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Prospect Notes: Wright, Korchinski, Canadiens Rookie Camp

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2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright played for three club teams last season, skating in eight NHL games, eight regular-season AHL contests, and 24 games in the OHL. The CHL-NHL transfer agreement stipulated that he could only play in the AHL under very specific circumstances. Wright was allowed to play in 24 games on the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ run to the Calder Cup Final, and now it appears he could get a more extensive regular-season look in the AHL next season.

On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that he’s “under the impression” that Wright’s eligibility for the AHL next season “has been sorted out,” and that the CHL has agreed to allow Wright to play for Coachella Valley assuming he is unable to crack Seattle’s opening-night roster. Wright technically falls one OHL game played short of the CHL’s cut-off point for eligibility, as well as just a few days short based on his birthday. But with Wright so close to automatic eligibility for the AHL and clearly overqualified for another OHL campaign, it seems the CHL has elected to put Wright’s development first and allow him to begin his full-time pro career.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping Kevin Korchinski will join Connor Bedard as a foundational piece of their next competitive era, and it appears that the 2022 seventh-overall pick could be primed to break into the NHL as soon as opening night. Korchinski, 19, spent last season patrolling the blueline of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, and he scored 73 points in 54 regular-season games. According to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus, “it would take a pretty jarring faceplant at camp” for Korchinski to not make the Blackhawks’ opening-night roster. (subscription link) Korchinski is considered by many to be Chicago’s best prospect behind Bedard, so assuming he avoids that “jarring faceplant” he should make the team’s opening night all the more exciting for Blackhawks fans.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have announced their roster for their upcoming rookie camp, a group of names that features three invite players: QMJHL winger Isaac Dufort, 2018 Vegas Golden Knights fourth-rounder Slava Demin, and WHL goalie Jan Spunar. Another notable aspect of this announcement regards prospect Ty Smilanic, the 74th overall pick of the 2020 draft who the Canadiens acquired from the Florida Panthers in the Ben Chiarot trade. The 21-year-old was listed on the rookie camp roster, something Radio-Canada’s Marc Antoine Godin noted is a curious development seeing as Smilanic is a college prospect and NCAA players are typically excluded from rookie camp. There’s no official word yet on Smilanic’s plans for next season, but given Smilanic’s participation in rookie camp the possibility may exist that he won’t be returning to the University of Wisconsin to play a second season there.

Summer Synopsis: Edmonton Oilers

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In back-to-back seasons, the Edmonton Oilers have been eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. In 2022, the team fell via an Artturi Lehkonen overtime winner in Game Four of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche. Last season, the Oilers were eliminated by Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. Entering 2023-24, the goal for the Oilers is clear: they want to be the eventual Stanley Cup champion doing the eliminating. To get there, their team needs to provide enough support for twin franchise pillars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to succeed. Whether they’ve done so is still up for debate.

Draft

2-56: D Beau Akey, Barrie (OHL)
6-184: G Nathaniel Day, Flint (OHL)
7-216: F Matt Copponi, Merrimack (NCAA)

The Oilers have gone all-in in recent seasons, and the result of their efforts to add established NHL talent has been the depletion of their reserves of draft choices, especially for the 2023 draft. The team only had three selections in this most recent draft class, so while the level of talent they received from a quantity and quality perspective is hardly overwhelming, it’s hard to argue with their strategy for each of the three choices.

In Akey, the Oilers selected a widely respected right-shot defenseman from the OHL with some puck-moving ability. Most reports are optimistic that he’ll have a long career as an NHL defenseman on a second or third pairing.

In Day, the Oilers effectively bought a lottery ticket on an OHL netminder who took an increased role with the Firebirds in 2022-23. And with their last pick the Oilers selected Copponi, an overage American pivot who plays a professional two-way game and saw his offense jump from just nine points last season to 29 in 2022-23.

Trade Acquisitions

F Jayden Grubbe (from New York Rangers)

While this acquisition technically came in May, it does mark the only Oilers trade since the 2022-23 deadline that saw an incoming player arrive in Edmonton. Grubbe is a rangy six-foot-three center who was picked 65th overall by New York at the 2021 draft.

Despite his offense finally clicking in his final WHL season (he went from 35 points in 2021-22 to 67 in 2022-23) Grubbe likely wasn’t going to end up tendered an entry-level contract by the Rangers, so rather than potentially waiting and attempting to select Grubbe had he re-entered the draft, the Oilers simply sent the pick they may have spent to draft Grubbe to secure his rights a little earlier.

The unexpected retirement of Noah Philp, who scored 19 goals and 37 points for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors last season, left a void in a middle-six center spot for the Oilers’ AHL affiliate. Adding Grubbe gives the Oilers a player to fill that role and a toolsy prospect for their development team to get to work with.

