Canucks Notes: Boeser, Pettersson, DeSmith, Myers
Canucks winger Brock Boeser won’t have his offseason training routine interrupted by the blood clotting issue that kept him out of their second-round Game 7 loss to the Oilers, he said during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650). All indications point to him being ready for the beginning of training camp in the fall.
That’s because Boeser’s clot had a clear root cause – a shot he blocked during Game 1 of the Edmonton series, he disclosed. He didn’t notice bruising or pain until roughly a week after the game and went for scans after their Game 6 loss that showed enough clotting to prevent him from suiting up.
While a handful of important Canucks players could be moving on this summer in free agency, Boeser won’t be one of them. He’ll be back in B.C. as he completes the final season of a three-year, $19.95MM extension signed by GM of the Year finalist Patrik Allvin back in July 2022.
Boeser’s resurgence to his early-career form was one of the bigger reasons Vancouver captured its first division title since 2013. He set career-highs across the board with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games but is an unlikely bet to repeat that production after shooting 5.8% above his career average in the regular season.
Here’s more on the Canucks:
- Star center Elias Pettersson offered an explanation today for his underwhelming play down the stretch and in the postseason, telling reporters he’s been playing through a knee injury since January (via Thomas Drance of The Athletic). Pettersson, whose point production dropped from 102 last season to 89 this year, won’t require surgery to address the issue but will need to rest and rehab the injury before beginning offseason training. The 2017 fifth-overall pick signed an eight-year, $92.8MM extension shortly before the trade deadline that carries an $11.6MM cap hit beginning next season.
- The injury to backup Casey DeSmith in Game 3 of the first round against the Predators that forced third-stringer Arturs Silovs into action for Game 4 was a minor groin issue, DeSmith said today (via Batchelor). DeSmith, who had a .911 SV% and 2.02 GAA in two appearances against Nashville after starter Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1, said the team sat him for precautionary reasons and elected to play Silovs. He was available to play throughout the entire second round, but the younger Silovs remained between the pipes, compiling a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA and one shutout in the first 10 postseason starts of his career.
- Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Tyler Myers said he’d like to return to Vancouver this summer (via Drance). The 34-year-old right-shot defender is coming off a five-year, $30MM contract that was hardly a good value proposition for the team, but the veteran had a decent season in a reduced role this year with 29 points and a +16 rating in 77 games. It was the only time he’d averaged less than 20 minutes per game in his 15-year career. Evolving Hockey projects a Myers extension in Vancouver to come in at $3.5MM per season for two years.
Avalanche Notes: Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Mittelstadt, Ritchie
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog isn’t retiring after missing a second straight season with knee injuries, he confirmed to reporters Thursday (via Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports).
It remains to be seen whether Landeskog will be ready for training camp in the fall but he’s planning on returning sometime during the 2024-25 regular season, he said. He’s had no setbacks in his recovery for the last two months while slowly ramping up his on-ice workload (via Deen).
While it’s fortunate news for general manager Chris MacFarland that his captain will likely be back on the ice next season, the lack of a real update today muddies his offseason planning. He can operate under the assumption that Landeskog’s $7MM cap hit can be placed on offseason long-term injured reserve for additional flexibility, but with an in-season return expected, he’ll need to leave enough space under the $87.7MM upper limit to activate Landeskog at some point down the line.
Including the cap hits of Landeskog but not Valeri Nichushkin (more on him in a few paragraphs), the Avalanche have $15.9MM in projected cap space next season, per CapFriendly. That’ll evaporate quickly, though, as they only have 13 roster players signed. They’ll need to fill seven to nine spots with that money, plus leaving $6.125MM to activate Nichushkin once his six-month suspension is lifted. That’s an average of around $1.25MM per unsigned player.
Their core remains intact, though, with their top skater unit of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Cale Makar all signed through next season.
More out of Colorado:
- Speaking to reporters today, MacFarland called it “plausible” that Nichushkin would suit up for the Avalanche once he exits Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in November at the earliest (via Deen). Nichushkin does not count against the cap during his suspension, but MacFarland cannot trade, buy out, or terminate the six remaining seasons of his $6.125MM AAV contract. The Russian winger had 53 points in 54 games this season, limited by an earlier stint in the Player Assistance Program.
- Unfortunately, Landeskog isn’t the only important winger whose status for the beginning of training camp is in doubt. Lehkonen needs offseason shoulder surgery, MacFarland said, and may miss the beginning of preseason activities. His absence isn’t expected to stretch into the regular season, though. The Finnish winger missed nearly half of 2023-24 with a neck injury, but managed 16 goals and 34 points in 45 games when healthy. Trade deadline acquisition Casey Mittelstadt was also dealing with an injury during the postseason, but it won’t require surgery and “isn’t a long-term issue.”
