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Minor Transactions: 08/23/22

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We’re inching closer to the opening of NHL training camps, and most teams have finalized their offseason work. That being said, there are still some players looking for a spot for next season, especially in minor leagues and in Europe. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • As part of the Los Angeles Kings’ announcement of an ECHL affiliation agreement with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, announced the signings of five players to one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) deals for the 2022-23 season. Those players are as follows: defenseman Joe Gatenby and forwards Alex Ierullo, Brett Kemp, Justin Nachbaur, and Nikita Pavlychev. Gatenby, Ierullo, and Pavlychev are all 25-year-old players who (relatively) recently graduated college, while Kemp and Nachbaur are 22-year-old junior hockey prospects who both saw time with the Swamp Rabbits last season.
  • Veteran minor league journeyman Colton Saucerman is returning to North America after a two-year stint playing in European Leagues. The ECHL’s Allen Americans announced a one-year deal with the defenseman, signing him after he had a solid campaign starting for HC Kosice in the Slovakian league. Saucerman has extensive experience in both the AHL and ECHL and that experience should be a help to the Americans’ back end.
  • The ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads announced two signings today, inking forwards Jade Miller and Ty Pelton-Byce to one-year deals for the 2022-23 season. Miller, 27, had a four-year collegiate career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth before cutting his teeth as a professional with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. He scored 31 points in 72 games last season in South Carolina and should be a solid add for the Steelheads’ bottom-six. Some might know Pelton-Byce from his time at the University of Wisconsin when he scored 31 points in just 24 games in his senior season in large part thanks to sharing the ice with two NHL first-rounders in Cole Caufield and Dylan Holloway. Pelton-Byce spent time at both the ECHL and AHL levels last season and could get a top-six role in Idaho.
  • In another ECHL signing, the Witchita Thunder announced the addition of defender Jake Hamilton for the 2022-23 season. Hamilton is a former SPHL-er who broke into the ECHL last season by playing 33 games for the Adirondack Thunder.
  • Former New Jersey Devils prospect Nikita Popugayev has returned to hockey, says The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler (link). The forward, who walked away from the sport a year-and-a-half ago, is now in camp on a tryout with HK Sochi of the KHL. Still only 23 years of age, Popugayev last played during the 2020-21 season, tallying just six points in 25 KHL games. Popugayev last played in North America during the 2019-20 season, where he had 25 points in 47 games for the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Offseason Notes: Islanders, Point, Bellerive

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While most teams make headlines in the summer for inking major contracts or completing blockbuster trades, the New York Islanders made headlines this summer for all the things they didn’t do. After being rumored as suitors for top free agents such as Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau as well as a potential trade destination for big-name scorers, the Islanders’ most significant move this summer, at least to this point, has been the acquisition of defenseman Alexander Romanov.

That lack of activity hasn’t sat well with some in their fanbase, but today Lou Lamoriello, the team’s legendary general manager, explained the rationale behind this offseason strategy. Lamoriello, as relayed by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, said that despite having “many different options” in terms of free agent targets, the price to pay to upgrade at one position would have possibly downgraded the Islanders at another position. The Islanders have recently made back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final, so Lamoriello’s choice to keep his core largely intact is certainly defensible. That being said, if the Islanders have another disappointing year, the front office’s inability to make major waves this summer could be looked at as a major issue.

Now, for some other notes regarding offseason moves across the world of hockey:

  • As part of his comments to the media after today’s moves, Lamoriello also shed some light on how he views the Islanders’ defense for this coming season. Per Newsday’s Andrew Gross, veteran defensemen Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara are “not currently considerations” for defensive roles next season. Greene and Chara combined for 141 games played for the Islanders last season, and their not being included in next season’s plan is an indication that the Islanders plan to get younger on their blueline in new coach Lane Lambert’s first season. The team’s top-four defensemen look set to be Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson, and Romanov, and the team will likely carry two of Sebastian Aho, Grant Hutton, and Robin Salo to pair with Scott Mayfield on the team’s third pairing.
  • Goaltender Colton Point, once one of the more promising goalie prospects in hockey, signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets today, per a team announcement. Point, 24, had a heroic 2017-18 season for Colgate in the NCAA, going 16-12-5 with six shutouts and a .944 save percentage. Point went pro after that season, but has since struggled to make his mark at the AHL level with the Texas Stars. The 2016 fifth-rounder has a grisly .882 save percentage in 29 career AHL contests, and struggled to find his way in the Stars’ organization. His ECHL career numbers are a bit better, as he has a .901 save percentage in 52 career games, and he heads to Fort Wayne looking to stabilize his professional career.
  • Per a team announcement, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed forward Jordy Bellerive to a one-year, one-way (AHL) contract. The 23-year-old Bellerive is an undrafted player who has spent the past three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins as a full-time player. Before then, Bellerive was a star forward for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. Bellerive heads to Lehigh Valley with the expectation of playing a bottom-six, penalty-killing role for the team, and he’ll also be counted on to bring the exact “hard to play against” style that the Flyers strive to cultivate throughout their organization.

San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Noah Gregor

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4:00 PM: The Sharks have now officially announced the signing of Gregor.

3:25 PM: The San Jose Sharks have reached an extension with one of their remaining restricted free agents, signing Noah Gregor to a one-year, one-way $950K deal. The deal was reported by The Nation Network’s Jason Gregor, who happens to be the Sharks forward’s uncle.

As noted by PuckPedia, the Gregor signing leaves Sharks with just $225k in cap space on their full 23-man roster, and the team still has one RFA player left to sign to a new contract: forward Jonah Gadjovich.

Gregor, 24, established himself as an NHLer last season. He got into 63 games for the Sharks, scoring 8 goals and 23 points. A 2016 fourth-round pick, Gregor has been a bit of a development success story for San Jose, slowly growing from mid-round pick and WHL star to strong AHL contributor to useful NHLer.

Gregor is an offensively-oriented player who got a look on the Sharks’ power play last season and brought a combination of skill and grit to their lineup. Gregor’s overall profile is sure to be appreciated by new coach David Quinn, and armed with this one-way deal Gregor will enter training camp on stronger footing than ever before in his career. This deal will likely allow Gregor to focus his energy in training camp on building chemistry with his teammates and earning a greater role in the Sharks’ lineup, rather than simply attempting to earn a roster spot, as has been his focus in prior years.

The Sharks’ situation on the wings is decently unsettled, and Gregor will be competing for a role on a scoring-line role against other wingers such as Oskar Lindblom, Steven Lorentz, Luke Kunin, and Kevin Labanc. If he can find a way to hold down a spot next to one of the Sharks’ top two centers, Gregor could quickly outperform this contract’s $950K cap hit.

Snapshots: Oettinger, Faber, Tarasenko

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The Dallas Stars’ last two outstanding free agent negotiations of this summer are major ones. Two of the team’s young cornerstone talents, Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson, are restricted free agents. The team would likely prefer to lock both players down to long-term contracts, but their cap situation may prohibit them from doing so. The Stars have $10.3MM in salary cap space remaining, which is more than many other teams can boast but also likely not enough to get both players’ signatures on long-term pacts. The result of this salary cap challenge has been slow-moving talks between Oettinger and the Stars specifically.

Per The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf, talks between the Stars and Oettinger have, per his sources, “gone nowhere.” Oettinger’s camp has reportedly remained entirely flexible on the term he’d be willing to accept, but on the AAV side “won’t settle for something they deem to be unfair relative to the market that has already been set.” As Yousuf mentions (subscription link) the lack of ideal contract comparables has made ironing out a deal difficult. While Oettinger is still overwhelmingly likely to be signed and ready to start for Dallas in time for next season, this development is certainly not an encouraging one.

Now, for some other news from across hockey:

  • USA Hockey has announced its captains for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Minnesota Wild prospect Brock Faber, who was acquired by the team as part of the Kevin Fiala trade earlier this summer, was named the team’s captain. Chicago Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert and San Jose Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau were named alternate captains.
  • St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko had a great season last year, scoring 34 goals and 82 points. But despite those strong numbers, he may not be in St. Louis to stay. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen stated in a recent mailbag that he has “no reason” to suspect that Tarasenko’s trade request from last summer was ever rescinded, although he also did state that the Blues have no interest in dealing him. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest recently reported that the Blues never asked Tarasenko to waive his no-trade protection as part of an offer for Matthew Tkachuk, and despite a possibly still-active trade request it is likely that Tarasenko spends another season in St. Louis.