Key UFA Signings

F Connor Brown (one year, $775k with bonuses)
F Lane Pederson (two years, $1.55MM)
F Drake Caggiula (two years, $1.55MM)*
D Ben Gleason (two years, $1.55MM)*

*denotes a two-way contract

The Oilers have precious little cap space to work with, and that dearth of financial flexibility significantly impacted their ability to add outside talent this summer.

The most significant add is of Brown, who the Oilers were able to afford likely due to the uncertainty injected into his profile by the season-ending injury he suffered early in 2022-23.

Brown, 29, is a quality two-way winger and should he get back up to speed quickly could line himself up to cash in handsomely with a good year in Edmonton. He played with McDavid in the OHL for the Erie Otters and has scored at or above a 40-point pace for the last three seasons.

The additions of Pederson, Caggiula, and Gleason were all about bolstering organizational depth. Pederson is likely to be the team’s spare forward on his affordable $775k cap hit, while Caggiula will play an important top-six role in Bakersfield after scoring 53 points in the AHL last season.

The same can be said for Gleason, a 25-year-old blueliner who scored 33 points for the Texas Stars last season and will likely slot into the Condors’ top four on defense.

Key RFA Re-Signings

D Evan Bouchard (two years, $7.8MM)
F Ryan McLeod (two years, $4.2MM)
F Raphaël Lavoie (one year, $874k)*

*denotes a two-way contract

Bouchard is the biggest name here, and the signing of the most consequence from this summer for GM Ken Holland.

Bouchard, 23, has been a revelation on the Oilers’ powerplay since assuming the top defensive role on that unit, and his points totals are a reflection of that.

He scored 40 points in the regular season but his real breakout came in the playoffs, where he scored a stunning 17 points in just 12 games from the blueline.

While the Oilers undoubtedly would have liked to lock up Bouchard for as long as possible, that simply was not going to be possible given the Oilers’ cap situation.

So instead they land Bouchard on an affordable two-year bridge deal that he should begin providing surplus value on as soon as this fall.

As for McLeod, he’s grown into a competent bottom-six enter in Edmonton and was rewarded for posting 11 goals and 23 points last season with a $2.1MM AAV.

Lavoie, 22, was a 2019 second-round pick who has finally put his game together at the AHL level and is knocking on the door of full-time NHL duty in Edmonton. Lavoie’s one-year extension sets up 2023-24 as a massive year for his future with the Oilers.

Key Departures

F Nick Bjugstad (Arizona, two years $4.2MM)

The only free agent departure of much consequence for the Oilers is the loss of Bjugstad, who Edmonton acquired at the 2023 trade deadline. Bjugstad was asked to do too much in Edmonton and only scored three points in 12 playoff games, though his two-way game did keep him in a regular role in coach Jay Woodcroft’s lineup throughout the postseason.

The Oilers will miss having the rangy six-foot-six veteran center in their lineup but if Lavoie can seize an NHL job this fall his arrival soften that blow.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Oilers are one of the many NHL teams walking a salary cap tightrope. The Jack Campbell contract is a major drag on their books due to his regression, but Stuart Skinner’s surplus value provided from his $2.6MM cap hit more than makes up for that.

The Oilers have their fair share of pricey contracts, but they have quite a few players who are outperforming their cap hits (McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Bouchard) which makes things easier. The cap rising will provide the Oilers with some much-needed breathing room next summer, but for this upcoming season things will be tight and the club will likely struggle to field a full 23-man roster.

Key Questions

Will the Oilers be able to make any major in-season additions?: The Oilers aforementioned lack of trade assets and cap space puts the club in a bind for 2023-24. They have to do everything possible to surround McDavid and Draisaitl with as much talent as possible, but without a strong crop of prospects to trade from, and already missing second and third-round picks from upcoming drafts, will the Oilers have the assets or cap space to make any significant moves?

Will the Oilers’ goaltending be good enough?: Skinner was certainly exceptional as a rookie, but his track record is relatively thin at the NHL level. Campbell, on the other hand, has a more extensive resume of NHL success but struggled to an extreme degree in 2022-23. Will either of those netminders be good enough for the Oilers to win a Stanley Cup? Or will it be back to the drawing board once again next summer?

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Josh Leivo Linked To SHL

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Despite appearing in 51 NHL games last season, former St. Louis Blues forward Josh Leivo could be continuing his pro career overseas.

According to a report from Örnsköldsviks Allehanda’s Matthias Persson, the SHL’s newly promoted MoDo Hockey is looking to sign Leivo before their season starts in less than two weeks.

It’d be a somewhat surprising move for Leivo to sign overseas since the 30-year-old has played 265 career NHL games and spent the entirety of his pro career either in the NHL or AHL.

