Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Clifford, Kulich
The Montreal Canadiens are set to begin the 2024-25 NHL season with approximately $5.45MM in cap space. With no other restricted free agents left to sign, the organization may weaponize its cap space and effectively buy draft and prospect capital (Article Link).
The Canadiens hold a major trump card up their sleeve as the team could still place goaltender Carey Price on long-term injured reserve once this season begins which would open up another $10.5MM in cap space for next season. Montreal is no stranger to weaponizing their cap space as general manager Kent Hughes has swung trades in the past which netted them a first-round pick for taking on the contract of Sean Monahan and a second-round pick to take on 40% of Jeff Petry‘s salary.
There are several teams close to the cap including the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Nashville Predators. A few of these organizations will utilize LTIR in their own right once the season opens up to shed some salary but some could call the Canadiens in the upcoming weeks to gain some financial breathing room for next season.
Other Atlantic notes:
- Veteran forward Kyle Clifford refuses to hang up his skates as Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News reports Clifford has re-upped with the Toronto Marlies on an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Clifford is a veteran of 753 games at the NHL level with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs while helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014. For the better part of the last three seasons, Clifford has been riding out the twilight years of his career with the Marlies. In 108 games with the storied AHL franchise, Clifford has scored 21 goals and 51 points while collecting 224 PIMs.
- The Buffalo Sabres offensive core has become a little too crowded for prospect Jiri Kulich. In an article today from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, the Sabres organization is waiting for Kulich to ‘tear up the league’ before giving him a full-time shot at the NHL level. The young forward has been a solid scorer for the Rochester Americans over the last two years as he’s scored 51 goals in 119 games and another seven goals in 17 postseason contests. Buffalo is looking for Kulich to expand upon his 0.76 PPG thus far and raise his level to one of the better point producers at the AHL level.
Pacific Notes: Mylymok, Goure, Draisaitl, Canucks
The AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Wranglers, made a pair of signings today as Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports the organization has signed forward Connor Mylymok to an AHL contract and has also signed forward Deni Goure to an AHL contract. Both players will be making their AHL debuts next season.
Mylymok is not unfamiliar with professional hockey as the youngster racked up three goals in 11 games with the Idaho Steelheads at the end of last season. After finishing off a two-year stretch with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in which he scored four goals and 14 points in 47 games, the Jackson, MS native transferred to Niagara University last year. He achieved his most productive season with the Purple Eagles, scoring six goals and 11 points in 37 games.
The Wranglers should get more offensive proficiency from Goure who recently finished a five-year career with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. From 2019-24 (albeit losing the entire 2020-21 season), Goure suited up in 259 games for the Attack and was nearly a point-per-game player with 102 goals and 251 points. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10” but does play with a speed to his game that should transition nicely to the AHL.
Other Pacific notes:
- Although there have been some rumblings behind Leon Draisaitl‘s next extension with the Edmonton Oilers, it does not appear that a signing will happen anytime soon. Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that the two sides have been in touch over the summer but negotiations on the extension have not commenced. The Oilers’ recent hiring of Stan Bowman to the general manager position may have delayed the signing. Still, the news is surprising as reports from earlier in the month indicated that Draisaitl and his agent were hoping for a deal to be done by the end of August.
- Rick Tocchet and his fellow members of the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff are preparing for a three-day summit as referenced in an article from Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Subscription Article). The group’s primary focus is to address the Canucks offense for the 2024-25 NHL season and how best to score on the rush and make in-game counter adjustments. Opposing teams caught on to the fact that Vancouver’s offense was being run from the back by Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, limiting their productivity for the rest of the season. Although the Canucks will still look for a fair bit of offense from their defensive core, Tocchet is looking to engage the entire group rather than having a one-dimensional scoring system.
International Notes: Team Canada, Kuznetsov, Chernyshov, Rendulic
Team Canada is already making significant preparations for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that is set to take place in mid-February next year. The organization announced four assistant coaches who will be on the bench with the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper. Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights, Peter DeBoer of the Dallas Stars, Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks, and Misha Donskov of the Stars will all represent their native Canada in next season’s tournament.
All four assistant coaches have previously served with Team Canada in varying capacities. Cassidy suited up for Team Canada in the 1984 IIHF World Junior Championship but did not earn a medal while also playing for Canada’s National Team during the 1986-87 season where he scored three goals and nine points in 12 games. As a player and a coach, the 4 Nations Face-Off will be Cassidy’s official return to Team Canada.
