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West Notes: Oilers UFA Possibilities, McLeod, Rookie Faceoff

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The Edmonton Oilers added a quality AHL scorer in Justin Bailey to their organization, bringing him in on a PTO and an AHL deal. That doesn’t mean they’re done adding, though, and The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reports via a team source that the Oilers are considering adding a forward on a league-minimum deal, similar to the contract Ryan Murray recently signed. (subscription link) Per Nugent-Bowman, the Oilers are discussing three players: Zach Aston-Reese, Riley Nash, and Jake Virtanen.

Aston-Reese, 28, is likely the name Oilers fans would most want to see on their roster out of that group of three. Aston-Reese, whose free agency our John Gilroy profiled last month, is a capable defensive winger and someone who could chip in as a safe, reliable bottom-six option. Nash, 33, represents the most experienced option, as he has over 600 NHL games under his belt. Nash split time between the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Arizona Coyotes last season, and managed to get into eight playoff games on the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. The recent not guilty verdict in Virtanen’s sexual assault trial could be the reason why Virtanen’s name is coming up again for NHL opportunities after a year in the KHL. Virtanen, a former top prospect who scored 18 goals in 2019-20, is the player of the three who would likely present the most on-ice upside to the Oilers but also come with his fair share of baggage and controversy.

Now, for some other news from across the Western Conference:

  • The Oilers still have restricted free agent Ryan McLeod left to sign, and Nugent-Bowman reports that the deal should come around a $975K cap hit. That’s a relatively small cost, but since the Oilers have little cap space to work with the deal hasn’t been completed yet. Per Nugent-Bowman, the “inability to make a trade” involving one of the Oilers’ higher-priced players such as Tyson Barrie, Jesse Puljujarvi, or Warren Foegele has held up the progress on finalizing McLeod’s deal.
  • We recently covered how the San Jose Sharks would be hosting a tournament for prospects from six NHL teams. Today, each of those six teams (the Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Coyotes, Avalanche, and Golden Knights) announced their rosters for the camp. There are quite a few notable names to look forward to at that tournament, including first-round picks Quinton Byfield, Mason McTavish, William Eklund, Conor Geekie, Oskar Olausson, and Brendan Brisson, among others.

Offseason Notes: Hurricanes, Lundqvist, Doan

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Although player transactions rightfully take up most of the attention in the offseason, a team’s additions to their coaching staff and hockey operations department can also play a significant role in whether the organization finds success. Today, the Carolina Hurricanes made three additions to their hockey operations department. The team hired Earl Schwartz as a compliance assistant, and Ellen Etchingham and Sidney Morin were named professional scouts.

Schwartz’s title may not make his role on the Hurricanes immediately clear, but based on the team’s description, it seems his work will revolve around the salary cap. The two new professional scouts the team hired, Etchingham and Morin, both have extensive experience in hockey. Etchingham, who Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek called “one of the smartest people” he’s ever met, has written about hockey since 2007, while Morin is a player for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the PHF and an Olympic Gold Medalist.

Now, for some other news from across the NHL:

  • It wasn’t long ago that Henrik Lundqvist was the on-ice face of the New York Rangers, and now in retirement, he’s positioned himself to be the off-ice face of the franchise. Today the Rangers announced that Lundqvist has joined Madison Square Garden in a “unique new role that helps support business operations for each company.” Lundqvist will continue his work as a studio analyst for Rangers broadcasts on MSG Network, as well as work in various roles across Madison Square Garden ranging from alumni relations to the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
  • While the Rangers’ franchise icon is doubling down on his involvement with the organization, the Arizona Coyotes’ face of their franchise is heading in a different direction. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Shane Doan is taking a “step back” from his role as Chief Hockey Development Officer for the Coyotes. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports added some context to this move, stating that Doan still “wants to be in hockey ops somewhere” but it likely won’t be with the Coyotes. Of note is the fact that Doan’s son, Josh Doan, was drafted 37th overall by Arizona at the 2021 NHL draft and is currently the captain of the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey team.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Justin Bailey To Professional Tryout

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9/8/22: While CapFriendly reported that Bailey signed a PTO with the Oilers, we now have some more clarity on where Bailey will be playing hockey full-time next season.