Leivo’s first full-time NHL campaign came in 2017-18 and he only returned to the AHL many years later, in 2021-22, signing a contract to play for the Chicago Wolves.

Leivo was wildly successful in Chicago, winning a Calder Cup championship and the league’s playoff MVP award after leading the postseason in scoring. In total, Leivo played in 72 games for the Wolves combining the regular season and playoffs and scored 75 points.

That strong AHL performance landed Leivo a role back in the NHL with the Blues, and he ended up scoring 16 points in 51 games. While it’s possible that Leivo could hold out for the kind of PTO offer many players have signed over the past two weeks, it’s also possible that the stability of playing in the SHL could be appealing.

MoDo play in Örnsköldsvik, a legendary hockey town that has produced numerous NHL stars, such as the Sedin twins, Peter Forsberg, and Victor Hedman. MoDo, the local pro club, won the HockeyAllsvenskan championship last season and earned a promotion to the SHL, Sweden’s top league.

If he signs in Örnsköldsvik, Leivo will join another former Toronto Maple Leaf on the roster, Latvian international Kristians Rubins, as well as former Colorado Avalanche forward Sampo Ranta and American blueliner Daniel Brickley, who Leivo played with in Chicago.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Alex Ovechkin

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The Washington Capitals have an important season coming up, with the performance of rookie head coach Spencer Carbery and Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record likely to take center stage as key storylines.

Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky is likely to be the most significant storyline in Washington until Ovechkin manages to score his 895th goal.

In order to do so, the soon-to-be 38-year-old will need to remain in top shape and a consistent goal-scoring threat.

Despite his advanced age, Ovechkin hasn’t shown major signs of slowing down. He scored 42 goals and 75 points, though he did battle through a few injuries and ended up only playing in 73 games.

That could end up a more common concern for Ovechkin as he gets even older, though for what it’s worth Ovechkin doesn’t feel as though his health is anything to worry about at the current moment.

Ovechkin told Russian news outlet R-Sport that he feels he is in good health with everything to normal standard so far, and that yesterday he returned to North America to ramp up his preparations for the new season.

For as long as Ovechkin is healthy and chasing Gretzky’s record, one can anticipate the Capitals to avoid entering into a rebuild and instead focus on supporting Ovechkin and putting a contending team around him.

There were some who hoped that the Capitals would plunge deeper into a rebuild-like direction after their disappointing 2022-23, but Capitals GM Brian MacLellan resisted such calls. He aggressively targeted more NHL-ready young talent, showing a willingness to trade valuable draft picks in order to do so. He traded a first-round pick in order to land Rasmus Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the 23-year-old provided an immediate return on the investment by scoring 15 points in just 19 games as a Capital.

But while Ovechkin’s place as the Capitals’ centerpiece player for the next few seasons is secure and untouchable, there are a few big-name players in Washington entering the season with high stakes.

Evgeny Kuznetsov has been a source of frustration and great optimism for Capitals fans in recent years, and after scoring just 12 goals last season is entering a make-or-break year for his future in Washington. Anthony Mantha, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent who scored just 27 points last year. Both of those names are entering extremely important campaigns, and while the stakes aren’t as high as an all-time goal record chase, they matter quite a bit to each of those veteran’s playing futures.

With training camp approaching quickly, the Capitals look to be one of the NHL’s more interesting teams. Ovechkin and his record chase are a major reason for that, and thankfully for hockey fans around the world it appears that despite his advanced age Ovechkin shows no signs of slowing down, and is feeling in perfectly good health in advance of puck drop next month.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Summer Synopsis: Detroit Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings haven’t been back to the playoffs since their historic streak ended in 2017, but GM Steve Yzerman, head coach Derek Lalonde, and the whole Red Wings organization have plans on ending that drought this year. Despite the highly competitive nature of the Atlantic division, the Red Wings have added major talent to their roster over the last two years and are hoping to reach the playoffs next season on the back of that veteran talent combined with some intriguing young stars. But in a division that has sent a finalist to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last five seasons, will that be possible?

Draft

1-9: F Nate Danielson, Brandon (WHL)
1-16: D Axel Sandin-Pellika, Skellefteå (SHL)
2-41: G Trey Augustine, USNTDP (USHL)
2-42: D Andrew Gibson, Soo (OHL)
2-47: D Brady Cleveland, USNTDP (USHL)
3-73: F Noah Dower-Nilsson, Frölunda (J20)
4-117: D Larry Keenan, Culver Academy (USHS)
5-137: D Jack Phelan, Sioux Falls (USHL)
5-147: F Kevin Bicker, Mannheim (GER U20)
6-169: G Rudy Guimond, Taft (USHS)
7-201: F Emmitt Finnie, Kamloops (WHL)

The Red Wings have invested heavily in centers in recent years, both in free agency and at the draft table. They signed Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher to deals north of $5MM AAV and invested top-ten picks in Austrian center Marco Kasper and Canadian pivot Nate Danielson. Danielson is a professional two-way center who had a strong draft year for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is widely projected as a future second or third-line center.