Minor Transactions: 08/05/22

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As the offseason rages on, make sure to keep track of all of the non-NHL transactions going on all around the hockey world. We’ll keep an updated tracker of today’s moves right here:

  • Former NHL goalie Jared Coreau is switching leagues. The 30-year-old netminder has spent the last two seasons tending the crease in the IceHL, and now he’ll move to the Slovakian Tipos Extraliga. His new club, HC Slovan Bratislava, announced today that they have signed Coreau to be their new goalie. Coreau played on the worst team in the IceHL last season and now will go to a more competitive team as Slovan Bratislava are the defending Slovak league champions.
  • Winnipeg Jets 2016 third-round pick Luke Green has left the team he was set to play for next season. Per an official team announcement, Green has stepped away from the Nurnburg IceTigers and will not participate in next season’s DEL campaign. Green spent last season playing in HockeyAllsvenskan and a year in the DEL would have been a nice step up for the 24-year-old blueliner. Green has dealt with some brutal injury luck in his young career, and last season was the first that he played in more than 15 games since 2016-17.
  • 2003 fourth-overall pick Nikolai Zherdev, is staying put in Belarus but playing in their domestic league rather than the KHL. Yunost Minsk has announced that Zherdev will be playing for them next season rather than for Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. Zherdev split time between Slovakian and Italian clubs in 2021-22, his first full season playing since 2017-18, and this move is likely what’s best for him at this stage of his career. Zherdev hasn’t been an impactful KHL performer in at least a half-decade and it would likely have been a mistake for Dinamo Minsk to expect him to jump into their KHL lineup and perform. Now, he gets to continue his career at a level of hockey more suitable for him.
  • The Bridgeport Islanders, the New York Islanders’ AHL affiliate, announced today that they’ve signed three players to contracts for next season. The three are defensemen Ryan MacKinnon, Vincent Sevigny, and goalie Henrik Tikkanen. MacKinnon, 27, is an ECHL/AHL tweener who has played in Bridgeport before. Sevigny is a 21-year-old undrafted prospect who played last season in the QMJHL, scoring 64 points in 62 games as he captained the Saint John Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup win. Tikkanen, 21, was the Islanders’ seventh-round pick in 2020. The massive six-foot-eight netminder spent most of last season in Ornskoldsvik playing for MoDo Hockey. He’ll join Bridgeport and likely spend time at the ECHL level as he’s behind Jakub Skarek and Ken Appleby on the depth chart.

Calgary Flames Extend Jonathan Huberdeau

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10:20 PM: We have some more details on the contract. Here’s the financial structure of the deal, per Friedman. 

2023-24: $7MM signing bonus, $3.5MM salary
2024-25: $7MM signing bonus, $3.5MM salary
2025-26: $7MM signing bonus, $3.5MM salary
2026-27: $9.5MM signing bonus, $1MM salary
2027-28: $9.5MM signing bonus, $1MM salary
2028-29: $7MM signing bonus, $3.5MM salary
2029-30: $9.5MM signing bonus, $1MM salary
2030-31: $5MM signing bonus, $5.5MM salary

The deal carries a full no-move clause, and the final two years have a partial no-move clause that allows him to be dealt to 12 teams.

The Flames have also now officially announced the deal.

9:54 PM: Before he’s even played a game for the team, Jonathan Huberdeau has chosen to remain with the Calgary Flames for the next nine seasons. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Flames and Huberdeau have agreed on an eight-year, $10.5MM AAV deal, a contract that is the richest in Calgary Flames franchise history.

This is a legitimately massive extension, and it already bodes well for Flames GM Brad Treliving’s bold decision to acquire two at-the-time pending unrestricted free agents (along with a prospect and a pick) for Matthew Tkachuk. Huberdeau is one of the most talented players in the NHL, and he’s perhaps the closest comparable to Johnny Gaudreau that Treliving could have acquired.

A pass-first winger, Huberdeau was a crucial part of a Florida Panthers offensive attack that seemed to score at will in 2021-22. Huberdeau scored 30 goals and 115 points, numbers that would have won Art Ross and potentially Hart trophies just a few years ago, in the days before the dominance of players such as Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.

