Minnesota Wild Avoid Arbitration With Brandon Duhaime
It appears the Minnesota Wild and winger Brandon Duhaime have worked out a deal before their arbitration hearing, which was set for Thursday. The two sides have agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $1.1MM, the team announced Sunday.
The one-year deal will walk Duhaime to unrestricted free agency next summer. A 2016 fourth-round pick of the Wild, Duhaime made his NHL debut early in 2021-22 and hasn’t looked back – he’s played 131 games over the past two seasons with the Wild and has avoided assignment to the minors. He’s demonstrated solid consistency and defensive awareness, leading to an everyday role in the lineup when healthy.
He gets some nice seven-figure compensation because of that, and the Wild get some much-needed financial certainty out of the way without risking an arbitration ruling that could upset their delicate dance with the salary cap’s Upper Limit. CapFriendly does list the Wild with just over $7MM in projected cap space after signing Duhaime, but that’s with just 11 forwards and new contracts needed for Filip Gustavsson and Calen Addison.
While it’ll be close, getting Duhaime locked in for next season under $1.5MM is a solid win for general manager Bill Guerin. It should spare him enough room to get the Gustavsson and Addison extensions done, albeit likely short-term, and keep a core together that’s gotten the Wild to the playoffs in four straight seasons.
Duhaime finished last season with nine goals and one assist in 56 games.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the Wild and Duhaime had reached a deal.
Anaheim Ducks Extend Lukas Dostal
The Anaheim Ducks got an essential bit of business done today, locking in their presumed backup netminder (and potentially soon-to-be-starter) to a contract for the next two years. 23-year-old Lukas Dostal has signed a deal carrying a two-way structure in 2023-24 and a one-way structure in 2024-25. Per The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, Dostal will earn $775K in the NHL and $325K in the AHL in the first year while earning $850K in the NHL in the second year. The deal carries a cap hit of $812.5K.
Anaheim’s third-round pick in 2018, Dostal has rocketed up goalie prospect ranking boards in recent years thanks to some dominant performances in the minors and pro leagues overseas. The Czech-born netminder has quite the career resume already, winning the Urpo Ylonen Award for the best goalie in the Finnish Liiga in 2019-20 after he posted a 1.78 goals-against average, .928 save percentage, three shutouts, and a 27-8-6 record in 43 games with Ilves while on loan from the Ducks.
He’s since posted a .915 save percentage in 98 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls over the past three seasons since coming to North America, good numbers for a young netminder behind a team that failed to finish above the .500 mark in two out of the last three years. He got an extended NHL look last season after injuries took down John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz, recording a .901 save percentage in 19 games behind one of the weakest defensive teams in recent memory.
With Stolarz departing the organization for the Florida Panthers in free agency, the path is clear for Dostal to remain in the NHL full-time next season, and they’ll have him there at an affordable cap hit. Dostal will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in 2025.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Ivan Prosvetov
The Arizona Coyotes have locked in one of their few remaining restricted free agents, signing netminder Ivan Prosvetov to a one-year, two-way contract, per the team. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Prosvetov, 24, was eligible for salary arbitration but did not file. The 2018 fourth-round pick now has four pro seasons under his belt with the Coyotes organization after coming up through both the Russian and North American junior hockey circuits.
The Moscow-born netminder took a step in the right direction with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners last season, posting stronger numbers after a pair of middling campaigns. His 3.06 goals-against average and .900 save percentage were his best since his rookie season when Prosvetov registered a .909 save percentage in 27 games in 2019-20.
Prosvetov’s numbers in the minors haven’t been terribly encouraging, but to be fair, the Roadrunners haven’t put the strongest team on the ice in the past few seasons. The team has a combined record of just 56-92-18 over the past three campaigns, reflecting the struggles of their parent club during that time.
After earning limited NHL action in each of the past three seasons with the Coyotes, Prosvetov firmly holds the third spot on the organization’s goalie depth chart behind Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram. He’ll likely see a handful of games with the Coyotes again next season, whether it be due to injury or a performance-warranted callup from Tucson.
Ondrej Kase Signs In Czechia
After dealing with significant concussion issues throughout his career and playing just one game in 2022-23, Czech winger Ondrej Kase is healthy enough to continue his pro career. It will be overseas, however, as he’s returning home to Czechia on a one-year deal with Extraliga club HC Litvinov.
Kase was expected to be a solid depth contributor for the Carolina Hurricanes last season after recording 14 goals and 27 points in 50 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22. However, another concussion limited him to just a handful of NHL games for the second time in three seasons, leaving his playing future in significant doubt.
