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Ilya Samsonov Contract Settled Via Arbitration

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Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov has received a $3.55MM award (one-year) in his arbitration case, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle. Samsonov had filed for $4.9MM, while the Maple Leafs had filed for $2.4MM.

This award comes just under the mid-point between the two parties’ filings and is just a little bit less than the $3.75MM we projected in our detailed breakdown of Samsonov’s arbitration case.

The Maple Leafs don’t have much cap space to work with, especially after signing players such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg, and Ryan Reaves to NHL deals this summer.

That’s why they were likely hoping Samsonov’s deal would fall closer to their filing, though those hopes may have been a bit optimistic given Samsonov’s performance.

The 26-year-old 2015 first-rounder made the most of his one-year change-of-scenery deal from last summer, winning the number-one job in head coach Sheldon Keefe’s crease.

In 42 games he went 27-10-5 with a .919 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average. He even helped Toronto to the playoff series victory they’d long been aching for, his 31-save performance in Game Six against Tampa Bay leading the way.

With this decision made, the most important and valuable thing the Maple Leafs have gained is cost certainty. They now know exactly what their expected tandem of Samsonov and Joseph Woll will cost them next season, which will help guide what they do moving forward in the offseason.

They still have Matt Murray on their books at a $4.687MM cap hit, and are likely to pursue avenues to remove Murray’s deal from their cap sheet. A 72-hour buyout window will open for the team to utilize, and buying out Murray would reduce Murray’s cap hit to just $675.5k for next season at a cost of $2MM in dead money in 2024-25.

They could also elect to try to trade Murray, though the modified 10-team no-trade clause he possesses on his contract could make finding a trade at this stage of the offseason difficult.

For Samsonov, this contract is a compromise between what he filed for and what the Maple Leafs wanted to pay. It’s more of an opportunity than anything else, as he’s set himself up to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. If he can have another strong season between the pipes in Toronto, he may set himself up to be the top UFA goalie on the market behind Connor Hellebuyck.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Philipp Kurashev Contract Settled Via Arbitration

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Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev’s arbitration decision has been made, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The 23-year-old will receive a two-year, $2.25MM contract. The Blackhawks had filed for a one-year, $1.4MM contract, while Kurashev had filed for a two-year, $2.65MM pact.

Since this was a player-elected arbitration case, the Blackhawks had the right to choose the term of the contract upon hearing what AAV Kurashev was awarded, meaning the two-year duration of the deal was of their choosing.

Seeing as this award lines a decent bit closer to Kurashev’s value rather than the Blackhawks, it appears the arbitrator’s thought process fell more in line with Kurashev and his representatives at CAA than with Chicago. In our more in-depth breakdown of Kurashev’s arbitration situation, we outlined how Kurashev was a more challenging player to value than most others in the NHL.

Kurashev’s versatility and ability to play just about anywhere in the lineup is certainly valuable, but despite playing significant minutes last season Kurashev simply did not post the numbers one would hope such a heavily-used player would have. He scored nine goals and 25 points in 70 games, only a slight increase from the six goals and 21 points he scored last season.

We pointed to Dillon Dube’s $2.3MM AAV contract extension from the Calgary Flames from 2021 as a comparable to Kurashev’s situation, and ultimately Kurashev’s award comes just about at that number.

The deal won’t mean much for Chicago in terms of adding difficulty to their salary cap management process, as they still boast quite a bit of room under the NHL’s upper salary limit, and will likely be in the same position next year.

What this decision offers Kurashev is a significant pay raise from the $750k he made in the NHL last season, and it gives the player a two-year runway to continue to develop his game in the NHL and prove he belongs in Chicago long-term as they build towards their Connor Bedard-led era of contention.

Big Hype Prospects: Silovs, Evans, Lekkerimäki, Perunovich, Vilén

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Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Arturs Silovs, G, Vancouver Canucks (Abbotsford Canucks, AHL)
44 GP 26-12-5 .909 sv% 2.44 GAA (regular season) 2 GP 1-1-0 .914 sv% 2.85 GAA (postseason)

Although incumbent starter Thatcher Demko is under contract until after the 2025-26 season, this past campaign Vancouver Canucks fans could not be blamed for placing some increased focus on some of their organization’s younger netminders due to Demko’s struggles. One of those potential “next in line” netminders is Silovs, a 2019 sixth-round pick.