Sandin-Pellika played pro hockey in his draft year for Skellefteå and was considered one of the higher-upside blueliners in his class, especially offensively. On day two, the Red Wings reached into their backyard grabbing a Michigan State commit and potential goalie of the future in Augustine as well as Cleveland, a stay-at-home blueliner. Keenan, the team’s fourth-round pick, was drafted straight out of high school hockey but has tantalizing physical tools.

Trade Acquisitions

F Alex DeBrincat (from Ottawa)
D Jeff Petry (from Montreal)
F Klim Kostin (from Edmonton)

The centerpiece of Yzerman’s offseason is the acquisition of DeBrincat from the Senators, a division rival.

Surrendering Dominik Kubalik and a first-round pick to get the deal done, Yzerman managed to add a two-time 40-goal scorer who happens to be right in the thick of his prime.

DeBrincat won’t turn 26 until December and is locked into a $7.875MM AAV contract through 2026-27.

Even if DeBrincat plays more as he did in Ottawa than how he played next to Patrick Kane on the Chicago Blackhawks, the Red Wings will still have added a 66-point scorer into their top six, which will do wonders to improve the production of other members of their top-six, such as Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Andrew Copp, for example.

Seeing as they didn’t have to commit a huge amount of term to DeBrincat, this trade has a chance to be an absolute grand slam for Yzerman. The acquisition of Petry adds a notably less flashy player to the Red Wings lineup but a nonetheless effective one. Petry isn’t what he once was now that he’s turning 36 years old, but the Ann Arbor, Michigan native can still hold his own in a top-four and contributed 31 points in just 61 games last season. He’s undeniably worth the $2.34MM cap hit he’s owed for the next two years.

Kostin is the lowest-profile addition of this trio but his acquisition via trade gives the Red Wings an intriguing name to plug into their bottom-six. Kostin’s NHL career looked to be on life support before a trade to the Oilers sparked a run of strong performances for the 2017 first-round pick. Kostin plays a powerful game and should improve the Red Wings’ bottom-six and overall forward depth.

Key UFA Signings

F J.T. Compher (five years, $25.5MM)
D Justin Holl (three years, $10.2MM)
D Shayne Gostisbehere (one year, $4.125MM)
F Daniel Sprong (one-year, $2MM)
G Alex Lyon (two-years, $1.8MM)
G James Reimer (one year, $1.5MM)
F Christian Fischer (one year, $1.125MM)

When looking at most of the Red Wings’ free agent signings, a clear strategy emerges. Detroit chose to invest heavily in improving their defense, goaltending depth, and bottom-six forwards.

Compher is the outlier to that, as he’s expected to play in a prominent middle-six center role. He had a breakout 2022-23, scoring 17 goals and 52 points, but seeing as that’s the outlier number so far in his career it’s fair to question whether he’ll be able to repeat that kind of offensive performance.

If he can’t, he still has a solid two-way game to provide a floor to the level of value he provides, which is useful. But unless he can reach 50 points in Detroit $5.1MM on a five-year term will look like a real expensive price to pay for a solid if generally unremarkable middle-six center.

While Holl’s mistakes drew some harsh criticism at times during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has averaged at least 20 minutes per night in each of the last three seasons.

A $3.4MM price tag with a three-year term is a high price to pay for what Holl provides, to be sure, but there is some context that could explain why Yzerman made this signing. The Red Wings’ right-shot defensive depth took a major hit with the trade of Filip Hronek to Vancouver, so adding Holl gives Lalonde an experienced name to fill that void.

It’s important for a GM to give capable players to his coach so that the coach can succeed, so now it’ll be up to Lalonde to deploy Holl in ways that will help Holl look good, not for more than he’s capable of as many believe Holl was in Toronto.

In Gostisbehere, the Red Wings add a productive offensive defenseman who resurrected his career on the Arizona Coyotes and should serve as the team’s most reliable offensive threat from the blueline outside their top pairing.

Up front, the Red Wings added Sprong, a player who scored 21 goals and 46 points from largely fourth-line minutes in Seattle, and Fischer, who is an energetic bottom-six forward with some valuable leadership qualities. Sprong will help provide some offensive juice to the bottom six while Fischer will likely play in a more traditional fourth-line role.

