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Poll: What Was The Top Offseason Acquisition?

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As we approach August, this time of year typically signifies the gateway to the dog days of summer for the NHL. There already has been significant movement up to this point, including Alex DeBrincat, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dmitry Orlov, etc., but dominoes such as Vladimir Tarasenko, and Erik Karlsson, still need to fall.

With all the moves being made so far, the question arises about what acquisition moves the needle the most for the acquiring team. Stanley Cup contenders certainly added to star-studded rosters, and several teams made moves to end lengthy rebuilds.

At this stage of the summer, what do you think has been the best off-season acquisition?

What Was The Top Offseason Acquisition? l
Alex DeBrincat (Detroit Red Wings) 34.02% (514 votes)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (Los Angeles Kings) 25.61% (387 votes)
Dmitry Orlov (Carolina Hurricanes) 13.24% (200 votes)
Tyler Toffoli (New Jersey Devils) 12.24% (185 votes)
Other (Comment below) 10.32% (156 votes)
Ryan O'Reilly (Nashville Predators) 4.57% (69 votes)
Total Votes: 1,511

Greg Moore Named Head Coach Of USNTDP

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During the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies, announced they would not be renewing the contracts of their coaching staff. Even after coaching the team to a regular season North Division title, and the longest stretch in the playoffs since the 2018-19 season, Greg Moore was sent packing.

Now, Moore will be leading the bench of one of the most recognizable brands in United States hockey, as the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) has announced Moore as the 17th coach in team history. This will be Moore’s second time involved with the program, as he was an assistant coach from 2015-18, helping coach the team to a gold medal finish during the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship.

After serving as an assistant coach for the NTDP for several years, Moore signed on as a head coach for the Chicago Steel of the USHL from 2018-2020. In his first season as head coach, the Steel made it all the way to the 2019 Clark Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Sioux Fall Stampede.

Moore is excited to be back with the NTDP, saying, “It’s a privilege and an honor to be named a head coach at the National Team Development Program. I’m thankful to be able to continue the tremendous coaching tradition at the NTDP and I can’t wait to get started with the extremely talented group of incoming U17 players”.

As of now, 17 of the 23 rostered players have college commitments, and Moore will be in charge of bringing their game to a higher level. It may be considered a step back from the AHL level, but Moore will still have an important job for the top junior system in the United States.

Photo courtesy of the United States Development Team National Program

Colorado Avalanche Sign Ross Colton

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Scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 27th, the Colorado Avalanche and restricted free agent forward Ross Colton decided not to wait. Today, the team announced a four-year contract for Colton, paying him an AAV of $4MM.

To acquire Colton in the first place, the Avalanche originally traded center Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for the Panthers’ first-round selection in 2023, Montreal’s second-round selection in 2023, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother. One day later, Colorado would trade Montreal’s second-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning to acquire the contractual rights to Colton.

In his past three seasons spent the NHL, the Lightning were the only team that Colton had ever known. Another example of Tampa Bay’s ability to churn out NHL talent from seemingly anywhere, Colton had spent his dues in the NCAA and AHL before finally making the jump to professional hockey.

During his time in Tampa, Colton showed the ability to score big goals, throw his body around, play intelligently on both sides of the puck, and become a reliable faceoff taker. Seemingly able to do it all when he is on the ice, the Avalanche rewarded his previous seasons with almost a $3MM raise.

Now joining an immediate Stanley Cup competitor in the Western Conference, Colton’s versatility should help stabilize Colorado’s forward core, one that was greatly lacking in overall depth last season. At the time of the trade, the General Manager of the Avalanche, Chris McFarland, said, “Ross is a hard-working, two-way center with a championship pedigree. “He has physicality to his game, is ultra competitive and his versatility will make him a valuable addition to our lineup in a lot of ways”.

Two seasons ago, Colton was competing as one of the more aggravating players against the Avalanche in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, and will now help the team on their quest for another ring. Already possessing top forward talent such as Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the team, Colton will now tie newly acquired Ryan Johansen as the fifth-highest-paid forward for Colorado.

Calgary Wranglers Hire Trent Cull

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A little under a month ago, now former head coach of the Calgary Wranglers, Mitch Love, took an offer from the Washington Capitals to become an assistant coach, primarily working with the team’s defense. Under two years of Love, both the Stockton Heat and Wranglers experienced success, finishing as the second-best regular season team in his first year, and the best regular season team in his second year.

The Wranglers have now filled the void left by Love, announcing the hiring of Trent Cull as head coach of the team. Previously, Cull had served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks under Bruce Boudreau and was fired during the season as the team transitioned to the regime of Rick Tocchet.

Cull brings extensive experience both at the OHL and the AHL level. After retiring as a player after the 2003-04 season with the Syracuse Crunch, Cull joined the Guelph Storm as an assistant coach for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Although both of those years were meant to be rebuilding ones for the Storm, they made the playoffs twice, being eliminated by the London Knights in both instances.

