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Ivan Prosvetov Eyeing NHL Return

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CSKA Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League has released goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from the final two years of his contract to pursue NHL opportunities, according to Pavel Panyshev of Championat. They will retain his KHL rights through the time his deal was initially set to expire in May 2027 if he opts to return home before then.

Prosvetov, 26, will try again to land a full-time NHL roster spot as a backup on an opening-night roster in the fall. A fourth-round pick of the Coyotes in 2018, he spent four pro seasons there before being claimed off waivers by the Avalanche at the beginning of 2023-24. After failing to capture the No. 2 job there and finishing the year in the minors, he returned to his hometown on a three-year deal upon becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent.

The 6’5″ netminder’s NHL work to date leaves much to be desired. In 19 starts and five relief appearances across four seasons with Arizona and Colorado, he posted an 8-9-2 record with a 3.70 GAA and .881 SV%. His below-average save percentage equates to 15.3 goals allowed above average during that time. His best work came in his longest leash with the Avs one year ago, posting a .895 SV% in 11 appearances before being sent to the minors in January. After the demotion, he also looked like an elite AHL option for the first time with a 2.33 GAA, .921 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-7-2 record in 21 games for the Colorado Eagles.

Prosvetov’s move to Russia gave him some more momentum. He started the lion’s share of games for CSKA this season and earned KHL Goaltender of the Month honors in November en route to finishing 2024-25 with a 2.32 GAA, .920 SV%, four shutouts, and a 20-16-2 record in 38 games. Those are still above-average numbers in the goalie-friendly KHL and, considering his upward momentum to end his last NHL campaign in the Avs’ system, it makes sense there would be some interest in bringing him back stateside.

Colorado no longer holds his signing rights, so he’s free to talk with any team regarding a one-way or two-way contract for next season and beyond. If he doesn’t find a suitable offer, he’ll presumably return to CSKA for 2025-26.

NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists

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The Jets’ Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Stars’ Jim Nill, and the Panthers’ Bill Zito are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.

Unlike most other major league awards, GMOTY honors take playoff performance into account. Voting for the award is also done by a jury of their peers – all 32 NHL GMs, plus a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media, comprise the voting, which takes place after the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.

Cheveldayoff is the relative newbie of the trio in terms of being included among the finalists. It’s his second time making the cut – he previously finished second in GMOTY voting after Winnipeg had its then-best season in franchise history in the 2017-18 campaign. That club had 114 points, a mark this year’s Jets beat by two en route to winning their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. This year’s notable moves included promoting Coach of the Year finalist Scott Arniel to the head role last offseason following Rick Bowness’ retirement as well as acquiring winger Brandon Tanev and defenseman Luke Schenn at the deadline.

His nomination stems more from identifying his core and sticking with it through ups and downs. Most of Winnipeg’s driving forces – namely Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Josh Morrissey – have been there for years and were all drafted under Cheveldayoff.

Nill, meanwhile, is going for a three-peat. He’s already one of just two GMs to win the award twice, alongside former Islanders boss Lou Lamoriello. While he’s wholly responsible for the Dallas core that’s now advanced to three straight Western Conference Finals, his in-season moves may have him well-positioned to take home the honors yet again.

Playoff performance will be a factor here – after Nill traded for and signed Mikko Rantanen to a massive eight-year, $96MM extension at the deadline, he’s returned the favor as the Conn Smythe favorite so far with a playoff-leading 9-11–20 scoring line through 14 games. His draft record among mid-to-late first-round picks in recent years, highlighted by Wyatt Johnston, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson, is arguably the biggest reason they’ve been able to enter their lengthiest contention window since winning the Stanley Cup in 1999.

As for Zito, he’d have won one by now if not for Nill’s reign. He’s a finalist for the third year in a row and the fourth time overall during his stint at the helm of the Panthers. His offseason work, with depth pickups like Nate Schmidt performing well in lieu of big-name players who left in free agency following last year’s Stanley Cup win, already had them well set for a repeat. Acquiring stars Brad Marchand and Seth Jones in separate pre-deadline deals, both of whom have been among the Cats’ best postseason players, is the main reason he finds himself on this year’s list, though.