Coming from the hockey-mad country of Latvia, Silovs took a significant step forward this season. For the first time, Silovs was an undisputed starter for his pro team, playing in 44 games in Abbotsford and succeeding to the tune of a .909 save percentage.

Silovs’ exceptional run of form in early February earned him his first NHL start, and although he struggled against the New York Rangers in his first game he ended his set of five NHL starts with a 3-2 record, 2.75 goals-against-average, and .908 save percentage.

Silovs showcased growth with each passing game, even ending his NHL run with a 29-save victory over the Nashville Predators that included this fantastic stop.

Silovs’ best work, though, came after his club season ended and he was tapped to represent his country. Silovs was selected as Latvia’s starter for the IIHF Men’s World Championships, over 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics hero Kristers Gudlevskis. Given a major role in a tournament where games would be played in his home city, Riga, Silovs seized the moment.

Silovs posted a 7-3 record, 2.20 goals-against-average, and .921 save percentage in 10 tournament starts, leading Latvia to some of the biggest wins in its history and the nation’s first-ever IIHF Worlds medal.

Latvia played quite a few high-intensity games against hockey powerhouse countries that brought legitimate NHL talent to the tournament, and even with the pressure of an entire country on his shoulders Silovs managed to show some immense poise. He found himself under siege in many of those games, such as in their quarterfinal against Sweden where he faced 41 shots and stopped all but one.

Silovs’ performance earned him tournament MVP honors, and now he heads into the next season with significant momentum and a legitimate chance to seize the backup job behind Demko from veteran Spencer Martin.

Ryker Evans, LHD, Seattle Kraken (Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL)
71 GP 6G 38A 44pts (regular season) 26 GP 5G 21A 26pts (postseason)

Although Seattle Kraken fans were undoubtedly disappointed to see their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, lose in overtime of Game Seven of the Calder Cup Final, the performance of Evans, arguably Seattle’s top defensive prospect, has to have been extremely encouraging.

Evans, 21, was selected 35th overall by the Kraken at the 2021 draft, becoming the franchise’s first-ever second-round pick. This came as a surprise to some as Evans was actually an overage talent who had gone undrafted in his first season of eligibility. But the Kraken found Evans’ COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 WHL campaign to be impressive enough to warrant the investment of a high pick, and after Evans’ first campaign as a professional, he is quickly vindicating the Kraken’s leap of faith.

Evans had a strong regular season, posting 44 points in 71 games as one of head coach Dan Bylsma’s most relied-upon defensemen. It’s a major challenge for many prospects to move from junior hockey, where space is far easier to come by, to the AHL, a pro league. For offensively-focused defensemen, that challenge can be even steeper as many need to un-learn habits that worked for them against competition made up of their peers but are ineffective against seasoned pros.

There didn’t appear to be much of a challenge in translating his junior scoring to the AHL for Evans, who led all AHL rookies in assists and was named to the league’s all-rookie team. But even after that regular season, it’s Evans’ performance during the Firebirds’ extended playoff run that’s most impressive.

Evans played a major role on a team that nearly won an AHL title, and with the Firebirds’ regular-season leading defensive scorer Brogan Rafferty’s production sputtering Evans more than stepped up to fill the offensive void.

Evans’ creativity and ability to make something out of nothing from the back-end proved extremely useful to the Firebirds, who boasted a netminder in Joey Daccord who made it incredibly difficult for opposing teams once his teammates bestowed him a lead in a game.

Although breakout NHL blueliner Vince Dunn is set to remain the centerpiece offensive blueliner in Seattle moving forward, it would be no shock to see Evans beat out a veteran for a role in Seattle and potentially even make his way onto the team’s second-unit power play.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki, RW, Vancouver Canucks (Djurgården IF, HockeyAllsvenskan)
29 GP 3G 6A 9pts (regular season) 15GP 5G 10A 15pts (postseason)

For most of 2022-23, it seemed as though the narrative surrounding Lekkerimäki, a Vancouver Canucks 2022 first-round pick, would be that his first season after being drafted was an unequivocal disappointment. Lekkerimäki played his draft season in the SHL, and posted nine points, a strong number for such a young player.

But in his post-draft campaign, Lekkerimäki played a division below the SHL, in the HockeyAllsvenskan, thanks to Djurgården’s relegation the season prior. Despite playing in three more games at a decreased competition level, Lekkerimäki posted the exact same number of points as the season before: nine.