- The Avs hope to get 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie signed to his entry-level contract this summer, MacFarland said. Ritchie, 19, finished sixth in the Ontario Hockey League in points per game with 80 in 50 appearances for the Oshawa Generals. Likely to slot into a middle-six center role long-term, Ritchie is Colorado’s best forward prospect by a wide margin. He would need to return to Oshawa next season if he doesn’t crack the NHL roster, however. His 20th birthday doesn’t fall until after New Year’s Day.
NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists
The Canucks’ Patrik Allvin, the Stars’ Jim Nill and the Panthers’ Bill Zito were named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award today, the NHL announced.
Voting for the GM of the Year award is conducted among the GMs themselves, in addition to a select few NHL executives and media members. Unlike other awards, votes are sent in at the end of the second round of the playoffs, not at the end of the regular season.
None of the nominees are particularly surprising. Allvin earns his nomination after putting together some incredible work in last summer’s free agency period, bringing in depth forwards Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua and Pius Suter on one-year deals. All were incredibly impactful value signings, including Suter, who scored the game-winning goal late in the third period of Game 6 against the Predators to give Vancouver its first series win in four years.
He also picked up solid depth defenseman Ian Cole in free agency last summer and swung trades for center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Flames throughout the season, both of whom were some of their best playoff performers. Vancouver took the Oilers to Game 7 before bowing out in the second round despite an early injury to Vezina finalist Thatcher Demko.
Nill is gunning to become the second-ever back-to-back winner of the award, joining the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello. His signing of Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3MM contract was arguably one of the best moves of last summer, as he maintained solid top-six production in the regular season with 65 points in 80 games. He also scored the overtime winner to send the Stars to the Western Conference Final, beginning tonight at home against Edmonton. He also picked up high-end shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev from the Flames ahead of the trade deadline without parting with a first-round pick.
Zito has now earned a nomination for GMOTY in three of his four years at the helm of the Panthers’ hockey ops department, but he’s yet to be crowned the winner. The Panthers won their second division title in the past three years this season, avoiding an expected lull to begin the season without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour available while recovering from offseason surgeries. His signing of goaltender Anthony Stolarz to back up starter Sergei Bobrovsky remains one of the most under-the-radar moves of last year’s free agency period – Stolarz led qualified netminders with a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA this season.
The winner will be announced before a Stanley Cup Final game on June 10.
Coaching Notes: Evason, Woodcroft, Bylsma, Leach, McFarland, Keefe, Sturm, Colliton
While he hasn’t interviewed for the position yet, former Wild coach Dean Evason is becoming a candidate to watch for the Kraken’s vacancy behind the bench. Mike Benton of 93.3 KJR reported last night that Evason was becoming a “dark horse” for the job, which was later seconded by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
Evason was linked to the Senators’ vacancy earlier in the offseason, but that was since filled by Travis Green. Among coaches with NHL experience, he joins ex-Kings coach Todd McLellan among those connected to Seattle.
Pagnotta also confirmed Thursday that the Kraken are discussing a pair of internal promotions: AHL bench boss Dan Bylsma and NHL assistant Jay Leach. In fact, they’re likely the front-runners to replace Dave Hakstol, who was fired shortly after the regular season came to a close. They’ve advanced to the second round of interviews, Pagnotta said, although it doesn’t appear a decision is imminent. Bylsma’s season isn’t over yet as AHL Coachella Valley is still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row. They’re awaiting the winner of the Central Division Final series between Grand Rapids and Milwaukee.
More on the NHL’s coaching carousel over the past 24 hours:
- The Kraken also let go of assistant coach Paul McFarland when firing Hakstol late last month after he’d served on Hakstol’s staff for the franchise’s first three seasons. He’s landing on his feet, though. He’s expected to become the next head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet said Wednesday. McFarland has a few seasons of head coaching experience at the major junior level, holding the role for the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs from 2014-15 to 2016-17 and again in 2020-21, although that season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He replaces longtime WHL coach Steve Hamilton, who won’t be returning after six seasons behind the Hitmen bench.
- With Sheldon Keefe signing a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Devils, his previous two-year extension with the Maple Leafs is no longer intact, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports. As part of Toronto granting permission for him to speak with New Jersey, the Devils canceled his extension and are paying him more money annually on his new deal than he would’ve made on his extension with the Leafs. Thus, Toronto no longer owes Keefe the balance of his extension.
