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.
AHL Transactions Ledger: 07/14/23
Welcome to today’s edition of the AHL Transactions Ledger as we continue to summarize all the off-season player movements in the NHL’s primary feeder league. As affiliates gear up for the upcoming season, front offices across the league are hard at work, fine-tuning their rosters and adding supplemental pieces to the nucleus of each team – their NHL parent’s top prospects. As always, here’s a full list of today’s noteworthy signings, trades, and other transactions in the AHL:
- Czech defenseman Filip Kral has signed a one-year contract with the Pelicans in the Finnish Liiga, departing the Toronto Marlies after the Maple Leafs did not issue him a qualifying offer last month. The 23-year-old now heads to one of the top teams in Finland after playing a total of 92 games with the Marlies across the past three seasons, recording seven goals and 22 assists. Kral made his NHL debut last season after injuries decimated Toronto’s defense early on, playing a very limited role in two games on the team’s West Coast road trip in late October 2022. A two-way defenseman who excels in playing the puck in tight spaces, Kral was Toronto’s fifth-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft.
While they did lose Kral, the Marlies went a long way toward filling out next year’s depth, signing six players out of the junior and college ranks to one-year deals:
- Diminutive forward Jackson Berezowski, 21, turns pro after playing his entire junior career with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, amassing 232 goals and 102 assists in 273 games. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer and served as team captain since 2021. Last season, he recorded career highs with 48 goals and 81 points, tying for the WHL lead in power-play goals with 22.
- 24-year-old Brock Caufield, the older brother of Montreal Canadiens star sniper Cole Caufield, heads to the Marlies after appearing in 172 games for the University of Wisconsin over five seasons, totaling 33 goals and 41 assists. Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Caufield was part of the Wisconsin team that won the Big Ten regular-season championship in the 2020-21 season. A winger like his brother, Caufield will look to leverage a strong finish to his collegiate career into a full-time AHL role with the Marlies in 2023-24.
- Forward Neil Shea, 23, spent last season with Sacred Heart University, recording 30 points in 37 games. The Marshfield, Massachusetts-born Shea earned a spot on the Atlantic Hockey First All-Star Team and also appeared in six games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on a tryout after his collegiate season concluded. Shea split his NCAA career between Sacred Heart and Northeastern University, collecting a total of 27 goals and 40 assists in 123 games.
- 5-foot-9 forward Tate Singleton, 24, recently completed his college career at Ohio State University, playing 140 games and contributing 33 goals and 37 assists. In the 2022-23 season, Singleton achieved career highs with 11 goals and 16 assists. Like the others, he’ll look to leverage a strong finish to his collegiate career to win one of the limited spots available on the Marlies and avoid assignment to the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers.
- The only NHL-drafted player on this list is 23-year-old left wing Tyler Weiss, whose signing rights with the Colorado Avalanche are set to lapse by August 15 if he doesn’t sign an entry-level contract. The 109th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft played 159 games during his collegiate career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, amassing 116 points over five seasons.
- Last but not least is 21-year-old right-shot defender Nolan Dillingham, who spent the past season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, recording six goals and eight assists in 45 games. The Ontario-born defender has good size at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds and served as Sarnia’s captain last season. He’ll aim to embark on a pro career with his hometown Marlies, but given their deep blueline, Dillingham is the most likely player on this list to play out next year in the ECHL.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Emil Pieniniemi
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that they’ve signed defense prospect Emil Pieniniemi to a three-year, entry-level contract, which PuckPedia reports carries an NHL salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a games-played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K in all three seasons. The contract carries a cap hit of $870K.
The 18-year-old Finn was Pittsburgh’s third-round pick in this year’s draft at 91st overall. He’s the first player taken outside of the first two rounds to sign his entry-level contract.
Pieniniemi did go a bit earlier in the draft than some thought, as most public scouts had him pegged as a fifth- or sixth-round pick. It’s obvious the Penguins believe in Pieniniemi’s defensive upside, which he showed as the hallmark of his game while playing in the Finnish U-20 circuit last season.
