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Oskar Steen Signs In SHL

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Last month, the Bruins gave Oskar Steen’s camp permission to talk to other teams about trying to secure the pending free agent a contract to stay in the NHL and that his focus wasn’t overseas.  However, a deal didn’t come to fruition so the middleman has decided to return home as SHL Farjestad announced that they’ve signed Steen to a five-year contract.

The 26-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Boston back in 2016, going 165th overall.  He spent three more years in Sweden with Farjestad before coming to North America for the 2019-20 season.

Steen got his first taste of NHL action in the 2020-21 campaign but got a longer look the following season, getting into 20 games with the big club while adding 35 points in 49 games with AHL Providence.  That earned him a two-year, one-way deal and seemingly had him in the mix for a full-time spot with Boston for the 2022-23 campaign.

Instead, Steen wound up clearing waivers and spent most of that season in the minors.  He then cleared waivers twice more last season although injuries resulted in him getting into 34 games with Boston but he was limited to one goal on 24 shots while logging a little more than nine minutes a night on the fourth line.  He was more productive in Providence with 12 goals in 25 games but Boston decided not to try to retain him, instead letting him walk to Group Six free agency.

With the length of this contract, Steen won’t become a free agent again until his age-31 season so it would be surprising to see him generate NHL interest at that time unless he becomes a top scorer in the coming years with Farjestad.  If it is the end of the road for him at the top level, he leaves the NHL with four goals and four assists in 60 career appearances.

Jets Sign Dylan Coghlan

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July 12: Winnipeg confirmed Coghlan’s deal Friday morning.

July 10: The Jets wasted little time getting their newest defenseman under contract.  After acquiring Dylan Coghlan last weekend, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Winnipeg has inked the blueliner to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract will pay $775K in the NHL, $200K in the minors, and contains a guaranteed salary of $250K.  He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The 26-year-old was expected to be at least a depth option for Carolina last season but instead, he cleared waivers in training camp and spent most of the year with AHL Springfield.  With them, Coghlan had a productive year, leading all AHL blueliners with 16 goals while chipping in with 25 helpers, earning himself an All-Star appearance in the process.  While the Hurricanes tendered him a qualifying offer last month, they elected to move him for future considerations.

For his career, Coghlan has played in 106 career NHL appearances, most of which came with Vegas before they moved him to Carolina back in 2022.  He should have a chance to battle for a depth role on Winnipeg’s roster in training camp but with Ville Heinola now waiver-eligible, the re-signings of Colin Miller and Logan Stanley, and the addition of Haydn Fleury in free agency, there’s a good chance that Coghlan will have to start with AHL Manitoba and try to work his way up from there.

Central Notes: Cogliano, Francouz, Colorado Goaltending, Everblades

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A pair of former Avalanche players will be sticking around the organization.  The team announced that Andrew Cogliano has been appointed as a Special Assistant to General Manager Chris MacFarland while Pavel Francouz is now a Goaltending Scout.  Cogliano retired in May after a 17-year NHL career spanning nearly 1,300 NHL appearances, the last three of which were spent with the Avs.  Francouz, meanwhile, was supposed to be the backup to Alexandar Georgiev last season but didn’t play due to a lower-body injury.  He unofficially served in a scouting capacity during the season and now has had that role formalized.

More from the Central:

  • Still with the Avalanche, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post wonders if they might wait until training camp to add another netminder as they did last season when they picked up Ivan Prosvetov off waivers. Notably, Justus Annunen is now waiver-eligible and wouldn’t be a lock to clear after putting up a 2.25 GAA and a .928 SV% in 14 appearances last season.  However, with the team set to have some extra cap flexibility to start the year with Valeri Nichushkin not counting against the salary cap while in the third phase of the Player Assistance Program, Colorado could elect to carry three goalies and have a battle for the backup position extend into the regular season.
  • The Blues will have an ECHL affiliate for next season as the Florida Everblades announced that they’ve reached a multi-year affiliation agreement with St. Louis. It’s the first time the Blues have had a full affiliation at this level since the 2019-20 campaign.  The Everblades, meanwhile, have won the Kelly Cup for three straight years while affiliated with two different NHL teams, Nashville and Florida but announced last month that they’d be seeking a new parent franchise which they now have.

Minor Transactions: 7/10/24

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As the NHL transaction activity dries up, we’re seeing an uptick in their farm teams making moves to add to their roster for the upcoming season.  Here’s a rundown of today’s movement.

