Martin Kaut Signs Two-Year Deal In Czechia
San Jose Sharks prospect Martin Kaut has signed a two-year deal with Czech Extraliga club HC Dynamo Pardubice, per a team announcement. The 2018 first-round pick will now head overseas with hopes of revitalizing his pro career.
Kaut’s posted solid offensive totals during his time in the minors, but it’s failed to translate to much of any NHL opportunity over the past five years. Originally a selection of the Colorado Avalanche, he found himself headed to San Jose via trade this season in a prospect-for-prospect swap that included defenseman Ryan Merkley headed the other way.
He’d appeared in regular-season games for Colorado (and later San Jose) in each of the past four seasons, joining their AHL affiliate (the Colorado Eagles) immediately after being drafted in 2018. He’s totaled 50 goals and 113 points across 192 games in five AHL seasons, and he had a strong finish to the season with the San Jose Barracuda with three goals and 14 points in 19 games.
Despite also recording five points in nine NHL games with the Sharks, easily his best NHL showing, Kaut believes extended playing time back overseas is the best option for his continued development. It won’t be his first time playing for Pardubice, though – he was loaned there in 2020 with the NHL season delayed due to the COVID pandemic, and he recorded nine goals and 16 points in 38 games there during his draft year, 2017-18.
A physically inclined passer who’s proficient on the man advantage, Kaut recorded just six points in 47 games with the Avs before they decided to cut ties. He’s surely destined for a top-nine role with his Czech team and has much more upward mobility there than in the NHL, although the merits of European pro hockey versus North American minor hockey remain a contested debate.
San Jose issued Kaut a qualifying offer last month, meaning that if he does wish to return to the NHL in the summer of 2025, it’ll be with the Sharks – unless they trade his rights somewhere else.
Detroit Red Wings Expected To Terminate Filip Zadina’s Contract
Jul 6: As expected, Zadina is on the waiver wire today for the purposes of mutual contract termination, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He’s joined by New York Islanders farmhand Andy Andreoff, who had one season left on a two-way contract.
Jul 5: The Detroit Red Wings are expected to place 2018 sixth-overall pick Filip Zadina on waivers again tomorrow, this time for the purpose of terminating his contract, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
There’s little reason to believe anyone would issue a claim if Detroit does opt to go the contract termination route, considering Zadina cleared just yesterday and was made available to all 31 teams via trade – yet he remains a Red Wing today.
The reason for that isn’t necessarily that no one wants to take him on as a reclamation project. It’s the financial commitment that comes with him – he’s got two seasons remaining on a backloaded $1.825MM AAV contract that would result in a costly gamble for a team claiming him if it doesn’t pan out. In real cash, he’s owed $4.56MM over the next two seasons.
It’s money that Zadina could willing to walk away from entirely to have a better chance of a successful NHL career, says Friedman. Although Zadina’s agent, Darren Ferris, declined to comment on the matter, Friedman’s reporting suggests Zadina has made it clear he would not report if assigned to the AHL next season, which would violate his contract and result in suspension without pay.
With both Zadina and Detroit cleared of any contractual obligation to each other, he would then be free to sign with any team in the league – giving him full control over his destiny, at least among the teams interested in adding him. Zadina had already requested a trade before the draft, which Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman expressed earlier in the week, but again cited Zadina’s contract as a significant obstacle in moving him.
Yzerman had expressed his reluctance to put Zadina on waivers, considering he’d signed the winger to a three-year contract just a year ago with the belief that he would continue to develop. It didn’t happen this season, as he posted just seven points in 30 games and averaged 13:05 per game.
All that being said, it’s fair to speculate now which teams could have interest in picking up the Czech-born winger, and where he could have success and ultimately develop into the top-six (or top-nine, at this point) forward he was projected to be.
Somewhat ironically, Zadina has some history with two teams that could make sense. Before falling to Detroit at sixth overall at the 2018 Draft, Zadina said regarding two teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, that “if they will pass on me, I’m going to fill their nets with pucks.” Montreal selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall, while Ottawa selected now-captain Brady Tkachuk with the fourth selection. Both teams are looking to add some forward depth today, and Montreal has displayed a liking to taking on reclamation projects in recent years (Kirby Dach, Denis Gurianov, Alex Newhook).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nashville Predators Sign Tanner Molendyk, Kalan Lind
The Nashville Predators became the third team to sign a 2023 draft pick to their entry-level contract today, signing defenseman Tanner Molendyk to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. They immediately followed Molendyk’s announcement with that of second-round pick Kalan Lind, who’s also signed a three-year ELC.
Moldenyk joins Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli and Montreal Canadiens defender David Reinbacher as 2023 first-round picks already under contract with their teams.
