. His numbers in both leagues weren’t particularly strong as he managed just a .883 SV% in Sweden and a .889 mark in Denmark, numbers that don’t inspire much confidence in his NHL potential.
Larsson was a sixth-round pick of Detroit back in 2016 (167th overall) out of Djurgarden’s junior system in Sweden. He came to North America in 2017, spending one year in the USHL before moving to the NCAA level with Denver the following season. Somewhat surprisingly, he left the school after just his freshman year to sign with the Red Wings, a decision that looks like a mistake in hindsight. He struggled in his lone season in their system in 2019-20 which was split between the AHL and ECHL, helping to prompt the loans for this year.
Larsson is entering the final year of his entry-level contract in 2021-22 and the fact that he has been loaned back home already coupled with his recent struggles suggests that it’s quite unlikely that Detroit will be tendering him a qualifying offer in 2022.
2020-21 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Finalists Announced
The NHL continues its daily revealing of award finalists and today’s is the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The award is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is given “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”. The finalists for the award are Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, and Wild blueliner Jared Spurgeon.
Matthews led the league in goals this season with 41, picking up his first career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy along the way. He logged plenty of ice time, finishing fifth among NHL forwards in ATOI at 21:33 per game and despite that, he only collected ten penalty minutes over his 50 games this season. Among the top 25 scorers in the league, only Rangers winger Artemi Panarin had fewer penalty minutes (six) although he also played in eight fewer games. It’s the second straight season that Matthews is a finalist for the award after finishing second in balloting last year.
Slavin, meanwhile, has been quite disciplined in terms of staying out of the box throughout his six-year NHL career but took that to a whole new level this season. In 52 games this season, he logged 22:59 per game and had a grand total of one minor penalty. That infraction was for delay of game. Through his 429-game career, Slavin has a total of 60 penalty minutes. It’s his first time being a finalist for this award (he was fourth in voting in 2020) but at the rate he’s going, it won’t be his last.
As for Spurgeon, he has recorded no more than 20 penalty minutes in a single season in his 11-year career and was only called for three minor penalties in 2020-21 despite averaging over 22 minutes a game; the only player to play that much and spend less time in the sin bin was Slavin. This is also Spurgeon’s first time as a finalist for the award although he has received a vote in each of the previous six years.
The award winners will be revealed throughout the final two rounds of the playoffs with the dates and order of announcements still to be determined.
North Notes: Canucks, Rielly, Robertson, DeMelo
The Canucks stayed pat with the ninth selection in next month’s draft but it appears that they’re at least open to listening to offers for the pick. While GM Jim Benning acknowledged that the likeliest outcome is that they make the selection, he told reporters including Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province that he will explore his options:
We’re going to look at everything. We’re going to call other teams and I know we’re going to get a real good player at No. 9. We’re going to have to get a young player who we feel is worth trading the pick. We’re going to keep all our options open.
Last season, the Canucks didn’t have a pick in either the first or second round so their prospect pool could definitely benefit from the boost that a top-ten selection would provide. However, with their stated intention of trying to win with this core, adding another proven player to the roster could also be a palatable option, especially if the flat cap makes some higher-quality players available.
More from the North:
- Still with Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic suggested on the latest Donnie and Dhali show (Twitter link) that the Canucks have Kirk Muller on their radar as a potential addition to their coaching staff as an assistant coach. Muller was with Montreal to start the season before being let go at the same time that Claude Julien was fired in late February.
- While the Maple Leafs have some calls to make on their pending unrestricted free agents, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posits that an even more important one that needs to be made now is on defenseman Morgan Rielly. The blueliner is set to become a UFA next summer and will undoubtedly be seeking a raise on his current $5MM AAV. If they’re able to get him locked up – no talks on an extension have occurred yet – that will greatly impact what else they can do this offseason knowing that they will have another expensive deal on the books in 2022.
