Mikko Koskinen Heading Overseas For 2022-23
June 13: With the Edmonton Oilers now out of the playoffs and their season over, it’s now confirmed that Koskinen will be heading to Switzerland next season. HC Lugano has signed the veteran netminder to a two-year contract, keeping him in Switzerland until age 35. Koskinen joins a Lugano team with Carolina reserve list defenseman Oliwer Kaski, former NHLers Mirco Mueller, Mark Arcobello and Daniel Carr, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Calvin Thurkauf.
May 20: Despite currently serving as the backup for the Edmonton Oilers and even seeing game action in Game 1 of the Second Round, there appears to already be some clarity on goalie Mikko Koskinen‘s future for next season. Former NHL head coach Bob Hartley spoke today, saying that Koskinen has already accepted an offer to play for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League next season.
If true, it will likely mark the end of Koskinen’s second and final stint in North America. The Finnish netminder, drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in 2009, had one stint in North America from 2009-2012 in the Islanders organization, playing in four NHL games. He returned to the NHL as a free agent with Edmonton in 2018, serving as a solid tandem netminder for them for the past four seasons. As uncertainty mounts in the Oilers crease moving forward, though, it looks like Koskinen has opted to take himself out of the picture for their second goalie next season.
40-year-old Mike Smith is (somehow) still under contract with the team for next season, and they do have a solid internal option in Stuart Skinner as the backup. However, with such a gigantic question mark with Smith as a 41-year-old starter, Edmonton will surely attempt to make a significant acquisition in free agency to shore up the crease.
Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning
Free agency is now less than six weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Lightning.
RFAs: F Tye Felhaber, F Simon Ryfors, F Otto Somppi, F Odeen Tufto, D Sean Day, D Alex Green, G Alexei Melnichuk
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Ondrej Palat — Entering his 30s now, the Czech is in line for the second payday of his career as his five-year, $26.5MM contract signed in 2017 expires this offseason. Palat remains a dominant playmaking winger on the top line of a team entering the dynasty conversation with a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance within reach. While injuries have somewhat artificially lowered his regular-season point totals, he’s remained remarkably consistent, notching between 15 and 20 goals for three consecutive seasons. It’s in the playoffs where Palat has done his best work, though. He’s really shone through on Tampa’s current run, scoring eight goals, six assists, and 14 points in 16 games, the best points-per-game rate in his playoff career. He was equally as impressive during Tampa’s first Cup run in 2020, scoring 11 goals in 25 games and playing 20:55 per game. He’s been leaned on heavily in the second and third rounds this year with Brayden Point‘s injury, and his performance is only boosting the number he’ll receive on his next contract. Whether Palat becomes the latest player to fall victim to Tampa’s constant cap crunch remains to be seen.
F Nick Paul — The Trade Deadline acquisition from the Ottawa Senators has done it all for the Lightning in his short tenure, most notably with his two-goal performance to knock out the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 in the First Round. Paul’s shown his ability to stick out on an already talented team, as his defensive game (especially on the penalty kill) has fortified Tampa’s depth in a much-needed way. While a defensive specialist first and foremost, he did have 14 points down the stretch in 21 games for Tampa and he’s added seven points in 16 playoff games. If that’s a sign of what Paul can really produce on a good team, he should be a hot commodity in free agency among contenders who have a little more cap flexibility. In the same way that Yanni Gourde broke out and flourished in the same third-line center role, few would expect Tampa to be able to retain Paul’s services as a UFA. It’s never a good idea to count out general manager Julien BriseBois and his team’s expert cap management, though, and he’d continue to play an important depth role moving forward.