The 18-year-old from McBride, British Columbia, was selected with the 24th overall pick last week in Nashville. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound blueliner enjoyed an outstanding season with the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL in 2022-23, setting career-highs with nine goals, 28 assists, and 37 points in 67 regular-season games en route to a berth in the Eastern Conference Final.
During the WHL playoffs, Molendyk continued to excel, notching three goals and five assists in 18 games. That was good enough to share the lead for playoff goals among WHL defensemen and finish second in points and assists.
Beyond his league success, Molendyk started off his draft year by representing Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In his first-ever national team appearance, he recorded one goal and three assists in five games, winning a gold medal in the process.
It wasn’t Molendyk’s offensive production that warranted a first-round selection, however. Those in the analytics community know better than anyone that he’s an absolute monster in transition, dominating the WHL with his two-way play. An incredibly skilled skater, Molendyk doesn’t ever project to break any team records in terms of points but is as steady as they come in terms of advancing the puck and dominating possession.
Molendyk is expected to return to Saskatoon for his third full WHL season next year, which would slide his entry-level contract to begin in 2024-25 (assuming he plays less than 10 NHL games). He won’t be eligible for AHL assignment until 2025-26, per the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
Nashville drafted Lind with their fourth pick of the draft and their second of the second round, taking him 46th overall. The 6-foot, 158-pound left wing also played in the WHL, posting good offensive totals with the Red Deer Rebels (16 goals, 28 assists, 44 points in 43 games). One of the few power forwards available in the draft, Lind is a dominant checker whose effort is unmatched in most situations. He carries solid offensive smarts and playmaking capabilities, too – which became apparent with his over-point-per-game production.
St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Hugh McGing
The St. Louis Blues have announced the re-signing of forward Hugh McGing to a one-year, two-way contract. The restricted free agent will earn an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $140K in 2023-24 before becoming an RFA again next summer.
McGing, 24, was initially drafted by the Blues in the fifth round, 138th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft. Last season, McGing played a significant role for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, suiting up for 71 regular-season games and recording 17 goals and 22 assists, totaling 39 points.
McGing’s strong performance in the AHL earned him a late-season call-up to the Blues’ NHL roster, and he made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars on April 12, recording zeroes across the board in just 9:37 of ice time.
A rather tenacious and physical presence on the ice with a decent shot, McGing has now played 161 regular-season AHL games across three pro seasons with the Blues, amassing a total of 77 points, consisting of 34 goals and 43 assists. He finished fourth on the Thunderbirds in penalty minutes last season with 66.
Before signing his entry-level contract with the Blues, McGing played collegiate hockey for the Western Michigan Broncos, from where he was drafted after his DY+2 season thanks to solid production. In his 2019-20 senior campaign, he served as the team captain and was recognized as a First Team All-American his senior season, leading the team with 35 points, tallying 13 goals and 22 assists in the COVID-shortened season.
His new contract comes in slightly below the qualifying offer of $787.5K the Blues issued him last month. Next summer, he’ll be due a qualifying offer of $813,750 per CapFriendly.
Forward Alexey Toropchenko, who elected salary arbitration yesterday, is the Blues’ last remaining unsigned RFA.
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Ben Jones, Mathias Emilio Pettersen
The Calgary Flames have retained the services of a pair of depth forwards, Ben Jones and Mathias Emilio Pettersen, by re-signing them to one-year, two-way contracts. Both contracts come with a cap hit of $775K. Jones and Pettersen were restricted free agents.
PuckPedia later reported Jones’ AHL salary as $120K, while Pettersen will earn $80K in the minors.
Jones, a center hailing from Waterloo, Ontario, wrapped up his first season with the Flames organization as a key contributor for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. In 71 games, Jones tallied 17 goals and 37 assists for a total of 54 points, placing him third in team scoring behind Matthew Phillips and 2020 first-round pick Connor Zary.
The 24-year-old has NHL size at 6 feet and 190 pounds, and he does have some upward mobility in the Flames’ organization as a potential call-up candidate. He was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the seventh round as part of their inaugural 2017 draft class before joining the Flames organization as a free agent in 2022.
Joining Jones in re-signing with Calgary is Pettersen, a center from Manglerud, Norway. Pettersen just completed his third season with the Flames organization, a teammate of Jones with the Wranglers. In 61 games, the 23-year-old also posted nice offensive totals, accumulating 44 points and ranking fifth in team scoring.
Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 170 pounds, Pettersen does have somewhat longer odds of cracking the NHL lineup but is one of the speedier and more creative players offensively in the Flames’ farm system. Drafted by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Pettersen has made international appearances for Norway, most recently at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded a goal in six games.