- Still with Toronto, one somewhat notable absentee from their first-round loss to Montreal was winger Nicholas Robertson. The 20-year-old saw action in the bubble last summer but as it turns out, he was unavailable due to a concussion sustained in the minors late in the season, relays Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). He was on the verge of being cleared had the Maple Leafs advanced to the second round.
- Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo missed Friday’s second game against Montreal and it appears he’ll miss at least a couple more. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters, including Postmedia’s Ted Wyman, that the blueliner is dealing with a soft tissue injury and will be out for at least a week. Jordie Benn replaced DeMelo in the lineup last night although youngster Ville Heinola could get a look at some point as well.
West Notes: Grubauer, Rossi, Dahlen
Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer had a dominant 2020-21 season, earning himself a Vezina Trophy nomination along the way as he posted a 1.95 GAA along with a .922 SV% in 40 games. That has him extremely well-positioned heading into unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, even in a flat-cap marketplace. However, talks on his next deal haven’t started yet as his agent Allain Roy told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that those discussions will wait until Colorado’s playoff run comes to an end. Grubauer is in the final season of a three-year, $10MM contract and could potentially double that on the open market this summer with a couple of recent comparables at $6MM or higher.
More from the West:
- Wild prospect Marco Rossi has been given the all-clear and will skate for the first time on Saturday as he works his way back from a bout with myocarditis, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Rossi was initially diagnosed with COVID-19 following the World Juniors and was sent home for the season to recover before the heart issue was later revealed. With this good news, Rossi should be ready for next season and will still have three years left on his entry-level contract as his deal will slide since he didn’t see any NHL action.
- Jonathan Dahlen could be making his return to North America. Adam Johansson and Johan Svensson of SportExpressen report that the Sharks are expected to sign the winger for next season. Unhappy with his situation with San Jose, he signed up for a second year with Timra in Sweden’s Allsvenskan after playing there on the final year of his entry-level deal. He has been quite dominant in that stretch, notching 77 points in 51 games last year and 71 and 45 contests this season. The 23-year-old restricted free agent was believed to be seeking a one-way deal to return to North America so it will be interesting to see if he gets it, assuming this eventually comes to fruition.
Offseason Checklist: Vancouver Canucks
The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league finished up after missing the playoffs and eight more being ousted in the first round. It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Vancouver.
The Canucks underwent several significant changes over the offseason which made them a bit of a wild card team heading into the season. However, they didn’t get off to a good start, had injuries all season, and a rough battle with COVID-19 in between. The end result was a seventh-place finish in the seven-team North Division. Ownership decided to keep GM Jim Benning around and he was able to get head coach Travis Green signed to a short-term contract, taking one big item off his to-do list. There is still a lot of work to be done, however.
Free Up Cap Space
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Benning opted to bring in several veterans over the last few offseasons to try to bolster his roster. While some improvements were made, it also took away from their salary cap flexibility. They’ve been into LTIR the last couple of years and are going to be hit with another bonus overage penalty next season. Yes, they have some contracts coming off the books but those players need to be re-signed or replaced. That will be tricky to do without creating some more flexibility.
To that end, Benning suggested at the end of the season that he’s open to using a buyout. However, a lot of those deals (such as Loui Eriksson’s) have a structure that makes the net cap savings minimal. There aren’t many viable options to choose from. That’s why it’s not too surprising that Nate Schmidt’s name has surfaced in trade speculation as of late with the veteran having four years left at a $5.95MM price tag.
Keeping the core intact is one thing but finding a way to add to it to help Vancouver take a step forward will be a significant challenge for Benning over the coming months.
Replace/Retain UFA Defensemen
Let’s look at some of those expiring contracts, particularly on the back end. Alexander Edler has been a fixture on Vancouver’s blueline since the 2006-07 season and he has made it clear on multiple occasions that he wants to remain with the Canucks. He’s coming off a tough season but before that, he had been a steady two-way defender. And even though the 35-year-old struggled, he still logged more than 20 minutes a night. He won’t cost $6MM to sign again but his role isn’t one they can fill from within just yet either.