Huberdeau is one of the rare wingers in the NHL who can drive a line. When Huberdeau is at his best, he functions as a rising tide that lifts everyone else who shares the ice with him. The Panthers have had many breakout success stories in recent years, such as Carter Verhaeghe, Jonathan Marchessault, and Anthony Duclair, to name a few, and Huberdeau’s presence helped each of those players reach new heights in their careers.

While nobody will mistake Huberdeau for a Selke Trophy contender, the reality is he has put increased effort into polishing his two-way game. Former interim Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette frequently used Huberdeau on the penalty kill, and in Calgary he should be able to help there in a pinch, although they should already have specialists more suited for those minutes.

With his full on-ice value in the picture, getting Huberdeau under contract beyond this season is a major win for the Flames, even at a $10.5MM cost. Huberdeau’s 115-point season earned him that kind of hefty cap number, and the Flames, still reeling after the loss of Gaudreau and Tkachuk, have to be eagerly willing to pay it.

Will this deal look the best in 2028, 2029, or 2030? No, it probably won’t. Huberdeau is 29 and isn’t getting any younger. But the Flames had a strong regular season last year, and clearly want to win a Stanley Cup in the immediate future. This contract will take Huberdeau into his late thirties. With Gaudreau and Tkachuk now gone, they needed to acquire players like Huberdeau. Once they got one, they needed to find a way to hold on to him. Now they have.

In all fairness, there is the possibility that Huberdeau could regress. But on the flip side, he could age like his former teammate, Claude Giroux, who has scored well as he’s aged and recently earned a large, multi-year contract from the Ottawa Senators despite the fact that he’ll turn 35 in January.

Any way you slice it, this is a deal the Flames simply had to make. Some might quibble about the term, the cap hit, et cetera, and that’s fair. This is a lot of money to commit to a player for a long time. But NHL teams don’t have the luxury of getting picky with their 115-point players.

Paying a little bit too much for a little bit too long is simply the nature of shopping at the top of the market in the NHL. The reality is nearly every team would rather pay a star a bit too much than have nobody worth paying. This is a big win for Calgary and extremely welcome news for a Flames fanbase that just a few weeks ago felt completely hopeless.

Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New Jersey Devils Extend Miles Wood

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The New Jersey Devils and forward Miles Wood have avoided arbitration, settling on a one-year, $3.2MM deal for next season. Wood was set to have an arbitration hearing on Saturday. Now, he heads back to the Devils with a contract in hand for next season.

Wood, 26, has become an increasingly important member of this young Devils team. The former Boston College Eagle has been with the team since 2016-17, and has scored decently well. He had 17 goals and 25 points in 55 games in 2020-21 but missed most of 2021-22 due to a hip surgery. The hallmark of Wood’s game is his speed. He’s an incredibly fast straight-line skater and that allows him to be a goal-scoring threat.

Wood also has thrived in an “agitator role,” playing with the kind of physicality and tenacity New Jersey fans have long loved to see in their players. Wood has worn the “A” letter since the start of the 2020-21 season and has taken on an increased leadership role with the Devils.

If Wood can stay healthy for next season, the Devils will get a major boost to their lineup. Since this is a one-year deal that walks him to a chance at the open market, Wood’s long-term future in New Jersey is unclear. But if he can stay healthy and score 15-20 goals, as he’s shown he can, the Devils will likely have no problem locking him into a contract for the long haul.

Offseason Notes: Necas, Celebrini, Barberio

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Martin Necas is one of the biggest-name restricted free agents still out there on the market. The 2017 12th overall pick had a disappointing year in 2021-22, but in 2020-21 had the makings of a future star, scoring 41 points in 53 games, a 63-point pace. Necas didn’t have the game-by-game impact many expected him to have last year,  though, and he was supplanted in the Hurricanes’ forward pecking order by fast-rising rookie Seth Jarvis. He needs a new contract, and despite many speculating that he may need a change of scenery, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell remains focused on ironing out an extension.

