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East Notes: Parise, Tatar, Romanov, Newhook

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One player who will not be at the New York Islanders training camp this September is veteran forward, Zach Parise. In April, Parise was adamant about returning to the Islanders for his 19th season in the NHL but appeared to become more uncertain once the 2022-23 season reached its conclusion.

General Manager of the Islanders, Lou Lamoriello believes that this isn’t the end for Parise, indicating that Zach is taking a bit more time to spend with his family to cap off the summer months. In the article, Lamoriello states, “I think he made the right decision for his family, and then we’ll just keep the door open for him. And as I said to him, we’ll keep the number (No. 11) open, too“.

Including his career resurgence with the Islanders following an unceremonious end to his career with the Minnesota Wild, Parise is a veteran of 1224 NHL games, scoring 429 goals and 450 assists in an 18-year career spent with the Islanders, Wild, and New Jersey Devils. Although still an unrestricted free agent, if Parise does choose to continue playing, it is a guarantee it will be in New York, following a similar career path as his late father, J.P. Parise.

Other news from the Eastern Conference:

  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward, Tomas Tatar, has switched agents following a tumultuous time on the open market. In the same report, Friedman also indicated that Tatar is leaning towards signing with a team from the Eastern Conference. There has been some recent indication there was mutual interest between Tatar and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it appears the Penguins will go in a different direction. Another team in the Eastern Conference that does have a bit of cap space and an opportunity in their middle-six for more scoring would be the Ottawa Senators.
  • Another report coming out of New York is that defenseman Alexander Romanov may not be ready for training camp following an offseason shoulder surgery shortly after the Islanders playoffs came to an end in late April. The report indicates that even if he is not ready for the start of training camp, Romanov is very close to returning at the very least. Becoming another solid shut-down defenseman on the Islanders’ blue line, Romanov would score two goals and 20 assists in his first full season last year, as well as adding an incredible amount of physicality to the back end.
  • The head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St. Louis, has a lot of confidence in one of the newest members of the organization, forward Alex Newhook. Speaking to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, St. Louis indicated that he did not watch much film on Newhook, believing he did not want to judge Newhook based on his last season playing for the Colorado Avalanche (X Link). One of the most important quotes from St. Louis, which should provide a lot of confidence for Newhook heading into a new environment is when he said, “So, to me, what I’m really happy about is I feel we’ve got a hockey player, I don’t think I’m getting a kid who plays hockey, and there’s a big difference“.

Islanders Expected To Sign Jackson Cates To PTO

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In an effort to create as much competition as possible in their forward group for training camp, Andrew Gross of Newsday is reporting that the New York Islanders have signed Jackson Cates to a professional tryout agreement. An undrafted free agent signing by the Philadelphia only three years ago, Cates became a Group Six UFA this offseason.

Up to this point, Cates has been unable to transfer his high level of play during his last season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth to the professional level. Capping off his last year of play in the NCAA during the 2020-21 season, Cates would play in 28 games for the Bulldogs, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists, helping his team reach the 2021 Frozen Four.

Over the next three seasons, Cates primarily played for the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, suiting up in 102 regular season games, scoring 13 goals and 20 assists in two seasons. Without much of an opportunity at the NHL level, Cates has only played in 20 total games for Philadelphia, registering one goal and one assist, averaging just under nine and a half minutes of ice time per game.

As the Islanders are currently constructed, it will be incredibly unlikely to see Cates make the team out of training camp. Per CapFriendly, the team already has a projected 14 forwards ready to take on NHL minutes, without also factoring in the return of forward Oliver Wahlstrom, who will be cleared to play following a lower-body injury in April.

At the very least, if Cates does perform well in training camp for New York, there is a real possibility that the team could offer him a two-way contract and store him in the AHL for much of next season. However, with there being a handful of forwards ahead of him on the depth chart, it would seem unlikely that the team would offer him a call-up even in the case of injuries to their active roster.