The other pending UFA that needs to be addressed is Travis Hamonic. A late signee in the offseason, the veteran received a no-move clause which he used to keep himself with Vancouver past the deadline as there was trade interest in him. A capable stay-at-home defender, he’s someone that should command more than the $1.25MM he made this season if he wanted to test the open market. He doesn’t seem to want to so another bargain contract is a possibility.
Of course, dealing with (or replacing) these two doesn’t necessarily add to their roster but it’s still something that will need to happen in the weeks ahead.
New Deals For Young Stars
Adding to the challenges of dealing with the aforementioned defensemen is that most of the money coming off the books will be needed for new contracts for their two top youngsters in defenseman Quinn Hughes and forward Elias Pettersson as both are restricted free agents this summer.
Hughes has quickly become one of the more dangerous offensive rearguards in the league. Over his two full NHL seasons, only three defenders have more points than his 94 – Victor Hedman, John Carlson, and Roman Josi. (Cale Makar also has 94.) That’s impressive company to be in and it will allow the 21-year-old to potentially command a significant contract even in this environment and with just 129 career regular season games under his belt, about the equivalent of a year and a half in non-shortened campaigns. He’s not the strongest player in his own end but offensive stats often drive negotiations and that is certainly in Hughes’ favor. It’s worth noting that while is a restricted free agent, he doesn’t have enough service time to be eligible for an offer sheet.
As for Pettersson, his platform year was hardly an ideal one. He got off to a tough start offensively and then missed the final two months with a wrist injury, only managing 21 points in 26 games as a result. However, the 22-year-old still has plenty going for him. He had two seasons of 66 points before this one, quickly becoming a fixture on the top line in the process. Pettersson also has the ability to play down the middle and that can usually boost a players’ value as well. Unlike Hughes, Pettersson is eligible for an offer sheet (though that’s an unlikely outcome) but also isn’t able to file for arbitration.
In a perfect world, both players would sign long-term contracts that buy out some UFA eligibility, giving the Canucks their two top youngsters for the long haul. But doing that costs considerably more money than a shorter-term bridge contract. Vancouver can’t afford long-term deals for both of them while dealing with their UFA blueliners and filling out the rest of their roster (which still only gets them to where they were at the end of the season and not conceivably better as a result). One could be doable depending on what else Benning has up his sleeve so they’re going to have to choose wisely as to who gets it and who doesn’t.
Extension Talks For Boeser
While they need to deal with Hughes and Pettersson, Benning also has to keep in mind the other big-ticket deal on the horizon as winger Brock Boeser will be a restricted free agent next summer which means he will be eligible to sign a new contract once the calendar flips to the 2021-22 season. He’ll be a year away from unrestricted free agency at that time and since his deal was signed before the new CBA, the qualifying offer is the salary of the final season which is $7.5MM, well above his current $5.875MM AAV.
Knowing that increase will be coming in a year later, Benning would be wise to see what a long-term extension would cost which shouldn’t be much more than that qualifier in this cap environment. That type of certainty would also be useful in terms of budgeting whether or not they can afford long-term contracts for their two star RFAs.
Even if they can’t hammer out a new contract now (one of the sides may prefer to wait and see what next year brings), getting an idea of what the framework of a deal would look like would be very useful as Benning looks to map out the rest of his offseason planning.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Colorado Signs Andreas Wingerli
The Avalanche have added to their prospect pool as they announced the signing of center Andreas Wingerli to a one-year, entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries an AAV of $925K including signing and performance bonuses.
The 23-year-old was under contract with Skelleftea of the SHL for next season but earlier today, his deal was terminated so it was only a matter of time before his destination was announced. Wingerli has seen regular action in Sweden’s top league since 2015-16 where he has developed into a reliable two-way presence while being known for his speed. This season, he played in 50 games, finishing fifth in scoring with a dozen goals and 16 assists along with 66 penalty minutes.
His performance this year helped him earn a spot on Sweden’s entry at the World Championships. While they didn’t qualify for the medal round, Wingerli had a decent showing, notching a goal and two assists in seven games while averaging just over 10 minutes a night on the fourth line. Clearly, he did enough to catch the eye of the Avs who signed him soon after his tournament came to an end.