After his time with the Storm, Cull signed on with his previous team, joining Syracuse as an assistant coach for the next four seasons. At that time, the team was affiliated with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and unfortunately did not experience much success with Cull on the bench. In three of Cull’s four seasons with the team, they only qualified for the playoffs once, losing in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs to the Toronto Marlies in 2008.

Finally, Cull got his first shot as head coach, becoming the 27th head coach in franchise history. Coaching 204 regular season games with the Wolves, he ended with a record of 94-88-11-11, making the postseason in all three seasons. The postseason was not as kind to Cull and the Wolves, as the team failed to progress past the conference semi-finals in each season. After three seasons with the Wolves, Cull once again re-joined the Crunch, serving the team as an assistant coach until the 2017-17 AHL season.

With his last stop before joining the Wranglers, Cull was hired as head coach of the Utica Comets, replacing Travis Green behind the bench for the 2017-18 AHL season. Cull coached four seasons in Utica, and one season with the Abbotsford Canucks posting a total record of 161-116-22-10, once again failing to reach deep into the playoffs.

Cull will have big shoes to fill coming to the Wranglers at the start of the 2023-24 AHL season. Once again, the team had experienced tremendous regular-season success under Love but did not live up to expectations during the playoffs. Since the 2015-16 season, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames has only been able to reach the AHL’s Conference Finals once, coming during the 2021-22 season.

 

Minor Transactions: 7/17/23

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As we inch closer and closer to the dog days of the NHL calendar, many teams across the globe are also putting the finishing touches on finalizing their roster for the upcoming season. More and more teams from the minor leagues in North America, as well as the professional leagues overseas, continue to add to their respective rosters, and we will cover that all here.

  • A five-year veteran of the Bakersfield Condors will be making a move to the DEL in Germany, as forward Luke Esposito will be joining the Augsburger Panther for the 2023-24 season. Esposito originally joined the Grand Rapids Griffins after a standout senior season with Harvard University, but then became a regular in the lineup for the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate only a season later. Now 29 years old, although a return to the AHL is certainly possible in the future, Esposito will end with 35 goals and 81 assists in 320 games for the time being.
  • Also joining Esposito in a move to the DEL will be forward Cole Fonstad previously of the Cleveland Monsters, an AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the upcoming season, Fonstad will suit up for the Straubing Tigers. Former captain of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, Fonstad put together a couple of productive seasons in the AHL. Rostered on the Monsters for three years, Fonstad scored 24 goals and 26 assists in 117 games.
  • Bringing back one of their best players from their run to a Calder Cup trophy in 2023, the AHL’s Hershey Bears have announced a one-year contract with defenseman Logan Day. In his first season with the Bears, Day had a mild scoring year, posting a career-low in points during the regular season with 12. However, during the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, Day became a defenseman that the team leaned upon for their entire run. In 19 playoff games, Day scored three goals and 11 assists, finishing second on the team in scoring, and second in the AHL by all defenders.

Seattle Kraken Sign Eduard Sale

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07/16/23: The Kraken have now officially announced their signing of Sale, confirming the $950k AAV that was reported earlier.

07/15/23: The Seattle Kraken are reportedly close to signing their first-round pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Eduard Sale, to a three-year entry-level contract. The contract will reportedly have an AAV of $950K each season, and pay Sale a base salary of $855K (Tweet Link).

At the time of the 2022 NHL Draft, Sale had already made some noise as a potential top-10 selection this year. During that year, Sale primarily played with HC Kometa Brno of the Czechia U20 league, and flat-out dominated, scoring 42 goals and 47 assists in only 39 games.

This past season, finally moving up to the professional leagues for HC Kometa Brno, Sale could only manage seven goals and seven assists in 43 games. Although the transition to professional hockey did not go as smoothly as desired for Sale, he still played well in international tournaments for Czechia, scoring 11 goals and eight assists in 18 games played for their U18 team, as well as three goals and seven assists in 11 games for their U20 team.

Sale is primarily an offensive talent at this point, still needing a bit of development on the defensive side of the puck. Next season, Sale is set to join the Barrie Colts of the OHL. The Colts originally drafted Sale with the 29th overall selection at the OHL’s Import Draft last summer.

Arizona Coyotes Expected To Extend Matias Maccelli

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Jul 16: PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan has obtained the terms of the deal, confirming Maccelli is signing for three years at a cap hit of $3.425MM. The contract breakdown is as follows, and will make him an RFA due a $4.11MM qualifying offer at the end:

2023-24: $3MM salary
2024-25: $3.025MM salary
2025-26: $4.25MM salary

Jul 15: The Arizona Coyotes have gotten a fair bit of work done over the last 24 hours, and now Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports they are not quite done. Weekes reports that the team is close to signing restricted free agent forward Matias Maccelli to a three-year contract extension. Maccelli experienced a breakout season last year, scoring 49 points in 64 games, finishing fourth in Calder Memorial Trophy voting.