Lekkerimäki suffered a foot injury that took him out of the lineup until the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs, though, and it was in the postseason where Lekkerimäki really shined. Lekkerimäki re-joined the lineup against BIK Karlskoga and was instantly slotted into a top-line role next to 2022 Minnesota Wild first-rounder Liam Ohgren and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Marcus Kruger.

Lekkerimäki scored a goal in each of his first two games back and began a torrid run of form that would see him nearly push Djurgården back to the SHL, scoring 15 points in 15 games. Lekkerimäki was drafted 15th overall in 2022 on the basis of his offensive talent, with many projecting him to eventually become a difference-making NHL scorer.

Though he didn’t exactly look like one for most of his time in HockeyAllsvenskan, his playoff performance serves as a reminder as to why he remains one of Vancouver’s top prospects. Now with Örebro in the SHL, one of the league’s better teams, he’ll have a prime opportunity to put the 2022-23 regular season behind him.

Scott Perunovich, LHD, St. Louis Blues (Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL)
22GP 2G 18A 20pts (regular season) 2GP 0G 0A 0pts (postseason)

Set to turn 25 in August, Perunovich, the 2018 45th overall pick, is a bit older than most prospects featured here. But seeing as injuries have laid waste to his development in recent seasons, he doesn’t have the type of experience under his belt that most second-round picks his age would usually have.

Perunovich only played in 24 total AHL games this past season, and while he played 19 games in the NHL in 2021-22 he didn’t get into any NHL games in 2022-23. As a result of the impact injuries have had on his availability, Perunovich will be waivers-exempt for another season, lessening the pressure for him to make an immediate NHL impact somewhat.

Although the Blues already have Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, and Marco Scandella on the left side of their defense for next season, the minutes Perunovich did play this past season do suggest he could be ready to push one of those veterans for a role in St. Louis. Perunovich was highly productive in the regular season for the Thunderbirds, scoring 20 points in 22 games.

Although the Thunderbirds struggled immensely in the playoffs, eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack by a combined 13-2 score, Perunovich actually ended his season on a high note. He quarterbacked Team USA’s first power-play unit at the IIHF Men’s World Championships and posted eight points in 10 games. That ranked him fourth among blueliners at the tournament, and his two points in the bronze medal match against Latvia nearly gave the Americans a medal.

Perunovich’s career has taken quite a hit due to injuries since he won the Hobey Baker Award in 2020, that much is undoubtable. But when he did play in 2022-23, he showed real promise, and he’ll look to deliver on that promise at training camp with the Blues with the hope of earning an NHL roster spot.

Topias Vilén, LHD, New Jersey Devils (Lahti Pelicans, Liiga)
41 GP 9G 8A 17pts (regular season) 17GP 4G 5A 9pts (postseason)

Although some other New Jersey Devils defensive prospects draw quite a bit more attention, such as top draft picks Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes, Devils fans shouldn’t forget about Vilén, the team’s fifth-round pick at the 2021 draft. The six-foot-one left-shot Finnish blueliner has legitimately impressed overseas, though he has just one game as a professional in North America,

Vilén already has 124 games of experience in Liiga, one of the world’s best leagues outside the NHL, and he made some significant strides this past season. Vilén’s minutes per game shot up, going from 14:47 per game in 2021-22 to 19:26 in 2022-23, which ranked second on the Pelicans.

What makes that increase so impressive is not only the fact that Vilén is just 20 years old, it’s also that the Pelicans were one of Liiga’s best teams and ended up the league runner-up to Tappara Tampere.

Vilén made an impact on both ends of the ice, eating minutes in all situations and posting nine goals and 17 points. In the postseason, as the Pelicans made their deep playoff run, Vilén shined, scoring nine points and playing nearly 22 minutes in some important games, such as the team’s 4-1 win over Tappara in the finals.

Although it remains to be seen if Vilén will be able to translate his success in Liiga to North America, where the game is on a smaller ice surface and typically played with more physicality, Vilén could very well be one season of AHL development away from being a legitimate consideration for an NHL call-up to New Jersey.