Quinn Hughes Named Canucks Captain

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After trading away Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders before the trade deadline last season, the Vancouver Canucks had a decision to make regarding their captain moving forward. Today, that decision has been made, as the team announced defenseman Quinn Hughes would be the 15th captain in franchise history.

In the end, for head coach Rick Tocchet and the rest of his staff, the decision likely came down to Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and J.T. Miller. All three players have leadership capabilities and thorough experience in the league up to this point, and all three players would have been realistic choices to take over the captaincy. Hughes will become the first defenseman for the Canucks to wear the ’C’ since Doug Lidster during the 1990-91 NHL season.

The seventh overall selection for Vancouver in the 2018 NHL Draft, Hughes would join the Canucks at the end of the 2018-19 season, finishing off his college career at the University of Michigan. A year later, in his first full season, Hughes thoroughly showed what he could do at the NHL level, scoring eight goals and 45 assists in 68 games. In that first full year for Hughes, he would finish second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting and even garnered some Norris Trophy votes at season’s end.

Since then, it has been much of the same for Hughes, racking up a high amount of assists, and generating quite a bit of offense from the blue line for Vancouver. This past season, in what would be his most impressive year up to this point, Hughes would score seven goals and 69 assists in 78 games, becoming a point-per-game player as a defenseman.

A three-time All-Star already in his career, one of Hughes’s best improvements has been his defensive metrics. At the beginning of his career, there were some questions surrounding his defensive proficiency from the blue line, improving his takeaway numbers, and holding strong possession numbers for much of his career.

Now, at almost 24 years old, Hughes will be tasked with being the leader for the Canucks, both on and off the ice. As Vancouver continues to build and restructure their team into a playoff contender, it will be much of Hughes’s responsibility to lead this team into their next era.

Summer Synopsis: Nashville Predators

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For the last quarter century, the Nashville Predators had been carefully constructed by General Manager David Poile, who has just recently passed the reins to former head coach of the Predators, Barry Trotz. In a new transitionary period for the organization, Trotz will look to build the club from the ground up, trying to reach the elusive Stanley Cup, an award that Poile was never able to earn during his tenure in Nashville.

At last year’s trade deadline, the Predators were able to move out some prominent players such as Mattias Ekholm and Mikael Granlund. In the offseason, Nashville once again made some moves to rid themselves of a couple of higher-priced contracts but also made some interesting moves in what seems like an attempt to remain competitive in a free-for-all Western Conference playoff picture.

Draft

1-15: F Matthew Wood, Connecticut (NCAA)
1-24: D Tanner Molendyk, Saskatoon (WHL)
2-43: F Felix Nilsson, Rögle (J20 Nationell)
2-46: F Kalan Lind, Red Deer (WHL)
3-68: F Jesse Kiiskinen, Pelicans (U20 SM-Sarja)
3-83: D Dylan MacKinnon, Halifax (QMJHL)
4-111: F Joey Willis, Saginaw (OHL)
4-121: G Juha Jatkola, KalPa (Liiga)
5-143: F Sutter Muzzatti, RPI (NCAA)
6-175: F Austin Roest, Everett (WHL)
7-218: F Aiden Fink, Brooks (AJHL)

In the 2023 NHL Draft, the Predators had a plethora of selections, deepening their prospect pool for the foreseeable future. Not only was Nashville able to make 11 selections in this draft, but already has another 11 picks for the 2024 NHL Draft if they choose to hold on to them all.

To describe their first overall pick this year in one word: goals. During the 2022-23 season, the Predators finished 28th in goal-scoring across the league, with their team-leading total only being 22 goals on the year. In his freshman season at the University of Connecticut, Wood was able to score 11 goals and 23 assists in 35 games. He has the ability to shoot in motion, off both feet, and has some considerable quickness giving him the ability to create more scoring opportunities for himself. It’s going to be highly unlikely to see Wood in the NHL this year, but he should be a surefire bet to make Nashville’s roster for the 2024-25 season.

An under-the-radar selection they likely went overlooked due to the sheer number of selections made by the Predators at the draft would be Willis out of the Saginaw Spirit organization in the OHL. He does need a bit of work with his confidence with the puck, as well as finishing off scoring opportunities, but his major asset, his hockey intelligence, should make him a great foundation to build on for Nashville.

