Montreal Canadiens Announce Rookie Camp Roster
After months of quiet on the ice, rookie camps usually give hockey fans the much-anticipated signal that the season is drawing close. This year, it also signifies a return to normalcy in the schedule and off-ice operations, with the regular season beginning on time and full media access restored in locker rooms. Today, the Montreal Canadiens announced their roster for rookie camp, which will begin September 14 at the Bell Centre.
As per the team announcement, the roster consists of 28 players (15 forwards, 10 defensemen, and three goaltenders). Six of those 28 players were members of Montreal’s 2022 draft class: first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovský, right wing Filip Mešár (26th overall), center Owen Beck (33rd overall), left wing Cedrick Guindon (127th overall), center Jared Davidson (130th overall), and defenseman Miguël Tourigny (216th overall).
Additionally, the team invited four players to rookie camp on a try-out basis: right wing Pierrick Dubé, right wing John Parker-Jones, and goalies Antoine Coulombe and Riley Mercer.
The main story of the camp will be Slafkovsky’s performance. The Slovak winger’s spectacular international play this season shot him all the way up to first overall on the draft board, but it would be quite a large jump for the 18-year-old to shift from a middle-six role in the Finnish Liiga to full-time NHL minutes. Slafkovsky will play for the Canadiens organization in North America this season in all likelihood, but his rookie camp performance will be important in leaving a good first impression. Whether or not he starts in the NHL or in the AHL with the Laval Rocket remains to be seen.
There’s also the matter of which young Canadiens defensemen will make the team out of camp. Four candidates jump out on their rookie camp roster as players who could show they deserve an NHL look right away: Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Mattias Norlinder. All four except Guhle made their NHL debuts already last season, while Guhle is coming off a WHL championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings and the playoff MVP award. With at least two NHL spots available for these rookies, it should be good competition all throughout rookie camp, training camp, and preseason.
NHL Modifies Major Penalty Review For 2022-23
There appears to be only one change to the NHL Rulebook for 2022-23, but it’s one that addresses some significant controversies from the past few seasons. According to a report from Scouting The Refs, referees will now be able to nullify a major penalty after a video review.
The updated rule, listed as Rule 20.6, is as follows:
The Referee shall have the following options after video review of his own call: (i) confirming his original Major Penalty call; (ii) reducing his original Major Penalty call to a lesser penalty; or (iii) rescinding the original Major Penalty altogether.
Prior to this change, a referee only had the option to reduce a major penalty to a two-minute penalty of the same infraction. It’s important to note that this change does not apply to match penalties.
This modification draws on a rule originally instituted for the 2019-20 season, which allowed referees to perform a video review of any major penalty as called on the ice. While obviously never stated as such, the rule was introduced in response to the controversial major penalty called against Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin for cross-checking then San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. The call, which occurred in the third period of Game 7 in a 2019 First Round series between the two rivals, directly changed the outcome of the game. The Sharks, who were down 3-0, scored four unanswered goals on the five-minute power-play. San Jose proceeded to win the game in overtime, 5-4.
It was widely viewed after the call that the incident was accidental and not deserving of a major penalty. The fallout even led to the league apologizing to the Golden Knights organization privately after the fact.
Seattle Kraken Sign Cale Fleury
September 6: CapFriendly has confirmed that Fleury’s minor salary next season is $200,000.
August 30: Restricted free agents continue to come off the board as September rapidly approaches. The Seattle Kraken have signed their last remaining one, defenseman Cale Fleury, to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K, per the team. His minor salary has not been disclosed.
Cale, the younger brother of former Kraken defenseman Haydn Fleury, took a significant step forward in his development last season. A third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2017, Fleury became a full-time NHLer just three years later, although at the expense of his development. Playing in 41 games with Montreal in 2019-20 compared to just 14 in AHL Laval, Fleury notched just one point in those 41 games, showing that he really wasn’t ready for the highest level of play just yet. It showed the following season as well, as he tallied just six assists in 22 games with the Laval Rocket in 2020-21.