Tocchet joins Cassidy as the only other member of the staff to be joining Team Canada as a coach for the first time. Tocchet played in the 1987 and 1991 iterations of the Canada Cup where Canada secured gold against the Soviet Union and the United States. Vancouver’s head coach suited up for Team Canada’s World Championship after his dominant 1989-90 season concluded.
DeBoer and Donskov have considerable experience coaching Team Canada with most of their work coming in the World Junior Championships. DeBoer served as an assistant coach with Team Canada for the 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015 tournaments with Canada winning gold in the final year. Similarly, Donskov served as a video coach to Team Canada during their pursuit of gold in 2015 while winning another gold medal with the team in 2016 as an assistant coach.
Other international notes:
- Former forward for the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, Evgeny Kuznetsov will be leaving for his native Russia as SKA St. Petersburg announced they had signed the veteran to a four-year contract earlier today. Kuznetsov will earn $950K in each year of his deal with access to substantial bonuses. According to Daria Tuboltseva of RG.org, Kuznetsov will earn $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in scoring, $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in goal scoring, $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in +/-, and $1.2MM for winning the Gagarin Cup. This means that on his four-year contract, Kuznetsov will have the opportunity to earn $47MM in salary if he can achieve all his bonus markers.
- Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka, reports that Sharks’ prospect Igor Chernyshov has terminated his contract with Dynamo Moscow and will head to North America for the 2024-25 NHL season. There has been no indication that San Jose is trying to sign Chernyshov to his entry-level contract. Chernyshov was a potential first-round talent in the 2024 NHL Draft that fell to 33rd overall in the second round. The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit selected Chernyshov in the most recent OHL Import Draft with the 56th overall selection, and he will likely suit up for them next season.
- Former depth forward for the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, Borna Rendulic, has decided to extend his stay with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. According to EliteProspects, Rendulic is in agreement with St. Petersburg on an extension that will keep him with the organization for the 2024-25 KHL season. Rendulic was acquired from HC Sochi last year and 11 goals and 27 points in 51 games to close out the season.
International Transactions: Glauser, Bayreuther, Svechnikov
Defenseman Andrea Glauser will not come to the National Hockey League after all. According to a press release, Fribourg-Gottéron of Switzerland’s National League announced they have signed Glauser to a seven-year contract starting in the 2025-26 season. Glauser previously played for Fribourg-Gottéron between 2015-2018.
A few months ago, there was documented interest in Glauser from the New York Islanders organization which was reportedly set to offer the 28-year-old defenseman a one-year, $1.5MM contract. Glauser excels in the transition game from the blue line and plays a very physical game compared to his peers which led to Lou Lamoriello and Patrick Roy scouting the Swiss defenseman. It is unknown if the Islanders offered Glauser a contract but he has inevitably decided to stay in his home country.
It’s difficult to imagine Glauser having excelled after transitioning to North American hockey at the professional level given that his career-high in points (in a much weaker league to add) is 17. He’s also suited up for Team Switzerland in the last three World Championships where he has scored two goals and four points in 24 tournament contests.
Other international transactions:
- It did not take long for Lausanne HC to replace Glauser on the back end as the team announced they had signed defenseman Gavin Bayreuther to a one-year contract. It will be Bayreuther’s first attempt at international hockey after spending the last eight years split between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations. The former undrafted free agent from St. Lawrence University is a veteran of 122 games at the NHL level while adding five goals and 28 points to the scoresheet. Bayreuther spent much more time in the AHL where he has suited up in 238 games while scoring 25 goals and 117 points in the process.
- Another former NHL player is on the move internationally as Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL announces they have signed forward Evgeny Svechnikov to a one-year contract. The former 19th overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2015 NHL Draft spent last season in the KHL with Ak Bars Kazan where he scored eight goals and 13 points in 31 games. Svechnikov never panned out to live up to his draft ranking with Detroit but did earn 39 goals and 101 points at the AHL level with 186 games played.
Pacific Notes: Draisaitl, Olofsson, Connelly, Hedican
One of the biggest extension narratives of the offseason has been the contract status of Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Leon Draisaitl. There is no guarantee that a deal will come to fruition this summer but all signs point to the two sides being able to work out a resolution at some point. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported today that the contract could look a lot like that of star center Nathan MacKinnon, that is to say, an extremely bonus-laden deal with a low annual salary.
On September 20, 2022, the Colorado Avalanche signed MacKinnon to one of the richest deals in NHL history with an eight-year, $100.8MM contract. The term changes yearly, but the contract pays MacKinnon as low as $775K in salary and up to $15.725MM in signing bonus. Unsurprisingly, Draisaitl would be seeking a similar deal as it gives the player quite a bit of financial protection.