Per a team announcement, Bailey has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Oilers’ American League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. So, even if Bailey is unable to earn an NHL deal out of training camp, he will remain within the larger Oilers organization and factor in likely as a scoring-line player for the Condors.

9/7/22: The Edmonton Oilers have added some veteran talent to their training camp roster, signing forward Justin Bailey to a PTO, per CapFriendly.

This move comes after we covered how the Oilers were looking for some additional depth pieces at this stage of the offseason market. After signing Ryan Murray to a one-year league-minimum deal, they have added to their forward depth by getting Bailey into the mix for a job in the preseason.

Bailey, 27, was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres at the 2013 NHL draft and has spent the past three seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization. Last year, Bailey split time between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. For Vancouver, Bailey got into 14 games and registered 12 hits, six penalty minutes, and six blocked shots in just over nine minutes of ice time per game. Bailey also spent time as a healthy scratch for the Canucks.

At the AHL level, Bailey had more success, scoring 15 goals and 27 points in just 30 games. Bailey has long been a quality AHL scorer, ever since he scored 20 goals and 45 points in his first professional season with the Rochester Americans. In 296 career AHL games Bailey has scored 111 goals and 198 points.

In Edmonton, Bailey will have a chance to compete for a spot at the bottom of the team’s lineup. He’ll likely compete with Tyler Benson, Greg McKegg, and Brad Malone for a depth role. With a strong performance in camp and in the preseason, Bailey could earn himself a two-way deal and a chance to get into games for the Oilers this season. Even if Bailey struggles, though, it’s still overwhelmingly likely that he’d have strong interest on an AHL deal.

Minor Transactions 09/07/22

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We are less than three weeks away from preseason action around the league and just over a month away from the 2022-23 regular season. NHL teams have a few things left to do before getting started and minor league clubs a few more still. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions from around the hockey world.

  • Veteran SHL defenseman Anton Myllari has chosen to swap leagues. Per a team announcement, Myllari signed a contract with the Lahden Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Myllari, 31, spent last season with Brynas of the SHL, getting into 51 games. Myllari has nearly 200 games of SHL experience under his belt and has also manned the blueline for teams in Denmark and Austria. He heads to a Pelicans team eager to improve after a mediocre 29-win 2021-22 campaign.
  • ECHL teams have been making some last-minute additions in advance of next season, and one of those teams is the Cincinnati Cyclones. The team announced today that they’ve signed 21-year-old forward Dakota Betts to a one-year contract. The deal is Betts’ first professional contract, and the 21-year-old is coming off of a solid final season in the OHL In 61 games the now-21-year-old Betts registered 33 points, which ranked fourth on a poor Niagara IceDogs team.
  • The Reading Royals announced that they’ve signed forward Kamerin Nault to a one-year contract. Nault, 27, has 99 games of ECHL experience on his resume and got into three AHL games in 2020-21 with the Manitoba Moose. Nault’s best ECHL season came in 2019-20 when he scored 16 goals and 32 points in 40 games for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
  • Former Belleville Senator Andrew Sturtz has signed a one-year deal with the Orlando Solar Bears, per a team announcement. Sturtz, 27. did not play during the 2021-22 season but had a solid 2020-21 campaign with the Rapid City Rush, scoring 28 points in 33 games. Sturtz was a top scorer for the Penn State Nittany Lions in his collegiate career and will look to help the Solar Bears improve upon a 2021-22 campaign where they just missed out on a playoff berth.

Minor Transactions: 09/04/22

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Just a few weeks from now, NHL teams will be taking the ice to do battle in the preseason. Meanwhile, minor league and European clubs continue to make additions to their own rosters in preparation for the regular season. As always, we’ll keep track of today’s notable minor moves right here.