In Lyon and Reimer, the Red Wings have made significant improvements to their goaltending depth. While Reimer was shaky, to say the least, last season, he does have an extensive track record of quality play in the NHL. Should he falter, Detroit now has Lyon to save the day, something he did with the Florida Panthers last season when his .914 save percentage in 15 games lifted them to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

These additions aren’t as flashy as the team’s addition of DeBrincat, to be sure, but they’re strategic investments in areas of the roster that were major weaknesses last season, even if in the case of Holl and Compher they came on the expensive side.

Key Departures

F Pius Suter (Vancouver, two years, $3.2MM)
F Filip Zadina (San Jose, one year, $1.1MM)
F Alex Chiasson (Boston, PTO)
G Magnus Hellberg (Pittsburgh, one year, $785k)
F Adam Erne (UFA)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (Pittsburgh, one year, $1.5MM)
D Robert Hagg (Anaheim, one year, $775k)

The biggest-name loss on this list is easily that of Zadina, the 2017 sixth-overall pick. Zadina never quite found his game in Detroit and ultimately gave the team very little in return for the significant asset they invested in him, save for a 28-game run in 2019-20 where he flashed some real promise and scored 15 points.

The most effective player Detroit is losing is Suter, 27, who scored 14 goals and 24 points last season. Detroit is undoubtedly upgrading at third-line center if Compher ends up playing in that role, although Suter did score 36 points in 2021-22 and Detroit could surely still find room for that kind of player. Suter just wasn’t able to find consistency in Detroit, and with the Red Wings making a serious playoff push they simply needed to find a more reliable player to fill the role Suter played, even if that player came at a far higher price tag.

Jettisoning Nedeljkovic and Hellberg to bring in Reimer and Lyon represents a full makeover of the Red Wings’ goaltending depth behind starter Ville Husso. Nedeljkovic arrived in Detroit with quite a bit of promise but his reliance on his athleticism was exposed behind the Red Wings’ porous defense, and he heads to Pittsburgh seeking greener pastures. Hellberg, 32, will join him and potentially take up a role as Pittsburgh’s number-three goalie.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Red Wings’ significant outlays this summer have left them in a tighter cap position than years past, but the flip side of that is that their roster is significantly improved as well. The Red Wings have paid high prices to get high-quality players in the door, but some of their most significant costs are yet to be determined. Both Raymond and Moritz Seider will need new contracts before next season, and those two players figure to be two of the most expensive Red Wings moving forward, with Seider holding the potential to receive a highly lucrative long-term deal as one of the top young blueliners in the NHL.

Key Questions

Who will be the Red Wings’ second-line center?: This question isn’t exactly the right one, as we know who will start the year as Detroit’s second-line center: either Copp or Compher. But the important question is who will end up claiming that role moving into the future, seeing as the Red Wings have two quality center prospects in their pipeline in Kasper and Danielson. Will Compher reward Yzerman’s faith and his $5.1MM price tag? Will Copp improve on a first year in Detroit that saw him score only nine goals? Or will both veterans falter as the team pivots towards Kasper or eventually Danielson as Dylan Larkin’s long-term understudy?

Who claims the backup goalie role?: A 475-game NHL veteran, Reimer is undoubtedly the front-runner here. But after posting an .890 save percentage last season, he’s vulnerable. Alex Lyon has largely been a third goalie throughout his pro career. Will that finally change this season in Detroit?

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 09/02/23

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Although the NHL season won’t begin for more than a month, the professional hockey season in Europe has just begun. The Champions Hockey League is already fully underway, and there have already been some notable contests. For example, today the Norwegian champion Stavanger Oilers nearly defeated the reigning SHL title winners, the Växjö Lakers, but ended up falling in a shootout.

The KHL also had its season-opening games today, highlighted by a contest between Dinamo Minsk and HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk that saw Minsk come back from down three goals to win in overtime, powered by a two-point performance from 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley. As more and more clubs across the hockey world return to competitive play, teams in North American minor leagues and those overseas leagues are continuing to add players. We’ll keep track of those moves here, as always.

  • Former Chicago Blackhawks prospect Sam Jardine has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, confirming his return to North American pro hockey after two years in Europe. The 30-year-old defenseman has played for the Swamp Rabbits before, in 2020-21 when he scored 44 points in 67 games for the club. That year, he earned ECHL First-Team All-Star honors as well as a chance the following season to play for HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak capital as well as HIFK Helsinki in Finland. Jardine spent last season playing in Wales with the EIHL’s Cardiff Devils, and now will return to his old stomping grounds for 2023-24.
  • Turner Ottenbreit, a former captain of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star. Ottenbreit is a six-foot-three left-shot defenseman who has spent the last two seasons in the AHL with the Iowa Wild. He played in 57 games last season and scored 12 points, and should be able to beef up a Kunlun blueline that surrendered 44 shots in today’s season-opening victory over Spartak Moscow.
  • Former WHL star forward Luka Burzan signed a one-year contract with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, locking himself into another campaign with the team he finished 2022-23 on. Burzan, 23, is a former Colorado Avalanche draft pick who scored a solid 13 points in 17 games last season in Cincinnati. Burzan has scored well at each of his ECHL stops so far in his career and will look to do the same next season while potentially earning his way back to the AHL, where he played in 10 games last year.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Snapshots: Hronek, Bratt, Michkov