Signing bonuses gives players protection in two ways. First, it makes the contract buyout proof. If MacKinnon’s contract were bought out by the Avalanche in year one of his deal, for example, he would only be losing out on $775K that year while still receiving $15.725MM on July 1st. Additionally, the signing bonus also makes the contract lockout-proof. If the NHL were to enter a lockout in any year, Drasaitl would miss out on his yearly salary but still earn his signing bonus on July 1st.
The request for signing bonuses in high-ticket contracts is becoming more common for star players throughout the NHL world with the likes of Connor McDavid and John Tavares having similar contract structures. Now that Draisaitl comfortably finds himself in the upper echelon of NHL talent, the Oilers should be more than happy to agree to his terms.
Other Pacific notes:
- In a wrap-up piece of the Vegas Golden Knights’ offseason, independent correspondent of the NHL, Paul Delos Santos suggests the Golden Knights could try out new forward Victor Olofsson on the team’s top line next to Jack Eichel. Olofsson spent quite a bit of time on Eichel’s wing during his rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres in 2019-20, and the Swedish had arguably the best season of his career. In only 54 games primarily playing next to Eichel, Olofsson scored 20 goals and 42 points and finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting. It could be risky business for Vegas as Olofsson fell down the depth chart in Buffalo but could be a high-reward move as the cap-strapped Golden Knights look to fill out their roster.
- Staying in Vegas, there have been some rumblings that the team’s first-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Trevor Connelly, may forego his commitment to Providence College and sign his entry-level contract with the Knights. However, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that is not the case and that Connelly will indeed honor his commitment to the Friars. Connelly is coming off a season in which he scored 31 goals and 78 points in 52 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL last year and will look to help Providence keep their head above water in a difficult Hockey East conference.
- The Anaheim Ducks organization is bringing back a brief member of their defensive core. The team’s AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, announced former defenseman Bret Hedican has been hired as a senior development analyst. After retiring from the NHL as a member of the Ducks after the 2008-09 season, Hedican had been working in the broadcast department with the organization’s rival — the San Jose Sharks.
Penguins Sign Sergei Murashov To Entry-Level Contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins are bringing a solid goaltending prospect to North America as the team announced they have signed goalie Sergei Murashov to a three-year, entry-level contract. Murashov should compete with Penguins’ prospect Taylor Gauthier for the backup minutes with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with the loser of that battle earning the starter’s role with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
It is Joel Blomqvist‘s net to lose with the AHL Penguins but Marashov should be biting at his ankles relatively quickly. No matter how this situation plays out — Pittsburgh is quickly building one of the better goaltending pipelines in the league.
The Penguins selected Murashov with the 118th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft after a promising season with Loko-76 Yaroslavl of the MHL. In his draft year, Murashov played in 41 games for Yaroslavl and recorded a 21-16-3 record with a .927 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average. Hoping to keep his confidence up by playing in his birth city, the Penguins have left Murashov to develop in Russia for the last two years.
Murashov has continued his development with Loko Yaroslavl of the MHL over the last two years and had brief playing time with their KHL affiliate, the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Playing on one of the most successful organizations in Russia’s major feeder league, Murashov produced a 24-7-5 record in 37 games during the 2022-23 season with a .948 SV% and 1.53 GAA. Murashov carried a .932 SV% in that year’s playoffs before losing in the semi-finals.
The 2023-24 season became his most dominant as Murashov collected 24 wins in 34 games with a .930 SV%. In the playoffs, the young Russian netminder earned a .926 SV% and 2.07 GAA en route to his team becoming champions at the end of the season.
Murashov is still young for a goaltending prospect at only 20 years old, so he may end up starting the year in Wheeling just for development’s sake. However, if he continues his upward trajectory there should be no question Murashov will be competing for a full-time job in the AHL soon.
How Long Is The Vancouver Canucks’ Competitive Window?
In an article today from Harman Dayal of The Athletic (Subscription Required), he analyzes the Vancouver Canucks competitive window with their current salary cap structure. The Canucks experienced a 26-point jump in the standings last season while winning the Pacific Division for the first time since the division was created ahead of the 2013-14 NHL season. Additionally, Vancouver qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third time in 11 seasons before being ousted in Round Two by the eventual Western Conference Champions, the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canucks have high-priced players at the top of their salary cap table with $11.6MM and $8MM contracts for forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, respectively. The organization has just over $15K available in salary cap space according to PuckPedia but has done a nice job in parsing out the rest of their roster. Vancouver arguably has two of the better bargain contracts in the league with defenseman Quinn Hughes ($7.85MM until 2026-27) and goaltender Thatcher Demko ($5MM until 2025-26).
