Winnipeg Jets Sign Mason Appleton, Avoid Arbitration
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Winnipeg Jets have avoided an arbitration hearing with forward Mason Appleton. He’s signed a three-year deal with the Jets worth a cap hit of $2.167MM. He’ll be paid $2MM in 2022-23 and receive $2.25MM in the following two seasons.
The Jets already lost Appleton once, and they don’t seem intent on having it happen again. Left unprotected in the last offseason’s expansion draft, Appleton was an inaugural member of the Seattle Kraken before Winnipeg re-acquired him at the Trade Deadline. Across 68 games with Seattle and Winnipeg in 2021-22, Appleton scored eight goals, 13 assists (tying a career-high), and 21 points.
Appleton’s point production may not jump off the page, but he’s posted decent defensive analytics throughout his 206-game NHL career. 26 years old now, Appleton has produced a nice NHL career for a sixth-round pick. The native of Green Bay, Wisconsin will try to continue to prove his worth as a valuable bottom-six forward over the next three seasons in Manitoba.
For Winnipeg, their only remaining restricted free agent is 22-year-old David Gustafsson, who appeared in just two games for them last season.
Logan Cooley Planning On Honoring College Commitment Next Season
As he prepares to represent the United States at the 2022 World Junior Championships this week, Arizona Coyotes 2022 third overall pick Logan Cooley confirmed he’ll be playing at the University of Minnesota next season after committing there earlier this year.
After attending Coyotes development camp earlier this summer, Cooley said that “a year in college could really help. Just keep developing, and then I think I’ll be ready.”
He also expressed a desire to turn pro as quickly as possible, though, assuming he has a strong freshman season in Minnesota as expected. Cooley could absolutely still make his NHL debut in 2021-22, just at the tail end of the campaign after his college season concludes.
Cooley’s sentiments are music to the ears of Minnesota fans. Their program, while it’ll still be highlighted by the returns of defensemen Brock Faber, Jackson LaCombe, and Ryan Johnson, as well as forward Matthew Knies, will have to replace the holes left by senior standouts Ben Meyers and Samuel Walker. They’ll also be dealing with the departures of a pair of NHL-affiliated prospects in Chaz Lucius and Tristan Broz.
Vegas Golden Knights, Keegan Kolesar Agree To Terms
Per a team release, the Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to terms with winger Keegan Kolesar on a three-year contract worth an average annual value of $1.4MM.
Kolesar, while not an expansion draft selection, is effectively an original Golden Knight. Drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round in 2015, Columbus traded Kolesar to Vegas in exchange for a 2017 second-round pick just days after the expansion draft. That pick, 45th overall, originally belonged to the Tampa Bay Lightning — a pick Vegas received as part of expansion draft considerations. Columbus then selected Alexandre Texier with the pick.
While Texier may be the better player out of that deal so far, Kolesar made a name for himself with multiple Golden Knights suffering injuries this season. Kolesar is certainly a rough-and-tumble kind of player, but he’s had a decent offensive output as well. In 77 games in 2021-22, he set career highs with 77 games played, seven goals, 17 assists, and 24 points. He’s a candidate to play a bigger role yet again next season as salary cap constraints have decimated some of Vegas’ forward depth.
With the signing, the Golden Knights and Kolesar avoid an arbitration hearing, which was set for August 10. Kolesar will become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Latest on MacKenzie Weegar
While the Calgary Flames may have lost two superstars this offseason, they at least got one in return, and they spent last night locking up to a long-term deal. With Jonathan Huberdeau now set to be in a Flames uniform for the next nine seasons, many eyes are glancing towards the pending UFA status of the other big piece of the Matthew Tkachuk trade: defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
TSN Calgary’s Salim Nadim Valji reports that sources tell him Weegar has “a strong, genuine desire” to stay in Calgary and that he and the Flames will engage next week about an extension for the 28-year-old defenseman.
After a pair of seasons in which Weegar received Norris votes, his stock is at an all-time high. There’s good reason for that, though. A dominant two-way defender, Weegar had emerged as the most underrated important part of the Panthers team that’s been on a meteoric rise the past few seasons. Now bringing his talents to Calgary, he adds to one of the best defense cores in the Western Conference, at least for next season.
But looking at Calgary’s future, it doesn’t seem like it’ll be too challenging to get an extension done with Weegar. The two albatross contracts weighing down Calgary’s salary cap picture for the upcoming season, Milan Lucic and Sean Monahan, both expire at the end of 2022-23. With more than $11MM coming off the books in the form of those two deals, the Flames will have upwards of $15MM in space to work with next offseason, per CapFriendly, with few other big contracts to sign.