Michael Sgarbossa Signs With Swiss League’s HC Lugano

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Forward Michael Sgarbossa has signed a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League, per a club announcement. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after completing his two-year, two-way deal with the Capitals.

Sgarbossa, 33 in July, has carved out a lengthy pro career as an AHL mainstay and frequent call-up option despite going undrafted. He got his first NHL look with the Avalanche back in the 2012-13 season and played for four organizations in his first six pro seasons, including the Ducks, Panthers, and Jets – all in fringe NHL roles (or none at all, as was the case during his lone season in Winnipeg). He played 48 NHL contests over that span and recorded two goals and 10 points, including a career-high 38 appearances split between Anaheim and Florida in the 2016-17 campaign.

While Sgarbossa never found stability as a full-time NHL roster piece, he did at least find organizational stability for the latter half of his career. After spending the 2017-18 season with the Jets’ AHL affiliate, he signed with Washington in free agency the following summer and has remained in the Capitals’ system since.

He played almost exclusively for Hershey over the first couple of two-way deals he signed, but amid a near point-per-game season in the AHL, he did get more of an extended NHL look in the 2023-24 season. The veteran center slotted in 25 times for Washington down the stretch as the Caps fought for and won a wild-card spot, scoring a career-high four goals while averaging nearly 11 minutes per game.

Sgarbossa only got three NHL reps here in 2024-25, though, and injuries limited him to 35 games on the farm with Hershey. He was still extremely productive when healthy, though – the playmaking pivot notched a 7-24–31 scoring line.

He’s been a remarkably consistent first-line producer for Hershey since his arrival in the Caps’ system in 2018, scoring 268 points in 297 games for the franchise (0.90 per game). A two-time AHL All-Star and a Calder Cup champion with Hershey in 2023 (he didn’t play in the playoffs when the Bears won in 2024), he pauses his North American minor-league career after recording a 165-302–467 scoring line in 609 AHL games over the last 13 years. Since Sgarbossa made his pro debut in 2012, only eight players have recorded more AHL points than he has.

He’ll now join a Lugano team that was on the brink of relegation to the second-tier Swiss League but won their play-out series to extend their 42-year stay in the top level. They’ve been active in inking productive veteran AHLers this offseason, also signing defenseman Connor Carrick a few weeks back.

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby Signs Three-Year Deal In Sweden

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Jets pending unrestricted free agent winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has signed a three-year contract with Brynas IF of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Friday.

Jonsson-Fjallby, 27, didn’t see any NHL time this season after clearing waivers and heading to AHL Manitoba during training camp. He’s wrapping up a two-year, partial two-way deal he signed in free agency with Winnipeg in 2023 and earned the full league-minimum $775K salary this year despite not receiving any callups.

It was the first season that Jonsson-Fjallby hadn’t touched NHL ice since making his debut with the Capitals in the 2021-22 campaign. A fifth-round pick by Washington back in 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the Jets at the beginning of the 2022-23 season and has remained in the Winnipeg organization since.

Not too long ago, it looked like the speedy 6’0″ winger had what it takes to be an everyday bottom-six forward. He appeared in a career-high 50 games with Winnipeg in 2022-23 following the waiver claim, averaging 10:27 per game but still managing to record six goals and eight assists for 14 points. AJF only got 26 NHL games the following year, though, as he passed through waivers unclaimed and bounced between the majors and minors.

His chances of making an NHL comeback likely ended with a poor showing in Manitoba this season. After hovering well north of a 0.7 points per game rate in the prior few years, Jonsson-Fjallby produced an underwhelming 12-15–27 scoring line in 65 showings for the Moose, just 0.42 points per game. As such, it would have made little sense for Jonsson-Fjallby to hold out hope for a two-way deal as a UFA this summer when there was a much more stable offer waiting for him back home in Sweden.