  • After spending last season with AHL Charlotte on an NHL contract with Florida, goaltender Mack Guzda is returning to the Checkers but this time on a minor league deal as the team announced they’ve signed him to a one-year contract. The 23-year-old was limited to just two games last season due to injury but made 29 appearances in 2022-23 where he had a 2.88 GAA with a .897 SV%.  Guzda was non-tendered by Florida last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.
  • Former Calgary farmhand Riley Damiani is off to Germany as Augsberger of the DEL has signed him to a one-year deal per a team release. The 24-year-old split last season between Dallas and Calgary after being part of the Chris Tanev deal before the trade deadline.  Damiani had 11 goals and 13 assists in 67 games between the two teams which wasn’t enough to yield him a qualifying offer in June.
  • Boston’s farm team in Providence announced a pair of additions in forward Evan Vierling and defenseman Mason Millman on one-year deals. Vierling played his first professional campaign last season and the 22-year-old was productive in limited AHL duty, notching seven points in eight games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while adding 25 points in 34 ECHL contests.  As for Millman, the 22-year-old picked up four assists in 15 games with AHL Lehigh Valley last season while adding 26 more in 44 ECHL appearances.
  • Veteran defenseman Robbie Russo is heading for a second stint in Tucson, per a team release. The 31-year-old spent two seasons with the Roadrunners before moving on in 2020.  Last season, Russo recorded 30 points in 69 games with Utica.  He has 19 career NHL appearances under his belt, all with Detroit back in the 2016-17 campaign.
  • Winger Marcel Marcel will remain in Rockford as the IceHogs announced that they’ve re-signed him to a one-year deal. Rather than return to major junior for a final season, the 20-year-old opted to turn pro and got into 26 games with Rockford where he had five assists.  With Chicago adding considerable depth over the summer, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Marcel spend more time with ECHL Indy next season.

Capitals Sign Leon Muggli To Entry-Level Deal

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7/11: Washington has confirmed the signing according to a team announcement.

7/10: The Capitals have been active in recent days when it comes to signing their prospects.  The latest to receive a contract is Leon Muggli as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the defenseman to a three-year, entry-level contract.  The deal will carry a cap hit of $941K and an AAV of $975K; the difference being $102.5K of games-played bonuses in the agreement’s first year.

The 18-year-old was a second-round pick by Washington last month, going 54th overall.  Muggli spent most of the season with EV Zug in Switzerland’s top division where he had three goals and nine assists in 42 games; his 12 points were the most ever by a defenseman aged 17 or younger in league history.  Muggli also suited up for the Swiss internationally at the World Under-18 Championship as well as the World Juniors.

It’s worth noting that Muggli still has two years left on his deal in Switzerland.  At this point, it makes the most sense for him to remain with Zug for those seasons, allowing him to play a regular role while staying at home.  Assuming that happens, Muggli’s contract is eligible to slide twice and still have three years remaining on it heading into the 2026-27 campaign as long as he doesn’t play in ten or more NHL contests in either season.

Islanders Sign Liam Foudy, Re-Sign Tyce Thompson

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The Islanders have made a pair of moves up front as PuckPedia reports (Twitter links) that they’ve signed winger Liam Foudy to a one-year, two-way deal and re-signed winger Tyce Thompson to a one-year, two-way agreement.  Foudy will make $775K in the NHL and $225K in the minors while the agreement has a guaranteed salary of $275K.  Thompson, meanwhile, will receive $775K at the NHL level, $175K in the minors, with a total guarantee of $200K.

Foudy was a first-round pick back in 2018, going 18th overall to Columbus.  However, he has had a limited role at the top level so far.  After playing in 62 games with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23, the thought was that he’d turned the corner and had at least secured a full-time roster spot heading into last season.

However, that wasn’t the case as the 24-year-old was waived early in the season and was claimed by Nashville.  The Predators kept him around for a dozen games before waiving Foudy again in December.  He cleared that time and was sent to AHL Milwaukee where he remained for the rest of the season.  He was productive at that level with 10 goals and six assists in 28 games but was non-tendered by the Preds last month.  While New York adds Foudy via unrestricted free agency, he’s still under club control through the 2026-27 season.

As for Thompson, he started last season in New Jersey’s system before being flipped to the Isles in late November.  Between their two farm teams, the 24-year-old played in 66 games, notching three goals and 16 assists but still landed a qualifying offer.  Thompson has 11 career NHL appearances under his belt but will need to play in 69 games next season to avoid becoming a Group Six unrestricted free agent next summer.

 

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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As expected, the draft and free agency brought about plenty of activity across the NHL with over 200 prospects being drafted and nearly that many contracts handed out over the past two weeks.  With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.

Our last mailbag came before the draft and was broken into three segments.  The first looked at the likelihood of a Linus Ullmark trade (which came to fruition soon after), Jacob Trouba’s future with the Rangers, and a look back at the Matthew Tkachuk trade, among other topics.  Included in the second were several draft questions along with trying to find a possible landing spot for Trevor Zegras should the Ducks move him.  Meanwhile, the third included some discussion about Colorado’s potential offseason, Philadelphia’s prospect pool, and the NHL-CHL player transfer agreement.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Blues Sign Ryan Suter

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Veteran Ryan Suter will play his 20th NHL season in the fall as the Blues announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year contract.  The deal carries a base salary of $775K and contains an additional $2.225MM in performance bonuses.  The team did not reveal the breakdown of the bonus structure but Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that it’s as follows:

10 GP: $225K
30 GP: $400K
40 GP: $500K
60 GP: $600K
60 GP and qualifies for the playoffs: $500K

Suter spent the last three seasons in Dallas but saw his minutes drop in 2023-24, dipping to 18:56 per night, the lowest since his rookie year back in 2005-06 when he was with Nashville.  The 39-year-old’s point total also dropped to the lowest it had been since then as he managed just two goals and 15 assists although he played in all 82 games for the third straight year.  Suter added four points in 19 postseason contests but his ice time was a bit lower, checking in at 17:50 per contest.