Both are likely destined for AHL assignments again out of the gate in 2023-24.
Alain Vigneault Announces Retirement From Coaching
After a 19-season head coaching career spanning four teams, seasoned NHL bench boss Alain Vigneault has declared his retirement from coaching in an interview with the Journal de Québec, according to a report from French-Canadian outlet RDS.
Vigneault, still under contract with the Flyers after being fired in December of 2021, made it clear that his last contract would be his final one and that he has no intention of returning to coaching. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last summer that Philadelphia was likely Vigneault’s final stop as an NHL head coach.
The 62-year-old Canadian coach leaves behind a rather illustrious coaching career – Vigneault’s 1,363 games behind an NHL bench places him 15th in NHL history for most games coached. He accumulated over 700 wins throughout his coaching journey, a feat achieved by only nine other coaches in NHL history.
However, he didn’t quite reach hockey’s pinnacle, never getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Although he made the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons, he advanced twice to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in both tries.
Vigneault’s coaching tenure in the NHL began in the 1997-98 season when he took the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and finally, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Vigneault’s primary piece of individual hardware came in 2006-07, winning the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Canucks after guiding the team to a 49-26-7 record and Northwest Division title. Vancouver would bow out in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, thanks to a relatively innocuous double-overtime winner in Game 5 from Ducks defender Scott Niedermayer (video link).
Vancouver was undoubtedly Vigneault’s most successful stop, as he would win back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies with the team in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Canucks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly two decades in 2011 but fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
Vigneault made it back to the Final three seasons later with the New York Rangers but lost all three overtime games in the series en route to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.
Before starting his coaching career, Vigneault had a brief playing stint as an NHLer. He played 42 games as a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s before transitioning to coaching at just 25 years old.
He does boast an all-time playoff record of 78-77, a rare mark above .500 for a coach without a Cup victory. With his longevity placing him in the upper echelon of all-time NHL coaches, as well as a Jack Adams and two conference championships, it wouldn’t surprise many to see a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in his future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Michael Stone Retires, Joins Flames In Front Office Role
After a distinguished 12-year career in the NHL, Calgary Flames defenseman Michael Stone has officially announced his retirement. However, his departure from the ice does not mark the end of his involvement in the NHL – he immediately joined the Flames as the newest member of their player development team.
The older brother of Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, Michael finishes his career with 552 regular-season games under his belt. The 33-year-old had this to say about his career and future:
I feel very happy to be able to leave the game the way I have and directly into this role with the Flames organization. I believe it would have been a lot more difficult had this opportunity not been available. I’m excited to learn and gain some new experiences in a different capacity in the NHL. I’m looking forward to working with the young defencemen and help them achieve their ultimate goal of playing with the Calgary Flames.
The Flames’ director of player development, Ray Edwards, also expressed his satisfaction with Stone joining the team:
The combination of Michael just finishing his NHL playing career and that his specialty is defensemen specific was exactly the role that we have been trying to fill. After drafting Etienne (Morin) and Axel (Hurtig), that’s a good area for Mike to jump into immediately and assisting with our Wranglers defensemen prospects. It’s a perfect fit.
Stone had played the last six-and-a-half years of his NHL carer in Calgary, only the second NHL organization he played with. His final NHL game came on April 12, a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in which he registered four shots on goal. He recorded 11 points in 48 games in 2022-23, his highest offensive total since joining the Flames.
Injuries largely plagued Stone’s tenure in Alberta, but he was at one point a true top-four threat during his time with the Arizona Coyotes. Drafted 69th overall in 2008, Stone had a breakout season for Arizona in 2015-16, recording a career-high 36 points in 75 games while playing over 22 minutes a night.
Prior to his professional career, the Winnipeg-born Stone enjoyed a successful junior career with the Calgary Hitmen, culminating in a WHL championship in 2010. He then made the leap to the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, to start his professional career.
In total, he wraps up his NHL career with 41 goals and 104 assists for 145 points.
Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Dylan Samberg
The Winnipeg Jets have reached an agreement with left-shot RFA defenseman Dylan Samberg on a two-year contract, as announced today. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.4MM, a healthy raise coming off his entry-level contract.
At the age of 24, Samberg earned his first full-time NHL roster spot in 2022-23, skating in 63 contests for the Jets. He contributed two goals and eight points, but his main value came without the puck on his stick – he was one of Winnipeg’s best shutdown defenders at even strength. The team’s 43rd overall pick in 2017, Samberg’s now accumulated 13 points (two goals and 11 assists) and 29 penalty minutes across his 78 career NHL games, all coming within the last two seasons.