Key UFA Signings

F Anthony Angello (two years, $1.55MM)*
G Troy Grosenick (one year, $775K)*
F Denis Gurianov (one year, $850K)
F Gustav Nyquist (two years, $6.37MM)
F Ryan O’Reilly (four years, $18MM)
D Luke Schenn (three years, $8.25MM)
F Jasper Weatherby (one year, $775K)*

To be honest, it is incredibly difficult to decipher exactly what Nashville was trying to accomplish with their free agent class this offseason. Given the team’s movement in the months prior, all signs pointed to this team going the route of the rebuild, or at the very least a lengthy retool. However, handing out multi-year deals to three players over the age of 31 indicates that they are attempting to make the playoffs as soon as next season.

This is not to say that the Predators couldn’t make the playoffs as currently constructed, but they do not have enough high-level forwards to give this team the ability to really make some noise. Being a team with money to spend this summer, Nashville certainly could have done worse than this group, but it will likely take some time to determine exactly what direction the Predators believe they are headed.

Key Departures

F Ryan Johansen (traded to Colorado)
F Matt Duchene (Dallas, one year, $3MM)
F Zach Sanford (Arizona, one year, $800K)
F Rasmus Asplund (Florida, one year, $775K)
F John Leonard (Arizona, one year, $775K)
G Devin Cooley (Buffalo, one year, $775K)

A few weeks prior to the beginning of the offseason on July 1st, it wasn’t expected that Nashville would move two of its best forwards. Not only did both players have forgettable seasons last year, but both players were making $8MM a year, and their contracts seemed confidently immovable.

Nevertheless, in two separate staunch transactions, Trotz was able to move Johansen (after retaining 50% of his contract), and then proceeded to buy out the remaining three years on Duchene’s contract. Both players will join division rivals for the Predators; Johansen to Colorado and Duchene to Dallas, but Nashville was able to remove a bulk of their cap hits from their roster which will give them a lot of flexibility moving forward.

With O’Reilly now in the mix, and forward Cody Glass making a real name for himself last year, the Predators have an adequate duo down the middle to lead their offensive group. One of the main problems with their departures, if Johansen and Duchene are able to rebound nicely with their new organizations, it may be a tough pill to swallow for Nashville, knowing they likely could have gotten more for the two forwards.

Salary Cap Outlook

Thanks to the departures of Johansen and Duchene, as well as some other trades throughout the last year-and-a-half, the Predators will have just under $8MM in cap space heading into the 2023-24 NHL season. There will come a time in the next couple of years when young players such as Philip Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, and Juuso Parssinen will need new deals, and there is the looming end of Juuse Saros’ very team-friendly deal in two seasons.

As far as long-term contracts go, the team only has seven players signed until the 2025-26 season, and only three of those players are signed until 2026-27. As Nashville continues to allocate talent and continues to improve its cap flexibility after each year, Trotz should have no financial issues in building the team that he wants to see in Nashville.

Key Questions

Are They Done Trading? As mentioned above, the Predators were aggressive in ridding themselves of higher-salaried players and even made the decision to part with Tanner Jeannot in their pursuit of acquiring all 224 selections in the 2023 NHL Draft. All jokes aside, there are some legitimate questions as to whether or not Nashville is done in that aspect. It would be hard to envision the team parting with players such as Roman Josi or Filip Forsberg, but with players such as Ryan McDonagh, Colton Sissons, as well as Saros, being some of the highest-paid players in the league, they could find themselves on the outside looking in for the future of this franchise.

What Is The Direction They Are Going To Take? Although it would have taken an improbable losing effort, given their team needs and the direction they appeared to be headed in at the trade deadline last year, the 2022-23 NHL season would have been a perfect year for the Predators to tear it all down. There’s no surefire way they would have landed Connor Bedard at the top of the draft, but they certainly would have increased their chances of getting Leo Carlsson or Adam Fantilli. The player they did select at 15th overall, Matthew Wood, is going to be a solid NHL contributor, but does not forecast as the face of the franchise player. Although having a generational talent in Josi, this team has all the makings of an organization that could use a young-talented center with the capabilities of being a superstar in the league. As their roster is currently constructed, they are far too good to find themselves at the bottom of the standings, and not quite good enough to be a legitimate playoff contender.