Drafted 98th overall by the Coyotes back in the 2019 NHL Draft, he has surely exceeded expectations for the rebuilding club. In his draft year, Maccelli played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, and Maccelli had 31 goals and 41 assists in 62 games for the team. Arizona felt that Maccelli still needed some more development, and allowed him to travel back to his home country of Finland to play in the Liiga.

Upon joining Ilves of the Finish Liiga, Maccelli impressed even further and saw his name moving up on the Coyotes’ prospects list. In his two years spent overseas, Maccelli scored 28 goals and 41 assists in 94 games playing in the country’s top professional hockey league. Arizona was so impressed by what they saw in Maccelli’s time in Finland, they signed him to a three-year, $2.78MM entry-level contract.

Maccelli did play a few games with the Coyotes during the 2021-22 season but primarily featured on their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Not only did Maccelli play well in his first season for the Roadrunners, he led the team in points, scoring 14 goals and 43 assists in 47 games.

Making the Coyotes out of training camp this past season, Maccelli became one of the top players on the team. Playing on a line with star player Clayton Keller, Maccelli put up 11 goals and 38 assists in 64 games. Maccelli likely would have added to that total, but a lower-body injury kept him out for six weeks during December and January. As Arizona continues to build its team from the ground up, finding diamonds in the rough similar to Maccelli is going to be important for the team.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Jared McIsaac

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Wrapping up a bit of internal business this afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings have inked defenseman Jared McIsaac to a one-year, two-way contract. Now that McIsaac is signed, this leaves Joe Veleno as the lone restricted free agent left in the organization. CapFriendly reports the contract will pay McIsaac $787.5K at the NHL level.

During his draft year in 2018, McIsaac was projected as a late-first-round pick, as most mock drafts had him between 25-29 at the time. McIsaac would slip out of the first round, not hearing his name called until the 36th pick the following day.

Playing for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL in his draft season, McIsaac played in 65 games, scoring nine goals and 38 assists. McIsaac would play another two seasons for the Mooseheads, as well as a brief stint with the Moncton Wildcats, before finally joining Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the 2021-22 season.

McIsaac has played well thus far with the Griffins, appearing in 131 games over the last two years, scoring eight goals and 38 assists. He has yet to reach the postseason with the Griffins, finishing as one of the worst teams in the league over the last couple of years.

Already at 23 years old, McIsaac does not typically feature on any lists of top prospects for the Red Wings. Already having adequate defensive depth at the NHL level, prospects Simon Edvinsson and William Wallinder have passed McIsaac on the depth chart.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Justin Kirkland

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Similar to their signing of free agent forward, Zach Sanford, yesterday afternoon, the Arizona Coyotes continue to add some depth to their forward core. Today, the team announced they have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with forward Justin Kirkland. Per the team’s policy, the Coyotes do not typically share the financial details of the contract with the public, but it would be safe to assume Kirkland will earn around $775K at the NHL level.

Drafted 62nd overall by the Nashville Predators back in the 2014 NHL Draft, Kirkland has spent the better part of the last seven seasons playing in the AHL but did suit up in seven games for the Anaheim Ducks last year. After his entry-level contract with the Predators reached its conclusion, Kirkland signed on with the Calgary Flames organization, signing three straight one-year deals with the team, only playing for their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat.

Kirkland’s most successful year came in 2021-22, scoring 25 goals and 23 assists for Stockton in 66 games. He finished fourth on the team in points and tallied 12 points in 13 playoffs on the Heat’s run to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. Similarly to Sanford, there is a slight possibility that Kirkland could find himself featuring in the Coyotes’ bottom six, but will likely spend the majority of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

West Notes: Damiani, Groulx, Calgary

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The Dallas Stars have signed restricted free agent forward, Riley Damiani, to a one-year, $775K contract according to Cap Friendly (Tweet Link). Although a decrease in pay at the NHL level, Damiani will see his pay go from $70K to $117.5K at the AHL level.

Drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Damiani has done much better than expected, earning a chance at the NHL level at 22 years old last season. Playing seven games, Damiani scored one goal and one assist, playing in a very limited role for Dallas.

The situation has been much different for Damiani at the AHL level with the Texas Stars, regularly featuring in the team’s top nine. Playing in 151 games thus far with the baby Stars, Damiani has 37 goals and 66 assists, regularly finishing in the top 10 among forwards in points.

Other notes:

  • Much like Damiani, the Anaheim Ducks signed a similar restricted free agent forward today, securing a one-year, two-way deal with Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Drafted 54th overall in the same year as Damiani, Groulx has more experience at the NHL level, scoring three points in 20 total games. Having spent much of his time at the AHL level, Groulx has 39 goals and 51 assists in 145 games played for the San Diego Gulls.
  • Ryan Pike of Flames Nation announced today that the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL have parted ways with their General Manager, Jeff Chynoweth. Chynoweth had previously been the team’s GM since the 2017-18 season, making the playoffs a total of four times in six seasons. Before his time with the Hitmen, Chynoweth spent the better part of 15 seasons serving as General Manager of the now-defunct Kootenay Ice, becoming President of the team after the 2010-11 season.

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