It’s the 2024 offseason where things get tricky. The majority of their core, including Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Tyler Toffoli, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Oliver Kylington all hit the UFA market then, and with the salary cap only expected to increase a further $1MM to $84.5MM, things might get tricky with a solid few of those players at least due significant raises.
In the immediate future, though, a long-term extension for Weegar shouldn’t pose any problems for the Flames.
Yakov Trenin Contract Settled Via Arbitration
After their arbitration hearing on Tuesday, an arbitrator has awarded Nashville Predators forward Yakov Trenin a two-year contract with a cap hit of $1.7MM, per Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Trenin will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 on expiry.
The cap hit comes in just below the midpoint of the two filings. The Predators filed at a two-year deal worth $1.35MM per season, while Trenin filed at a one-year deal worth $2.4MM.
In his second full NHL season, Trenin set career-highs in pretty much everything. His 80 games played, 17 goals, seven assists, 24 points, +7 rating, and 14:40 average ice time all game in close to or well above his previous marks.
At 25 years old, Nashville’s 55th overall selection in 2015 is turning into an important player in their bottom six. A respected hitter and solid penalty killer, Trenin does have some solid shooting upside too and contributes at both ends of the ice. Alongside players like Zach Sanford, Colton Sissons, and Tanner Jeannot, he forms a pretty tenacious and aggressive bottom-six forward group in Nashville.
Arbitration hearing decisions will be quiet for the next few days. The next unsettled decisions come after August 8, when Arizona’s Lawson Crouse has his hearing.
Free Agent Profile: Anton Stralman
At the peak of his game, defenseman Anton Stralman was possibly the most underrated two-way defenseman in the league. In his late 20s, his first few seasons in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform were his best, receiving some Norris votes and flourishing in a top-four role on an emerging Tampa team looking to win. Since signing a well-paid free-agent deal with the Florida Panthers in 2019, though, his point production and his defensive play have declined severely.
Fresh off his 36th birthday at the beginning of the month, Stralman is still looking for an NHL contract next season. Spending the final season of that three-year contract signed with Florida with the Arizona Coyotes, Stralman did have his highest point total since 2015-16. It also came with an increase in ice time, though, which saw his defensive game decline even further from where it had in Florida.
Stralman still carries value in his leadership and experience, and given he’s 70 games away from 1,000 in the NHL, it’s a fair bet to assume he still has the drive to play in the NHL. On a contending team, though, he’s likely not more than a sixth or seventh defenseman at this stage. He does have the added value of being a right-shot defenseman, which some teams could surely use some added depth at. His play-driving ability, at least offensively, is still strong, but would likely need a sound two-way partner to have a lot of effectiveness.
Stats
2021-22: 74 GP, 8-15-23, -16 rating, 12 PIMs, 95 shots, 44.4 CF%, 21:20 ATOI
Career: 930 GP, 63-230-293, +49 rating, 285 PIMs, 1314 shots, 51.3 CF%, 20:00 ATOI
Potential Suitors
One team looking to make the next step that needs some added security at right D is the Vancouver Canucks. A bottom-pairing role could be a good fit for Stralman here alongside a solid, young two-way partner in Travis Dermott. It’s a win-win, allowing Dermott to benefit from Stralman’s leadership, and Stralman’s play on its own is likely an upgrade over that of Kyle Burroughs or Tucker Poolman. The Canucks already have a lot of depth defensemen in the organization, though, and with Jack Rathbone fighting for NHL ice time, it might be too much for the organization to add to at this point.
The Edmonton Oilers are also a team without much defensive depth outside of their top six, which is fairly locked in at this point. With no great options to carry around as an extra on the NHL roster, Stralman could look to head to Alberta for a chance to win his first Stanley Cup.
With the Florida Panthers losing both MacKenzie Weegar and Ben Chiarot this summer, a return to the Sunshine State may also be a good fit for Stralman, who could join a depth contingent there that includes Marc Staal and Lucas Carlsson.
Projected Contract
At this stage, unless he’s joining a team not expected to make a huge playoff bid, Stralman’s contract would likely be a one-year deal close to, if not exactly, the league minimum $750K. All of the above-mentioned suitors are teams right up against their salary cap limits, and fitting Stralman in would be a tough ask if he’s not on the cheap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
University Of Michigan Parts Ways With Mel Pearson
The University of Michigan hockey program announced Friday that the school has decided to move on from head coach Mel Pearson after multiple third-party allegations of mistreatment surfaced against the coach, as reported on by The Athletic’s Katie Strang.
University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel gave the following statement on the coaching change:
It has been determined that Mel Pearson will not return as our ice hockey coach. This decision has been weighed heavily and for some time. We welcomed an independent third-party review into the climate and culture of our program before furthering our assessment in lockstep with campus leadership. Our student-athletes having a positive and meaningful experience is of paramount importance, and a clear expectation within our department is that all employees and staff are valued and supported. I deeply appreciate and value the many individuals who came forward throughout this review. Today’s announcement reflects the seriousness with what we’ve heard and the values we hold dear at Michigan.