 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

No Suspension Coming For Kasperi Kapanen After Alcohol-Related Driving Charge

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Taking over some of the NHL news cycle this afternoon, St.Louis Blues forward, Kasperi Kapanen has been charged with an alcohol-related driving charge in his native Finland. In a statement, Kapanen said, “Last month I made an unacceptable error in judgment and take full responsibility for my actions. I offer my apologies to my family, the Blues organization, my teammates, and the fans. I understand the severity of my mistake and am committed to doing everything I can to earn back their trust”. In a following statement, the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Blues, Doug Armstrong, said, “Today we became aware of the incident involving Kasperi and I have spoken with him and his agent. We are disappointed in his lapse of judgment and are entrusting him to make the necessary changes to avoid putting himself in a similar situation in the future” (X Link).

All signs indicate that Kapanen and the Blues organization will handle this matter internally, and no suspension will be coming down from the team or the NHL. Last season, after being picked up on waivers by St.Louis, Kapanen would score eight goals and six assists to cap off the last 23 games in the season.

Summer Synopsis: Minnesota Wild

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In 10 out of the last 11 years, the Stanley Cup playoffs have featured the Minnesota Wild. Unfortunately for the Wild, the playoffs have not featured them for very long, as the team has been unable to appear in the Western Conference Finals since the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Still dealing with the financial ramifications of buying out both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, Minnesota has had little cap space to work with, but General Manager Bill Guerin has done some solid work doing the best with what he has. After the 2024-25 season, the team will be off the hook for most of the financial penalty caused by the buyouts, and they are hoping to tread water with this team until then.

However, with the team continuing to age, especially the defensive core, it may prove to be a bit difficult for the Wild to become one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The team did well in retaining some key players this summer but mostly nibbled around the edges in terms of the free agent and trade markets.

Draft

1-21: F Charlie Stramel, Wisconsin (NCAA)
2-53: F Rasmus Kumpulainen, Pelicans (U20 SM-Sarja)
2-64: F Riley Heidt, Prince George (WHL)
5-149: D Aaron Pionk, Waterloo (USHL)
6-181: D Kalem Parker, Victoria (WHL)
7-213: F James Clark, Green Bay (USHL)

In their first-round selection in Stramel, the Wild have found a player with a similar frame to Marcus Foligno, with a higher ceiling. Stramel is a solid player in the tight areas of the game, proving an ability to battle and score goals in front of the net. In his first season playing for the University of Wisconsin last year, Stramel played in 33 games, scoring seven goals and five assists. There are some concerns about Stramel, however; as many scouts have noted that his early growth spurt may have caused him to look more talented than he actually was at the time, noting that his development pace has slowed in recent years.

The team’s second-round pick, Kumpulainen, appears to be a bit of a reach. In last year’s U18 World Juniors Championships, he was a big part of Team Finland, scoring five points in five games, and playing in nearly all situations for the team. However, although he is incredibly competitive, meaning he could certainly will his way to the NHL level, his raw talent doesn’t strike much confidence in his development. It will be very difficult for the Minnesota development coaches to grow his skating ability to a professional standard, and that may prove too difficult to overcome.

Trade Acquisitions

F Pat Maroon (from Tampa Bay)
F Maxim Cajkovic (from Tampa Bay)

Acquired in the same trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning back in July, the move to acquire Maroon is likely to replace the void left in the absence of Ryan Reaves. After being acquired from the New York Rangers in late November, Reaves provided a lot of energy and fire into the Wild lineup and became a solid leader for the club. Much like Reaves, Maroon should slot into the bottom six of the Minnesota forward group, and provide the same leadership and physical presence as he did with the Lightning.