D Jan Rutta — A latecomer to NHL action, making his NHL debut at 27, Rutta’s been used as the partner to Victor Hedman at even strength and gotten the job done. While his special teams minutes are nonexistent aside from a small amount of penalty-killing time, he’s been an important depth piece for Tampa, although maybe not to the degree of someone like Paul. He’s demonstrated that he can be reliable in limited minutes or with sheltered competition, making him an ideal, cheap complementary veteran for a team’s top players. If Rutta demands a raise on his current $1.3MM cap hit, though, it could be tough for the Lightning to keep him around. Teams are constantly willing to pay up for right-shot UFA defensemen, and Rutta could benefit financially from that market elsewhere.
Other UFAs: F Riley Nash, F Remi Elie, F Charles Hudon, F Anthony Richard, D Fredrik Claesson, D Darren Raddysh, G Maxime Lagace
Projected Cap Space
At first glance, things really don’t look good for the Lightning this offseason. CapFriendly already projects them in the red for this offseason with a -$2MM figure for their projected cap space. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story, as the potential LTIR relief from Brent Seabrook‘s $6.785MM figure isn’t incorporated into that total. Tampa likely has closer to $4.5MM to work with this offseason, which, if they do plan on keeping Palat around, will likely all go to him (if he’ll take a discount).
It’s likely that the Lightning lose another key piece this offseason, whether it be due to Palat walking or the team trading away another player. Some eyes would look at Ryan McDonagh and his $6.75MM cap hit as juicy trade material to free up space, especially considering the team still has Mikhail Sergachev stuck behind Hedman and McDonagh on the depth chart. He still plays an incredibly important role on the team, though, and it would be a tough goodbye considering the team’s lack of real depth on the right side.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Penguins To Name Kevin Acklin President of Business Operations
The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to overhaul their front office and management after a recent sale to Fenway Sports Group. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo reports that the team is expected to name Kevin Acklin the team’s President of Business Operations, filling the role left by longtime executive David Morehouse.
Morehouse vacated the role two months ago when the CEO of 16 years stepped down, reportedly on his own terms.
As DeFabo notes, Acklin is an internal promotion. Since 2018, Acklin had been the team’s COO and general counsel. Similar to Morehouse, Acklin is a Pittsburgh native.
The changes in leadership come as the Penguins are set to embark on a tough road ahead over the next decade or so. As stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang age and/or leave the organization, the team will need strong leadership to avoid the business concerns the team has had in the past during periods of poor play. Acklin will now have a big part to play in that role, and his choices will have a significant effect on the team’s future.
NHL Announces Stanley Cup Final Schedule Scenarios
With time winding down on the Eastern Conference Final and the Colorado Avalanche already punching their ticket through, the NHL is beginning to prepare for the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Today, the league announced the schedule scenarios for the penultimate series, which is dependent on whether the Eastern Conference Final goes to six or seven games.
If the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hold a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final, win Game 6 and advance tomorrow night, the Cup Final will commence on Wednesday, June 15th. If the New York Rangers force a Game 7, the series will begin Saturday, June 18. In either scenario, every Stanley Cup Final game will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT.
The Colorado Avalanche, who missed out on the Presidents’ Trophy this season by just three points, hold the home-ice advantage in both scenarios. The last possible day for the 2021-22 NHL season is Thursday, June 30, which is when Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final would occur if the Eastern Conference Final stretches to seven games.
The games are spaced evenly, and played every other day, aside from Games 1 and 2 of the six-game Eastern Conference Final scenario, where Tampa Bay and Colorado would play Game 1 on June 15 and wait until June 18 to play Game 2. In the United States, the 2022 Stanley Cup Final will be broadcast on ABC for the first time in 18 years.
Toronto Maple Leafs Part Ways With Steve Briere
It seems the chaotic season in the crease that was for the Toronto Maple Leafs has met a resolution. Sportsnet reports that the team is parting ways with long-time goalie coach Steve Briere, whose contract was set to expire this offseason.
The Maple Leafs brought Briere into the organization for the 2015-16 season as an unknown. Briere had spent the previous five seasons as the goalie coach for the Topeka Roadrunners in the NAHL, the second-most competitive American junior league. He’s proceeded to serve as Toronto’s goalie coach for seven consecutive seasons, but he won’t be back for an eighth.