Colorado has three regular forwards plus trade deadline acquisition Carl Soderberg set to reach unrestricted free agency this summer and they won’t be able to keep their whole core intact. Accordingly, they’ll be relying on some low-cost depth and with Wingerli’s deal being an entry-level one, he’s someone that could conceivably be part of their plans next season.
West Notes: Dumba, Brodin, Schwartz, Sharks
The future of Mathew Dumba with the Wild has been in question the last couple of years with expansion on the horizon. Now with Seattle’s roster less than two months away from being picked, the questions are picking up. With the most common protection scheme involving three defensemen and three Minnesota rearguards other than Dumba having no-move clauses guaranteeing protection, the 26-year-old is viewed as the possible odd man out. Speaking with reporters including Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Dumba made it clear that he’d like to stick around:
My name’s in trade speculation every year, at the deadline, throughout the year. I’ve become accustomed to it. It is what it is. I’ve expressed my feelings and where I want to be, where my heart is. At the end of the day, that’s all I can do.
Dumba has two years remaining on his deal with a $6MM AAV, a rate that could be viewed as a little high after he managed just 21 points in 51 games this season. However, he’s only three years removed from a 50-point campaign for the Wild and considering that he averages over 22 minutes per night, there will be interest if they opt to move him.
Elsewhere in the West:
- Also from McLellan, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin’s upper-body injury wasn’t as bad as initially feared. He wound up suffering a sprained shoulder in Game Seven against Vegas, one that will keep him away from training for a couple of weeks but it won’t affect his preparation for next season.
- The Blues have not started talks regarding a new deal for winger Jaden Schwartz yet, notes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 28-year-old had a tough showing this season, notching just eight goals and 13 assists in 40 games. However, he had at least 55 points in three of the last four seasons and five of the last seven so his camp will undoubtedly be using that in talks. He played on a $5.35MM AAV this season and even in this cap environment, he could conceivably try to push for a small raise.
- While June 1st is known as a day where teams lose some of their unsigned prospects, it’s also a deadline for teams to tender bonafide offers to their previously-selected players to retain their rights. Most teams don’t issue a release when they do so but the Sharks announced that they’ve tendered offers to 2020 draft picks Brandon Coe and Timofey Spitserov. The forwards were picked in the fourth and seventh rounds respectively.
Offseason Checklist: Los Angeles Kings
The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league finished up after missing the playoffs. It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Los Angeles.
The rebuild has been in full effect for the Kings lately as they’ve missed the playoffs in three straight seasons while carrying one of the lowest payrolls in the league as they attempted to integrate several young players into their lineup with mixed results. GM Rob Blake has done well in terms of stockpiling quality young talent (particularly down the middle) but his veteran core, led by Drew Doughty, are hoping to see some win-now moves made. With their cap flexibility closing as their young players come off their entry-level deals, the time is right for Los Angeles to try to strike and accordingly, several items on their offseason checklist revolve around that idea.
Leverage Cap Space
This will be a common theme for the few teams that have cap room. The Kings have a little more than $20MM in space for next season and perhaps even more notably, few free agents of consequence (more on one of those later). While they have several contracts to hand out, some of those will be of the relatively cheap variety so they will have the ability to make a splash or two if they so desire. They’ll be a team to watch for in free agency or on the trade market as a result.
Defensive Upgrades
Doughty has been a fixture on the back end for Los Angeles for 13 years and with six years left on his contract that briefly was the richest for a defenseman in NHL history, it’s safe to say he’s going to be there for a while yet. However, while there are some supporting pieces in place, they don’t have the deepest of back ends and the rest of their players combined basically make what Doughty does ($11MM).
Matt Roy and Sean Walker have emerged as capable pieces but while both are signed for at least three more years, they’re more ideally suited to the bottom half of the depth chart. Michael Anderson had a nice rookie year and has top-four upside, a projection that could also be extended to Tobias Bjornfot though he is a little further away from getting there. They should be part of the picture for a while as well.
