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Islanders Sign Dennis Cholowski To Two-Year Deal

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The New York Islanders have re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Dennis Cholowski to a one-year, two-way contract extension that guarantees the 26-year-old $300K next season (as per PuckPedia). The former first-round pick (20th overall) in 2016 will receive a $775K salary at the NHL level and a $250K salary if he plays in the AHL.

Cholowski hasn’t dressed for an NHL game since January 19th, 2023, and spent all of last season in the AHL with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. He has played just two NHL games during his time with New York but played in 68 AHL games last season, posting seven goals and 24 assists.

Cholowski will enter his seventh season of professional hockey and remains a project as he has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular. He has developed into a terrific skater who can get involved in the play offensively, however, his defensive play leaves a lot to be desired and he needs to play a bigger game if he wants to become an everyday NHLer. Cholowski’s mobility remains one of his biggest assets, but he hasn’t utilized it to improve his play in his own zone.

Given his play in recent seasons, it seems likely that Cholowski will find himself in Bridgeport once again next season. He could receive a call-up to the NHL if the Islanders run into injury issues, as he is arguably the eighth defenseman on their depth chart.

Evening Notes: Arbitration Dates, Perfetti, Gilroy

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PuckPedia has tweeted the dates of several upcoming salary arbitration hearings. Arbitration dates haven’t been as widely released as in previous summers, leading to very few leaks about when arbitration cases will be heard. Confirmed dates that have been released are:

New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren also has an upcoming arbitration hearing that is reportedly on August 2.

In other evening notes:

  • Scott Billeck of The Winnipeg Sun writes that Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti has been talking with the new head coach, Scott Arniel, about his role in Winnipeg. Arniel is reportedly willing to put Perfetti in a top-six role and provide him with power play opportunities, something that Perfetti wasn’t getting under the previous coaching regime. Billeck believes that this development is big for Winnipeg as it could be the thing that keeps Perfetti with the Jets long-term after he looked like a prime candidate to sign a bridge deal this summer. With the change in Perfetti’s role in the future, it appears he is open to the idea of a long-term extension with the Jets.
  • Former NHL defenseman Matt Gilroy is reportedly in the process of joining Harvard as an assistant coach (as per Mark Divver of NHL.com). Gilroy was the 2009 Hobey Baker Award winner as the top collegiate player in the NCAA. He finished his college career and moved to the NHL, playing in 225 games with four different teams across five seasons. Following his NHL career, Gilroy played overseas in the KHL for four seasons in what was the best run of his professional career. The 40-year-old has spent the last two years with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program as an assistant coach.

Metro Notes: Hayes, Michkov, Devils

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Wes Crosby writes on NHL.com that newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kevin Hayes has something to prove with his new team. Hayes was traded for the second consecutive summer, this time from the St. Louis Blues to the Penguins, as he plays out the final two seasons of the seven-year $50MM contract that he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on June 18th, 2019.

The Flyers traded Hayes to the Blues last summer for a sixth-round pick and retained 50% of his cap hit, and the Blues dealt Hayes to Pittsburgh on July 1st along with a second-round pick in a salary cap dump. Penguins’ general manager Kyle Dubas has said that the Penguins expect Hayes to start the season at center, and given the Penguins’ depth, he will likely start on the third line. Hayes is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons and posted a career-low 13 goals and 16 assists in 79 games last season.

Hayes told NHL.com that he is feeling inspired as he heads into his first season in Pittsburgh and believes that he needs to develop more of a shoot-first mentality to fit in with the team.

In other Metropolitan Division Notes:

  • Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov has officially landed with the team after a 22-hour flight to the United States (team tweet). The 2023 seventh overall pick was greeted at the airport by Flyers general manager Danny Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones and wanted to get on the ice immediately but wasn’t able to. The 19-year-old forward signed his ELC three weeks ago and his arrival to Philadelphia comes much earlier than had been anticipated. Many believed it would be another two years before Michkov would play in North America, but with his release from SKA St. Petersburg a month ago, it cleared the way for him to make the move to the NHL.
  • James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have invited defenseman Igor Mburanumwe to training camp this fall. Mburanumwe stands an imposing 6’5” tall and weighs 206 pounds. The 20-year-old spent most of his QMJHL career with the Victoriaville Tigres but was traded to the Acadie-Bathhurst Titan early last season and finished his junior career with the team. The Chambly, Quebec native doesn’t offer much offensively, having posted just nine goals and 29 assists in 188 QMJHL games, however, 20 of those points came last season in just 57 games with the Titan.