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The Vancouver Canucks paid a handsome price to the Detroit Red Wings last season in order to acquire defenseman Filip Hronek, surrendering a first and second-round pick. Part of their rationale in acquiring Hronek was that ascending right-shot blueliners capable of scoring at or above a 40-point pace are exceedingly rare, and by acquiring Hronek the team managed to add a defenseman who would arguably slot in as their best behind franchise blueliner Quinn Hughes.

But with just four total games under his belt and a contract set to expire at the end of the season (he’ll be an RFA, one season away from UFA status) the 2023-24 season is shaping up to be a massive one in determining whether the Canucks’ investment in Hronek will be a lasting one. As TSN’s Travis Yost writes, Vancouver is “betting on” Hronek emerging as a capable, reliable top-four defenseman and building on the development he showed over the last two years in Detroit. If he can shore up a spot as the Canucks’ number-two defenseman, a long-term extension in Vancouver could come before the end of the season.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt had put off settling down and signing a long-term contract extension until this past summer, and that patience paid off as his back-to-back 73-point seasons earned him a $7.875MM AAV deal that stretches through the 2030-31 season. Despite now earning that guaranteed financial security, Bratt explained to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the removal of the pressure of playing on a one-year deal won’t impact his preparation or motivation for the seasons to come. Bratt said “Now that the eight-year deal has come around, I know what it means,” adding that “work that has to be put in every day” so that he can live up to the lofty price tag. The Devils have grand designs for their era of contention led by Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and if the team ends up achieving those lofty goals next season it’s highly likely Bratt will be a major reason why.
  • Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for his KHL club’s season-opening game today, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall. The 2023 seventh-overall pick is beginning the first of three seasons left on his KHL contract and scored 20 points in 27 games on loan with HK Sochi last season. His success as a scorer last season raises questions as to why Michkov has been scratched, especially seeing as the move was not, per Hall, injury-related. While Michkov has a long runway to develop his game before he’ll have to hit the ice for the Flyers, it’s certainly not a positive for either Michkov or Flyers fans that he’s not drawing into SKA St. Petersburg’s lineup.

Snapshots: Parayko, Norfolk Admirals, Penguins TV Deal

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When a team in the NHL takes a step back and performs below expectations, typically there will also be a few key players on that team who have taken individual steps back, steps back that help contribute to the larger decline. The St. Louis Blues had a difficult 2022-23 season, one that saw them finish outside the playoffs. That’s been a rarity during the Blues’ current competitive run, one that yielded the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019, and one of the bigger reasons for that step back was the decline of key defenseman Colton Parayko.

Parayko, 30, is making $6.5MM AAV through 2029-30 but saw his all-around results decline from 2021-22 to 2022-23. He went from 35 points scored to 27, his ice time went down a tick, and his defensive play was not up to his usually high standards. That led to speculation that the Blues and Parayko could seek out a change of scenery in the offseason, though that didn’t end up coming to pass. Those trade rumors haven’t deterred Parayko, either, who told The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford that he plans on remaining a Blue “for a long time.” (subscription link) As the owner of a full no-trade clause, it’s going to be up to him whether that actually happens, and it appears moving forward both parties view a bounce-back season as the optimal solution to Parayko’s decline rather than a trade.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have announced a working agreement with the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals that will allow the Hurricanes to assign prospects to the ECHL club. The Admirals are the official affiliates of the Winnipeg Jets, but per this agreement, they’ll share the ability to send prospects to Norfolk alongside Winnipeg. The ECHL is typically not where NHL teams send most of their prospects, but in the case that the Hurricanes find they need to send a prospect to North America’s third-tier league they now have a clear path to do so.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced “SportsNet Pittsburgh” today, finalizing the home of Penguins hockey for all regionally televised games. Per the announcement, the Penguins “entered into an agreement to acquire and re-brand the existing AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh network,” the Penguins’ regional sports network from last season. There has been significant uncertainty in the regional sports broadcasting market in recent months, but with this announcement Penguins fans get some clarity as to what entity will broadcast their team’s games moving forward.

Nashville Predators Sign Dylan Wells To PTO

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According to CapFriendly, the Nashville Predators have signed netminder Dylan Wells to a PTO.

Wells, 25, split last season between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars organizations. He played in 17 AHL games for the Blackhawks’ affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, and posted a .905 save percentage. He was included in the Blackhawks’ trade of Max Domi to Dallas, and ended up playing in three games for the Stars’ AHL affiliate in Cedar Park.