He does carry a prototypical frame for a defender that NHL teams desire at 6-foot-2, although he still needs to grow into it a little more before he’s pro-ready. His game revolves around his physicality and how he uses it to shut down the other team’s attack, with Elite Prospects describing his defensive style as “pinching aggressively and gapping up early, guiding opponents towards the boards before engaging physically.”
That’s not to say he’s an offensive liability – he did show the possibility of being an adept puck-moving defender at the pro level. Playing for Karpat in the top Finnish junior league, Pieniniemi tallied 13 points in 31 games and made his professional debut in the Liiga, dressing for one game with Karpat in December 2022 but not seeing any ice time.
Pittsburgh will likely loan Pieniniemi back to Karpat for the 2023-24 season, which will result in his entry-level contract sliding to start in 2024-25.
St. Louis Blues Sign Dalibor Dvorsky
2023 top-ten pick Dalibor Dvorsky has another major career milestone under his belt just a few weeks after the draft: his first NHL contract. The St. Louis Blues signed their tenth-overall selection to a three-year entry-level contract today, per a team release.
The team did not disclose contract details. However, it’s important to note his signing doesn’t mean he’ll be playing in North America next season – as expected; he’ll be loaned back to SHL club IK Oskarshamn to honor the first year of a two-year deal he signed with them before the draft, reports Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland.
CapFriendly also confirms Dvorsky is eligible for an entry-level slide twice, given his signing age of 18, meaning a full-time loan to the SHL this season would kick the beginning of his ELC to 2024-25 (or later, if he plays less than ten NHL games again in 2024-25).
It’s likely Dvorsky is ready for some NHL looks after an additional year of development in Europe, though, and this upcoming year should likely be Dvorsky’s last in the Swedish professional circuit. The Slovak national spent most of his development from 2016 onwards playing in Sweden, where he registered 14 points in 38 games playing in the second-tier pros for HockeyAllsvenskan club AIK last season.
His draft stock varied a bit throughout the season, as his Allsvenskan production didn’t quite live up to the tantalizing flashes he showed when playing against his own peer group in Swedish juniors and internationally. Still, few Blues fans should complain about landing him at tenth overall, and today’s signing could very well begin a long tenure in St. Louis as a top-nine fixture.
New Jersey Devils Sign Chris Tierney
Veteran forward Chris Tierney has signed a one-year, two-way deal with the New Jersey Devils, per a team announcement, cementing his home for the 2023-24 campaign. The deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $400K in the AHL.
Tierney split last season between the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens organizations and was assigned to the minors for the first time in seven seasons while with the Panthers. After a four-year run with the Ottawa Senators, during which his offensive production steadily declined, Tierney signed a two-way deal with the Panthers in free agency last summer before Montreal claimed him on waivers in February of 2023.
The 29-year-old natural center accumulated three goals and ten points in 36 NHL games last year, his lowest totals since turning pro in 2014. He still produced a decent clip in the minors, scoring three goals and adding 13 assists for 16 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
A second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2012, Tierney does bring nearly 600 career games of NHL experience to the Devils organization, but he’s not expected to play a significant role with the team this season. With the team losing some depth pieces to free agency, such as Jesper Boqvist and Miles Wood, Tierney does stand a chance to make the Devils out of training camp, although likely as a 13th or 14th forward.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ontario product will be an unrestricted free agent again next summer.
Arizona Coyotes Terminate Alex Galchenyuk’s Contract
July 14: 11:09 a.m.: The Coyotes have completed the termination process, meaning Galchenyuk cleared waivers. The team released a full statement:
We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior. Once the Club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began the process of terminating his Standard Player’s Contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes today have exercised the team’s right to terminate the contract of Alex Galchenyuk due to a material breach of the terms of his Standard Player’s Contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time.
July 13, 4:40 p.m: The Athletic’s Katie Strang reports that Galchenyuk “was arrested on July 9 on a number of charges including private property hit and run, disorderly conduct, failure to obey, resisting arrest, Threatening or Intimidating.”
Strang also added clarification from Scottsdale Police that the hit-and-run incident was “only property damage and no injuries.”