That’s not a bad return for a late-round pick, especially for a Devils team that will soon need to have a steady pipeline of young talent on their roster playing on cheap entry-level deals thanks to the expensive contracts already on their books.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Arbitration Breakdown: Philipp Kurashev

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Yesterday, Chicago Blackhawks RFA forward Philipp Kurashev’s arbitration hearing was scheduled, and NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis reported that the hearing went forward as the team and player could not reach an agreement on a contract.

Puckpedia notes that with Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov also reaching a full arbitration hearing without a deal, this year already features the same number of arbitration hearings as the NHL had seen beforehand since 2020. Kurashev specifically is sort of a prime candidate to have his next contract decided by an arbitrator, as his on-ice value isn’t quite so easy to pin down.

Now, the Blackhawks have more cap space than most other NHL clubs, with over $15MM in space still available. So it’s not like they need to keep Kurashev’s next cap hit as low as possible to remain cap compliant.

Instead, as The Athletic’s Scott Powers writes, since Kurashev, 23, is a player who could possibly still be on the Blackhawks when the team enters its Connor Bedard-led competitive era, the team likely has an interest in keeping his cost as reasonable as possible, since they don’t want to box themselves into overpaying for what he brings once they eventually lack cap space. (subscription link)

So while the value for some teams through the arbitration process is simply getting financial certainty on a player within a designated timeframe, that’s not important for the Blackhawks. Here, Kurashev presents an opportunity for the team to lay the groundwork for a sustainable salary cap future once the team pivots towards legitimate contention.

Filings

Team: $1.4MM (one-year)
Player: $2.65MM (two-years)
Midpoint: $2.025MM

(via Powers)

The Numbers

Although 2022-23 saw Kurashev set a career-high in goals, assists, and points in the NHL, it’s difficult to view the year as an emphatic step forward. Kurashev is a versatile forward for whom last season was his age-23 campaign. As a player gets more NHL experience under his belt and gets closer to his mid-twenties, sizeable growth steps are expected if a player is to reach his highest NHL upside.

For Kurashev, this was the season where he had a chance to really establish himself as an impactful player. He had shown flashes of a high skill level going back to his rookie season, but that had not materialized into standout production with the Blackhawks or AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

This past season was a test for Kurashev, and how he fared may have revealed an important truth about who he is at the NHL level. Offensive skill wasn’t the main area of value Kurashev provided to first-year head coach Luke Richardson. Instead, it was Kurashev’s versatility and his resilience. In the midst of a challenging season, Kurashev’s ability to play all three forward positions, and his ability to mold himself to fit the expectations and style of any given line he’s placed on made him a regular face in the lineup, at least until he was knocked out for the season by a Tom Wilson hit on March 23rd.

There’s usefulness in the type of player who can act as a sort of “glue” that keeps a line functioning when one of its regulars is maybe absent, but there is a downside to Kurashev’s main calling card being his versatility. The jack-of-all-trades approach combined with how he was deployed meant that he was never able to forge his own unique identity in the NHL.

He was unable to carve out a consistent space for himself within Richardson’s team, instead often bouncing to wherever he was needed most. In other words, his deployment was built around how the lineup was structured, rather than the lineup being built around how he was deployed.

This means moving forward, how do the Blackhawks value Kurashev? Do they see him as a long-term third-line staple, for example? Someone who could occupy a bottom-six role on a consistent basis? Or do they perhaps view him more as a reserve forward, a player who they ideally would trust to step into the lineup whenever an injury hits, rather than someone penciled into an opening-night lineup?

That’s what makes this arbitration case a difficult one, and the arbitration award is likely to come somewhere down the middle of the two parties’ filings. (as most cases do) How Kurashev is deployed next season, now that the Blackhawks have added some genuine talent to their lineup, may reveal how Kurashev is viewed as part of the Blackhawks’ future.

2022-23 Stats: 70 GP 9G 16A 25 pts -32 rating 14 PIMs 7.8% s% 17:25 ATOI 
Career Stats: 191 GP 23G 39A 62 pts -57 rating 38 PIMs 8.6% s% 14:35 ATOI

Potential Comparables

Comparable contracts are restricted to those signed within restricted free agency, which means UFA deals and entry-level pacts are ineligible to be used. The contracts below fit within those parameters. Player salaries also fall within the parameters of the submitted numbers by both sides of this negotiation. 