A former Edmonton Oilers prospect, Wells has mostly been an ECHL netminder since ending his major junior career with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, with 78 career games played in the ECHL compared to 42 in the AHL. Wells got into one NHL game last season, saving 12 of 13 shots in 20 minutes of relief duty during an early November contest against the Winnipeg Jets.

By accepting this PTO with the Predators, Wells will give Nashville an additional netminder for training camp and the preseason. While the team currently has four goalies with clearly defined roles (Juuse Saros as NHL starter, Kevin Lankinen as NHL backup, Yaroslav Askarov as AHL number-one, Troy Grosenick as AHL number-two), the Milwaukee Admirals do not yet have a third goalie on their roster. Additionally, the Predators’ ECHL affiliate, the Atlanta Gladiators, have only one goalie rostered and he has just 10 games of pro experience.

So while Wells doesn’t have a clear path to a prominent role in Nashville, this PTO does give Wells a chance to show he’s worth keeping beyond the preseason in a depth role within the Predators’ organization.

Summer Synopsis: Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world last summer. After years where the prevailing narrative surrounding the Blue Jackets was about the multitude of star players who left the team to commit their long-term playing future elsewhere (Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, Seth Jones, et cetera) the team managed to sign the top free agent on the open market. They got superstar Johnny Gaudreau to commit the rest of his prime playing years to Columbus, and on the way seemed to accelerate their path back to contention.

Significant injury issues, regression from some important players (such as Cole Sillinger and Elvis Merzlikins), and a lack of talent down the middle left Columbus as one of the league’s worst teams last season, and according to some has firmly placed GM Jarmo Jarmo Jarmo Kekäläinen on the hot seat. In response to mounting pressure to return to contention, Kekäläinen had an aggressive summer and added a big-name head coach. Will this new-look Blue Jackets team be able to turn the team’s fortunes around as soon as next season?

Draft

1-3: F Adam Fantilli, Michigan (NCAA)
2-34: F Gavin Brindley, Michigan (NCAA)
3-66: F William Whitelaw, Youngstown (USHL)
4-98: D Andrew Strathmann, Youngstown (USHL)
4-114: F Luca Pinelli, Ottawa (OHL)
5-156: G Melvin Strahl, MoDo Jr. (J20)
7-194: F Oiva Keskinen, Tappara Jr. (SM-Sarja)
7-224: F Tyler Peddle, Drummondville (QMJHL)

While the Blue Jackets were undoubtedly disappointed to have lost in the draft lottery and missed out on a once-in-a-generation player in Connor Bedard, their luck definitely turned around on draft night. The Anaheim Ducks selected Leo Carlsson, a fantastic prospect in his own right, second overall, leaving the Blue Jackets the chance to pick Fantilli, the reigning Hobey Baker award winner.

There were many rumors that the Blue Jackets would have selected USNTDP product Will Smith had Fantilli been selected by Anaheim over Carlsson, meaning they would have been left with a player who’ll only hit the NHL ice next spring at the earliest. (Smith is committed to play college hockey next season at Boston College) Since the Ducks took Carlsson, though, the Blue Jackets were able to land a prospect widely considered to be NHL-ready, and a player many believe to be the clear-cut best player in the class behind Bedard.

Fantilli could very well end up the franchise-defining first-line center the Blue Jackets have been searching for since their very first season in the NHL, and getting that caliber of a player after losing a draft lottery is an amazing stroke of luck. Behind Fantilli, the Blue Jackets invested heavily in prospects playing in America, investing their next three selections in NCAA and USHL players. Brindley was Fantilli’s linemate at Michigan and could very well end up playing that role in the NHL. Whitelaw and Strathmann were teammates for the USHL Champion Youngstown Phantoms, with Whitelaw the team’s leading scorer and Strathmann a minutes-eating blueliner. Both USHL products play with an edge and will develop in college hockey before turning pro.

Trade Acquisitions

D Ivan Provorov (from Philadelphia)
D Damon Severson (from New Jersey)

This is where the Blue Jackets really made their mark on the offseason. The team identified its defense as a core area of need entering into the summer. Their lack of established defensive talent was exposed last season after numerous injuries took out the team’s more experienced players, such as Zach Werenski. In order to make the playoffs, Columbus knew that they would have to give top-four minutes to reliable players rather than resort to unproven names such as Tim Berni, Marcus Bjork, and Gavin Bayreuther, three names who saw time on the Blue Jackets’ defense last season.

In Provorov, Columbus acquired a somewhat enigmatic defenseman whose career features some very high highs and some even lower lows. Provorov was once viewed as an up-and-coming future number-one defenseman for the Flyers, and at times he looked like an elite all-situations minutes-eater.