Dayal argues that the Canucks are similar to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the late 2010s and the early 2020s as they captured two Stanley Cup Championships while paying Andrei Vasilevskiy, Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point, and Blake Coleman well-below market value. Because of this, Tampa Bay was able to fill out the rest of the roster and create one of the better dynasties in the league since the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings.
The argument seems a little off-base as the Canucks core is a little bit further ahead in their contractual lives than the comparables from the Lightning. Tampa Bay does have the benefit of being in a no-tax state which keeps contracts lower on average but the players listed were not as far into their careers at that point. Once the chickens came home to roost, the Lightning have been bounced from Round One in back-to-back years and the organization has had to make tough decisions to stay salary cap compliant.
This is why Vancouver’s contention window largely comes down to the contracts of Hughes, Demko, and Brock Boeser. The latter becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season and could earn nearly $9MM if he comes close to repeating his 40-goal campaign from the 2023-24 season. Boeser’s shooting percentage (19.6%) throughout last year was more than seven points higher than his career average which points to regression next season. If Boeser comes back down to earth near the 20-30 goal range, his asking price should come down substantially.
Hughes and Demko will be much tougher to absorb for Vancouver especially if the former continues to play at a Norris Trophy-level pace. This year’s award winner finished with 92 points in 82 games and could be in line for a contract near the $12MM average on his next deal. Regardless of the salary cap projections over the next three years, this would be a pricey contract for any team let alone the Canucks.
Demko may provide an easier contract situation to resolve as his injury history continues to mount. He did play in 51 games for the Canucks this past season while maintaining a .918 save percentage but was absent from the team for much of this year’s playoff run. If Demko can stay healthy, this may cause a financial hurdle for Vancouver if he continues to post one of the better save percentages in the league compared to his peers.
All in all, Vancouver’s contention window is at least over the next two years with Demko and Hughes signed to team-friendly contracts. If general manager Patrik Allvin can continue to be crafty on the trade market like he was last season, the Canucks should be well poised to make a run soon. However, much like Tampa Bay’s recent history, Vancouver could be positioned to make some difficult decisions regarding their roster in only a few short years.
International/Minor Transactions: Thoresen, Voynov, Kawaguchi, Skirving
Veteran forward Patrick Thoresen will play during his age-41 season as he’s signed a contract to play for Djurgårdens IF of HockeyAllsvenskan according to his previous team, Storhamar in Norway. The international veteran started his professional career in the 2003-04 season with Mörrums GoIS of HockeyAllsvenskan after a brief two-year stint in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Although he’s mostly known for his international efforts, Thoresen spent two years in the NHL from 2006-08 with the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers where he collected six goals and 24 points in 106 games as the first undrafted Norwegian to crack an NHL roster. Unfortunately, his NHL career did not pan out as expected and Thoresen returned to Europe with HC Lugano in Switzerland.
Thoresen has also regularly represented Team Norway in the Olympic Games and the World Championships where he’s collected nine points in 13 games in the former, and 55 points in 66 games in the latter. During the World Championships in 2012, Thoresen scored seven goals and 18 points in only eight games which ended up being one point less than tournament scoring leader Evgeni Malkin.
Other international/minor transactions:
- Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL announced they have signed former NHL defenseman Slava Voynov to a contract for the 2024-25 season. Voynov was a member of the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL where he helped the team win Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 while collecting 18 goals and 81 points in 190 career games. Infamously, Voynov pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge in a domestic violence case brought forward by his wife Marta Varlamova on December 1st, 2014. The Kings terminated Voynov’s contract on September 17th, 2015 and he has continued his career in Russia ever since.
- Former captain at the University of North Dakota, Jordan Kawaguchi, is trying his luck in the Elite Ice Hockey League as the Belfast Giants announced they have signed the young forward for the 2024-25 season. Kawaguchi managed a productive career in North Dakota before signing his entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars in 2021. Unfortunately, Kawaguchi failed to make much noise in the AHL with the Texas Stars and was demoted to playing with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. He was much more productive in Idaho but he briefly retired after the 2022-23 ECHL season due to injuries such as concussions, a torn MCL, and a broken thumb. Kawaguchi still returned to hockey last year and scored eight goals and 31 points in 23 games for the Steelheads.
- Longtime ECHL veteran Todd Skirving is sticking in the league as he has signed a one-year contract with the Reading Royals as announced by the team. It will be Skirving’s seventh straight season in the ECHL and his first in Reading. Split between the Orlando Solar Bears, Utah Grizzlies, Atlanta Gladiators, Newfoundland Growlers, and the Florida Everblades, Skirving has scored 74 goals and 149 points in 301 ECHL games while winning a Kelly Cup in 2019 with the Growlers, and last year with the Everblades.