There aren’t many better places for a potential resurgence overseas for Jonsson-Fjallby than Brynas, which just took home the top spot in the SHL in the regular season. His previous top-flight experience in Sweden came with Djurgardens IF from 2016 to 2019, recording an 8-19–27 scoring line in 102 games there as a youngster.

Including his time in Washington, Jonsson-Fjallby has a 10-13–23 scoring line with a plus-five rating in 99 career NHL games.

Daniil Pylenkov Hoping To Sign Entry-Level Deal With Lightning

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Four years after being drafted by the Lightning in the seventh round, Russian defenseman Daniil Pylenkov is ready to come to North America and hopes to land his entry-level contract with Tampa this offseason, he told RG’s Daria Tuboltseva.

The 24-year-old lefty said he’s already had dialogue with Bolts GM Julien BriseBois, but a deal isn’t imminent yet. “He said they’re waiting for me. Nothing specific yet, but we’re in contact,” Pylenkov told Tuboltseva.

Pylenkov was the first of three seventh-round selections BriseBois’ Lightning made in 2021. He’d been passed over twice already – his late September 2000 birthday means he was first eligible for the 2019 draft. But by the time 2021 had rolled around, Pylenkov had two full professional seasons under his belt with the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk and was coming off a five-goal, 19-point performance for them in 54 games.

The 6’1″, 196-lb rearguard has bounced around the KHL since being drafted, spending time with SKA St. Petersburg, Severstal Cherepovets, and Dynamo Moscow. The latter club is where he’s spent the last two seasons and enjoyed the most success. This year was far and away the best campaign of his career, leading Dynamo defensemen in points with a 6-25–31 scoring line and a +14 rating. He added seven points in 17 postseason games as Dynamo was bounced by Gagarin Cup runners-up Traktor Chelyabinsk in the third round of the playoffs.

“I understand I’ll have to compete fiercely for a spot,” Pylenkov said. “Two years ago, Tampa had a deeper defense lineup. Now there’s an opportunity, but the adaptation will be tougher since the guys who joined last year have already gained experience. It’ll be harder for me to adjust to Tampa’s style than it was for them.”

There is an opportunity for Pylenkov to work his way into NHL games next season, though. His being a left shot doesn’t make him a cut-and-dry replacement for pending UFA righty Nick Perbix, but a strong enough training camp could help him leapfrog or at least find himself on equal footing with third-pairing lefty Emil Lilleberg.

Canucks Agree To Terms With Anri Ravinskis On Entry-Level Contract

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4:30 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, Ravinskis will make an NHL salary of $775K in each year of the deal, with a signing bonus of $97.5K, and an unspecified games-played bonus of $102K, bringing his cap hit to $872.5K and his AAV to $975K.

2:09 p.m.: The Canucks announced today they’ve agreed to terms with undrafted forward Anri Ravinskis on a two-year, entry-level contract starting in 2025-26. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ravinskis, 22, just wrapped up representing his native Latvia at the World Championship. He registered a goal and an assist in all seven group stage games as the Latvians failed to qualify for the quarterfinals for the second year in a row after winning bronze in 2023.

A 6’3″, 201-lb winger, Ravinskis isn’t a stranger to North American hockey. He played U18-level hockey in the Toronto area in the 2019-20 season before returning home when COVID hit. He returned to play at the major junior level with the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, recording a 29-25–54 scoring line in 98 games. He was also on the Latvian Division IA World Juniors team in 2022 that won promotion to the top-level WJC, where the country remains through at least 2026.

Since heading back to Europe following the conclusion of his junior career with Blainville-Boisbriand, he’s spent time in Finland in the HPK organization. After splitting the 2023-24 season between the junior level and the professional second-tier Mestis, he made his top-level Liiga debut this season and impressed with an 8-9–17 scoring line in 27 games. Over the last two seasons, he’s also scored 22 goals and 51 points in 68 games with Kettera, HPK’s Mestis affiliate.