Across the board, Maple Leafs goalies struggled this season outside of Jack Campbell, who was injured for a good portion of the regular season. Backup Petr Mrazek battled multiple injuries as well, but even when in the lineup, posted just a .888 save percentage, which was the first time he’d posted a sub-.900 save percentage in a season at the NHL level. Now, whether or not Briere’s coaching or Mrazek’s health was to blame for that performance is up for debate, but the team still felt like a change was necessary to get the most out of their netminders moving forward.
Toronto’s goaltending situation is incredibly murky next season, though, and adding a new goalie coach into the mix will heed a complete refresh in the crease. Campbell is an unrestricted free agent and it’s unclear whether the team will have the cap space necessary to retain his service, and they’ll certainly try to trade Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit. One of Erik Kallgren or Joseph Woll is sure to get a shot at a full-time NHL role to help keep the team’s cap hit down, and the team will need to select their next goalie coach carefully as to not put a wrench into their development.
Seattle Kraken Sign Ville Petman
The Seattle Kraken continue to add to their prospect pool via the acquisition of undrafted free agents. Today, the team announced the signing of 22-year-old Finnish forward Ville Petman to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $791,250.
The 22-year-old prospect is a versatile forward who can play either center or wing. Petman won gold at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 World Juniors, scoring five points in seven games. Standing 5’10” and 181 pounds, he took a gigantic step forward in production this season in the Liiga, scoring 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points in 59 games with SaiPa. His previous high in points in the top Finnish league was eight.
It’s that gigantic progression that Seattle hopes propels him to North America and into an NHL role in the future. Petman actually led SaiPa in scoring this season by 10 points, highlighting himself on a team that includes barely any players with an NHL connection. It’s unclear whether or not the contract has a European Assignment Clause, so whether Petman plays with the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL or is loaned back to Finland is unknown at this point.
Petman’s deal will expire in 2024, making him a restricted free agent that offseason.
Coaching Notes: Blashill, Hiller, Savard
Entering this season, the second-longest tenured coach in the league behind future Hall-of-Famer Jon Cooper was Detroit Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill. After just one playoff appearance (in his first year as coach), though, the rebuilding squad finally decided to move on as they try and begin their rise back toward contention. That makes the 48-year-old Blashill an experienced option on the open market, as he’s been in coaching roles since 1998 and coaching professionally since joining the Detroit organization in 2011. While he doesn’t have the shiniest resume, some of that can be attributed to the poor roster he was given in Detroit.
With a change potentially on the horizon in the Sunshine State behind the bench of the Florida Panthers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he’s heard a connection between the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners and Blashill. It’s unclear at this point whether the Panthers will retain interim head coach Andrew Brunette, who was a nominee for the Jack Adams Award this past season after guiding Florida to a 122-point season. It would be a puzzling choice from the Panthers to move on from Brunette for someone like Blashill who hasn’t made any notable achievements at the NHL level, undoubtedly.
- After getting fired by the New York Islanders today, Jim Hiller is on the radar of the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings (among other clubs) for their head coaching vacancies, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes. It would be a return to the Red Wings organization for Hiller, who got his first NHL job there as an assistant in 2014-15 after five seasons as the head coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He’s been with the Islanders since 2019-20 and has overseen their two back-to-back runs to the Eastern Conference Final in 2020 and 2021.
- The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf today downplayed the link between the Dallas Stars and Marc Savard for their open spot behind the bench. While Yousuf didn’t rule out Savard as a candidate in the team’s search, he says that nothing from the team has indicated him as a frontrunner.
Minor Transactions: 06/09/22
Only three teams remain in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which means that the rest of the league (and their development affiliates in the AHL) are focused on preparing their rosters for next season. There’s been a lot of movement on the AHL front today, and those transactions will be tracked here.