But after Seattle selected him in the expansion draft, Fleury became an important part of the blueline for the Charlotte Checkers, Seattle’s shared AHL affiliate last season. In addition to being named an alternate captain, Fleury’s offensive production came back to life with 33 points in 58 games.
Now, with Fleury needing to clear waivers to be assigned back to the minors, Seattle may be more inclined to give him a second NHL look on a more full-time basis. There are some serious question marks on Seattle’s blueline next season despite making serious additions on offense, and there should be lots of competition for NHL time between players like Fleury, Will Borgen, and Michal Kempny.
Fleury will again be a restricted free agent next offseason.
Snapshots: Dach, Sharks Rookie Tournament, Stadium Series
After being originally reported by Sportsnet’s Eric Engels last week, his colleague Elliotte Friedman confirmed the original report today on the 32 Thoughts podcast. Echoing the fact that the Canadiens and Dach are close to signing Dach to a four-year contract, he added that the team is likely working on other moves before making the deal official.
Cap implications aside, the team will likely need to trade a forward (or two) just to have space for Dach in the lineup. With the addition of Sean Monahan into the fold for next season, Dach will likely shift to wing. He has the most experience there out of Montreal’s five natural centers in their top 12 forwards. With Cole Caufield, Mike Hoffman, Josh Anderson, Jonathan Drouin, Evgenii Dadonov, and Brendan Gallagher all in the fold, there’s just not enough room in Montreal’s NHL lineup to have Dach play an appropriate role to continue developing. Cap implications are certainly a part of that, though, as a $3.5MM cap hit as surmised by Friedman and Engels would still put Montreal dangerously close to the salary cap even with Carey Price‘s $10MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve.
- The San Jose Sharks are hosting this year’s 2022 Rookie Faceoff, a voluntary tournament for teams’ rookie camp rosters to get some game experience against each other. The Anaheim Ducks announced their participation today, noting that the Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, and Vegas Golden Knights will also participate. The tournament will feature nine games in total across four days from September 16 through September 19. Anaheim has not lost a rookie tournament game in regulation since 2016, going 11-0-2 in the process.
- The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that American coverage of the 2023 Stadium Series game will be on ESPN after TNT/Turner Sports hosted coverage last season. ESPN will broadcast the Carolina Hurricanes’ first-ever outdoor game as they host the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on February 18, 2023. Shapiro also adds that the full slate of American national TV games is expected to come out later this week as the regular season approaches.
Pittsburgh Penguins Announce Training Camp Roster
On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins became one of the first NHL teams to announce their 2022-23 training camp roster. 57 players will attend Pittsburgh’s camp, made up of 30 forwards, 21 defensemen, and six goalies. As always, it will be a long process to cut down the roster throughout the length of camp and preseason to get to their final 23-player opening night roster.
Three of the 30 forwards attending training camp are not signed to NHL contracts: Kyle Olson, Sam Houde, and Jamie Devane. All three are signed to AHL contracts with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and are assumedly attending training camp on PTOs. Olson is a 23-year-old who was unsigned by the Anaheim Ducks after they used a fourth-round pick on him in 2017, and he’s since spent the last two seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s totaled 27 points in 94 games over two seasons. Houde, a former Canadiens prospect, spent most of last season with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers but tore up the league with 43 points in 31 games. He’s the strongest candidate out of the three to earn an NHL contract and earn more consistent time in the AHL. Devane, an AHL veteran, had four points in 27 games last year.
Mitch Reinke, Jon Lizotte, and Chris Ortiz are the three defensemen attending Penguins camp not contractually obligated to the team. They also have three defense prospects (Isaac Belliveau, Nolan Collins, and Ryan McCleary) attending camp despite not being signed to an NHL contract. All three prospects were selected in the past two NHL drafts. Reinke, Lizotte, and Ortiz have already signed AHL contracts with Wilkes-Barre for next season. Goaltender Tommy Nappier is also attending camp on a PTO while signed to an AHL contract.
Pittsburgh’s preseason begins on September 25th when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Poll: Who Will Win The Atlantic Division?