Ravinskis was under contract for two more years with HPK. It’s unclear if his deal carries a European assignment clause that would force the Canucks to loan him back to HPK if he spends too much time in AHL Abbotsford without an NHL call-up. Regardless, it’s unlikely he’ll go straight from logging significant time in second-tier European professional hockey to even limited NHL minutes the following season.

Ravinskis will be a restricted free agent when his deal expires in the 2027 offseason. Vancouver will control his rights through the 2029-30 season.

Maple Leafs Won’t Renew Brendan Shanahan’s Contract

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The Maple Leafs will not be renewing the contract of team president Brendan Shanahan, the club announced.

In the announcement, MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley wrote:

          “Over the past 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan has made countless contributions to the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice, off the ice, and in the community. Brendan is one of the most respected leaders in the game, and he has instilled many of the traits that were the signature of his Hall of Fame career throughout the organization, uniting this storied franchise in the ‘Honour, Pride and Courage’ that it was founded on. Our responsibility and driving motivation, however, is to add a new chapter to the Maple Leafs’ championship history, and it was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead. The franchise will be forever grateful for Brendan’s contributions and wishes him and his family every success and happiness in the future.”

In a follow-up statement provided by Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, Shanahan said, “While I am proud of the rebuild we embarked on starting in 2014, ultimately, I came here to help win the Stanley Cup, and we did not. There is nothing more I wanted to deliver to our fans, and my biggest regret is that we could not finish the job.”

Although the Maple Leafs never advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals under Shanahan’s leadership, the organization embarked on a meaningful return to relevancy. Before Shanahan took on the role as team President, the Maple Leafs had only qualified for the postseason once in the previous decade.

Shanahan helped put the pieces in place for the development of the ’Core Four’ in Toronto, although the team selected William Nylander a year prior to Shanahan’s hire. The quartet has combined for a plethora of individual hardware, and has pushed the Maple Leafs to the postseason in nine consecutive years.

Still, as Shanahan mentioned, the team hasn’t had much success in the postseason. Toronto has only made it out of Round One twice during that span, and has accumulated a playoff record of 31-39 under his stewardship.

Outside of Shanahan, all signs indicate that the Maple Leafs aren’t localizing this summer’s changes in the executive suites. There’s expectation that the team will let winger Mitch Marner walk during this year’s free agency, opening up financial room to explore other options.

Shanahan shouldn’t be available for long. Reports yesterday indicated that the New York Islanders have already been granted an interview with Shanahan for their top leadership position.

Lightning Sign Wojciech Stachowiak To Entry-Level Deal

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The Lightning have signed left-winger Wojciech Stachowiak to an entry-level contract, the team announced today. It’s a one-year deal, but financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Stachowiak, 25, is the second undrafted player today to earn an NHL deal after a strong showing at the World Championship. Latvian winger Anri Ravinskis also landed one with the Canucks.

While Polish-born, Stachowiak is a German national as well and has played the vast majority of his career there, outside of a three-year run in North America, including two years with Michigan State from 2018 to 2020. After wrapping up his collegiate career with just four goals and one assist in 40 games, he returned home to Germany to make his professional debut with ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL, Germany’s top league.

The 6’1″, 187-lb winger has remained with Ingolstadt ever since, aside from a pair of brief loans to second-league club Ravensburg Towerstars a few years back. He has a 42-64–104 scoring line in 239 career DEL games, including 10 goals and 30 points in 52 games this season.

Stachowiak’s signing is more related to his performances on the international stage, though. He’s been one of Germany’s best players over the last three World Championships, recording a 7-14–21 scoring line in 25 games with a plus-five rating in three straight tourney appearances. He helped his country to a silver medal at the 2023 edition and was named a top-three player on the 2024 team, when he tied for the team lead with nine points in eight games.

With six years of professional experience in Europe, he arrives as a bit more of a polished product than the 22-year-old Ravinskis and stands a much better chance at making a surprise bid for an opening-night roster spot in Tampa in the fall. Tampa will hold Stachowiak’s signing rights through the 2026-27 campaign, so he’ll be a restricted free agent when his deal is up next year.