As a result of the dip in performance and playing time, the Stars opted to buy out the final year and $3.65MM remaining on his contract.  Considering he’s also still being paid by Minnesota on his buyout with them back in 2021, he will be paid by three Central Division teams next season.  He’s the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice, joining fellow rearguard Tony DeAngelo.

A veteran of 1,444 career NHL appearances, Suter sits fifth all-time among U.S.-born players.  Assuming he stays healthy and plays a regular role for St. Louis, he could climb up to second on that list; he sits 72 games behind Matt Cullen for that slot.  He has 681 points in those appearances with an average TOI of more than 24 minutes a night.

Of course, those numbers don’t reflect where Suter is in his career.  At this point, he’s more of a depth player than one who will be expected to anchor a back end but with the Blues, he can be more of a depth piece as he’ll slot in behind Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy, and Torey Krug.  With them in place, Suter will be battling with Scott Perunovich, Tyler Tucker, and newcomer Pierre-Olivier Joseph for playing time on the third pairing.

The fact the contract is structured this way is interesting as St. Louis has more than ample cap space to cover the full amount should his bonuses be reached; they still have more than $7.3MM in room, per PuckPedia with RFA Nikita Alexandrov still in need of a new deal.  However, by making the base salary the league minimum, that will be a lower daily charge on the cap which could make him an intriguing option for buyers near the trade deadline if the Blues find themselves out of a playoff spot.  If he remains in St. Louis, they should be able to cover any of those bonuses on the 2024-25 cap instead of rolling those charges over to the following season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jackets Notes: Coaching Search, Laine, Dumais, Matteau

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The Blue Jackets continue to have the lone head coaching vacancy in the NHL following last month’s dismissal of Pascal Vincent.  Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that a decision on a new bench boss is expected this week with Todd McLellan, Jay Woodcroft, and Dean Evason believed to be among the remaining finalists.  Last month, McLellan was suggested to be the front-runner for the position.  There has been a lot of turnover behind the bench in Columbus in recent years.  Since John Tortorella was let go in 2021, they’ve gone through three head coaches since, Brad Larsen (two years), Mike Babcock (who resigned before coaching a single game), and Vincent, who only had one season before being let go.

More from Columbus:

  • Also from Portzline’s piece, winger Patrik Laine has not yet been cleared from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. While Columbus can trade him while he’s in the program, GM Don Waddell previously indicated that teams want to speak to Laine before considering putting an offer in for his services.  Those conversations can’t happen until he’s cleared.  The 26-year-old was limited to just nine points in 18 games last season and has two years left on his contract with an $8.7MM cap hit along with a 10-team no-trade list.
  • Prospect Jordan Dumais might not be cleared to fully participate in training camp in September, relays Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 20-year-old was a dominant scorer in the QMJHL, putting up 140 points in 64 games in 2022-23 and had 47 in 21 games last season before being shut down midseason to undergo hip surgery.  Dumais will be AHL-eligible for the first time in 2024-25 and stands to play a big role with AHL Cleveland next season when he’s fully cleared to play.
  • Speaking of Cleveland, they announced the re-signing of winger Stefan Matteau to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old previously spent two years with them back in 2019-20 and 2020-21 before going to Colorado but returned on a minor league deal last season where he had six points in 15 regular season games before adding seven more in 14 playoff contests.  Matteau, a 2012 first-round pick, has 92 career NHL appearances under his belt with a total of 11 points.

Wild Re-Sign Adam Raska

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Minnesota has taken care of one of its restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed winger Adam Raska to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $775K in the NHL and $95K in the minors, meaning he took less than his qualifying offer to secure a $15K boost in guaranteed money.

The 22-year-old was a seventh-round pick by San Jose back in 2020, going 201st overall.  Raska started last season in the Sharks’ system but was traded early in the year to the Wild as part of the return for defenseman Calen Addison.  Raska spent most of the season in the minors, playing in 56 AHL contests where he had seven points and 98 penalty minutes.

He has also seen NHL action in each of his first three professional campaigns, including five games with the Wild last season where he had a dozen hits despite averaging less than seven minutes a night.  Over his three years, Raska has 13 total appearances at the top level but is still looking for his first NHL point.

Raska will be waiver-eligible for the first time next season so Minnesota will have to get him through waivers successfully to return him to AHL Iowa.  Assuming that happens, he’ll play in a depth role for them but could get a look with the big club if they’re looking for some grit on the fourth line.

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