Blue Jackets Notes: Coaching Staff, Sillinger, Johnson

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweeted that Columbus Blue Jackets’ new head coach Dean Evason is expected to meet with current assistant coaches Mark Recchi, Jared Boll and Steve McCarthy in the coming days. The news comes from Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell who added that it is possible there could be changes to the current Columbus coaching staff, but the changes will not be a complete overhaul. All three assistant coaches are under contract through the 2024-25 season.

The three men haven’t been behind the Blue Jackets bench for any great length of time. Recchi has been with Columbus for less than a year after he was hired by the Blue Jackets last September. Boll joined the team as an assistant development coach back in September of 2018 and worked through the ranks to become an assistant coach. McCarthy joined the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach in September 2021 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

In other Blue Jackets notes:

  • Aaron Portzline spoke on the Front and Nationwide podcast about Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger. The 21-year-old is a restricted free agent and Portzline said that Sillinger could be looking at a multi-year contract extension this summer. The former 12th overall pick set a career-high with 32 points (13 goals and 19 assists) last season and improved his overall play rebounding nicely from a very difficult 2022-23 season. Sillinger could be on the verge of a breakout next season and Waddell might want to lock him down for a few seasons before those years become more expensive.
  • Portzline also spoke about restricted free agent forward Kent Johnson saying that he believes the 21-year-old will sign a one-year deal this summer. Portzline added that Johnson is hoping for the short-term deal so he can re-enter contract negotiations next summer under better circumstances. The former fifth-overall pick is coming off a very frustrating season in which he posted just six goals and 10 assists in 42 games. Johnson dealt with inconsistency and injuries, including a season-ending shoulder injury in late February that cut his season short.

Snapshots: Jarry, Flames, Zadorov

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Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now poured cold water on the trade rumors circulating around Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. The 29-year-old Jarry has seen his name being floated in trade rumors since he sat on the bench for the final 13 games of the regular season. Jarry had an uneven season in Pittsburgh after he signed a five-year $26.875MM contract last summer and eventually lost the net to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

Many expected the Penguins to try and trade Jarry this summer, but a deal never came to fruition. Jarry’s trade value isn’t particularly high at the moment and the Penguins have a likely goalie of the future in the AHL in Joel Blomqvist. The Athletics’ goaltender rankings don’t look too kindly on Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation, and at nearly $8MM annually for Jarry and Nedeljkovic for the next two seasons, it’s easy to see why the trade rumors around Jarry have been so popular.

In other news around the league:

  • Wes Gilbertson of The Calgary Herald wonders if the Calgary Flames will be a contender when their new arena opens. The Flames are going through a dramatic roster overhaul that has seen them move Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, and Jacob Markstrom out for future assets. The Flames haven’t gone through a change like this since the early 2010s when they moved on from veterans Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester and they seem better equipped for this rebuild off the ice as they have a larger management team and development staff than they had a decade ago.
  • Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov sat down with RG.org’s Daria Tuboltseva to discuss free agency and his move to the Eastern Conference. Zadorov said that returning to the Vancouver Canucks was his first choice in free agency, but ultimately, he went to Boston because it gave him the best chance to win and the best situation for his family. Zadorov also revealed that the Canucks and Bruins made offers and one of his former teams, the Colorado Avalanche entered the fray as well. Zadorov signed a six-year $30MM deal with the Bruins on July 1st and figures to play in their top four alongside either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo.

Evening Notes: Flames, Demidov, Strome

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The Calgary Flames announced today that their new arena will be called Scotia Place. The downtown building and culture and entertainment district will replace the aging Scotiabank Saddledome which has been the Flames home since 1983. The Flames released a first look at the new building today, showing drawings of the building that is expected to house the team beginning in the 2026-27 season.