Blackhawks, Kevin Dean Part Ways

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Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dean will not return to the club next season, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

In fact, it doesn’t appear any of the assistants, including Derek King and Derek Plante, will be back next season after the club announced the hiring of new head coach Jeff Blashill today. Reports indicate longtime NHL center Michael Peca, most recently an assistant coach with the Rangers, is joining Blashill’s staff. Anders Sorensen, who finished the season as Chicago’s interim head coach, has reportedly accepted an offer to stay with the club in an assistant role, while David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period added they’re expected to bring in a third fresh assistant, likely Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci.

Dean and King were named assistants simultaneously in the summer of 2022, shortly after the club hired Luke Richardson, whom Blashill succeeds, to be their head coach. The former had spent the previous five seasons as an assistant with the Bruins and, working with an understaffed blue line in Chicago, has furthered his reputation as a high-end defensive coach during his time with the Blackhawks. He’s gotten better-than-expected results with developing names like Alex Vlasic and, at least in smaller samples this past year, Ethan Del Mastro and Wyatt Kaiser.

Dean is currently in Europe as an assistant with the United States at the World Championship, so an official announcement on his and the rest of the aforementioned names’ departures likely won’t come until the tournament concludes. Before jumping into coaching as an AHL assistant with the Devils back in 2006, Dean logged over 300 games as a defenseman in the NHL with the Devils, Blackhawks, Thrashers, and Stars from 1995 to 2001.

Bruins Have Interviewed Jay Leach, Mitch Love, Luke Richardson For Head Coach Job

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The Bruins have had several external candidates linked to their head coaching vacancy for several weeks since the regular season ended. Today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic confirmed they’ve held initial interviews with most of the names already mentioned. Still, he added that they’d also considered promoting assistant coach Jay Leach to the head job. They’ve also interviewed Capitals assistant Mitch Love and former Blackhawks bench boss Luke Richardson, LeBrun adds.

LeBrun’s report comes after general manager Don Sweeney told Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald earlier this week that they’re entering the final stages of their search and are narrowing their list of candidates to make a hire in the next couple of weeks. Other previously known candidates who haven’t been snapped up elsewhere are former Bruins winger and current AHL Ontario head coach Marco Sturm, ex-Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft, and interim head coach Joe Sacco, LeBrun confirms.

It’s not the first time the Bruins have interviewed Leach to be their head coach. He was a finalist for their vacancy in 2022 before they ended up hiring Jim Montgomery, but they got him anyway last summer as an assistant after he spent three years in the same role with the Kraken.

Boston faces competition from the Penguins on many of the names here. Pittsburgh has also reportedly interviewed Leach, Love, and Woodcroft throughout their process. That’s likely a factor in the Bruins wanting to get their search wrapped up sooner rather than later, so they can ensure the Pens don’t take their first choice.

Leach spent a few years in the Boston organization in the NHL and AHL during his playing days, and is now in his second stint with the club as a coach. He was previously the head coach of AHL Providence from 2017 to 2021.

Love, meanwhile, is now connected to all three remaining head coach openings, including the Kraken, after the Blackhawks concluded their search with the hiring of Jeff Blashill today. After receiving some interest for head coach openings in the 2023 hiring cycle but ending up in an assistant role in Washington, he’s one of the top candidates this time around. The 40-year-old would be a first time head coach in the NHL but has experience in the top coaching role with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades (2018-2021) and the AHL’s Stockton Heat/Calgary Wranglers (2021-2023), where he won Coach of the Year honors in each of his two seasons behind the bench.

They’re not facing any known competition on Richardson, though. It’s the first time he’s been linked to a head coaching job since the Blackhawks fired him in December following an 8-16-2 start to the campaign. The 56-year-old compiled a 57-118-15 (.339) record in parts of three seasons behind the bench for a rebuilding Chicago club.

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