- After receiving permission to speak to him from the Kings, the Sharks are expected to interview Marco Sturm for their vacancy next week, Pagnotta reports. If San Jose doesn’t end up going with their former top-nine fixture on the wing, Sturm is a strong candidate to rejoin the Kings’ NHL staff as an assistant to Jim Hiller. He would replace the outgoing Trent Yawney, who mutually parted ways with the organization last week.
- San Jose is also one of the teams keeping tabs on Jeremy Colliton, said Pagnotta. The former Blackhawks head coach has been in the Canucks organization for the past two seasons as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. He does not have a contract with them for next season, though. He had an 87-92-26 record in parts of four seasons behind the Chicago bench.
Blackhawks Haven’t Ruled Out Bringing Back Patrick Kane
After his storied tenure with the Blackhawks ended via a trade to the Rangers in 2023, star winger Patrick Kane may have the opportunity to return to Chicago in free agency this summer. The team’s front office will likely hold internal discussions over the next few weeks about re-signing him, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic.
Kane is slated to hit the UFA market this summer after completing the one-year, $2.75MM contract he signed with the Red Wings in November after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery. He would likely be open to a return if offered by general manager Kyle Davidson, Powers said.
A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Kane looked revitalized in Detroit after a difficult, injury-plagued season split between Chicago and New York. The 35-year-old put up 20 goals, 27 assists, 47 points and a -5 rating in 50 contests after returning to play, increasing his points per game average to 0.94 after putting up 0.78 in 2022-23.
Kane’s possession metrics were below average (48.4 CF%, 49.2 xGF% at even strength), but that’s nothing new. He’s been a decisively below-average player defensively ever since his last championship with Chicago in 2015. While the Wings narrowly missed the playoffs, he helped them breach the 90-point mark for the first time since 2016. Their 278 goals for were also their most in a season since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009.
His return to the form you’d expect from him as he enters his late 30s is impressive, considering the previous track record of players returning from hip resurfacing procedures. The surgery effectively ended the careers of once-top-flight talents Nicklas Bäckström, Ed Jovanovski and Ryan Kesler.
Powers said the strong relationship between Kane and the Blackhawks organization remains intact and that Davidson “made sure Kane’s departure was as smooth as possible” when trading him to the Rangers last season. But if the organization does decide to bring him back, he’d likely end his career there, Powers said. If he intends on playing longer than the team thinks he’d be useful to their rebuild, Powers believes that will likely push Chicago away from re-signing him.
During Kane’s initial 16-year tenure in the Windy City, he scored 446 goals and 779 assists for 1,225 points in 1,161 games. The 2007 first-overall pick ranks second in franchise all-time scoring behind Hall-of-Famer Stan Mikita, although first is likely out of reach for Kane as he trails him by 242 points.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sharks Receive Permission To Interview Marco Sturm For Head Coaching Job
Current Kings AHL head coach Marco Sturm has been granted permission to interview for the Sharks’ head coaching vacancy, Pierre LeBrun of TSN said Wednesday night.
Sturm becomes the third candidate firmly linked to the San Jose opening, joining former Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill (article) and internal promotion candidate Ryan Warsofsky (article). They remain on the hunt for a replacement after dismissing David Quinn with one year left on his contract last month.
It would be a homecoming of sorts for Sturm, who was drafted 21st overall by the Sharks in 1996. He would become one of the premier young defensive wingers in the league, accumulating 128 goals and 273 points in 553 games with the squad. Just months after the NHL resumed play following the 2004-05 lockout, he was traded to the Bruins as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Joe Thornton to San Jose.
Sturm last played in 2013 after a short stint with Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eisehockey Liga and began his off-ice career as Germany’s head coach for the 2016 World Championship. He drew significant NHL interest after coaching the Germans to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, landing with the Kings as an assistant on John Stevens‘ bench. He remained with the club as they fired Stevens for Willie Desjardins early in the 2018-19 season, as well as when they brought in Todd McLellan the following summer.
After four years on the NHL bench, the organization re-assigned him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign for his first crack at being a head coach in the pros. He’s coached the Reign to a 76-55-13 record over the past two seasons, losing to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in this year’s Pacific Division Final.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 5/22/24
Starting today, weekly PHR Live Chats are back on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Central Time!
For today’s chat with PHR’s Josh Erickson, you can read the transcript here.