July 13, 12:25 p.m.: ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports the Coyotes “had discovered an ‘off-ice situation’ impacting Galchenyuk that was previously unknown to the team,” influencing the termination.
July 13, 11:18 a.m.: The Arizona Coyotes are parting ways with forward Alex Galchenyuk after they brought him back to the organization for his third stint just under two weeks ago. The team has placed him on waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract today.
Arizona did not say this is a mutual termination – potentially meaning that Galchenyuk has violated terms set forth in his contract in a manner that is grounds for termination. The team specified they wouldn’t be commenting further, and PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan adds the NHLPA is reviewing the circumstances surrounding Galchenyuk’s termination.
Galchenyuk now lands on waivers, where all 31 teams can claim his one-year, two-way contract for next season for free. He had signed a deal carrying a base salary of $775K, a minors salary of $225K, and a minimum guaranteed salary of $325K with Arizona on July 1. Without any insight into why his contract is being terminated by the Coyotes, though, a claim is unlikely.
The 2012 third-overall pick spent most of last season in the minors with the Colorado Avalanche organization, producing at a point-per-game clip with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He failed to register a point in 11 appearances with the Avalanche after posting 21 points in 60 games with the Coyotes the season before.
Galchenyuk will become an unrestricted free agent again if the termination goes through, permitting him to sign anywhere he chooses inside or outside the NHL.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Olle Lycksell
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed restricted free agent forward Olle Lycksell to a two-year, two-way contract, per a team announcement. The deal is worth $1.575MM and carries an average annual value of $787.5K.
A 2017 sixth-round pick, Lycksell is quickly climbing up the organizational depth chart after a pair of very impressive seasons in other leagues. The 23-year-old Swede posted 45 points in 53 games for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, finishing second on the team in scoring during his first campaign in North America while playing heavy minutes.
It was the season before that where he saw a real breakout, though, finishing off his Swedish pro career (for the time being) with 34 points in 47 games for SHL side Vaxjo Lakers HC while on loan from the Flyers. Now, Lycksell has some financial security for the next two seasons, during which time he’ll attempt to break through into the Flyers’ lineup full-time.
He did make his NHL debut last season, not looking entirely out of place and registering an assist in eight appearances. With some free agent additions (and a healthy Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier) in the fold, however, the chances of him being on the Flyers’ opening night roster are slim.
That being said, he’s set to reprise a top-line role with the Phantoms and continue working toward rounding out his game. With another year of pro hockey under his belt, look for Lycksell to provide some solid value for the Flyers in the second year of this deal.
When his contract expires in 2025, he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
AHL Transactions Ledger: 07/13/23
A busy summer in the minors continues with AHL teams loading up on talent to supplement their players on loan from their NHL parents. We’re keeping a list of today’s moves across the second-best league this side of the Atlantic here:
- The Hartford Wolf Pack have agreed to terms with defenseman Zach Berzolla on a one-year deal, the team announced Thursday. The move marks his second stint as a member of the Wolf Pack, where he played eight games in 2021-22 and scored one goal. He spent last season mainly with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones while on an AHL contract with the Rochester Americans, finishing second among Cyclones defenders in scoring with six goals and 19 assists for 25 points in 56 games. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound defenseman is likely destined for ECHL assignment again, heading back to Cincinnati after the Cyclones entered an affiliation agreement with the Wolf Pack and New York Rangers earlier this summer.
- The Rochester Americans signed former Minnesota Wild prospect Damien Giroux to a one-year contract today. The 2018 fifth-round pick made his NHL debut last season, notching an assist in an April 13th overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. After scoring just three goals in 67 AHL games, however, the Wild opted not to issue him a qualifying offer with his contract expiring this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. The former captain of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit still managed 22 points in the minors this season, though, placing him eighth on the Iowa Wild.
- The Rockford IceHogs have signed center Seamus Malone to a one-year, AHL contract, according to a team announcement. Malone, 27, is a former Wisconsin Badger who has spent the last three seasons with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. Malone has scored 97 points in 110 games over the last two seasons and made his first ECHL All-Star game last year. While Malone hasn’t yet had much success at the AHL level (he has eight points in 41 career games in the American League) the IceHogs are hoping Malone’s recent exceptional ECHL performance will translate to the next level.