  • Veteran defenseman Adam Almqvist, a 2009 seventh-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, has signed a one-year deal with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk. Almqvist spent 2021-22 with another KHL club, Dinamo Minsk, and scored 26 points in 41 games. The Swedish blueliner has 2 games of NHL experience under his belt, both coming in 2013-14, and he played a major role for the 2012-13 Grand Rapids Griffins, who won the Calder Cup. By playing in the KHL, Almqvist, who has represented Sweden in international tournaments in the past, will be ineligible to be called up to the Swedish national team.
  • Minor-league fixture Arvin Atwal, who has served as an AHL/ECHL tweener defenseman for most of his professional career, is headed back to North America. After spending 2021-22 with HK Spisska Nova Ves of the Slovakian league, Atwal has chosen to sign a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. The 26-year-old blueliner has 583 PIM’s in 177 career ECHL games and should bring some physicality to a Cyclones franchise he played for from 2016-17 through 2018-19.
  • Dominik Furch, a longtime starting netminder in European leagues, has signed closer to home. The 32-year-old Furch backstopped Farjestad BK to an SHL championship last season and has signed a three-year contract with HC Kometa Brno. Furch, who has spent much of his career as a quality starting goalie in the KHL, brings championship experience to a Brno club that had a mediocre 2021-22. Perhaps most notably from an NHL perspective, the addition of Furch could displace Matej Tomek as the team’s starting goalie, which would be a setback in the career of the Philadelphia Flyers 2015 third-round pick.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Leo Komarov Signs In Sweden

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In early August, we covered rumors that veteran NHL forward Leo Komarov would be spending the 2022-23 season in the SHL. While it turns out that Brynas won’t end up being the club that features Komarov next season, Komarov has ended up in the SHL after all. Per a team announcement, Lulea HF has signed Komarov to a one-year contract.

Komarov, 35, is a veteran of nearly 500 NHL games. He played for two teams in his NHL career, the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs, and has scored 170 points in his 491 career NHL games. Komarov’s most recent run was with the Islanders, where he played as a low-scoring bottom-sixer on a squad that went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals.

The best years of Komarov’s career came with the Toronto Maple Leafs, highlighted by a 2015-16 season where he scored 19 goals and 36 points and represented the Maple Leafs at the 2016 All-Star Game. A sixth-round pick in 2006, Komarov’s NHL career came after a long stretch of development in the KHL.

Komarov made his KHL return last season, skating in 18 regular-season contests and 16 playoff contests for SKA St. Petersburg, scoring a combined nine points. Komarov helped Finland win gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and joins a Lulea team that fell just short of winning the SHL championship last season.

While a return to the NHL for Komarov is likely out of the picture, it’s definitely possible that he spends the remainder of his playing days as a quality forward in European leagues while also featuring in international tournaments.

Vancouver Canucks Extend J.T. Miller

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After a summer of trade rumors, it seems the J.T. Miller saga has reached its conclusion. The Vancouver Canucks announced today that their star center has signed a seven-year, $56MM contract carrying an $8MM AAV.

As mentioned, this deal comes after an offseason where Miller, who was set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, was a frequent target of all sorts of trade rumors and speculation. Last month, we covered how Miller’s representation had made it clear that they would be cutting off all contract talks once the 2022-23 season began. So, that upcoming deadline might have moved the pace of contract talks forward. The Canucks might have paid attention to what happened to the Calgary Flames with their own star forward, Johnny Gaudreau after Gaudreau took a similar stance last season and cut off extension talks once the 2021-22 season began. Gaudreau left for Columbus in the summer, and the Flames had to scramble to find a replacement as a result.

With this extension signed, the Canucks have avoided a similar fate. This deal is one of extreme significance for the Canucks. First and foremost, they have locked in their star centerman for what could end up being the rest of his playing days. Miller will be 30 when the contract begins, and by the time it finishes he could be at or near the end of his NHL career.

With that in mind, the seven-year term might concern fans of the Canucks. It’s unlikely that Miller will be worth the $8MM cap hit he’ll command when he’s past the age of 35. That being said, though, it’s not a certainty that he’ll be an ineffective player, and the expected rise of the cap could limit the damage of this deal in its later years. If Miller can age as gracefully as Claude Giroux, for example, who received a three-year deal at a $6.5MM cap hit despite turning 35 in January, then the term will be less of an issue. But he’ll need to stay in top shape in order to do so.