Alexandre Texier (Blue Jackets) – After Texier’s 2020-21 campaign, he signed a two-year, $1.525MM AAV contract extension that likely serves as a “low-end” comparable for what Kurashev’s awarded contract could look like. Texier was a bit younger than Kurashev is now (just about one month separates their birthdays in 1999) but his profile was similar. Texier, like Kurashev, was lauded for his versatility and ability to play at center and the wing. He also had flashed upside at the NHL level but his evident talent had not materialized into anything concrete yet in the league. Like Kurashev, Texier’s poor puck luck (shooting percentage of 5.3%) was also cited as a potential reason explaining why his numbers were a disappointment. Texier managed 15 points in 49 games, a lower pace than Kurashev’s this past season, but overall they have similar profiles, and Kurashev’s floor for what he ends up receiving should look like this Texier deal.

Dillon Dube (Calgary Flames) – Dube signed a three-year, $2.3MM AAV pact with the Flames after his 2020-21 season, a year where he posted 11 goals and 22 points in 51 games. Unlike Kurashev, Dube was utilized almost exclusively on the wing, though he has shown the ability to play center at times both in his junior and later in his NHL career. Dube had a stronger record of production than Kurashev has at other levels of hockey, though, likely influencing the Flames to believe in Dube’s offensive upside at the NHL level. He delivered on that upside in 2022-23, scoring 18 goals and 45 points. It’s unclear whether the Blackhawks believe Kurashev has the ability to post those numbers playing on his next contract, so this $2.3MM AAV could represent a higher-end contract comparable for what Kurashev eventually receives.

Projection

Although there are a lot of reasons to value what Kurashev brings to the Blackhawks, ultimately his numbers are not strong enough to justify his $2.65MM AAV. Averaging over 17 minutes of ice time and over two minutes on a power play across a sample of 70 games should result in better numbers than what Kurashev was able to post.

If Kurashev anchored the Blackhawks’ penalty kill or provided exemplary physical or defensive play, maybe that gap would be bridged a bit, but that’s simply not what Kurashev provides. Still, $1.4MM with a two-year term isn’t exactly fair either. A middle ground at around $2MM AAV, perhaps maybe a shade lower if the arbitrator really puts stock in Kurashev’s lack of points production, seems like a reasonable outcome here.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 07/21/23

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Although it’s generally a slow period for player movement in the NHL as teams hone in on arbitration cases, that isn’t the case for clubs in minor and overseas professional leagues. Just as the Maple Leafs begin an arbitration hearing with netminder Ilya Samsonov (no pre-arbitration agreement could be reached, according to The Hockey News’ David Alter) teams in quite a few leagues across the world, including the German DEL in particular, have been active making moves. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable ones here.