- The Hartford Wolf Pack announced today that the team’s agreed to terms with forward Cristiano DiGiacinto on a one-year AHL contract. The 1996-born Canadian forward is a former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, but the team let his exclusive signing rights expire after they selected him in the sixth round in 2014. After a four-year junior career with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and a four-year collegiate career in Canada with Acadia University, DiGiacinto turned pro last season with Hartford and notched six goals, seven assists, and 13 points in 47 games. The 26-year-old will look to turn out an increase in numbers next season to potentially earn an NHL contract from Hartford’s parent club, the New York Rangers.
- Forward Riley McKay and defenseman Cliff Watson are returning to the Rockford IceHogs on one-year AHL contracts, while the team also added goalie Mitchell Weeks on a two-year AHL deal. The 23-year-old McKay spent the majority of the 2021-22 season with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel but did earn a callup to four AHL games with Rockford. The 6’0″, 203-pound enforcer tallied up nearly 200 penalty minutes in those ECHL games and will reprise a similar role in the organization. Watson, now a professional veteran, was the captain of the Fuel last season but earned a 20-game AHL callup, notching four assists. The 2001-born Weeks went undrafted after a pair of mediocre seasons with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves but impressed in a brief professional appearance last season, putting up a .923 save percentage in three playoff games with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. He’ll try and continue that upward trajectory in Rockford.
- Evan Fitzpatrick is staying in the Florida Panthers organization after the team signed him to a one-year AHL contract. Coming from the Charlotte Checkers, Fitzpatrick signed an NHL deal with Florida last season with the team having too few goalies under NHL contract. The former second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues will look to lock down a solid AHL role after being demoted to the ECHL with the crease in Charlotte too crowded in 2021-22.
Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
Free agency is now less than six weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Canucks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Brock Boeser — Since turning pro in 2017, Boeser has turned into one of the more consistent scorers on the Canucks despite what most view as a stalled development process. Boeser has notched at least 45 points in his five full NHL seasons, and he’s scored 20 goals in four of those years as well. While Boeser had consistently stuck around 0.80 points per game from 2017-18 to 2020-21, though, his scoring pace numbers took a dip this year with 46 points in 71 games. A lot of that can be attributed to his (and the team’s) slow start under former head coach Travis Green, though, as evidenced by an eight-game pointless streak from November 11 to November 26, 2021. After the team replaced Green with Bruce Boudreau on December 6, 2021, Boeser finished the season with 36 points in those 49 games, much closer to his usual pace. While a below-average play-driver, Boeser remains a strong shooter and good power-play contributor. Coming off a three-year bridge deal that already awarded him $5.875MM per season, though, Boeser is likely only in line for a small raise given his weaker contract year performance (if he’s not dealt).
F Matthew Highmore — Vancouver acquired Highmore from the Blackhawks over a year ago in a one-for-one swap for Adam Gaudette. While not in possession of the largest stature, Highmore remains a good defensive specialist who can be of value in a fourth-line role. He managed to squeak into 46 games with the Canucks in 2021-22, though, notching 12 points (both career-highs). While a regular role in the lineup may not be carved out for him next season, the Canucks will likely be able to keep him around on a cheap, one-way deal. At 26 years old, Highmore should remain a solid option to slot into a fourth-line role for a few years to come.
F Juho Lammikko — Similar to Highmore, Lammikko was acquired for another overgrown prospect in the Canucks system. Unluckily for Highmore, though, he and Lammikko were both battling for similar roles, and Lammikko won in the eyes of the team. The Finnish forward was absent for just seven of Vancouver’s 82 games this season, playing in a career-high 75 games with a career-high seven goals and 15 points. While Highmore is a better defensive forward by most advanced metrics, Lammikko’s comfortability in the faceoff circle and at the center-ice position gave him the edge. He’s likely more in line for a seven-figure deal given his regular role in the lineup, but it’s not a guarantee.