The Scotia Place arena deal is expected to keep the Flames in Calgary for the next 35 years and will include upgrades to the infrastructure in the surrounding areas. The design plans currently show a capacity limit between 18,000 and 18,400 fans which will mark a small downsize from the current capacity limit of 19,289 at the Saddledome.

In other evening notes:

  • Stu Cowan of The Montreal Gazette believes that Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov will play out the final season of his contract with St. Petersburg but concedes that there is a slim chance he will make the jump to the NHL this season. The fifth overall pick in this year’s entry draft is contractually bound to the KHL for this season but if SKA opts not to hold onto him, his situation could mirror that of Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov. However, Szymon Szemberg the Managing Director of the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs doesn’t believe that is a possibility. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has been non-committal about where Demidov will play next season, saying simply that the KHL would be a good place for him to play for the upcoming season and that the team would keep their options open if he doesn’t play there.
  • Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey is reporting that forward Matt Strome has re-signed with the Hershey Bears. Strome signed a two-year AHL contract with the Bears that will keep him with the reigning Calder Cup champions through the 2025-26 season. Strome scored the championship-clinching goal in the AHL finals to help Hershey secure their second consecutive AHL title. The 25-year-old is the brother of NHLers Ryan Strome and Dylan Strome and was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2017. The two-time AHL champion posted seven goals and 13 assists in 50 games last season and is expected to play a depth role again next year.

Afternoon Notes: Hyland, Giroux, Grzelcyk

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The Hershey Bears have signed Washington Capitals draft pick Brett Hyland to an AHL contract for the upcoming season (Twitter link). The 21-year-old was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL entry draft (200th overall) and joined the Bears on an amateur tryout this past April.

The Edmonton Alberta native spent parts of five seasons in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings after being taken 24th overall in the 2018 WHL draft. He tallied decent offensive numbers in his final few seasons with the Wheat Kings and found his goal-scoring in his final year, netting 32 goals in 66 games.

Hyland will be joining a Bears team that has won back-to-back Calder Cup championships.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk believes he will be in the mix to play in the Penguins top four defensive group next season (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Grzelcyk told the media that injuries severely limited his play last season as evidenced by his dramatic drop in offensive production and being a healthy scratch for the final stretch of Boston Bruins playoff games. The 30-year-old had just two goals and nine assists in 63 games last season after posting four consecutive seasons with 20 or more points. The Penguins signed the Charlestown, Massachusetts native to a one-year $2.75MM contract on July 1st and given the struggles of Ryan Graves, it is very possible that Grzelcyk could be playing on one of the Penguins’ top two defensive pairings with either Kris Letang or Erik Karlsson.
  • Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux joined the Coming In Hot Podcast and talked about his future with the Senators beyond the upcoming season. Giroux noted that he hasn’t spoken with the team or his family about a contract extension in Ottawa and hasn’t thought about it at this time. Giroux has one year left on the three-year deal he signed in 2022 and added that his focus is on having a strong season next year and helping Ottawa reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Giroux isn’t saying much but given the Senators’ lack of success, it makes sense for him to wait and see how the next year plays out before deciding to commit to the team long-term. Giroux is 36 years old and has yet to win a Stanley Cup, and while Ottawa is his home city, the chase for a championship could be something he considers with his next contract.

Snapshots: MHL, Arbitration, ESPN

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The KHL will be testing a new backcourt violation rule in their junior hockey league, the MHL (Twitter link). The rule that will come into effect for the 2024-25 season will forbid players from skating the puck back to their side of center in overtime more than one time. A first violation will cause a stoppage in play and the team guilty of the backcourt violation will see a faceoff occur in their defensive zone. Any additional violation in overtime will cause a minor penalty to be called.

The trial run will be interesting to watch as there have been calls for this type of rule in North America, although no change to the rule is pending. NHL clubs have been utilizing their defensive zone in recent years as a reset during overtime and it has made 3 on 3 overtime in the NHL far less exciting than it was when it was first introduced.