  • 2014 fifth-overall pick Michael Dal Colle is nearing a contract with the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters, according to a report from Eishockey News in Germany. Dal Colle, 27, is a former top prospect who began his European pro career last season with TPS Turku in the Finnish Liiga. Dal Colle wasn’t horrible, but he only managed four goals and a total of 19 points in 36 games for Turku, and has now ended his association with the club at one year. The former AHL All-Star now heads to the Roosters, who finished the 2022-23 campaign 13th in the DEL standings.
  • Another forward with some NHL games on his resume rumored to be nearing a contract in the DEL is Joseph Cramarossa, a former Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild player. Cramarossa split last season between the Wild organization and Adler Mannheim in the DEL. He played with the Wild in both Iowa and Minnesota until he was placed on unconditional waivers so he could join Mannheim. After scoring eight points in 15 regular-season games and just one point in seven postseason games, Cramarossa has made the choice to continue in the DEL and join the Frankfurt Lions, a mid-table team from last season.
  • 2011 12th overall pick Ryan Murphy has signed a contract with EHC Red Bull Salzburg of the Central European ICEHL, according to a team announcement. This signing confirms Murphy will spend a second year playing in Europe since he last played in North America. Murphy, a 30-year-old defenseman, spent last season with Ufa Salavat Yulayev in the KHL, scoring 17 points in 43 games and earning the right to play in the KHL All-Star Game. Murphy was the 2020-21 AHL Defenseman of the Year and brings a stellar resume (including 175 games of NHL experience) to Austria and the defending ICEHL champions.
  • 25-year-old former NCAA winger Kohen Olischefski began this season with the hope of establishing himself in the AHL and earning a full-time spot with the Rochester Americans. While he finished the year playing postseason games for the Amerks, Olischefski spent most of the season in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Olischefski could only manage two goals in 16 AHL games and scored 26 points in 43 ECHL games. Now, the versatile forward has signed a contract with Dusseldorf EG in the DEL, choosing to continue his pro career overseas after his rookie campaign in North America.
  • EHC Red Bull Munich, the defending DEL Champions, have signed former Detroit Red Wing Adam Almquist. The move replaces former AHL and DEL Defenseman of the Year Zach Redmond, who agreed to a mutual contract termination after a season spent playing a significant role on Munich’s blueline. The 32-year-old Almquist last played in North America in 2013-14, scoring 53 points in 73 games for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and earning two games with the Red Wings. He scored his first (and only, to this date) NHL goal that season, before moving on to have a strong pro career in Europe with stops in Sweden, Switzerland, Belarus, and Russia.
  • Alexandre Grenier, a former quality prospect in the Vancouver Canucks system, has signed with the Cologne Sharks in the DEL. The 31-year-old 2011 90th overall pick is a two-time AHL All-Star who last played in North America in 2018-19 with his hometown Laval Rocket. He’s had a successful run overseas since then, including a season with Langnau in Switzerland that saw him post 48 points in 47 games. Grenier is no stranger to the DEL, either, and has 84 points in 99 career games in Germany’s top league.
  • Elias Rosén, cousin of Buffalo Sabres first-rounder Isak Rosén, has signed with the Vaxjo Lakers in the SHL, the defending Swedish champions. Rosen wrapped up a four-year collegiate career with Bemidji State University last season and made his pro debut on an ATO with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. The five-foot-ten left-shot defenseman was an accomplished player in college, earning First-Team All-Star honors in his conference for three consecutive years, including his 2020-21 campaign that saw him named conference Defensive Player of the Year. He acquitted himself well in a limited sample size of games with Kansas City, scoring nine points in 14 games, and has now earned a shot to establish himself with a top team in one of the best leagues outside the NHL.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Aleksi Heponiemi Signs In Switzerland

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Florida Panthers forward and former top prospect Aleksi Heponiemi has signed a one-year contract with EHC Biel-Bienne of Switzerland’s National League. The signing suspends Heponiemi’s formal playing relationship with the Panthers organization, though it may not end it.

Since Heponiemi received a qualifying offer from Florida, the Panthers will retain the exclusive rights of any NHL team to sign him until July 1st, 2027.

Keeping in mind the overall trajectory of Heponiemi’s career, this is a disappointing outcome for a player once touted as one of the Panthers’ better prospects.

Heponiemi, 24, is a Finnish center who scored 86 points in 72 games as a WHL rookie, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

Off the back of that season, Heponiemi was drafted in the second round, 40th overall at the 2017 draft. The following campaign, Heponiemi clearly outplayed his draft position, scoring 118 points in just 57 regular-season games and 30 points in 26 playoff games en route to a WHL title and First-Team WHL All-Star honors.

He turned pro in 2018-19 directly afterward and was exceptional once again. Heponiemi scored 16 goals and 46 points in 50 games for Karpat in the Finnish Liiga, an impressive feat for a 20-year-old rookie professional. By that point, even though Heponiemi’s three points in 17 playoff games gave some cause for concern, the prevailing belief was that he’d end up a productive NHL center.

Heponiemi seemed to hit a wall after crossing the Atlantic in 2019-20. He scored just 14 points in 49 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL, and although he was used to the smaller ice surfaces due to his time in the WHL the smaller ice combined with the relentless physicality of the AHL proved quite the challenge. Heponiemi would end up earning an NHL call-up the following season, but he only played a total of six games in the AHL.

In 2021-22 Heponiemi turned in a productive AHL campaign with 39 points in 56 games, though it was becoming more and more clear that he likely wouldn’t end up the difference-making NHLer it once appeared he would become. This past season was more of the same, 43 points in 62 AHL games but just three points in 10 NHL contests.

It appears now with this signing in Switzerland Heponiemi has opted to likely play a starring role for an overseas club rather than continue the status quo, which for him has been existing on the Panthers’ roster bubble.

