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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Three Players

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As the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to build up their organizational depth, the team has announced three signings, bringing in forwards Marc Johnstone and Radim Zohorna, as well as goaltender Magnus Hellberg. Johstone’s contract will be a two-year, $1.55MM contract, while Zohorna will earn a one-year, $785K deal, both contracts being two-way deals. Shortly thereafter, the team announced that Hellberg would also be making $785K over a one-year deal.

Hellberg becomes the second goalie the Penguins have poached from the Detroit Red Wings, after having also signed goalie Alex Nedeljkovic yesterday. Starting last season with the Ottawa Senators, Hellberg was acquired by Seattle Kraken via waivers on November 22nd, and then subsequently claimed on waivers by the Red Wings the next day. Serving as the primary backup for Detroit last year after Nedeljkovic was sent down to the minors, Hellberg posted a 4-8-1 record, managing a .885 SV% and a 3.29 GAA.

Zohorna is back to the Penguins for his second stint with the organization, after a brief stint split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames organizations during the 2022-23 season. Zohorna spent much of the year playing for the Flames AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, but would then finish the year with the Toronto Marlies after a midseason trade between the two teams. At the AHL level last year, Zohorna played in 51 games, scoring 12 goals and 22 assists.

Lastly, Johnstone has the least amount of experience in the group, having only spent the last two years playing for the Toronto Marlies. A Sacred Heart University product, Johnstone has a total of 73 games played in the AHL, scoring nine goals and 13 assists throughout his short career.

 

New York Rangers Sign Mac Hollowell

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Per a team release this morning, the New York Rangers have announced the signing of defenseman Mac Hollowell. It will be a one-year deal for Hollowell according to the release, and CapFriendly confirms it will be a $775K, two-way contract for the young defenseman.

Hollowell, who recently went unqualified by the Toronto Maple Leafs, joins the second organization of his career, after having spent the last four in the Maple Leafs system. Originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Hollowell has spent much of his time playing for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Early last season, Hollowell got his first taste of NHL action, playing six games for Toronto in November. In those six games, Hollowell managed two assists, playing just under 13 minutes a night for the Maple Leafs. For the next two months, Hollowell was a frequent emergency loan option for Toronto, having been recalled a total of eight times between November and December.

In the AHL, Hollowell only skated in 18 games for the Marlies but still produced very well by tallying 13 assists. Unfortunately for Hollowell, his minor league season was very limited due to a knee injury suffered in January, which would keep him out of the lineup for the next four months.

Minor League Signings 07/01/2023

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On day one of the free agent market opening up, the league saw a grand total of 166 signings, with a whopping $646.4MM handed out over the course of 291 total contract years. This class of free agents was expected to be one of the weaker in recent memory, but the excitement still remained as quite a few players switched cities. In all the chaos, there were some minor contracts that were inked yesterday that may have slipped under the radar for most:

  • The Montreal Canadiens signed defenseman Brady Keeper to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract. Keeper spent last season playing for the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He only managed to play for about half of the Canucks games, scoring one goal and five assists in 35 games. In the playoffs, although eliminated in the first round, Keeper scored one goal in two games for Abbotsford (CapFriendly).
  • Defenseman Ryan Shea has inked a one-year, $775K, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shea was a former fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2015, but never actually signed with the team, joining the Dallas Stars on an entry-level contract in 2020. The Northeastern University product played a combined 162 games for the Texas Stars of the AHL, scoring 10 goals and 56 assists (CapFriendly).
  • The Washington Capitals signed forward, Pierrick Dube, to a two-year, $1.9MM, entry-level contract yesterday. An undrafted free agent last year, Dube joined the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Dube played very well for the Rocket, scoring 16 goals and 16 assists in 44 games down the stretch. Still only 22 years old, Dube could factor into one of the top lines on the Hershey Bears next season, potentially even finding minutes with the Capitals in the near future (CapFriendly).
  • Another depth signing for the Penguins, the team has added forward Joona Koppanen to a two-year, $1.55MM, two-way contract. Koppanen was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, playing the majority of his career up to this point with the Providence Bruins. Last season, Koppanen did get his first change in the NHL, playing five games for the Bruins in January, tallying only one assist while averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time a game (CapFriendly).
  • The Florida Panthers re-signed defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract yesterday. The defenseman was acquired in 2021 from the Blackhawks in an early-April trade. Although playing in 40 games during 2021-22 for Florida, Carlsson spent the majority of last season with their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. In the minor leagues, Carlsson was one of the highest-scoring defensemen in the league, scoring 20 goals and 34 assists in 61 games (CapFriendly).
  • Securing his first contract in professional hockey, the Edmonton Oilers have added defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer to a one-year, $845K, entry-level contract. A former fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes back in 2017, Hoefenmayer never played in the Coyotes system, eventually playing on minor-league contracts with the Toronto Marlies after finishing his junior career with the Ottawa 67’s. Hoefenmayer played quite well for the Marlies, scoring 11 goals and 27 assists in 65 games last season (CapFriendly).
  • Returning back to North American hockey after spending the last two seasons playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, the Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Philippe Maillet to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract. Already 30 years old, Maillet has spent parts of his career with the Capitals and Los Angeles Kings organizations before finally making the jump overseas in 2021-22. In 66 games played for Metallurg last season, Maillet scored 22 goals and 31 assists (CapFriendly).
  • The recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy from the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, Hunter Shepard, has signed a two-year, $1.55MM, two-way contract to remain with the Capitals organization. Shepard was sensational en route to the Hershey Bears winning the 2023 Calder Cup, managing a 14-6-0 record throughout the playoffs, carrying a 2.27 GAA and a .914 SV% (CapFriendly).

 

Kings Sign David Rittich, Steven Santini

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Aside from the free agent deals for both Andreas Englund and Mikhail Maltsev, the team has also announced separate signings of goaltender David Rittich, and defenseman Steven Santini. Both players received one-year deals, while Rittich will make $875K at the NHL level, and Santini will receive $800K.

It was previously reported that the Kings were targeting a goalie to sign to a relatively cheap contract to pair with incumbent Pheonix Copley to complete their goalie tandem. They’ve found exactly that in Rittich, 30. Rittich spent last season as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup with the Winnipeg Jets, posting a .901 save percentage in 21 games.

He’s been a backup goaltender for the past three seasons, but before that point he received a greater workload as a member of the Calgary Flames.

Before the Flames’ signing of Jacob Markstrom, Rittich received 40+ games played from the Flames and performed decently well, scoring a .911 save percentage in 2018-19 and a .907 in 2019-20.

Copley managed to post a 26-6-3 record with a .903 save percentage last season, so if Rittich can manage to post similar numbers next season the Kings should be in decent shape.

They’ve got quite a bit of talent all throughout their roster and seem to be looking to emulate the Golden Knights from early in these past playoffs, wherein a cheap netminder good enough to give his team a chance to win consistently is propelled to victories by a talent-rich roster.

Conventional wisdom has stated that teams need strong, reliable goaltenders to be able to have playoff success, but the Golden Knights bucked that trend by winning a Stanley Cup behind a netminder with a career-high of 27 NHL games played in a single season. Now, the Kings look to be attempting to do a similar thing.

As for Santini, he’s a 28-year-old six-foot-two blueliner with 123 games of NHL experience under his belt. He’s played a handful of NHL games in the last few seasons but has largely been an AHL defender in that time frame. He’ll likely get a shot in training camp to make the NHL roster but will be overwhelmingly likely to play most of his games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

The Kings faced quite a few injury issues last season, so in signing Santini, Los Angeles has secured some experienced depth in case the injury bug bites once again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Seattle Kraken Sign Brian Dumoulin

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The Seattle Kraken have made an addition to their blueline, inking former Pittsburgh Penguins defender Brian Dumoulin to a two-year, $3.15MM AAV contract.

Dumoulin is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has been a staple of their blueline since the 2015-16 season. Dumoulin was a bit of a late bloomer in the NHL, as he first became an NHL regular at the age of 24.