The 27-year-old returns to Czechia after playing 258 NHL games across seven seasons, a North American career cut much too short by those concussion issues. When healthy, especially early in his career with the Anaheim Ducks, he showed flashes of actual top-six upside. However, he was never healthy for a long enough period to round out his game and develop properly.
It makes sense that Kase would want to return home, now playing on the same team as his brother, David Kase. It’s been a trying few years for Kase since coming over to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in 2015, and he’ll look to, first and foremost, maintain good health while assumedly playing out his pro hockey days overseas.
Kase’s last experience in the Czech pro hockey circuit came in 2014-15 when he registered 21 points in 37 games with second-tier club Pirati Chomutov. He immediately becomes the highest-profile player on Litvinov and the only one with any extended NHL experience.
Free Agent Profile: Vladimir Tarasenko
This year’s free agent market was a tough one to gauge for teams and players alike. Another year of a tight salary cap situation for most teams, along with a relatively weak class of UFAs, made for some interesting decisions. Take gritty winger, Tyler Bertuzzi, for example. He didn’t get far into extension discussions with the cap-strapped Boston Bruins because he wanted a long-term deal but signed a one-year pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs just a few days into free agency.
But perhaps no player misread the market more than Vladimir Tarasenko, leading to the two-time All-Star being available on the market over two weeks into free agency. While he was reportedly close to a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the month, he changed his representation less than a week after July 1, restarting the clock on all pending negotiations. After a bit of a down season, scoring just 18 goals in 69 games split between the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, the 31-year-old likely didn’t get any offers reflecting the level of commitment he was expecting.
Why teams wouldn’t want to take a longer-term gamble on the 2019 Stanley Cup champion is understandable. Shoulder injuries limited him to 34 games combined in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. While a return to form in 2021-22 (34 goals and 82 points in 75 games) revitalized his stock, a tough season for him (and the Blues) last year lowered it again, and his post-deadline stint with the Rangers wasn’t at his previous elite goal-scoring level, either.
Still, he is a six-time 30-goal scorer and brings a winning pedigree. He’s worth a spot in almost any team’s top six, although slightly sheltered minutes wouldn’t hurt. With Patrick Kane, the other marquee winger still on the market, not expected to sign until closer to the start of next season, Tarasenko is the best player available for teams looking to add a forward.
Stats
2022-23: 69 GP, 18-32-50, -14 rating, 8 PIMs, 169 shots on goal, 45.7% CF, 16:48 ATOI
Career: 675 GP, 270-304-574, +61 rating, 185 PIMs, 2,124 shots on goal, 52.5% CF, 17:27 ATOI
Potential Suitors
At his age, the likelihood of Tarasenko earning a long-term pact after betting on himself this season is small. Knowing he isn’t getting the compensation he initially set out to receive this summer, signing somewhere that gives him a chance to win a second Stanley Cup will likely be at the top of his mind.
The Hurricanes still give him the best shot of doing just that. Whether it can financially come to fruition, though, is another question. Carolina’s already backed out of one widely-reported transaction this summer, forcing the Philadelphia Flyers to go the buyout route with defenseman Anthony DeAngelo instead of re-acquiring him at half-price. The team is reportedly in discussions with the San Jose Sharks about acquiring reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, and top-four shutdown defender Brett Pesce remains without a contract extension. There are many moving parts still to come with Carolina, leaving a lot of uncertainty about their ability to fit in another UFA signing under the salary cap after signing Michael Bunting and Dmitry Orlov earlier in the month. Still, Tarasenko would add to what’s already one of the most terrifyingly deep forward groups in the league and, if healthy, could provide the sniper element sorely missing from their recent string of playoff runs.
Another team connected to Tarasenko is the Ottawa Senators, who have an Alex DeBrincat-sized hole in their top six after trading the young winger to the Detroit Red Wings. There are similar financial holdups there, though, as CapFriendly lists them with roughly $5MM in projected space for next season while still needing a new contract for center Shane Pinto. Receiving Dominik Kubalik in return from Detroit gives Ottawa a solid secondary scoring option. Still, he’s been quite streaky throughout his brief NHL career, and Tarasenko provides a high-end, veteran backup option if Kubalik doesn’t pan out in Canada’s capital. Ottawa is a team hungry to make their postseason appearance in six years, and adding Tarasenko could push them right back into the conversation of playoff hopefuls in the Atlantic Division.