He could play his way back into the NHL, of course. But given how successful Heponiemi has been in the past in top European pro leagues and how that success failed to translate to the NHL, it’s also certainly a possibility that Heponiemi’s chances of becoming a productive NHL center have all but evaporated.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Connor Hellebuyck Trade Rumors

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One of the highest-profile trade candidates who hasn’t yet been dealt to another team, outside of Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson, is Winnipeg Jets starter Connor Hellebuyck. The 30-year-old is considered by many to be of the few “franchise goalies” left in the NHL, a netminder who a team can build around and consistently count on to post high-end numbers.

But the Michigan native is a pending unrestricted free agent who reportedly wants a contract extension at a $9.5MM AAV, which would put him among the highest-paid goalies in the NHL.

This has led to questions regarding whether the Jets would deal Hellebuyck to another team this summer, rather than risk entering next season with an expiring asset and potentially lose Hellebuyck to the open market in a year’s time.

They traded star center Pierre-Luc Dubois under these same circumstances, though it seems Hellebuyck could be more challenging to move.

Although Hellebuyck is undoubtedly a better goalie than Dubois is a forward, Dubois has the advantage of being younger and being a center. Teams are generally far more comfortable giving productive centers in their mid-twenties long-term, pricey extensions rather than netminders older than 30.

Additionally, the success of the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup backstopped by Adin Hill  (who hasn’t yet played more than 27 games in a single season) has led some to believe that investing in a costly goalie isn’t a wise use of scarce cap space. All of those factors have contributed to there being a lack of movement at the top of the goalie market.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that this lack of movement could even extend to Hellebuyck, saying to NHL Network that he has been spoken to sources who “wouldn’t be surprised if Hellebuyck starts the year in Winnipeg.”

Friedman cites the Jets’ desire to remain competitive despite trading away Dubois and losing Blake Wheeler as a factor complicating the likelihood Hellebuyck gets dealt. The Jets don’t want to take a step back into a rebuild, meaning they aren’t in a position to trade Hellebuyck for just picks and/or prospects, similar to when the Arizona Coyotes traded Darcy Kuemper to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche sent two draft picks and defensive prospect Conor Timmins, at the time a relatively recent 32nd overall draft choice, to get Kuemper, who like Hellebuyck had one year of team control remaining. Although Hellebuyck’s more impressive resume lends to the belief that he’d require more assets to acquire than Kuemper, contending teams likely won’t be able to send a quality prospect or two and some draft choices to acquire Hellebuyck.

The Jets are likely to want young, NHL-ready, or near-NHL-ready players similar to the crop they received in exchange for Dubois, a package headlined by 2022-23 breakout talent Gabriel Vilardi. But the relatively short list of contending teams looking to add an elite netminder likely has significant overlap with the list of clubs looking to subtract futures to add to their roster, rather than trade away roster players they were counting on for 2023-24.

One team that’s long been speculated as a potential landing spot for Hellebuyck is the New Jersey Devils. Although they lost Damon Severson and Ryan Graves, the Devils added Tyler Toffoli to their forward corps and could see top prospects Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes replace their two defensive losses. The one thing the Devils are missing is an elite goalie, and Hellebuyck fits the bill, though he might not fit into their cap sheet long-term.

The Devils have looked at the possibility of acquiring Hellebuyck, according to Friedman. The team could offer Vitek Vanecek as part of the trade, for example, which could allay the Jets’ fears of being left without a capable goalie to help them reach the playoffs.

But with the Devils potentially unable to afford a pricey long-term extension for the 2019-20 Vezina Trophy winner, they might not be willing to offer up the sort of assets the Jets would want in exchange for Hellebuyck, as he could very well end up a one-year rental if he’s traded to New Jersey.

In any case, despite how strong Hellebuyck’s play has been (he had a .920 save percentage in 64 games for the Jets this past season, second-best among goalies with 50 or more starts) he could be an extraordinarily difficult player to move this offseason.

His value to the Jets could exceed what another team would be willing to trade for him with just one year left on his deal, which could leave the Jets in the dangerous position of attempting to make noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a key pillar of the franchise precariously close to an exit on the free agent market.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Derek Grant Signs In Switzerland

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Just one season removed from scoring a career-high 15 goals and 29 points in the NHL, veteran center Derek Grant is continuing his career in Europe. Grant has signed a one-year deal with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League.

The addition of Grant adds 427 games of NHL experience to a team bursting at the seams with players who either recently played in the NHL or saw significant time in the league in the past. He joins former NHLers Yannick Weber, Dean Kukan, Sven Andrighetto, Jesper Froden, Mikko Lehtonen, Denis Malgin, and Juho Lammikko in Zurich, as well as 2022 Montreal Canadiens third-round pick Vinzenz Rohrer.