Hurricanes Attempted To Trade Necas Prior To Extension
One of the biggest names on the trade market this offseason was taken off the board earlier today as the Carolina Hurricanes signed Martin Necas to a two-year, $13MM extension. However, the Hurricanes were also close to moving on from Necas earlier in the summer according to Frank Seravalli in Daily Faceoff’s podcast, the DFO Rundown (approximately 31-minute mark).
Seravalli asserts that Carolina had agreed to a Necas trade with the Buffalo Sabres. However, Seravalli did admit in the podcast that it may not have been the Sabres but he was fairly certain. The trade broke down relatively quickly as Necas purportedly would not agree to sign a new contract in Buffalo. Furthermore from Seravalli, the Hurricanes also had substantial trade talks with the Winnipeg Jets about Necas. He states the Jets had offered prospect Rutger McGroarty, forward Cole Perfetti, and an unspecified draft pick for Necas.
It is unknown when these trade conversations happened as Carolina may have taken Necas off the market entirely after losing Jake Guentzel to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Hurricanes expect to compete for a Stanley Cup next spring, and their competitive aspirations would have been greatly diminished by losing two top-six forwards in one summer.
All points made by Seravalli point to the idea that Necas had a lot of control over the negotiations and effectively blocked his inclusion in either trade due to his unwillingness not to sign an extension with either organization. Necas has committed himself to Carolina for two more seasons and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract.
Factoring in Buffalo’s other moves from the summer, adding Necas into the team’s top six would have allowed them to move Jason Zucker down to the third line. Even still, with Zach Benson prepping for a bigger season in 2024-25, and Jiri Kulich on the cusp of cracking the roster; Necas may have dramatically saturated Buffalo’s forward core. However, unlike Benson and Kulich, Necas is an established player at the NHL level.
Without knowing the return to Carolina in the rumored swap with Buffalo, he is coming off a season in which he scored 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games and is only two years removed from scoring 71 points over a full season. He would have helped the Sabres return to their 2022-23 team goal production after seeing a nearly 50-goal decrease this past year, but Buffalo may have been better served by letting the rest of their prospect develop over the next two or three seasons.
The reported deal from the Jets organization appears on paper as a massive overpay, as Perfetti has arguably already shown he can be a top-six threat in limited playing time. The former 10th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft averaged 13:35 minutes last year and still managed to score 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games. Including McGroarty in the deal (who is coming off a 52-point campaign at the University of Michigan) would have given Carolina two two-six talents in exchange for one.
Nevertheless, Necas was never dealt with this summer and will remain with the Hurricanes organization for the foreseeable future. He will look to rebound off a depressed campaign last season and look to build upon his production in 2022-23 before entering the free agent market when he is 27 years old.
Notable 2025 Draft Eligible Players In 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase
The 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase kicked off a few days ago in Plymouth, MI as players look to crack the lineup for their respective national team for the 2024-25 IIHF World Junior Championships. The defending champions, the United States, will look to defend their gold medal from a year ago and will be joined by Canada, Finland, and Sweden.
A majority of players on each team’s roster have already been selected by teams in the NHL Draft but there are a few notable players who are preparing to hear their names called in the 2025 NHL Draft. Here are a few of those players:
James Hagens, Boston College (NCAA), United States
Hagens is the current betting favorite to hear his name called for the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. The young star will be joining the Boston College Eagles next year in the NCAA after an electric performance with the U.S. National U18 Team by scoring 39 goals and 102 points in 58 games. As one of the most dominant players in his age group, and with future teammates Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault joining him at the top of Team USA’s forward core — Hagens should give the United States a lot of confidence to repeat as champions.
Porter Martone, Brampton Steelheads (OHL), Canada
Projected to fall in the top three of the 2025 NHL Draft, Martone should be a standout player for Team Canada during the showcase. Martone recently wrapped his second season with the Steelheads (formerly of Mississauga) and scored 33 goals and 71 points in 60 games. The young winger was also a force to be reckoned with last year on the international stage as he scored five goals and 17 points in only seven games while captaining Canada’s U18 team.
Victor Eklund, Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan), Sweden
Eklund is projected to fall toward the back half of the first round in 2025 but has every opportunity to push his name up the board. He’s undersized at 5’11” but plays with such intensity that his game should translate nicely against North American players. Eklund split time between Djurgårdens IF and Djurgårdens IF J20 last season where he scored four points in 15 games for the former, and 25 points in 30 games for the latter.