The depth thins out after that, however. Olli Maatta didn’t have a great year and considering he was brought in as a cap dump from Chicago, it’s unlikely that he’s part of their long-term plans. Kale Clague heads up a list of secondary prospects that could make it as role players.
At a minimum, one impact blueliner needs to be added to push most of their current ones down a spot on the depth chart to a more optimal position. Doughty has been a workhorse for many years now and logged more than 26 minutes a night again this season. But he’s 31 and can’t keep doing it alone for much longer. His request for Blake to add help is certainly understandable and he probably wouldn’t mind one bit if that help came at his position.
Determine Athanasiou’s Future
Last fall, one of the more intriguing non-tender decisions revolved around winger Andreas Athanasiou. Edmonton had just paid two draft picks for him at the trade deadline and needed to decide whether or not to tender a $3MM offer. They didn’t and he eventually landed in Los Angeles. The decision point is much lower this time around – $1.2MM – but the same question exists thanks to his arbitration eligibility.
Statistically speaking, it was a decent season for the 26-year-old. He had 10 goals and 13 assists in 47 games, good enough to finish sixth on the team in scoring. Extrapolated to a full season, that’s not far off a 20-goal pace which for $1.2MM is solid value. If it wasn’t for his ability to file for arbitration, this would be a no-brainer decision.
But he can file which makes things a lot harder. Given the fact that he was making $3MM just a year ago and has a recent 30-goal season under his belt from the 2018-19 campaign, there’s a strong likelihood that his camp will come in with a proposed contract even higher than that. Yes, it’s a different system from MLB in that an arbitrator doesn’t pick one number or the other but they often wind up close to the midpoint so even with the Kings coming in closer to the $1.5MM range, the midpoint where the deal would be more likely to fall might be higher than they’re comfortable going to.
As a result, this feels like a situation where there will need to be a concerted effort to get a deal done before the qualifying offer deadline. Athanasiou did well enough to earn a bit of a raise even in this marketplace but after not garnering a lot of interest on the open market (it took until late December for him to get this deal just as training camps were starting), sticking around with Los Angeles seems like a good idea for him.
Add Top-Six Wingers
Despite their poor finish, the Kings are in good shape down the middle. Anze Kopitar is still signed for three more years while Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, Gabriel Vilardi, and Rasmus Kupari are all recent first-rounders. That’s a nice core to build around.
They aren’t anywhere near as deep on the wings, however. Alex Iafallo’s new four-year deal kicks in for 2021-22 so he’s one piece of the puzzle. After that, there aren’t any long-term pieces. Dustin Brown has had a bit of a late-career resurgence but he’s entering the final year of his contract next season and at 36, he’s not going to be around for much longer. Adrian Kempe, a former center, is better suited on the third line than the top six. The rest of their current roster are role players or question marks.
Some of the young centers may wind up on the wing and players like Arthur Kaliyev should be part of their future plans but that’s a short-term solution. If they’re going to add and use that cap space this summer, they’ll need to go outside the organization. Fortunately for Blake, there are options in free agency and with some teams needing to make cap-shedding trades this summer, there will be several upgrades available and it wouldn’t be surprising to see one or two of them in a Kings uniform next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Wild Have Reportedly Offered Max-Term Contract To Kirill Kaprizov
While it took a long time for Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov to come to North America, he proved to be well worth the wait. His rookie season was strong enough to make him a top contender for the Calder Trophy (the finalists will be revealed for Rookie of the Year on Thursday). With Minnesota opting to burn the first year of his contract in the bubble, Kaprizov is already up for his second contract. The team certainly wants to keep him around for the long haul as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the team has already offered a maximum eight-year contract with an AAV around the $8MM mark. That would certainly represent a substantial raise from the $925K (base salary and signing bonus) he made on his entry-level pact.