The New York Rangers would also love to have Tarasenko back in the fold as a more experienced, higher-ceiling scoring option than some of their other depth names, but they’re in a more dire financial situation than both Carolina and Ottawa. Finding a way to move out or reduce Barclay Goodrow‘s cap hit ($3.64MM through 2026-27) could open up some options for them, though.
Projected Contract
Unfortunately for Tarasenko, playing the waiting game has likely cost him a lot of cash in a tight market. Don’t expect him to sign a deal much longer than three seasons when he does sign, and it could very well come in under the $5MM mark per season, given the lack of financial flexibility available among contenders.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
St. Louis Blues Settle With Alexey Toropchenko
The St. Louis Blues have settled on a new contract with forward Alexey Toropchenko before his arbitration hearing next Thursday, the team announced this morning. His new deal will keep him in St. Louis for two more seasons and carry a cap hit of $1.25MM, earning him $2.5MM in total.
Toropchenko was St. Louis’ last unsigned restricted free agent. It’s a good thing they don’t have more off-season business to handle, as CapFriendly listed the Blues with just $810K in projected cap space before Toropchenko signed.
However, that figure assumes a roster of 14 forwards and eight defensemen, one player over the 23-person roster limit. They’ll get cap-compliant by assigning someone to the minors or trading one of their multiple defenders rumored to be on the trade block.
For Toropchenko, this is a nice pay bump after the 24-year-old winger made the league-minimum salary on a two-way deal last season. Drafted 113th overall in 2017, Toropchenko set career highs across the board in 2022-23, recording ten goals, nine assists, 19 points, and a +6 rating in 69 games played.
Head coach Craig Berube primarily utilized Toropchenko in a fourth-line role last year, and he’s likely to do so again. The Blues bolstered their forward corps over the last few months of 2022-23 with the additions of Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana, and they also acquired Kevin Hayes from the Philadelphia Flyers via trade last month, mainly filling up their top nine.
Toropchenko did post strong defensive metrics in that limited role, and he uses his 6-foot-3 frame to his advantage when forechecking. While it’s unlikely he’ll ever reach a top-six role, there’s a lot to like about his game in his limited role.
He’ll be a restricted free agent once again when his new contract expires in 2025, although he’ll be just one year away from unrestricted free agency.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the new contract.
Philadelphia Flyers Waive Tony DeAngelo For Purposes Of Buyout
Saturday: DeAngelo has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports, paving the way for the buyout to be completed.
Friday: It appears the rumored trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes won’t be happening after all. Today, the Flyers placed defenseman Tony DeAngelo on unconditional waivers, which CapFriendly initially clarified is for the purpose of contract termination. The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor later contradicted CapFriendly’s initial report, claiming DeAngelo’s waiver placement is for the purposes of a buyout, which was later confirmed.
After the Flyers acquired DeAngelo’s negotiating rights from the Hurricanes last summer and promptly signed him to a two-year, $10MM deal, his relationship with head coach John Tortorella became tenuous, culminating in a string of healthy scratches to end the season. Reporting suggested the Flyers and Hurricanes had worked out a deal to send DeAngelo back to Raleigh this offseason, which would have involved the Flyers retaining half of DeAngelo’s $5MM cap hit on the final season of his contract and receiving center prospect Massimo Rizzo in return. However, the league blocked the trade at the time, claiming it circumvented the salary cap, and didn’t permit the deal to go through until July 8, 2023, exactly one year after the initial trade, which sent DeAngelo’s rights to Philadelphia.
The trade never actually went through, though, and now DeAngelo will find himself free to sign with any team that will have him – including Carolina. The buyout option became available to the Flyers after settling with forward Noah Cates before his arbitration hearing.
The buyout will cost the Flyers $1.67MM against the cap for the next two seasons compared to a one-time $2.5MM cap hit next year via salary retention. While the team is in the throes of a rebuild and doesn’t anticipate spending to the salary cap, the decision to buy DeAngelo out rather than trade him does offer slightly more short-term financial relief.
DeAngelo is an elite offensive-minded defender but a rather significant defensive liability, which chiefly contributed to his fallout with Tortorella in Philadelphia. When taking into consideration he’s played on three teams in the past three seasons and has now been bought out twice in that time frame, it seems unlikely he’ll find any long-term commitments on the open market.
Moving on from DeAngelo will certainly shift more point-producing burden onto youngster Cam York, who looked quite capable last season with 20 points in 54 games. The 22-year-old signed a two-year, $3.2MM extension with the Flyers earlier this week.