A throw-in player for the most part, Cajkovic has split the past two seasons between the AHL and the ECHL. A third-round pick for Tampa Bay back in the 2019 NHL Draft, Cajkovic spent the majority of last season with the Orlando Solar Bears, scoring 10 goals and 17 assists in 41 games. There is a chance that he could earn a spot on the Iowa Wild’s roster next year, but his most likely landing spot will be with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL.

Key UFA Signings

F Vinni Lettieri (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Jacob Lucchini (one year, $775K)*

* denotes two-way contract

This summer, most of Minnesota’s available cap space was reinvested back into the team, locking in players such as Brandon Duhaime and Filip Gustavsson, as well as seeing a big contract extension kick in for forward Matt Boldy. Keeping that in mind, it was no surprise to see the Wild only make a pair of two-way signings.

Both Lettieri and Luccini will spend the majority of next season in the AHL, and assuming the health of the Wild this year, may not see NHL minutes at all.

Key Departures

D Matt Dumba (Arizona, one year, $3.9MM)
D John Klingberg (Toronto, one year, $4.15MM)
F Gustav Nyquist (Nashville, two years, $6.37MM)
F Ryan Reaves (Toronto, three years, $4.05MM)
F Sam Steel (Dallas, one year, $800K)
F Oskar Sundqvist (St.Louis, one year, $775K)

Fortunately for Minnesota, most of this group were trade deadline acquisitions, meaning they did survive for much of last season without much of this group. However, it is a lot of NHL talent to see walk away from your team over a summer. Due to the $14MM of dead cap on their books for the next two seasons, there was just no possible reality in which the Wild could retain most of this group. Because Minnesota did lose so much talent and failed to replace them in any meaningful way, it is tough to say the Wild got better this offseason.

Dumba and Reaves will make up the largest holes for the team to fill in terms of leadership. Dumba had spent the last decade making up a significant part of Minnesota’s defensive core, and although his offensive numbers took a significant dip along the way, his presence will surely be missed by the Wild.

Salary Cap Outlook

Over the next seasons, given their financial circumstances due to the Parise and Suter buyouts, the Wild will merely have to try and survive in a competitive Western Conference. In a top-heavy Central Division, there is a pathway for them to clinch a playoff spot as a third seed, but they are simply not improving enough to be considered a legitimate playoff threat.

Going into this year, the Wild have a touch over $1.6MM available to them in cap space, and much like they did last year, should spend a good chunk of that at next year’s deadline. They will have a bit of breathing room next summer, as the cap is expected to increase by a more favorable margin for them, but with Foligno and Mats Zuccarello scheduled to hit the unrestricted free agent market next offseason, there may be another repeat of some notable players walking out of the door.

Key Question

What Is This Team Missing? To put it into perspective, last year, the Wild had a 40-goal scorer star in Kirill Kaprizov, a formidable defensive unit (especially post-trade deadline), and a goalie with a SV% above .930. On the other hand, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, only had one of those things during the regular season. Yet, once again, the Wild were simply outmatched in the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the Dallas Stars. Because the organization has put together some solid teams and continues to lose early in the playoffs, it has become difficult to point the finger at any individual part of the lineup.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen To PTO

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In a press release from the team, the Boston Bruins have announced they have signed forward Danton Heinen to a professional tryout during training camp. In his career, Heinen has previously played over 200 games for the Bruins, being drafted in the fourth round by the team back in the 2014 NHL Draft.

After spending his NCAA career at the University of Denver, Heinen spent two years with the Providence Bruins before making the full-time jump to the NHL. Getting off to an incredible start in his first full season with the Bruins in 2017-18, Heinen would score 16 goals and 31 assists in 77 games, becoming one of the better secondary scorers in the lineup.

Unfortunately for both he and the team, Heinen would fail to reach those scoring heights again, and the team finally dealt him to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie back in the 2019-20 season. Needless to say, his time in Anaheim became a complete failure, only scoring 10 goals and eight assists in 52 total games with the club.