The 24-year-old led the Wild in scoring this season with 27 goals and 24 assists in 55 games while logging just over 18 minutes a game. His ice time increased slightly in the playoffs but he was only able to manage two goals and an assist in their seven-game loss to Vegas in the first round. While he has several strong years in the KHL under his belt, having just one year of NHL experience makes this type of offer much riskier but clearly, GM Bill Guerin is comfortable with it.
However, the fact the deal isn’t done is also noteworthy. It could be for a couple of reasons as well. The simple one is that his camp may want more money to buy out five years of UFA eligibility but it’s also possible that they prefer a shorter-term deal that would allow him to hit the open market while he’s still in the prime of his career. By then, the salary cap should be starting to go up again as well which could increase his earnings ceiling.
Regardless, Guerin’s offer is quite the opener. After waiting so long to get him in a Minnesota uniform, it’s certainly understandable that they want to keep him around for as long as possible. We’ll see over the coming months if Kaprizov is open to sticking around for the long haul.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Five Key Stories: 5/24/21 – 5/30/21
While it was a busy week on the ice with the second round mostly being set, it was a bit quieter off of it although there were still some notable reports which help comprise the top stories.
Rask, Bruins Table Extension Talks: While there is certainly an expectation that Boston and goaltender Tuukka Rask will get a new deal done, it won’t be happening during the playoffs as the two sides agreed to put those talks on hold until their postseason run comes to an end. The 34-year-old has been a regular in Boston’s goalie tandem since 2009, making over 650 career appearances between the regular season and the playoffs. While Jeremy Swayman looks like he’ll be part of their long-term plans between the pipes, there is definitely a spot to bring Rask back though it will likely need to come at a dip in pay from his $7MM AAV.
Flames Listening To Offers For Monahan: With Calgary missing the playoffs this season and the fact the only playoff round they’ve won over the past six years was the Qualifying Round in the bubble, there is an expectation of change for the Flames. To that end, a report surfaced that the team is listening to offers for center Sean Monahan. After an 82-point season in 2018-19, Monahan’s numbers have dropped significantly (and not just because the years were shortened due to the pandemic as his per-game rates were near the lowest of his career) but the 26-year-old would definitely be an intriguing addition as a change of scenery candidate. Monahan has two years left on his contract and with impact centers to come by, there should be considerable interest despite the recent struggles.
Jones Won’t Sign Extension: While the Blue Jackets got an answer from Seth Jones, it wasn’t the one they were hoping for as the defenseman has declined to engage in extension talks with a preference to test unrestricted free agency next summer. The 26-year-old has been a fixture on the back end in Columbus for the past six years, logging nearly 25 minutes per game along the way. As we saw last fall, even in this market, top-pairing defenders are going to command a sizable contract which means Jones will be in line for a sizable raise on his current $5.4MM AAV. Meanwhile, GM Jarmo Kekalainen may be a bit hesitant to risk losing Jones for nothing a year from now so as a result of this news, his name has already come up in trade speculation.
Breakdown In Talks For Nugent-Hopkins: After a decade with Edmonton following his first-overall selection in 2011, it has been widely suggested that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would find a way to work out an extension with the Oilers. However, talks have apparently broken down between the team and the pending unrestricted free agent. The 28-year-old has been on a relatively team-friendly $6MM contract for the last seven years and even in this cap environment, a small raise doesn’t seem to be too unrealistic, especially since he can play down the middle (although he has been on the left wing more in recent years). Free agency is still nearly two months away so there is still time to get discussions back on track but all of a sudden, the odds of him hitting the open market are much higher than what they would have been not long ago.
Nygard Heads Home: The other news out of Edmonton involved another pending UFA winger Joakim Nygard. Rather than try to catch on as a role player with another NHL team, the 28-year-old opted to go home, signing a six-year deal with Farjestad of the SHL, the longest contract in team history. Nygard was an intriguing free agent pickup back in 2019 with his speed making him a possible threat on the wing but it didn’t materialize to much in the way of production as he managed just nine points in 42 games. Nevertheless, a six-year deal to go back home is a nice consolation prize after struggling in the NHL.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.