In other news from around the hockey world:

  • David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that the NHLPA has taken a new approach to arbitration hearings, opting not to release a full schedule ahead of the hearings. The news makes sense given that very little information is available about the scheduled hearings and they will begin tomorrow. The pivot means that fans won’t know about the time and date of hearings until an arbitrator has decided the outcome or the team and player have settled before arbitration. Arbitration can be contentious between teams and their players and might be something that is looked at the next time the NHL and NHLPA renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement.
  • ESPN released a list ranking the top 100 professional athletes of this century. The list was largely absent of hockey players but there were a handful that made the cut. It isn’t shocking to see so few players on their list but keep in mind that this is the network that owns a lot of NHL distribution rights and streaming rights at the moment. Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby topped this list for hockey players, finishing 22nd, while Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin was 54th, and Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid finished a shocking 98th.

Snapshots: Norris, Contracts, Maple Leafs

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Pat MaGuire of The Hockey News writes that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris appears to be healthy and set for NHL training camp in September. The 25-year-old wasn’t in the same position a year ago and spent much of the season chasing things before his season ended this past February. Norris underwent his third shoulder surgery, leaving plenty of question marks about whether or not he will be available for the entirety of this season.

Norris was initially acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade and blossomed into a 35-goal scorer in 2021-22, he then signed an eight-year $63.6MM contract extension and has only played in 58 games since then over the past two seasons. The Senators will be counting on a healthy Norris this season as his absence has negatively impacted their forward depth the last two years. A healthy Norris allows for Ottawa to deploy Shane Pinto on the third line which creates a better balance throughout their top nine forward group.

In other notes from around the league.

  • Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic released a list of the ten worst contracts in the NHL. Unsurprisingly, Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau and his seven years at $10.5MM annually topped the list. Luszczyszyn’s modelling showed that Huberdeau’s projected value was just $4.9MM annually making his contract the worst value in the league. Chandler Stephenson and Tom Wilson rounded out the top three worst contracts. Stephenson’s deal with the Seattle Kraken is just two weeks old and could turn out to be a disaster if the modelling is correct. Wilson on the other hand has seven years left on his deal that will carry him from age 30-37 and the modelling predicts he will be a third-line player by the third year of the deal.
  • Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour spoke with TSN OverDrive to discuss his recent run through free agency. Montour told Mark Roe and Frank Corrado that he talked with the Toronto Maple Leafs about signing in Toronto. Montour added that he was excited by the possibility and considered signing with the team, but added that he had a ton of options in free agency and was grateful to ultimately sign a seven-year, $49.98MM deal with the Kraken. The Maple Leafs interest in Montour isn’t all that surprising given the focus they put on improving their defense, which they did by signing Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Morning Notes: O’Brien, Kambeitz, Blues

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The Charlotte Checkers have signed former first-round pick Jay O’Brien to an AHL contract (as per NHL.com’s Mark Divver). O’Brien was selected 19th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2018 NHL entry draft and turned pro last season after three years in the NCAA with Boston University. O’Brien signed last August with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies but didn’t dress in any games due to injury and has yet to play a professional hockey game.

O’Brien has dealt with injuries throughout his career and was let go last summer by the Philadelphia Flyers before eventually catching on with the Marlies. The 24-year-old had a solid NCAA career posting 26 goals and 44 assists in 79 games during his final three seasons but hasn’t been able to translate that success to his professional career.

In other morning notes:

  • The Abbotsford Canucks have signed forward Dino Kambeitz to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season. The American Hockey League contract will take Kambeitz into his fourth season of professional hockey after he set a career-high last year with nine goals and six assists in 56 games for the Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old spent three seasons with the Condors after going undrafted to the NHL and dressed in 172 career AHL regular season games, tallying 22 goals and 22 assists.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic is reporting that the St. Louis Blues have made a change to their ownership group as David Steward has transferred his stake in the team to local businessman Michael Riney who has spent his entire life in St. Louis. Steward had been with the group since 2012 and his stake in the team was less than five percent. The ownership group remains entirely made up of local owners and will continue to be run by Blues Chairman Tom Stillman.

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