Seeing as Grant is 33 years old, it’s fair to wonder if Grant has played his final NHL game now that he’s headed overseas.

Although he didn’t have the best season, Grant’s most recent season gave reason to believe he was still a capable NHLer.

Grant won a whopping 55.2% of his draws, scored at a 32-point 82-game pace, and ranked third among Ducks forwards in average short-handed ice time per game with 2:24.

Sure, there were some cracks under the hood, such as the fact that with Grant as a regular contributor, the Ducks’ penalty kill was the NHL’s second-worst with a 72.1% kill rate, and Grant himself only managed to play in 46 games, his fewest in any unshortened NHL season since 2016-17. But seeing as he was genuinely quite a valuable bottom-sixer in 2021-22, seeing him leave the NHL entirely is a bit of a surprise.

Switzerland is an exceptional country to play in, of course, and Grant wouldn’t be the first veteran player to prefer spending the later years of his career there rather than on two-way deals in North America. But with how many teams could use a versatile, experienced bottom-sixer at an affordable price, this move to Switzerland is certainly unexpected, though certainly not unreasonable.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Gemel Smith Signs In KHL

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Although 29-year-old forward Gemel Smith scored 53 points in 54 AHL games, this past season was Smith’s first campaign in over a half-decade that he did not feature in any NHL games.

Now, the veteran of 356 AHL games and 91 games in the NHL is headed to play for an overseas club for the first time in his pro career. According to a team announcement, Smith has signed with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL.

Smith joins 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley, Calder Cup Champion Sam Anas, former AHL blueliner Kodie Curran, and former Cornell University star Yanni Kaldis as an overseas professional rostered by Belarus’ KHL club.

Seeing as he has been a prolific AHL scorer in recent seasons and brings genuine NHL experience, Smith is likely to be expected to be among Minsk’s top scorers for next season. While the NHL door is certainly not closed moving forward as Smith isn’t even 30 years old yet, he’ll want to have as productive a season as possible with Minsk if he hopes on returning to the world’s top league in the future.

Considering Smith’s resume, it’s possible he could get a two-way contract as soon as next summer, though he’ll likely need to put up some numbers next to Merkley and Minsk’s other offensive players in order to do so.

Washington Capitals Hire Kirk Muller, Kenny McCudden

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The Washington Capitals have added two experienced names to first-year head coach Spencer Carbery’s staff: former Calgary Flames assistant coach Kirk Muller and longtime Columbus Blue Jackets assistant Kenny McCudden.

Muller, 57, played in over 1,300 games during his NHL career and was a star two-way center for both the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils. He won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993 and began his coaching career in Montreal in 2006. He spent a half-decade on the Canadiens’ bench as an assistant before trying his hand at head coaching with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL.

Muller lasted only 17 games with the Admirals before being promoted to NHL head coach with the Carolina Hurricanes, replacing Paul Maurice mid-season. While Muller didn’t quite succeed in Carolina, he returned to being an assistant coach and did quite well in that role. He coached two seasons with the St. Louis Blues before returning to Montreal, where he helped the Canadiens through a re-tooling process.

After he was fired from the Canadiens alongside Claude Julien, Muller moved to the Calgary Flames, where he joined the staff of Darryl Sutter. Sutter won the Jack Adams award for coach of the year in 2021-22 and led the Flames to an impressive regular season.

Although Sutter was fired earlier this summer and Muller departed as well, Muller’s work in both Calgary and Montreal lends to the impression that he is a capable, experienced assistant coach.

For a relatively inexperienced head coach like Carbery, who hasn’t yet run the bench of an NHL team, adding such an experienced name like Muller is an easy choice to understand. Same with McCudden, who was a longtime skills coach before joining Columbus alongside John Tortorella.

At Tortorella’s side, McCudden contributed to the most successful and winningest era of hockey in Blue Jackets history, including their famous 2019 upset of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team coming off of a historically good regular season.

The Capitals are looking to make a push for one more Stanley Cup during what remains of Alex Ovechkin’s career, and have selected Carbery as the man to lead them there. Now, Carbery has added two high-level assistant coaches to help him begin what he likely hopes will be a long career as an NHL head coach.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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