Sharks Sign Luca Cagnoni To Entry-Level Deal
The Sharks have signed Luca Cagnoni, one of the organization’s top defense prospects, to an entry-level contract. It’s a three-year deal for the 19-year-old, per the team. The contract carries an $895K cap hit with the following breakdown, PuckPedia reports:
2024-25: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus
2025-26: $800K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $55K games played bonus
2026-27: $825K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $30K games played bonus
Since Cagnoni will turn 20 before January 1, 2025, he is not eligible for an entry-level slide. His contract will begin next season regardless of how many NHL games he plays.
Viewed as a potential late first-round selection in the 2023 draft, Cagnoni fell all the way to the fourth round, where the Sharks snapped him up with the 123rd overall pick, acquired from the Kraken for depth defenseman Jaycob Megna. Seattle had previously acquired the pick from the Avalanche in exchange for Kurtis MacDermid.
Now, it looks like a difficult trade to stomach for both teams that passed up the pick. Cagnoni had an electric post-draft season for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, leading the league in assists (72) and points (90) by a defenseman in 65 games. But despite posting the best offensive season by a WHL blue liner in 30 years, he wasn’t named one of the four finalists for their Defenseman of the Year award, passed over in favor of Avalanche prospect Graham Sward as the U.S. Division nominee.
Size remains Cagnoni’s main limitation. NHL teams were universally cautious about his 5’9″ frame, and he doesn’t have the elite defensive awareness to compensate for his lack of ability to box out larger opponents.
Still, he’s an incredible offensive threat who also put up nearly a point per game with Portland in his draft year. 2020 first-round pick Shakir Mukhamadullin, acquired from the Devils in last year’s Timo Meier trade, takes the cake as the organization’s top overall defense prospect after a strong season in the AHL, but Cagnoni has the highest ceiling in terms of point production of any defender in the San Jose system.
His December birthday also means he’s eligible for assignment to AHL San Jose next season, a likely scenario given he has nothing left to prove in juniors. He had 13 points in 13 playoff games as the Winterhawks advanced to the WHL championship but lost to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a sweep.
Cagnoni’s deal will expire after the 2026-27 season, at which point he’ll be a restricted free agent.
Lightning Sign Dyllan Gill To Entry-Level Contract
The Lightning have signed right-shot defense prospect Dyllan Gill to his three-year, entry-level deal, per CapFriendly. It carries an $870K cap hit, including $775K in base salary, a $95K signing bonus, an $80K games played performance bonus, and a minors salary of $82.5K annually.
Tampa would have lost Gill’s exclusive signing rights if they hadn’t inked him to a deal by next month. This would have allowed him to re-enter the draft and be eligible for selection in 2024.
Gill, 19, has spent his major junior career in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. While he served as captain this season, his campaign was cut short after just 12 games due to an upper-body injury.
The defender had a strong post-draft season with Rouyn-Noranda in 2022-23, though, posting eight goals and 49 assists for 57 points in 68 games with a +12 rating. He’s intelligent with the puck in his own end and has good size at 6’2″.
The New Brunswick native turns 20 next month and is eligible for assignment to AHL Syracuse next season. However, after missing most of last year due to injury, the Lightning could loan him back to Rouyn-Noranda for an overage season if the club has an open spot. Canadian Hockey League clubs are allowed to carry three 20-year-olds on their roster at any given time.
Gill will become a restricted free agent when his deal expires after the 2026-27 season. His younger brother, Spencer Gill, is also a right-shot defenseman and is expected to be a second or third-round pick in this year’s draft.
Kings Sign Aatu Jamsen To Entry-Level Deal
The Kings signed forward prospect Aatu Jämsen to a two-year, entry-level contract last night, per CapFriendly. The deal carries an $852.5K cap hit and will pay him $775K in base salary, a $77.5K signing bonus and a minor-league salary of $80K each season.
Notably, Jämsen’s contract does not have a European assignment clause. He was entering the final season of his contract with Liiga’s Pelicans, but it now appears he’ll come over and make his North American professional debut for AHL Ontario next season.
Jämsen, 22 in July, has been on a solid development path since being drafted by the Kings in the seventh round in 2020. The 6’2″ winger has been a solid middle-six depth scorer for Pelicans over the past two seasons, putting up 14 goals each year. He was limited by injuries this year, appearing in 36 out of 60 games, but still managed 14 goals and 25 points with a +7 rating.
That kind of production in a professional league at a young age is a promising sign as he makes the move to Southern California. Expecting him to receive an NHL call-up next season would be premature, but he should slot into a significant role on the farm with the Reign.
Jämsen will be waivers exempt for the life of the entry-level deal unless he plays more than 70 NHL games. He’ll become a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2026.