DeAngelo, 27, led Flyers defensemen in scoring last season with 42 points in 70 games. It was his third straight full season posting more than 40 points – he played just six games in 2020-21 before getting involved in a post-game altercation with then-teammate Alexandar Georgiev, which resulted in a waiver placement and assignment to the team’s taxi squad for the remainder of the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Arizona Coyotes Sign Zach Sanford
The Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Zach Sanford to a one-year, two-way deal, according to a team release. CapFriendly has confirmed the contract will pay Sanford $775K at the NHL level for the 2023-24 season.
Not that long ago, Sanford used to be a solid forward in the bottom six of the St.Louis Blues organization, winning a Stanley Cup with the team during the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. During that regular season, Sanford suited up in 58 games for the Blues and had an incredible 16 goals and 14 assists, only averaging about 12 and a half minutes a night.
Following a tremendous year with the Blues, the team rewarded Sanford with a two-year, $3MM contract extension, taking him to the end of the 2020-21 NHL season. Unfortunately for him and the organization, Sanford fell back down to earth, only scoring 16 points the next season. Due to the drop in production, St.Louis shipped Sanford to the Ottawa Senators the following summer for a package that included forward Logan Brown.
His production did not improve in Canada’s capital, leading to Sanford spending time with both the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators since that trade. Although not suiting up much for the Predators at the professional level last season, Sanford put up a respectable 12 goals and 16 assists in 45 games playing for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.
As Sanford now takes his services to the Coyotes, access to playing time is more readily available for him. Arizona presumably has their top-six forward unit set for next season, but will likely cycle through numerous players this season to fill out the bottom of their forward core.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Anton Wahlberg, Brett Murray
The Buffalo Sabres have the first member of their 2023 draft class under contract, announcing the signing of forward Anton Wahlberg to a three-year entry-level deal. PuckPedia has the details of his contract, which carries a cap hit of $897K:
Years 1 and 2: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus, $82.5K minors salary
Year 3: $885K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
The team also signed AHL depth forward Brett Murray to a one-year deal, keeping one of the Rochester Americans’ best scoring options in the organization on a two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL.
Buffalo selected Wahlberg with their first of two second-round picks in last month’s draft, utilizing the 39th overall pick to bring him into the organization. The rangy Swedish center has pro-level size already at 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds and plays a rather well-rounded game. There were definitely players with higher NHL ceilings available at Wahlberg’s pick, but he was certainly a safe option early in the second round that’s hard to make much fuss about.
Wahlberg’s spent most of his development with the Malmo Redhawks’ junior program in Sweden’s top U-20 league. Last season, his 27 points in 32 games were eclipsed by quite a few peers within his class, but he did earn an extensive look against pros in the SHL, recording two goals and two assists in 17 games for the Redhawks.
He’s a player the organization is quite high on – general manager Kevyn Adams said after selecting Wahlberg that they were trying to trade up into the late first round to select him. He’s already arrived stateside, too, getting to know the organization at development camp earlier this month.
That being said, given he’s not a first-round pick, his SHL team has the final say in where he’ll play if he’s not in the NHL right away, which is the likely scenario. Malmo has Wahlberg under contract for 2023-24 and will almost certainly want him back in the fold as they try to avoid relegation, meaning Buffalo will loan him back to Sweden for the upcoming season. Doing so will slide the beginning of his ELC to 2024-25.
Murray, on the other hand, will continue his stay in the Sabres organization after tallying 49 points in 71 games for the Americans last season, which ranked third on the team. The 24-year-old does have some NHL experience under his belt, playing in 21 games for the Sabres over the past few years after they selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft. In four total seasons in Rochester, Murray has amassed a total of 56 goals and 69 assists for 125 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Jonathan Gruden
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made their second signing of the day, locking in forward Jonathan Gruden for the upcoming season by re-signing him to a one-year contract extension. The two-way deal keeps the restricted free agent in the Penguins organization for 2023-24 with a $775K cap hit; PuckPedia reports his AHL compensation will be $100K.
The son of new Toronto Marlies head coach and former NHLer John Gruden, the 23-year-old winger was originally a fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018 NHL Draft. Gruden’s signing rights were dealt to the Penguins as part of the trade return for goalie Matt Murray in October 2020.
A versatile two-way winger, Gruden had a strong development season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2022-23, registering 16 goals and 15 assists in 54 games. He worked his way up the Penguins’ depth chart to be one of their top call-up options, making his NHL debut for Pittsburgh this January and playing a fourth-line role for three games.
Gruden won’t be on the Penguins’ NHL roster to start the season, but he is set to reprise a top-six role in the minors in 2023-24. The Michigan-born winger will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next offseason.