Per Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Waddell is nearing that goal. Waddell is quoted as saying that the team and Necas’ camp are negotiating on an “almost a daily basis” and that a deal is “getting close.” Waddell even takes it a step further, saying definitively that “it’s going to get done.” Despite a disappointing most recent season, it’s in the best interest for the Hurricanes to get Necas locked into an extension. While he’s mostly played as a winger in the NHL, Necas has prior experience as a center and could be in a position to seize a top-six center spot should Jesperi Kotkaniemi struggle in that role.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, a player currently projected to be a top prospect for the 2024 NHL draft, has committed to an NCAA school. Per NBC Sports Chicago’s Colby Cohen, Celebrini has committed to the Boston University, and will play there after spending next season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Celebrini has spent the past two seasons at minor hockey powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s, a school in Minnesota that has an impressive list of NHL alumni including Sidney Crosby, Kyle Okposo, and many others. Celebrini is expected to be a top player in the USHL before he heads to the NCAA.
  • Yesterday, we covered how former NHL defenseman Mark Barberio had agreed to a mutual contract termination with his club, Lausanne HC. Now, we know where Barberio will be spending 2022-23. Per a team announcement, KHL club HC Dynamo Minsk has signed Barberio to a one-year deal. Barberio last appeared in the NHL in 2019-20, getting into 21 games with the Colorado Avalanche. 2022-23 will mark his return to the KHL after spending six games with HC Ak Bars Kazan last season, where he scored three points.

Free Agent Profile: Sonny Milano

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Before 2021-22, it looked like Sonny Milano’s career was headed in the direction many other former top prospects’ careers had gone. A talented run of scoring at lower levels, a solid first season in pro hockey, and then a stagnant development track that leads to an inability to hold down an NHL spot. That’s seemed to be where Milano was going.

The 16th overall pick at the 2014 draft, Milano’s puck skills and overall creativity made him an intriguing forward prospect. After a successful year in the OHL in his first season as a Blue Jacket, Milano made the transition to pro hockey, playing in 54 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. He played decently well, scoring 31 points, and even earned a three-game cup of tea at the NHL level.

From that point, Milano progressed slowly, but steadily. He had another productive AHL year, a few more NHL games, and then finally got an extended look in Columbus in 2017-18, scoring 14 goals and 22 points in 55 games. The offensive talent was there, but Milano’s struggles away from the puck meant that his NHL role was limited and his overall usage inconsistent. Under a demanding coach like John Tortorella, Milano needed to become a more well-rounded player in order to thrive, and he wasn’t able to.

Milano was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in February 2020 for Devin Shore, and then missed most of 2020-21 due to an upper-body injury. He cleared waivers at the start of 2021-22 and then went on to have the most productive season of his career. In 66 games Milano scored 14 goals and 34 points, and featured in highlight-reel plays as a frequent running mate of superstar rookie Trevor Zegras.

It looked like Milano had finally found a home in the NHL, but earlier this summer the Ducks made a surprising move. They chose not to issue Milano a qualifying offer and let him hit unrestricted free agency, where he remains today. So, why might Milano still be on the market?

Well, it likely comes down to his flaws away from the puck, the holes in his game that have dogged him for his entire career. We know what Milano can do. He can stick with talented players and help finish their plays. He can dazzle with his creativity and help drive offense. But he can also hurt his team away from the puck and struggle to make any sort of impact when he’s not “on.”

His inability to polish his game is likely why he remains unsigned, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for him in the NHL. Despite the issues in his two-way game, Milano is still an undoubtedly talented offensive player. He’s also still young at just 26 years old, and the combination of his offensive skill level and age isn’t easily found at this stage of the offseason market. Some teams might be weary of his overall profile, but the bottom line with him is that he can help a team score goals, so he’ll find a way to catch on somewhere.

Stats:

2021-22: 66 GP, 14G 20A 34pts, -9 rating, 10 PIMs, 94 shots, 15:17 ATOI

Career: 197 GP, 36G 45A 81pts, -26 rating, 46 PIMs, 255 shots, 13:15 ATOI

Potential Suitors:

Based on Milano’s profile on the ice, he’ll likely fit best on two types of teams: cap-strapped contenders looking to add some more offensive juice to their attack, or rebuilders who want to take a flyer on a relatively young free agent to occupy a roster spot and protect their current young forwards from being rushed to the NHL. With those two types of teams in mind, there are a few franchises that could make sense for Milano.