After asking our readers to pick the winners of the Central and Pacific Divisions next season, it’s time to turn toward the Eastern Conference. While the Pacific Division vote was split nearly evenly between the Edmonton Oilers (who held the edge) and the Calgary Flames, the Colorado Avalanche dominated the vote counter for the Central, garnering over 62% of the votes. No other team had more than 15%.
The Eastern Conference, like last season, carries a far bit more intrigue, though. With a tumultuous offseason, there’s poised to be a shuffling of the deck, with former titans falling and upstart teams emerging.
No team may exemplify that better than last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners — the Florida Panthers. Last season’s 58-18-6 record was by far the best in team history, but they bowed out quietly in the Second Round, being swept by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
That playoff disappointment beckoned a host of changes, beginning behind the bench. Interim head coach and Jack Adams Award finalist Andrew Brunette was dismissed in favor of veteran coach Paul Maurice, who aims to gel the team’s defensive holes that ultimately doomed them. That will be a tough challenge with a defense core that’s already missing Mackenzie Weegar via trade and whose most notable additions were depth veterans Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto. A refresh on offense also hit the team’s scoring depth, with breakout star Mason Marchment departing in free agency and franchise cornerstone Jonathan Huberdeau replaced with Matthew Tkachuk. The team will also have to manage the first few months of the season without Anthony Duclair, who’s rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury.
The Toronto Maple Leafs roared to a 115-point season last year for second place in the division, but they too have taken hits to the roster. A new goaltending tandem of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov begs more questions than it gives answers, and the team will miss Ilya Mikheyev and Ondrej Kase as important depth scoring. They did get some of that depth back in the form of Calle Jarnkrok signing in free agency, but the team will largely be forced to run it back with question marks in net.
2021-22 was a season of threes for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who finished third in the Atlantic en route to their third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance. After losing in the Final, though, they’ll need to figure out how to replace the losses of Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh largely internally. They’ll bet on a big breakout season from forward Brandon Hagel, who they paid a steep price at the Trade Deadline to acquire just for that reason. They’ll also have to get through the start of the year without Selke-caliber center Anthony Cirelli, who’s likely out until December with a shoulder injury.
The Boston Bruins are bringing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci back for one last ride, but they’ll have to do it without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Mike Reilly to start the season. With that level of firepower out of the lineup, it could spell trouble in such a competitive division. An apparent downgrade behind the bench as well means the team could struggle to reach the 50-win, 100-point mark again this season.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings both made incredible splashes in free agency, and figure to make it a six-team race for three to five playoff spots in the Atlantic. Ottawa’s additions of Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux give them one of the highest-powered top-sixes in the conference, while Detroit’s additions of David Perron, Andrew Copp, and Ben Chiarot give them high-quality depth to support their growing stars.
The Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, while likely to be at the bottom of the division again, will both look to take steps forward with significant improvement expected from their young franchise cornerstone. Owen Power‘s rookie performance will be the storyline all season in Buffalo, while Cole Caufield will look to transform his elite skill into the consistency required to be an All-Star.
So, PHR readers, we ask you again — who do you think will win the Atlantic Division next season? Make sure to vote in the poll below and leave a comment below to contribute to the discussion.
Who Wins The Atlantic Division In 2022-23?
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Toronto Maple Leafs 31% (507)
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Tampa Bay Lightning 27% (442)
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Florida Panthers 20% (329)
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Boston Bruins 6% (95)
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Ottawa Senators 6% (95)
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Detroit Red Wings 4% (58)
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Buffalo Sabres 3% (50)
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Montreal Canadiens 2% (35)
Total votes: 1,611
Mobile users, click here to vote!
Latest On Laurent Brossoit
When the Vegas Golden Knights acquired Adin Hill late last month via trade, it raised some questions about how long goalie Laurent Brossoit would be out to start the season after having surgery.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy‘s comments added to that uncertainty today. While he did say Brossoit was healing well from his surgery, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Brossoit would return just weeks into the season or closer to the end of the calendar year instead. However, he did still reaffirm that Brossoit is tracking to be a healthy member of the Golden Knights this season.
