Seattle Kraken Sign Kailer Yamamoto
The Seattle Kraken are returning Kailer Yamamoto to his home state. The Spokane, Washington native and former Edmonton Oiler has signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the NHL’s youngest franchise.
As he was bought out by the Detroit Red Wings a few days ago, Yamamoto’s signing with the Kraken means Detroit effectively traded him for Daniel Sprong, another right-winger who Seattle chose not to issue a qualifying offer.
By signing Yamamoto over Sprong, the Kraken save $500,000 (Sprong earned $2MM from the Red Wings) and receive a younger player with a less impressive recent track record but a more extensive resume of NHL success.
While Sprong’s 21 goals and 46 points this year dwarf Yamamoto’s 10 goals and 25 points, just one year ago Yamamoto had 20 goals and 41 points.
Yamamoto also flashed high offensive upside in 2019-20, when he scored 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games.
Now plugged into one of the league’s highest-scoring environments in Seattle, the Kraken will hope that Yamamoto can bring a more consistent level of offensive production, and perhaps access the upside that saw him drafted 22nd overall in 2017 on a more regular basis.
The Kraken have quite a few quality wingers slated to play ahead of him on their roster, but the depth of Seattle’s lineup will play to Yamamoto’s advantage. Assuming he can make a good impression at training camp, Yamamoto has a strong chance of playing next to other capable NHL offensive producers, and if he can find the right linemates and build some chemistry he could really pop, giving Seattle a strong return on this $1.5MM investment.
If he ends up playing more the way he did late in his Oilers tenure, this could end up a wasted $1.5MM for the Kraken, which would hurt even more if Sprong goes on to great things in Detroit. But even with that risk in mind, this is a reasonable gamble to take on a young, energetic offensive forward.
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Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Calvin de Haan
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Calvin de Haan, as first reported by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that the deal is a one-year, $775k contract. The signing has also been officially announced.
It’s a slight pay cut for de Haan, 32, who played last season on an $850k cap hit with the Carolina Hurricanes. A defenseman with nearly 600 games of NHL experience, de Haan is a former top-four rearguard who a minutes-eating defenseman for playoff teams on both the Hurricanes and New York Islanders.
Some significant injury issues sapped away much of de Haan’s foot speed, and left him a less effective two-way defenseman compared to his prime. Last season he played in 53 games and averaged a career-low 13:32 time on ice per game, though just a year before he was averaging nearly 19 minutes per night.
For a cap-strapped team like the Lightning, there are far worse options a team could have for its seventh defenseman role than de Haan. He brings experience, stability, and reliability to the role, and despite no longer being the player he once was it’s not as though he’s in his late thirties. The Lightning clearly believe he still has something to give to an NHL team, and now this one-year deal will allow de Haan to do so.
He’s got no chance of displacing Victor Hedman or Mikhail Sergachev on one of Tampa’s top two pairings, but seeing as the Lightning got hit hard by blueline injuries later in the season he’s a valuable depth player to keep around and potentially have compete with Haydn Fleury for the number-six role on head coach Jon Cooper’s defense.
Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Akito Hirose
The Vancouver Canucks have announced a two-year contract extension for young defenseman Akito Hirose, a relatively recent signing out of college hockey. The deal carries a $787k cap hit for each year, and is a two-way deal with a $350k AHL salary in 2023-24 and a one-way deal in 2024-25.
Hirose, 24, was signed out of Minnesota State University after a successful three-year stint there. The former top defender in the BCHL scored 68 points in 104 games at the college level and stepped right into the NHL after signing from college.
Hirose got into seven contests for the Canucks and scored three points, averaging nearly 17 and a half minutes per game. He’s more of an offensive defenseman and will likely need a little bit of time in the AHL before he’s ready for full-time NHL duty.
The one-way portion of this contract is an indication that the Canucks are very much believers in Hirose’s NHL potential, and now with his contract secured he’ll head to training camp hoping to compete for an NHL roster spot or secure a premier offensive role in the AHL.
Colorado Avalanche Re-Sign Justus Annunen
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed AHL netminder Justus Annunen to a one-year two-way deal with a $775k cap hit and a $225k minor league salary.
Annunen, 23, took a strong step forward this past season with the Colorado Eagles, improving his save percentage from an .893 in his rookie AHL campaign to a .916 in 41 games this year.