- The Henderson Silver Knights signed 27-year-old defenseman Peter Tischke to a one-year AHL contract, according to a team announcement. Tischke spent last season with the Rochester Americans, skating in 24 games and notching four points. He’s played 78 career games at the AHL level and has 56 career games in the ECHL, almost entirely from 2019-20, his first campaign as a professional hockey player. The four-year Wisconsin Badger will now compete for a role on new head coach Ryan Craig’s Silver Knights blueline.
- The Milwaukee Admirals have added defenseman Griffin Luce from the Springfield Thunderbirds on a one-year AHL contract. The 25-year-old is a six-foot-three physical presence who played four seasons at the University of Michigan before working his way into the AHL after starting in the East Coast league. Luce only played in 19 games last season but managed 45 games in 2021-22, and he even played in two playoff games as the Thunderbirds made a run to the Calder Cup Finals.
- Former Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Eric Hjorth is reportedly signing a contract with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, according to Uffe Bodin of Hockeysverige. Hjorth, 22, was a fourth-round pick of Columbus at the 2019 draft, and the team allowed their exclusive rights to sign him elapse rather than sign him to an entry-level deal. Hjorth is a six-foot-one right-shot blueliner who has played the last two seasons in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second division. The Canadiens could have a relatively crowded AHL blueline due to prospects graduating from junior leagues, so Hjorth could be more likely to play with their ECHL affiliate in Trois-Rivieres than in Laval itself.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Dallas Stars Sign Ty Dellandrea
The Dallas Stars’ most important remaining restricted free agent has a new contract. Today, the team signed forward Ty Dellandrea to a one-year deal worth $900K.
Drafted 13th overall in 2018, Dellandrea’s development has been a slow burn, but he burst onto the scene last season as a full-time player in the strictest sense of the word. One of eight Stars to play in all 82 regular-season games, Dellandrea tallied nine goals and 28 points. Interestingly enough, Dellandrea was not eligible for Calder voting, nor was he considered a rookie – he suited up in 26 games for Dallas two seasons ago in 2020-21, putting him just above the cut-off mark.
Nevertheless, Dellandrea demonstrated high-end two-way upside in a bottom-six role, posting high-end possession numbers and even excelling when used on the penalty kill. Still just 22 years old, there is still plenty of time for his offensive totals to improve. He showed strong scoring flashes in the minors in 2021-22, posting 23 goals and 50 points in 68 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Despite those positive strides, Dellandrea will likely get boxed out of a top-nine role, at least to start next season. The team’s re-signing of Evgenii Dadonov and acquisition of Matt Duchene via free agency gives them one of the best top-nine forward units in the entire league, but it does diminish Dellandrea’s potential for increased ice time. If injuries strike, however, he carries the most upward mobility of any depth forward on the Stars and will get a chance higher up in the lineup.
New York Rangers Sign Ty Emberson
The New York Rangers have negotiated a new contract for one of their more underrated defensive prospects, signing Ty Emberson to a one-year contract extension for 2023-24. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 23-year-old Emberson had a breakout development season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, his first season there after the Rangers acquired him last summer from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for them taking the final two seasons of defenseman Patrik Nemeth‘s contract, which Arizona bought out last month. He posted career-highs across the board, tallying seven goals and 27 points in 69 games, and was also named the best defensive defenseman in the AHL’s Eastern Conference.
He earned those honors by playing consistent top-four minutes for Hartford all season long and finishing second on the team with a +17 rating. Arizona had selected the 6-foot-1 right-shot defender with the 73rd overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
The Wisconsin-born Emberson likely isn’t a candidate to make the Rangers out of camp yet, and might actually slip down the depth chart in Hartford after the Rangers signed Connor Mackey and Mac Hollowell to bolster their AHL depth. That being said, he doesn’t get discussed as much as he should when talking about Rangers prospects, and he’ll look to keep up the strong two-way play in the face of increased internal competition next season.
Emberson will be a restricted free agent again next summer.