Before joining the professional ranks, Samberg played three seasons for the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 2017 to 2020, winning two NCAA championships in the process. This season, he appeared in his first top-level men’s tournament for the United States at the 2023 World Championships, contributing four points (one goal and three assists) in 10 games en route to a fourth-place finish.
Samberg played just 14:55 per game last season, a number that’s sure to increase as he eats into the minutes of veteran Brenden Dillon on the left side. Samberg was also extremely useful on the penalty kill, and his pairings with either Dylan DeMelo and Nate Schmidt were often Winnipeg’s best at limiting chances against on any given night.
He’ll be a restricted free agent again in 2025, although he’ll be just one year out from UFA status at that time.
San Jose Sharks Sign Leon Gawanke
The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Leon Gawanke to a one-year, two-way contract, according to a team announcement, bringing him back to North America after an expected European departure. CapFriendly reports he’ll earn $775K in the NHL, $325K in the minors, and a guaranteed salary of $375K. He’ll be due a qualifying offer of $813,750 next summer.
Gawanke had signed a four-year contract in his home country of Germany just a few months ago, but that obviously won’t be honored. The move was made after failing to get much of an opportunity with the Winnipeg Jets, but after the team qualified him and then dealt his rights to the San Jose Sharks for Artemi Kniazev, he ended up in a thinner Sharks defense pipeline with more upward mobility.
A 24-year-old right-shot defender, Gawanke has shone brightly in the minors over the past two seasons. He led all Manitoba Moose defensemen last season in goals and points, recording a career-high 20 goals and 45 points. He also led the entire AHL in power-play goals among defensemen.
He went on a true offensive tear near the end of the season, notching 20 points in an 18-game span over March and April before ending the regular season on a four-game point streak. Throughout his four seasons in the Winnipeg organization with the Manitoba Moose, Gawanke played 207 AHL games, accumulating 114 points, including 35 goals and 79 assists.
While he couldn’t break through a large amount of depth defenders stashed in the Jets organization, he has a real shot at making San Jose out of camp – especially if they clear a spot on defense by trading Erik Karlsson (although they may fill that spot in the trade return). He’ll be battling with players like Matt Benning and Radim Simek for bottom-four pairing roles and could surpass the latter on the depth chart after he’s dealt with injuries and declining offense in the past few seasons – although he remains one of the few adept penalty killers on the Sharks.
Twenty Two Players File For Salary Arbitration
The NHLPA has announced the full list of players who’ve elected salary arbitration this offseason:
F Morgan Barron (WPG)
D William Borgen (SEA)
F Noah Cates (PHI)
F Ross Colton (COL)
F Brandon Duhaime (MIN)
D Vince Dunn (SEA)
D Cale Fleury (SEA)
F Trent Frederic (BOS)
G Filip Gustavsson (MIN)
F Brett Howden (VGK)
F Tanner Jeannot (TBL)
F Philipp Kurashev (CHI)
F Jack McBain (ARI)
F Ryan McLeod (EDM)
D Ian Mitchell (BOS)
F Drew O’Connor (PIT)
G Ilya Samsonov (TOR)
D Brandon Scanlin (NYR)
G Jeremy Swayman (BOS)
F Troy Terry (ANA)
F Alexey Toropchenko (STL)
F Gabriel Vilardi (WPG)
This is not the full list of players destined for arbitration hearings – NHL teams have another 24 hours to file for team-elected arbitration with certain players not listed above.
As a reminder, just because a player files for arbitration doesn’t mean they can’t sign a new deal with their team prior to the hearing. If they do reach the hearing stage, however, the arbitrator will provide a contract award within 48 hours.
The length of arbitration awards can only be one or two years, and the party that did not elect for arbitration gets to decide on the duration. If a player is in their final year of restricted free agency, they are entitled to only a one-year term.
If a player elects for arbitration and receives a settlement of one year with a salary exceeding $4.54MM, the team has the option to walk away from the awarded salary, which would make the player an unrestricted free agent. Similarly, if the player elects for a two-year arbitration settlement with a salary exceeding $4.54MM, the team can walk away from the second year of the awarded salary, allowing the player to become a free agent at the end of the first year.
Teams cannot walk away from an award reached via club-elected arbitration.
For teams involved in arbitration cases, a second buyout window becomes available. This window opens three days after the final arbitration case is settled, either through a new contract or an arbitration award. However, this opportunity is limited to players who meet two criteria: they must have a salary cap hit of $4MM or more, and they must have been with the team at last year’s trade deadline.
Per the NHLPA, this year’s slate of arbitration hearings will take place between July 20 and August 4.