Brossoit had a tough 2021-22 campaign, as did much of the Golden Knights team, but he’ll need to rebound in his second season in Vegas in the season-long absence of Robin Lehner. Brossoit does have some of the pressure taken off him with Hill’s acquisition, but the’s still the most experienced of Vegas’ now trio of NHL goalies.
In the meantime, Vegas hopes that Thompson’s strong end to the 2021-22 season, nearly miraculously getting them back into the playoffs despite anemic offensive play, carries over through training camp into the start of this season. They’ll also hope for Hill’s strong start to last season before going down with injury repeats itself as well.
Brossoit is entering the second season of a two-year deal worth $2.325MM per season. He finished last year with a 10-9-3 record in 24 games, just the second time in his career that he’s played more than 20 games in a season. He struggled statistically with a .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average, both worse than his career average numbers.
Brett Connolly Signs In Switzerland
Another NHL veteran has opted to sign in Europe to continue his professional career. Swiss club HC Lugano announced today that the team has signed winger Brett Connolly to a one-year contract for the 2022-23 season.
Connolly spent the last season and a half in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, where he ended up playing just 19 NHL games compared to 37 AHL games for the Rockford IceHogs. Connolly had just a goal and two assists in those 19 games across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, while faring much better in the AHL with 35 points in 37 games in 2021-22 for Rockford.
This past season, Connolly’s NHL time was limited in part due to a four-game suspension for interfering with Dallas Stars forward Tanner Kero. With his bloated seven-figure cap hit, Connolly also cleared waivers multiple times. Connolly was bought out this summer with one season remaining on a four-year, $3.5MM AAV deal signed prior to the 2019-20 season.
At the age of 30, this could very well be the last we’ve seen of Connolly in the NHL. The sixth overall pick in 2010 currently has a career total of 101 goals, 94 assists, and 195 points in 536 games.
He’ll be strong offensive reinforcement for Lugano, who also fortified their goaltending by bringing former Edmonton Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen back to Europe. They’ll look to make it out of the National League quarterfinals for the first time since losing the championship series in 2018.
Taylor Heise Named 2022 Women’s World Championship MVP
Despite losing 2-1 in the gold medal game to Canada today, a breakout member for Team USA has taken home the MVP award for the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Taylor Heise, a collegiate player from the University of Minnesota, won the award after leading the tournament in scoring with 18 points in seven games.
Heise is returning to Minnesota next season for her fifth and final year in the program. As an alternate captain last season, Heise exploded for 29 goals, 37 assists, and 66 points in just 39 games. Minnesota was the number 2 ranked program in the country at season’s end but lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to state rival Duluth.
Heise also won the Directorate Award for best forward at the tournament. USA goaltender Nicole Hensley and Czech defender Daniela Pejsova won their respective positional awards. Hensley finished the tournament with a 4-1-0 record, .930 save percentage, and 1.08 goals-against average in five games, while Pesjova finished with five goals, four assists, and nine points in six games en route to Czechia earning their first medal at the tournament.
Team Canada Wins Gold At 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships
Team Canada has completed their run at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships, culminating today in a 2-1 win against the United States to take home the gold medal for the second straight season.
For the national Canadian women’s team, it’s a sweep of the three major international events — they won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and at the U18 Women’s Worlds in June, also against the United States.
This year’s edition of the Women’s World Championships also saw Czechia take home the bronze, marking the first time that they’ve medalled at the tournament. It’s the first time there’s been a new medalist at the Women’s Worlds in over a decade, a hallmark of the constantly increasing parity in the game.
Canada was led in scoring by youngster Sarah Fillier, who tallied five goals and six assists for 11 points in seven games. Team captain and international legend Marie-Philip Poulin finished second in team scoring with ten points. Overall in the tournament, American Taylor Heise led the pack with seven goals, 11 assists, and 18 points in seven games.
The Women’s Worlds was the last major event of the 2022 IIHF season.