The benefit of this seven-year term, though, is that the cap hit of the deal is lower than some might have expected for a player of Miller’s caliber. Miller was extremely productive last season, scoring 32 goals and 99 points in 80 games. He was an elite offensive force, showcasing the ability to take over shifts and elevate the play of his linemates.

If Miller can continue to produce at around a point-per-game rate, Miller will be underpaid at an $8MM cap hit. Miller’s cap hit is lower than that of Sharks center Tomas Hertl, who has a career-high of 74 points, and identical to that of Ryan Johansen, who has crossed the 70-point plateau just once in his career. To put it simply, Miller’s market value is higher than the $8MM he’s being paid, which, at least in the short-to-medium term, is a win for the Canucks. It’s just the final few years of this deal that pose the most downside risk.

Looking at this more broadly, the contract has major implications for the Canucks franchise as a whole. This is not an extension a team signs if they are looking to re-tool or rebuild. This is an extension that a team signs when they want to capitalize on the next few years. With this extension, the Canucks have seemingly given themselves a green light to operate in a win-at-all-costs manner in the short term. For a franchise still waiting on its first Stanley Cup victory, that’s a sensible choice to make.

The challenge for the Canucks with this contract comes in terms of how it impacts the rest of GM Patrik Allvin’s roster construction. The team’s captain and second-line center, Bo Horvat, is set to hit free agency next summer. With Miller now extended, Elias Pettersson capable of playing center, and other long-term contracts already on their books for Quinn Hughes, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and Ilya Mikheyev, will the Canucks be able to finalize a Horvat extension? Should they?

That’s an issue for the team to solve after next season, and perhaps the answer can come in the form of shedding their relatively highly-priced middle-of-the-lineup players such as Tanner Pearson and Jason Dickinson. For this season, the mandate for coach Bruce Boudreau is clear: win as many games as possible and try to go on a playoff run. There are those who believed the Canucks would be best served to enter into a rebuild, and with this contract, it’s clear that’s not the direction the organization will pursue.

Will it work out for them? At this point, we don’t know. But what we do know is that the Canucks have found a way to retain one of their most talented players for what could end up being the rest of his playing days.

There will be those who don’t like the cost of this contract or the term that’s attached, and that’s understandable. Retaining J.T. Miller’s services will cost the Canucks a lot of money over the next few years, and the team’s front office has chosen to accept the immense risks of that come along with that commitment. But if Allvin and team president Jim Rutherford want to give the Canucks the best possible chance of winning a Stanley Cup in the next couple of seasons, there really was no other choice they could make.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Senators Defense, Couture, Stralman

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The Ottawa Senators are intent on competing for a playoff spot next season, and their offseason moves have reflected that intention. The team spent major resources in both cap space and draft picks to add some star talent, and the result of those expenditures is that Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat will be wearing red and black this upcoming season. But while the team’s offensive attack is significantly improved from last season, less attention has been paid to their defense.

In an interview with Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators coach D.J. Smith revealed what his plans are for the team’s defense corps. Smith stated that he intends to pair top prospect and rookie defenseman Jake Sanderson with veteran blueliner Travis Hamonic to start camp. That pairing would go along with a more established pairing of Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub, one that will presumably handle the team’s toughest minutes. This news is not a major surprise, although it could be to those who are low on the current makeup of the Senators’ blueline. Much had been made about the Senators’ pursuit of an additional top-four defenseman this summer, but it seems that those pursuits have concluded, at least for the time being.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • While the San Jose Sharks’ new era under GM Mike Grier began with a trade of veteran defenseman Brent Burns, don’t expect a similar departure for other Sharks star veterans, namely Logan Couture. In speaking to Corey Masisiak of The Athletic, Couture said that when asked, as Burns was, about potentially being traded, Couture “didn’t think twice about it.” (subscription link) Couture is seemingly all-in on the Sharks returning to contention next season, and for the team to have any chance of success next season they’ll need their veteran centerman to continue to play like a quality top-six center.
  • The Montreal Canadiens made some moves to shake up their team this summer, and their most significant move on defense came with the trade of Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to losing Petry, the Canadiens also dealt Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders. The team added Mike Matheson in the Petry deal, but is still short one NHL defenseman from where they were last year. That has led some, including The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin, to suggest that the Canadiens add a veteran defenseman before this upcoming year. (subscription link) Godin specifically names veteran defenseman Anton Stralman as someone the Canadiens should target, given his experience and track record of reliability. Stralman skated in the third-most minutes per game of any Arizona Coyotes player last season and would compete for a role on Montreal’s right side with Chris Wideman, David Savard, and Justin Barron.