After his time with the Ducks came to a close, Heinen would sign back-to-back one-year deals with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he did see his play mildly improve. In his first season with Pittsburgh, Heinen earned the best goal-scoring output of his career up to this point, scoring 18 goals and 15 assists in 76 games. Last year, seeing his average ice time cut by almost two minutes, he would only put up eight goals and 14 assists in 65 games played.

Even though the team did capture the President’s Trophy last season after the greatest regular season in league history, after the offseason they had this year, the Bruins could certainly stand to gain some more forward depth. There will be no expectation that Heinen will become the secondary scorer he used to be in Boston, but he should be able to add an offensive boost to the team’s bottom-six in the upcoming season.

Analyzing Detroit’s Options At Defense

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Much like they did last summer, the Detroit Red Wings put some money into their defensive core in an attempt to get this team back into the postseason. In free agency, the organization brought in Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl and acquired Jeff Petry at a discount a few months later in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens.

According to CapFriendly, the team currently projects to have eight defensemen on their opening night roster, with prospects Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder waiting in the wings. Edvinsson won’t be ready for the beginning of the season due to an offseason shoulder surgery, but the Red Wings are getting into a territory where they will have to thin out their defensive core at some point.

In the most likely scenario, the team will start with a top pairing of Jake Walman and Moritz Seider, a duo that finished the 2022-23 season on a high note. The second defensive pair will probably feature Gostisbehere and Petry, and the final pair will consist of Holl and Olli Maatta. Aside from Seider, it does not scream of a defensive unit well-built to get this team into the playoffs, but a strong showing from key players could conceivably turn the tide.

Unfortunately for the team, after committing to a four-year, $19MM contract with him last offseason, it does not appear that Ben Chiarot will crack the opening night lineup for this team. Last season, Detroit made an attempt to pair Chiarot with Seider on the top defensive pairing, an experiment that would not work out well for the club. Although a $4.75MM cap hit is an expensive sunk cost for most teams to eat, the Red Wings’ available cap space makes it much more palatable.

Last season, in his first year wearing the ’Winged Wheel’, Chiarot would score five goals and 14 assists in 76 games played, posting a horrendous -31 rating. Given the lack of depth on the roster, Chariot was able to average more than 20 minutes of ice time per night, which does not appear to be a scenario that Detroit can let happen again.

Complicating the issue with Chiarot is that last year, the Red Wings dolled out a three-year extension for Walman, a two-year extension for Maatta, and gave Holl a three-year contract this offseason. Assuming that the team does ink Seider to a long-term extension next summer, that will give Detroit six defensemen signed until the 2024-25 NHL season. In all likelihood, the team will sit Chiarot for much of this year, use a buyout next offseason, and only be on the hook for an average of $1.58MM the next four seasons.

Next, if the team allows Gostisbehere to walk at the conclusion of his one-year deal, this should create a solid opening for Edvinsson and Wallinder to make the opening night lineup for the 2024-25 NHL season, giving the team some more flexibility moving forward.

At that time, the team could create a projected solid long-term top duo of Edvinsson and Seider, allowing Wallinder to play with Petry for one year before his contract expires, and carry an above-average bottom-pairing of Walman and Holl. It is only conjecture at this point, but there may be a pathway to an impressive defensive core, even after several confusing signings from General Manager Steve Yzerman over the last two summers.

 

Summer Synopsis: Los Angeles Kings

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Not that long ago, the Los Angeles Kings were locked in a battle almost every year with the Chicago Blackhawks as the top team in the Western Conference, sharing five Stanley Cups between the two teams in a six-year span. Los Angeles still has Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty from those dynastic teams in the early 2010s but has also engaged in a remarkable re-tool under General Manager, Rob Blake, once again becoming a contending team in the Western Conference.

After missing the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, the Kings have made the playoffs in back-to-back years, losing in the first round to the Edmonton Oilers each time. In a wide-open Western Conference playoff picture, Los Angeles is knocking on the door to get their aging veterans one more run. This offseason, the Kings made some prudent moves to put themselves over the top, but still have some questions surrounding their roster.