Ever since his rookie season Dumoulin has been a relied-upon top-four defenseman for the Penguins, and he has been the team’s leading penalty-killing defenseman for the past several years.

While many viewed Dumoulin as a player in decline this past season, the Kraken are clearly buying into his potential to remain a top-four defensive specialist for his age-32 and age-33 campaigns.

He’ll potentially slot in next to offensive defenseman and former teammate Justin Schultz on the Kraken blueline, and will likely join Jamie Oleksiak and Adam Larsson on the Kraken penalty kill.

If Dumoulin’s bad moments from late in his tenure in Pittsburgh become more regular in Seattle, this deal will end up being a poor investment.

But with Seattle looking to make a push deeper into the playoffs after winning their very first playoff series a few months ago, Dumoulin brings the type of valuable Stanley Cup experience that many executives view as worth risking on.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Islanders To Retain Pierre Engvall, Scott Mayfield

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Per a team release, the New York Islanders have announced separate contracts for forward Pierre Engvall and defenseman Scott Mayfield. Both contracts will be for seven years, while Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets is reporting that Engvall’s AAV will be for $3MM. Similarly, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Mayfield’s AAV will be $3.5MM.

Engvall, who was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs at last year’s trade deadline, fit quite well into the lineup after the move to New York. In 18 games played down the stretch in the regular season, Engvall scored five goals and four assists, creating a very stable presence in the team’s middle six. An analytics darling, Engvall transitioned quite well to the Islanders’ defense-first brand of hockey and will continue to do so for the next seven seasons.

Like Engvall, Mayfield also received a lengthy contract term from New York, one that may bode quite nicely for the team. This past season was the best of his career, playing in all 82 games for the Islanders, scoring six goals and 18 assists all while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per night. Mayfield has become one of the better two-way defensemen on the roster, aiding in New York’s top-10 penalty kill in the league last season.

San Jose Sharks Extend Jacob Peterson

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The San Jose Sharks announced that they have signed trade-deadline acquisition, Jacob Peterson, to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but one could assume it will be for the league minimum at $775K at the NHL level.

Before arriving in San Jose, Peterson had spent the entirety of his career with the Dallas Stars organization, until he was traded at last year’s deadline to the Sharks for Scott Reedy in a minor-league swap. So far in his young career, Peterson has recorded 77 games played at the NHL level, scoring 14 goals and 11 assists split between Dallas and San Jose. Primarily playing in the AHL for the Texas Stars, Peterson scored 13 goals and 13 assists in 44 games before his move to the Sharks organization.

In only eight games played for the San Jose Barracuda, Peterson got off to a scorching start with the team, scoring one goal and five assists. Once recalled via an emergency loan in late March, Peterson finished off the season with the Sharks. Currently, San Jose is in the midst of a rebuild, so it would be unsurprising to see Peterson spend the majority of his time at the NHL level next year.

 

Minnesota Wild Extend Three Players

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Before free agency kicks off tomorrow afternoon, the Minnesota Wild are taking care of some small pieces. The team has announced they have signed Zane McIntyre, Dakota Mermis, and Nick Swaney each to a one-year, $775K extension, all of them being two-way deals.

Under reasonable expectations, all three players should be beginning the 2023-24 season with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Mermis has the most experience at the NHL level throughout the group, having played 27 games split between the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, and now with the Wild. Over those 27 games, Mermis has produced pretty tepid numbers, scoring one goal and three assists, averaging about 15 minutes of ice time per night throughout his career. At the minor-league level, he has been much more serviceable, scoring five goals and 21 assists in 63 games last season in Iowa.

McIntyre’s last taste of NHL action came all the way back during the 2016-17 season, playing with the Boston Bruins, producing a record of 0-4-1 in eight games. For the last two years, McIntyre has been a part of the Minnesota Wild organization, earning a total record of 35-26-8. Last season was a bit of a rough stretch for McIntyre, as he ended the regular season with a SV% of only .899, 21 points lower than the previous year.