Latest On Kirby Dach

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With their acquisition of Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames, the Montreal Canadiens looked to have concluded the main portion of their offseason business. Now, they just have a few smaller items of business to complete, namely agreeing on new contracts with their two restricted free agents: center Kirby Dach and Cayden Primeau.

Dach, 21, was acquired earlier in the offseason by the Canadiens as part of a stunning three-team deal that was announced on the draft floor. According to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, the Canadiens and Dach are in contract talks, and “one of the options being discussed” is a four-year pact carrying a $3.5MM AAV. As Engels notes, the deal would carry Dach to within one season of eligibility for unrestricted free agency.

If this is the deal that is ultimately signed between Dach and the Canadiens, a possibility Engels “wouldn’t be surprised” to see, it will certainly be an interesting one to unpack. At this current moment, the body of work Dach has put forth in the NHL is not of $3.5MM AAV quality. Last season Dach scored 26 points in 70 games, and he has not been able to stay consistently healthy in his NHL career.

That being said, though, in surrendering young defenseman Alexander Romanov to acquire Dach, the Canadiens are signaling that they believe there is still significant upside to be mined from the 2019 third-overall pick. There are those who believe Dach was “rushed” to the NHL, and that his playing in the NHL immediately after he was drafted, rather than him having another season to develop in the WHL, has derailed his development.

If the Canadiens are right in their assessment of Dach, and coach Martin St. Louis can help Dach find his footing in the NHL the way he did for Cole Caufield, a $3.5MM cap hit could quickly look like a steal.

But if the Canadiens cannot find a way to develop Dach, or Dach simply isn’t as good as many believe he can be, a $3.5MM hit for four seasons could age somewhat poorly. It’s obviously too early to say, and the Canadiens and Dach could still ultimately go in another direction with his next contract. Regardless, the Canadiens have an important decision to make as to how they want to proceed with Dach’s next contract.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign James Neal To Professional Tryout

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added some big names to their roster this summer, and now they’re going to be giving another big-name player a chance to earn a spot on their team. Per CapFriendly, unrestricted free agent winger and former 40-goal scorer James Neal has signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the Blue Jackets.

Neal, 34, split time last season between the St. Louis Blues and their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In 19 games for the Blues, Neal registered two goals and four points. At the AHL level, Neal fared better, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 28 games to go along with 12 points in 17 games during the Thunderbirds’ run to the Calder Cup Final.

Neal’s game has declined since his prime, and he isn’t the goal-scoring offensive force he once was. But he has had time over the past two seasons to adjust his game in order to fit lower on a team’s lineup, and now he’ll have a chance to impress coach Brad Larsen and earn a spot on the Blue Jackets’ roster.

On paper, this signing seems to be a way for the Blue Jackets to add an experienced, veteran NHLer to compete with the young players Columbus would ideally like to see make their NHL team. As with any professional sports team, the Blue Jackets are a competitive outfit. They’re not going to hand roster spots to any young player, no matter how talented. Adding Neal on a PTO gives up-and-coming wingers such as Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, Liam Foudy, and Yegor Chinakhov a big-name veteran to compete with for a lineup spot.

Additionally, Neal’s presence could also push players such as Mathieu Olivier or Justin Danforth to defend the NHL jobs they’re currently penciled into. While he might not make the team given the competition he’ll face, this PTO gives Neal an opportunity to show the Blue Jackets organization what he can do. If he performs well, he could potentially earn another two-way deal and serve as useful depth for a Blue Jackets club looking to make some noise next season.

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