Draft

2-54: D Jakub Dvorak, Bílí Tygři (Czechia)
3-78: F Koehn Ziemmer, Prince George (WHL)
4-118: G Hampton Slukynsky, Warroad High (USHS-MN)
5-150: D Matthew Mania, Sudbury (OHL)
6-182: F Ryan Conmy, Sioux City (USHL)

With an eye on the long-term, it was all but certain that the Kings were going to use their first selection in the 2023 NHL Draft on a defenseman. They already have a decent amount of offensively talented defensemen in their system, so selecting a shut-down defenseman such as Dvorak makes a lot of sense. In 24 games for Bílí Tygři last season, Dvorak would only tally two assists, however; it is very clear from watching him play that he is extremely effective in using his body to knock opposing players off of the puck.

Although Dvorak was a solid choice for the long-term, Ziemmer could potentially be the Kings’ best player coming out of this draft. There are some serious concerns with his skating ability, and that could lead to the reason he fell so far in the draft, but Ziemmer has an undeniable ability to score. Playing on a solid Prince George team in the WHL last year, Ziemmer put up 41 goals and 48 assists in 68 games, also tallying three goals and four assists in 10 playoff games.

Trade Acquisitions

F Pierre-Luc Dubois (from Winnipeg)

Executing one of the biggest trades of the offseason, the Kings were able to bring in an excellent second-line center without surrendering a first-round pick in the deal. Shortly before the deal, in what would become a sign-and-trade acquisition, Dubois signed an eight-year, $68MM contract with the Winnipeg Jets, which should hopefully keep him in Los Angeles for quite some time.

There are clear concerns with Dubois, as both his exit from the Columbus Blue Jackets and again in Winnipeg were surrounded by drama. Historically, throughout his career, Dubois has never seemed content with where he is playing. However, with a long-term deal in place, the expectation should be that Dubois commits to that contract, and spends the next eight seasons with the Kings.

Regardless of the controversy that has surrounded his career up to this point, Dubois is coming off two solid seasons with the Jets. Over the last two years, Dubois has played in 154 games, scoring 55 goals and 68 assists, showing that he can be a very reliable second-line center. He also provides a physical presence given his large frame and has carried substantial possession numbers as well. Given his style of play, and the players he will be joining in Los Angeles, Dubois projects as an above-average pickup for the Kings.

Key UFA Signings

D Andreas Englund (two years, $2MM)
D Joe Hicketts (one year, $775K)*
F Trevor Lewis (one year, $775K)
F Mikhail Maltsev (one year, $775K)*
G David Rittich (one year, $875K)
D Steven Santini (one year, $800K)*
G Cam Talbot (one year, $1MM)

* denotes two-way contract

Seeing most of their cap space eaten up after the contract given to Dubois, the Kings primarily spent the offseason nibbling around the edges in the free-agent market. They were able to iron out their depth at all positions, bringing back Lewis as well as bringing in Englund to beef up the bottom pairing of their defensive core.

After seeing Joonas Korpisalo depart after a shaky performance in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the team brought in Talbot to shore up their goaltending depth, but the acquisition seemingly has brought up more questions than answers. In the team’s defense, their rival, the Vegas Golden Knights, just won the Stanley Cup from an unlikely performance out of goaltender Adin Hill, but a tandem of Pheonix Copley and Talbot doesn’t appear as a strength to the team.

Getting an honorable mention is the team’s ability to retain defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov with a two-year, $11.75MM contract. Technically not a UFA signing given that the contract was signed well before July 1st, it was a prudent move by Blake to strengthen the team’s blue line. After being acquired at last year’s trade deadline, Gavrikov was exactly what Los Angeles needed, providing valuable minutes of shut-down defense.