He earned some stray Norris Trophy votes after his 2019-20 season, when at the age of 23 he played nearly 25 minutes per night and scored 36 points in 69 games.

In Columbus, Provorov won’t need to be that kind of number-one blueliner his team relies on. With Werenski entrenched in that role, the hope in Columbus is that Provorov will be able to thrive on a second pairing.

As for Severson, the Blue Jackets surrendered a mid-round pick to be able to sign Severson to a maximum-term $6.25MM AAV contract. The at-the-time pending UFA committed to Columbus without testing the wider market, and lands as a potential partner for Provorov. Severson has more of an offensive bent to his game and scored 46 points in 2021-22. He took a step back last season as the Devils injected more defensive talent into their lineup, relegating Severson to a smaller role.

In Columbus, he’ll be a go-to offensive creator from the back end, and while many fairly question whether Severson merited such a lengthy commitment (he’ll be under contract with the Blue Jackets through 2030-31, and is already 29 years old) he undoubtedly makes their team better for next season.

Key RFA Signings

F Mathieu Olivier (two-years, $2.2MM)
F Trey Fix-Wolansky (two-years, $1.55MM)
D Jake Christiansen (one year, $775k)

The Blue Jackets didn’t have any major RFA’s to re-sign, just some NHL-relevant players who figure to factor into new head coach Mike Babcock’s roster picture at some point next season. Getting Olivier, 26, locked into a two-year deal gives Columbus a physical presence on its fourth line at a reasonable cost. The Blue Jackets want to be a difficult team to play against, and re-signing Olivier helps them do that.

Fix-Wolansky, 24, torched the AHL last season to the tune of 71 points in 61 games. This two-year deal keeps him on the Blue Jackets at a cheap price for the foreseeable future, although since he’s not waivers-exempt there’s always the chance that he doesn’t finish this contract playing in Ohio. As for Christiansen, this will be his first season subject to waivers and his league-minimum price tag makes him an intriguing option to be claimed should he fail to make Columbus’ opening-night roster. The soon-to-be-24-year-old blueliner scored 34 points in 50 AHL games last season.

Key Departures

D Gavin Bayreuther (Dallas, one year, $775k)

The Blue Jackets were in the relatively uncommon position this summer of not really being at risk of losing any major contributors to their NHL roster without explicitly choosing to do so. Their most experienced player to sign elsewhere was Bayreuther, a journeyman defenseman who stepped in after Columbus was hit by significant injuries and ended up playing 51 NHL games.

The 29-year-old signed in Dallas and will likely remain a depth defenseman there. The Blue Jackets could certainly have used Bayreuther’s experience for another season, but the reality is if he ended up having another extended NHL stay in Columbus it would mean the team’s defensive corps is once again in dire shape.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Blue Jackets have some hefty contracts on their books, starting with Gaudreaus and extending to some expensive mid-range deals cap hits belonging to Severson, Provorov, and Erik Gudbranson. They have a bit of wiggle room to make a mid-season addition, and since they’re set to avoid long-term injured reserve will be able to bank cap space during the season for a potential trade deadline spending spree.

The most important aspect of this season from a financial perspective is the team’s performance in net. Columbus has committed $5.4MM AAV for the next few years into Merzlikins. Can he get back to playing like a quality starting netminder and reward the team’s faith in him?

Key Questions

Can Mike Babcock steer this team to the playoffs?: The Blue Jackets are looking to reach the postseason in an extremely competitive Metro division. They’ve enlisted the services of Babcock, a controversial coach who, at the very least, has quite a bit of winning on his resume. He helped turn a lost Toronto Maple Leafs franchise into the regular season juggernaut we see today, and won a Stanley Cup ring running the bench of the Detroit Red Wings. Will he be able to engineer a similar success in Ohio?

Which of the team’s young players will rise, who will fall?: The Blue Jackets have an enviable crop of young talent and a few players who have a chance to become stars in the NHL. Sillinger, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, looked to be on that track before a brutal sophomore campaign. Similarly, many had questions over whether Kent Johnson’s high-octane offensive game would translate from college to the pro ranks without serious adjustment time. Johnson had a promising 40-point rookie campaign, to a strong degree silencing those questions. The Blue Jackets have even more ascending talents set to battle for roles on Babcock’s roster, so a main question regarding their 2023/24 season will be who among that group will rise to the top.

Can Merzlikins bounce back?: As mentioned, the Blue Jackets have committed much of their future to Merzlikins in net. They don’t really have any great method of getting out from under that contract, so their best bet is to support Merzlikins with an improved defense and hope he can return to the form he flashed earlier in his career. Whether he does so will go a long way in determining if this Blue Jackets competitive push ends up successful.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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