The big six-foot-four goalie was a backup goalie for two seasons with Karpat in the Finnish Liiga before joining the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate. In the AHL Annunen has acclimated himself to a far greater workload than what he received in Finland, and his form this past year is an encouraging sign for his NHL future in Colorado.
Incumbent backup netminder Pavel Francouz is 33 years old and will see his contract expire at the end of next season, so this one-year extension provides Annunen an excellent platform to make a push for an NHL number-two job in Denver.
Calgary Flames Sign Jordan Oesterle
The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Jordan Oesterle to a one-year, $925k AAV deal.
With trade winds blowing heavily around the Flames’ top left-handed defenseman, Noah Hanifin, adding a capable left-hander to the organization is an important step to take to protect the team’s depth in the event Hanifin is dealt.
Oesterle is exactly that, a capable veteran defenseman who has over 300 games of NHL experience. He’s spent the last two years with the Detroit Red Wings, where he’s scored a combined 19 points in 97 games, averaging nearly 17 minutes of ice time per night along the way.
While he won’t be effective if asked to play a minutes-eating role for the Flames, he should be able to capably handle a bottom-pairing role and provide some valuable veteran competition for the Flames’ crop of up-and-coming blueliners.
While it might be a preferred scenario for a young defenseman like Jeremie Poirier to beat out Oesterle for a job, this signing gives the Flames a solid option in case one of their young defensemen disappoints and can’t earn an opening-day job.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Lias Andersson
The Montreal Canadiens have signed 2017 seventh-overall pick Lias Andersson, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The deal is a two-way contract with a $775k cap hit and $450k AHL salary, according to the report. PuckPedia later clarified that while Andersson is guaranteed at least $450K during his deal, his AHL salary is actually $375K.
This contract reunites Andersson with some of the executives responsible for drafting him, namely Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, and two members of the Canadiens’ staff who held high roles with the New York Rangers: Gordie Clark and Nick Bobrov. Andersson, 24, didn’t quite live up to the hype as a Ranger and was ultimately dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2020 second-round pick.
Andersson similarly struggled to make an impact at the NHL level with the Kings, although he has become a premier player at the AHL level. Andersson scored 31 goals and 59 points in 67 games for Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and his hefty AHL salary is likely a reflection of the Canadiens’ belief that Andersson will be a top player for the Laval Rocket.
If Andersson can continue to be a top player at the AHL level for the Canadiens, this will be money well spent, even if he’s unlikely to make much of an impact at the NHL level.
Dallas Stars Sign Gavin Bayreuther
The Dallas Stars have signed Gavin Bayreuther, ending the undrafted blueliner’s three-year stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The contract is a one-year, one-way deal with a $775k cap hit.
The 29-year-old is an undrafted player who actually began his pro career with the Stars organization. He earned an entry-level deal in March 2017 from the Stars, and had a strong rookie season in the American league scoring 32 points in 71 games as the Stars made a run to Game Seven of the Calder Cup Final.
Bayreuther earned his first NHL call-up the year after and while he got into 19 games in Dallas he didn’t do enough to remain in the team’s plans for the following season.
He spent 2019-20 entirely in the AHL before signing in Columbus. The Blue Jackets have given Bayreuther a much longer look in the NHL than what he received in Dallas, and he’s played over 100 contests as a Blue Jacket.
He’s averaged bottom-pairing minutes in that time but did sneak onto the Blue Jackets’ penalty kill this season, averaging just under a minute played short-handed per game. Getting a one-way deal in Dallas is a nice reward for Bayreuther after a season where he played in the most NHL games of his career, and getting that deal from a familiar team is a valuable bonus.
Now Dallas gets a familiar face back to bolster their blueline at the AHL level while also serving as valuable depth for the NHL organization. While he’s unlikely to unseat a veteran like Joel Hanley as Dallas’ seventh defenceman, he’s surely going to end up a premier call-up option for head coach Peter DeBoer should the Stars run into defensive injury issues.
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Los Angeles Kings Sign Joe Hicketts
The Los Angeles Kings have added a depth defenseman, signing Joe Hicketts to a one-year, two-way deal. The Kings have made improving their defensive depth a priority in this early stage of free agency, and Hicketts is the third blueliner the team has added in the past two days, joining Andreas Englund and Steven Santini.