Lastly, Swaney has the least amount of experience at the NHL level, having only played one game last year for Minnesota. He was originally drafted 209th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, not making the jump to the Wild organization until 2021. Despite being such a relatively low pick, Swaney has actually produced quite well at the AHL level, scoring 35 goals and 35 assists over 116 regular season games for the Iowa Wild. Even with injuries to the NHL roster, it is unlikely that Swaney will receive a call-up, but he does provide the organization with a bit of depth at the AHL level.

Free Agency Notes: Gostisbehere, Quick, No-Movement Clauses

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As the defending Eastern Conference Champions start the 2023-24 NHL season, they will reportedly be without defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. Both will be recovering from separate surgeries, and both are expected to be out for about a month after the season kicks off. Needing another defenseman aside from Gustav Forsling to manage the offensive load on the back end, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports the team has an interest in unrestricted free agent, Shayne Gostisbehere.

A top-pairing of Gostisbehere and Forsling shouldn’t be expected to replicate the output of Ekblad and Montour, but those two would be serviceable for the first month of the season, and would even represent a superb top-four once Ekblad and Montour make their return. If the Panthers and Gostisbehere do come to an agreement, it will be interesting to see the term handed out, as the team currently doesn’t have any defenseman signed beyond 2024-25.

It wasn’t so long ago that Gostisbehere was considered a salary dump, after being traded along with a second-round pick in 2022 and a seventh-round pick in 2022, to the Arizona Coyotes for nothing but future considerations. After landing in the desert, Gostisbehere had an offensive resurgence of sorts, scoring 24 goals and 58 assists in 134 games with the Coyotes. At last year’s trade deadline, Gostisbehere was moved to the Carolina Hurricanes for a third-round pick in 2026. In a combined total of 38 games in Carolina, Gostisbehere scored three goals and ten assists split between the regular season and the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Other notes:

Free Agency Notes: Kings, Kurashev, Merkley

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The Los Angeles Kings have been busy over the last couple of months, shipping out Calvin Petersen and Sean Walker to the Philadelphia Flyers, as well as acquiring and extending Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets most recently. After those moves, the Kings have a little over $4.5MM in cap space, with only 15 roster spots filled, according to CapFriendly. Due to the nature of their cap situation, it is more than unlikely that trade deadline acquisition, Joonas Korpisalo, will be retained by the team.

Los Angeles, who currently only has Pheonix Copley under contract to mind the net, will be looking for another goalie to pair with him next season. Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period has shed some light on how exactly the Kings are looking to fill that hole in their lineup, reporting that Los Angeles is looking for a goalie in the $1MM-$1.5MM range. It is unknown at the time if the Kings are planning on using Copley as their main starter next year, but it will be tough to find a goalie better than him at that price.

Many teams still have time to qualify their eventual restricted free agents, so Los Angeles may have some options available to them after that list is more well-known. At the time, in that range of salary, the Kings will likely be looking at goalies such as Alex Stalock or David Rittich, and even a potential bounce-back candidate in Alex Nedeljkovic.

Other notes:

  • Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Chicago reports that the only restricted free agent on the Chicago Blackhawks to receive a qualifying offer will be Philipp Kurashev. This means that Anders Bjork, Austin Wagner, and Caleb Jones will all go to the open market on Saturday. Jones is one of the more surprising players not to receive a qualifying offer, as he was originally brought in from the Edmonton Oilers to play with his brother, Seth Jones. Caleb is not a game-breaking player by any means but did eat just over 19 minutes a night for Chicago this season while also bringing quite the physical presence to their back end. Given that his qualifying offer would have been $1.35MM, and the Blackhawks are not in a cap crunch, it is likely that he will be playing for another team next season.
  • The Colorado Avalanche did not issue a qualifying offer to defenseman Ryan Merkley, as reported by Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Merkley was originally acquired by the Avalanche along with Matthew Nieto from the San Jose Sharks for Martin Kaut and Jacob MacDonald. Coming into the 2018 NHL Draft, Merkley was one of the most talented players in the draft, but questions about his attitude and work ethic led to his slide to 21st overall. Failing to turn a corner in his professional career, Merkley will head to unrestricted free agency this Saturday.

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