Per Strang, Pearson faced multiple allegations, such as forcing a former team captain out of the program, directing players to lie on COVID-19 tracing forms, and overseeing a program that included mistreatment of female staff members, among other allegations.
Pearson had served as the school’s head coach since the 2017-18 season and served as an assistant and associate coach from 1988 to 2011.
Michigan, who won the Big Ten conference tournament last season and advanced to the 2022 Frozen Four, will have a new head coach next season to oversee the development of players such as New Jersey Devils defense prospect Luke Hughes and top 2023-eligible draft prospect Adam Fantilli.
Matvei Michkov Suffers Injury
August 5: In an official statement from Russia’s hockey federation, Russia Hockey states that Michkov will miss just two weeks of action, rather than the two months that was initially reported.
They state that they plan on Michkov participating in a tournament that is set to begin on August 22nd, which makes this a far better timeline for Michkov than the one he appeared to be on just yesterday.
August 4: After suffering a lower-body injury in a KHL preseason game as the result of a hit from former NHL defenseman Alexei Emelin, top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Matvei Michkov will miss two months of game action, as reported by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman.
Michkov is likely to miss at least the first month of the KHL’s regular season, if not more.
Widely regarded as a surefire top-three talent in next year’s draft (if not top-two), Michkov is a bit of a controversial prospect for a lot of circumstances out of his control. Breaking into the KHL on one of the best teams in the league last season as a 17-year-old, Michkov was able to show what he can do professionally in the season before his draft year with five points in 13 games. His production in Russia’s junior league was equally as outstanding, racking up 51 points in just 28 MHL games.
But with Michkov under contract until 2026 with his KHL team (SKA St. Petersburg), and with the increased uncertainty about whether he’d even be able to leave the country if he got out of the contract, Michkov may go lower in the draft than his talent level suggests.
Hopefully, it’s not a severe loss of development time for Michkov, who remains one of the most electric prospects in hockey.
San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Mario Ferraro
4:35 pm: CapFriendly reports that Ferraro is paid $3.25MM evenly across his contract, except 2022-23 carries a $2.25MM base salary and $1MM signing bonus.
11:35 am: San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier announced today that the team has re-signed defenseman Mario Ferraro to a four-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the contract carries a $3.25MM cap hit, which will take him directly to unrestricted free agency in 2027.
Grier gave the following statement with regard to Ferraro’s signing:
Mario has shown that he is a dynamic and reliable defenseman for our club, skating top-level minutes against the best competition every night and delivering solid results. His energy and work ethic are the reason why he has achieved so much in his early part of his career, and we look forward to watching him continue to grow and elevate his role on the team.
Ferraro had a rough season in 2021-22 by most metrics, but the 23-year-old defenseman was deployed against the other team’s top competition on a nightly basis. Ferraro’s offensive output dipped to 14 points in 63 games compared to 17 points in 56 games in 2020-21, and he posted a career-low Corsi for percentage at even strength of 44.8%.
There’s no question that Ferraro still carries legitimate, long-term top-four potential in the Sharks organization, and a four-year term is evidence that the team believes the same. Under a new head coach in David Quinn, look for Ferraro’s two-way game to get back on track to where it was in 2020-21.
For a defenseman who was only drafted five years ago, though, he’s already got a lot of ground covered in terms of NHL games. He ranks third in games played among defensemen from the 2017 draft class, with his 180 games slotting in behind Henri Jokiharju‘s 213 and Miro Heiskanen‘s 275.
Juho Lammikko Signs In Switzerland
A second NHL player has opted to sign overseas in the Swiss National League today. Former Vancouver Canucks forward Juho Lammikko has signed a one-year contract with the ZSC Lions after not receiving a qualifying offer last month, per his new team.
Lammikko joins his third different European league in four seasons with this signing. The former Panthers prospect spent the 2019-20 season with Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga and the first part of 2020-21 with the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
The Finnish-born forward returned to Florida for the shortened 2020-21 season after he appeared in 40 games for them in 2018-19. A preseason trade saw him spend the 2021-22 season with Vancouver, however, finally departing the Panthers organization after they drafted him in 2014.
It’s rare that a European player can make two successful comebacks from heading abroad, so much like Michael Raffl earlier today, it’s likely that we’ve seen the last of Lammikko in the NHL. Across three seasons, he played in 159 games, scoring 11 goals, 15 assists, and 26 points. The 6’3″, 203-pound forward was taken by Florida in the 2014 NHL Draft with the 65th overall pick.