Other RFAs: F William Lockwood, D Guillaume Brisebois, D Jack Rathbone, G Michael DiPietro
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G Jaroslav Halak — Signed to a one-year deal last offseason to be the backup to Thatcher Demko, we may have seen the last NHL game in Halak’s career. Halak only played in 17 games this season as he battled injuries, COVID, and poor play (just a .902 save percentage on the year). While most of that was due to Demko’s excellence in goal, he was outshined at points by veteran third-stringer Spencer Martin, who posted a .950 mark in six games. Considering Martin is signed to a one-way contract next season, it’s a sign that the organization may rely on him as a cheap backup option. With that, plus a handful of young goalies in the system, there’s no longer an organizational fit for Halak. At 37 years old, he’s unlikely to receive much free agent interest.
F Alex Chiasson — The veteran forward earned a spot out of camp on a professional tryout contract and proceeded to give the Canucks a solid return on their investment in 2021-22. Chiasson continued to do what he’s done for his entire NHL career — give his team a decent amount of goals in a limited role. The 31-year-old lit the lamp 13 times this season, good enough for eighth on the team. However, with more young players within the organization pushing for roles, it’s unclear whether the organization will have much interest in retaining him. Given his continued limited usage and poor defensive numbers, he’s unlikely to command much on an extension or on the open market.
Other UFAs: F Brad Richardson, F Brandon Sutter, F Justin Bailey, F Phillip Di Giuseppe, F Sheldon Dries, F Nic Petan, F Sheldon Rempal, F John Stevens, D Brad Hunt, D Madison Bowey, D Noah Juulsen, D Ashton Sautner, D Devante Stephens
Projected Cap Space
The Canucks do have a few roster spots to fill without unlimited room. While the Boeser extension won’t take up all of their projected $11.5MM in cap space, the team is under pressure to move forward toward playoff contention, which will require a free agent acquisition or two. There’s also the matter of the 2023 offseason when both captain Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller will become unrestricted free agents. Moving Micheal Ferland‘s $3.5MM cap hit back to LTIR will give Vancouver some more cushion, but that only lasts through this year.
Vancouver could look at moving on from Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s massive $7.2MM cap hit through 2027, although they’d need to give up something significant to dump the contract. It may be worth it, though, as it’s an anchor deal that could seriously inhibit the team from developing properly. Regardless, they do have a little bit of wiggle room entering next season, allowing them to at least be somewhat competitive in free agency.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract figures courtesy of CapFriendly.
Jake Dotchin Signs Extension In Czechia
A former up-and-coming, top-pairing fill-in for the Tampa Bay Lightning has signed a two-year extension in Czechia. Defenseman Jake Dotchin will continue with Rytíři Kladno of the Tipsport Extraliga for two seasons, as the team announced today.
Dotchin, a sixth-round draft pick of the Lightning in 2012, broke into the NHL in 2016-17 when injuries limited the Lightning to missing the playoffs entirely. He played 35 games with the Lightning that year, notching 11 assists and notably saw time with Victor Hedman on the team’s top pair. It earned him a two-year contract extension to keep him within the organization.
As the Lightning regained their elite status as a team, Dotchin saw only 48 games in 2017-18 as he remained a full-time member of the NHL club. Then, as Dotchin reported for camp prior to the 2018-19 season, the Lightning terminated his contract, citing a material breach of contract. It was later reported that Dotchin had shown up to camp extremely out of shape and was not fit for game action. Dotchin did sign with the Anaheim Ducks but played only 20 NHL games that year before seeing only AHL action in 2019-20. He sat out from professional hockey entirely during the COVID-stricken 2020-21 season before signing with Kladno last year.
Dotchin scored 21 points in 50 games this past season with Kladno and tallied 98 penalty minutes as well. He scored an additional goal and four assists in five qualification games to help Kladno stay in the top-tier Czech league for one more season. He’ll remain a core part of that Kladno team for the foreseeable future, possibly alongside former NHL stars Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec, who were both active for the club last year. Regardless, considering Dotchin will be 30 at the expiry of the contract, it likely marks a clear end to his NHL career.