One team that makes sense for Milano is the St. Louis Blues. The Blues had one of the deepest top-nines in hockey last year, but the loss of David Perron this offseason means there could be a hole in their top nine that needs to be filled. They don’t have a ton of cap space, but assuming they can find room for Milano he could be a solid add to their lineup. He would have quality linemates to feed off of in St. Louis and would give coach Craig Berube more options as to how to deploy his top three forward lines.

Perhaps most importantly, the Blues have an overabundance of talented forwards who are responsible in their own end, such as Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Barbashev, and Pavel Buchnevich. Their presence could limit the negative impact of Milano’s poor defensive game and free him up to focus on the offensive side of the ice.

Another club that could make sense on a one-year deal is the New York Rangers. Like St. Louis, they have a wealth of talented forwards to stick Milano with. The Rangers also have a pretty wide-open right side of their forward group, and although Milano is a left winger he could possibly slot in and compete with Vitali Kravtsov, Kaapo Kakko, and Sammy Blais for minutes on one of the Rangers’ top-two lines.

One club that is rebuilding that Milano could fit with is the Chicago Blackhawks. He would be a similar signing to their prior deals with Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi, only at a lower cost. Milano would help the Blackhawks fill out their top two lines and keep them from needing to rush Lukas Reichel into a top-six role. The Blackhawks’ roster is among the weakest in the league, and adding a scorer like Milano would be wise in the case that he has a productive first half to his season, as he then could become a flippable asset at the deadline.

Projected Contract:

If a free agent is still available in August, they probably won’t be able to issue huge salary demands to interested teams, save for special cases like with still-unsigned center Nazem Kadri. As a result, Milano’s next deal is unlikely to pass the $1.7MM figure he played on last season. A one-year deal at around $1MM seems like the most likely outcome at this point, if he’s getting an NHL contract.

Adding a player in his mid-twenties who scored at a 42-point pace for just $1MM against the cap is a solid bit of business for many teams. But a team will have to be confident in their ability to properly utilize Milano so he doesn’t end up a net negative thanks to his defensive play.

Finding a proper fit in a lineup could be a challenge, but it’s far from impossible. At a cost at or below $1MM, Milano could quickly make it worth the hassle for any team that signs him.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Financial information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Kailer Yamamoto

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The Oilers have reportedly settled with one of their restricted free agents, avoiding an arbitration case. Per a team announcement, the Oilers and RFA forward Kailer Yamamoto have settled on a two-year contract with a $3.1MM average annual value.

The financial structure of the deal is as follows:

22-23: $3MM
23-24: $3.2MM

Yamamoto, 23, is coming off of the most productive season of his young career, save for a 27-game run in 2019-20 where he had 26 points. Yamamoto, often playing next to former Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl, scored 20 goals and 41 points in 81 games. He also chipped in seven points in 14 games during the Oilers’ run to the Western Conference Final. It’s similar production to another one of the Oilers’ young wingers, Jesse Puljujarvi, who also settled before his own arbitration case, receiving a deal with a $3MM cap hit.

Perhaps the best development in Yamamoto’s play has been the recent refinement of his overall game. Some might look at the five-foot-eight winger and immediately peg him as an offense-first, perimeter player. But what might be surprising to those people is that Yamamoto actually spent more time killing penalties in 2021-22 than he did on the power play. Yamamoto averaged 1:09 short-handed ice time per game and 0:49 of average power play ice time per game. Yamamoto isn’t going to win Selke trophies, don’t get the wrong idea here, but his time spent short-handed is genuinely encouraging and an indication that he’s found a way to remain an impactful NHLer even if he’s in a scoring slump.

A $3.1MM cap hit is a fair number for what Yamamoto provides, and it allows the Oilers to re-engage with him on long-term extension talks as a restricted free agent in two years’ time.

The Oilers are now over the salary cap, but they will get relief in the form of Oscar Klefbom and Mike Smith being placed on long-term injured reserve. They still have Tyler Benson and Ryan McLeod as RFA’s to sign, so they’re not out of the woods just yet. A trade may be necessary to help their salary cap situation, although they could also opt to carry less than the maximum number of players on their roster and slowly accumulate cap space as the season goes on.

 

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