Key Departures

F Lias Andersson (Montreal, one-year, $775K)
F Alex Iafallo (traded to Winnipeg)
G Joonas Korpisalo (Ottawa, five years, $20MM)
F Rasmus Kupari (traded to Winnipeg)
F Zack MacEwen (Ottawa, three years, $2.33MM)
F Gabriel Vilardi (traded to Winnipeg)

Luckily, the Kings didn’t stand to lose much in free agency. Their major loss is Korpisalo in net, as besides the playoffs last year, gave the Kings a 7-3-1 record down the stretch, earning a .921 SV% and a 2.13 GAA in 11 starts. Given the contract that Korpisalo signed with the Senators, Los Angeles was simply priced out of his market, even if they did want to retain him.

Their most significant departures come via the Dubois trade. Acquiring a player of Dubois’ ability, the team had to depart with a trio of solid forwards in Iafallo, Kupari, and Vilardi. Last season, in somewhat of a breakout season, Vilardi scored 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games played, and should be able to improve on those numbers in Winnipeg with more access to playing time. As for Iafallo, after signing a four-year, $16MM extension with the Kings back in 2021, has not been able to live up to his cap hit since then. Lastly, although he was a first-round selection of the Kings back in 2018, Kupari still has much to prove in the NHL.

Salary Cap Outlook

If the roster enters the season completely healthy, Los Angeles will be very limited this season to make acquisitions to improve their team. According to CapFriendly, the team has a bit over $120K in salary cap space, meaning they will likely have to move salary out if they do make an in-season trade.

Next offseason, the Kings currently have approximately $61MM in committed contracts, and will also carry the $2.025MM of retained salary for the next two years in the deal they facilitated to land Ivan Provorov in Columbus. If the salary cap ceiling increases to the degree that it is currently projected next year, Los Angeles should have a bit more breathing room to continue to improve their roster.

Key Questions

Will The Goaltending Hold Up? As mentioned previously, far and away the biggest question surrounding the Kings is their goaltending. Copley did well last year holding down the fort until the team’s acquisition of Korpisalo at the deadline, but it is difficult to expect a repeat performance of that degree. For Talbot, he famously struggled down the stretch for the Senators last season, souring all chances of the team making the playoffs. Los Angeles does have a solid defensive core, which may mask any inefficiencies coming from between the pipes for the most part, but the Kings will more than likely have to procure another goaltender at the 2024 trade deadline.

How Long Is This Team’s Window?  Still being the top two players on the team after so many years, Los Angeles is inching closer and closer to facing a hard truth in regards to both Doughty and Kopitar. Both players are extended until at least the 2025-26 NHL season, but at 33 and 36 years old respectively, the Kings cannot afford a situation similar to what the Boston Bruins have had this summer. With their play, neither player has given any indication they won’t be top performers for the next several years, but Los Angeles may want to start preparing now for the inevitable departure of Doughty and Kopitar to retirement in the near future.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Seattle Kraken Sign Mitch Reinke

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Saturday: The Kraken have officially announced Reinke’s signing.

Friday: In a confirmed transaction according to CapFriendly, the Seattle Kraken have signed forward Mitch Reinke to a one-year, $775K two-way contract for the 2023-24 NHL season. Reinke had previously spent the last two seasons playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

Carrying only one NHL game under his belt during the last five seasons, Reinke once looked to be one of the top players in the NHL’s highest minor league system. In his first full pro campaign during the 2018-19 AHL season, Reinke would impress with 12 goals and 33 assists in 76 games for the San Antonio Rampage, good for second on the team in scoring that year. Unfortunately, primarily due to injuries, Reinke has not reached close to that point total since.

Spending his first three years in the St. Louis Blues organization, Reinke would join the Pittsburgh Penguins organization in 2021 after being non-tendered that summer. Still dealing with mild injury concerns over his two-year stint for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Reinke would dramatically increase his assist total compared to his final two seasons spent for the Blues’ AHL affiliates. Last year, only playing in 52 games, Reinke would score only one goal but still notched 26 assists on the year.

It would be an unlikely circumstance to see Reinke join the Kraken next year, but if healthy, should become a solid contributor to their AHL team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. In their inaugural season last year, the Firebirds would finish second in the Pacific Division, marching all the way to the Calder Cup Finals, losing to the Hershey Bears in six games.

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