Hicketts is a 27-year-old offensive defenseman who lacks size but has grown into an impactful offensive defenseman at the AHL level. While he last played in the NHL in 2019-20, Hicketts is coming off of his best season at the AHL level. He scored 48 points in 72 games for the Iowa Wild, and also wore a letter on his jersey for the first time in his pro career.
A Calder Cup champion as a rookie, Hicketts will likely play an important role on the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. He’ll get a chance to quarterback their powerplay and have another strong, productive season that would allow him to push for another NHL call-up.
San Jose Sharks Acquire Anthony Duclair
6:32 pm: San Jose has made the trade official, sending Lorentz and their 2025 fifth-round pick to Florida for Duclair.
5:42 pm: The San Jose Sharks have traded for Florida Panthers winger Anthony Duclair, according to The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman. Goldman adds that forward Steven Lorentz is expected to be part of the trade heading back to the Panthers, though there could be more moving pieces involved.
Duclair brings a more dynamic asset to the Sharks after he landed on his feet in Florida as a top-line player. Last season, he recorded just two goals and nine points in 20 games with the Panthers, missing much of the season recovering an Achilles tear. Duclair’s skill set and ability to generate scoring chances make him a valuable asset for the Sharks, however, as they sorely need some high-end skill in their lineup (even though they’re rebuilding). He’ll never provide much value defensively, but it’s not much of a concern for a Sharks team that doesn’t anticipate being competitive next season.
In return, the Panthers acquire a fine bottom-of-the-lineup forward in Lorentz and nearly $2MM in cap space, helping them fortify their fourth line while opening up some more cap space to replace Duclair’s top-nine on the open market in the coming days. He could very well center their fourth line next season after recording 10 goals and 19 points in 80 games with the Sharks last season.
New York Rangers Sign Erik Gustafsson
The New York Rangers have signed defenseman Erik Gustafsson to a one-year contract, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $825k cap hit, according to the New York Post’s Mollie Walker.
The Rangers have been proactive in signing veteran players to affordable, sub-$1MM AAV contracts today, and Gustafsson is the latest one. They’re likely looking to clarify their financial picture before finalizing extensions for key RFA’s such as Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, or deciding on the future of highly-priced bottom-six leader Barclay Goodrow.
Rangers GM Chris Drury is walking a salary-cap tightrope, and with that in mind, this Gustafsson signing appears to be an absolute coup for New York. Just one year ago Gustafsson’s NHL career seemed to be in a difficult spot, as his 2021-22 season with the Chicago Blackhawks was a far cry from his earlier times in Chicago, such as 2018-19 when he scored 60 points.
But after signing with the Washington Capitals, Gustafsson had a resurgent season under head coach Peter Laviolette.
He stepped up after a major injury caused John Carlson to miss extended time, and finished his time in Washington with 38 points in 61 games.
He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored five points in 11 combined regular-season and playoff games.
One might have assumed that a 42-point defenseman could get more than a one-year, $825k deal, but Gustafsson’s inconsistency as well as the leaguewide lack of cap space likely put a damper on his free-agent market. So instead of truly cashing in and signing a pricey free agent deal, Gustafsson returns to Laviolette and places himself in a high-upside playing situation.
He’ll be competing against Zac Jones, Ben Harpur, and Connor Mackey for one of the Rangers’ final two defensive roster spots, and likely has the inside track for the third-pairing LHD spot next to Brendan Schneider.
His high-octane puck-moving offensive game could mesh well with Schneider’s more traditional style, and perhaps more significantly Gustafsson could also occupy a quarterback-like role on the Rangers’ second-unit power play.
The Rangers’ first unit is the dominant one, of course, soaking up the vast majority of available minutes on the man advantage, but at the very least Gustafsson provides a greater degree of insurance in case of an Adam Fox injury than the team had before this signing.
There’s certainly a risk that Gustafsson regresses and plays the way he did in, say, Philadelphia, where he was less than well-received by Flyers fans. But at an $825k cap hit, that risk is very minimal.
At worst, Gustafsson provides excellent competition for Jones and Mackey and injury insurance in case the Rangers’ top power-play maestro goes down with an injury. At best, Gustafsson gives the Rangers a 40-point third-pairing defenseman who is able to be utilized effectively thanks to the Rangers’ existing defensive depth.
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