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Avalanche Sign Logan O’Connor To Six-Year Extension

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The Colorado Avalanche have gotten to work early on one of their key secondary scorers by announcing a six-year contract extension for forward Logan O’Connor. O’Connor was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer with his three-year, $3.15MM contract expiring. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports O’Connor will earn $2.5MM each year of the deal.

Although he was raised in Calgary after his father, Myles O’Connor, retired from professional hockey in 1998, O’Connor has spent much of his adult life in Denver, CO. He spent three years just south of Ball Arena at the University of Denver from 2015-18 collecting 16 goals and 43 points in 108 games while helping his team to a National Championship in 2017. He signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche after his junior season in 2018 and made his NHL debut with the club the following season.

O’Connor performed admirably in his first two years with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles but struggled to find his footing in the NHL. He registered only two goals in 21 games in his first two years with Colorado before injuries limited him to only three goals and five points in 22 games during the 2020-21 regular season.

He finally came into his current role during the 2021-22 NHL season scoring eight goals and 24 points in 81 games while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time per game. He became a physical player and an effective penalty killer becoming an all-out annoying presence for the opposition. He helped the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001 that spring scoring one goal in game three of Colorado’s semi-final matchup against the St. Louis Blues while registering three more assists throughout the postseason.

O’Connor played similarly for the Avalanche the following season scoring nine goals and 26 points in 82 contests but failed to register any points in Colorado’s seven-game loss to the Seattle Kraken in the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The 2023-24 season was a breakout season for O’Connor before a hip injury ended his year early. He scored 13 goals and 25 points in 57 games including three goals on the penalty kill which was good for a share of fifth amongst the NHL by season’s end. His shooting percentage more than doubled to 15.3% and Colorado’s third line was noticeably weaker after O’Connor went down with injury.

O’Connor is once again expected to be a major bottom-six piece for the Avalanche as they look to regain their footing in a tough Western Conference. The team hasn’t advanced beyond Round Two of the playoffs since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 largely because of their lack of depth. His $2.5MM salary should be more than digestible for a cash-strapped team such as the Avalanche as they hope O’Connor will be a focal point of their third line for years to come.

Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports shared a quote from Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland surmising O’Connor’s importance to the team by saying, “He is a relentless worker and competitor who brings energy and grit to the lineup every night. His speed and skating ability makes him a dangerous two-way player and he is one of our top penalty killers. Logan is also a great teammate and takes pride in being a part of the Denver community“. 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports images. 

Central Notes: Minnesota Injuries, Perfetti, Ohgren

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The Minnesota Wild are nursing a few injuries up-and-down the roster in addition to star forward Matt Boldy missing the next few weeks due to a lower-body injury. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports Reese Johnson, Pavel Novak, and Michael Milne are all out with mild upper-body injuries with the latter having yet to practice with the team during training camp.

None of the three were expected to be impact players for the Wild this season with Johnson having the highest odds of the trio to crack the opening night roster. Johnson joined Minnesota this offseason on a one-year league minimum contract and already has seven goals and 17 points in 141 games with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2021-2024. Johnson would be isolated to a bottom-six role with the Wild but will likely start in a ’first man up’ role with AHL Iowa.

Novak and Milne are starting their third seasons with the Wild organization but have exclusively played in the minor leagues. Novak is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he primarily played for the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 44 contests. Milne has yet to be demoted to the ECHL as he scored eight goals and 21 points in 40 games for the AHL Wild last year in a bottom-six role when healthy.

Other Central notes:

  • The Winnipeg Jets and forward Cole Perfetti made zero progress on an extension over the weekend reports Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. The negotiations appear to be a classic case of the player asking too much from the organization’s perspective and the team offering too low from the player’s perspective. Billeck also reported the Jets are unwilling to consider the recent short-term deal for Dawson Mercer and the long-term deal for Dylan Guenther as comparables to Perfetti. He’s still staying on the ice to prepare for the regular season but he and the team have a little over two weeks to get an extension done befor the start of the regular season on October 9th.
  • Back in Minnesota, the organization is eager about the first full season for forward prospect Liam Ohgren. General manager Bill Guerin believes Ohgren can be a flexible winger for the team this season by saying, “The thing I like about Liam, he can play on all four lines. I really feel like Liam can complement any of the four lines he plays on, which is good for him. That brings a value at a young age, and the fact we could fit him in the top six or he can play a different role, that’s a benefit” (Subscription Article). Ohgren scored one goal and two points over four games in his NHL debut last season after scoring 12 goals and 19 points in 26 games for the SHL’s Färjestad BK.

Shesterkin Won’t Negotiate Extension During Season

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Mollie Walker of the New York Post confirmed today that All-Star netminder for the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin, would not negotiate an extension with the organization during the regular season. There hasn’t been any major news regarding a potential extension for Shesterkin which means the Rangers have a lot of ground to gain before their season opener in just over two weeks.

Walker also confirmed Shesterkin was seeking a $12MM AAV on his next contract, indicating New York would not be getting any hometown discount. It’s reasonable to assume the Rangers are content with making Shesterkin the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Still, other players need contracts for next season which may affect Shesterkin’s negotiations. New York will have roughly $33.8MM in cap space next summer if the salary cap reaches $92MM according to PuckPedia but will need to re-sign Shesterkin, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, William Cuylle, Ryan Lindgren, and K’Andre Miller.

Many industry experts expect the Rangers to move on from the last year of captain Jacob Trouba’s contract by next offseason which should open up another $8MM in salary cap space. Even assuming the team clears Trouba’s $8MM salary for next season there may be too many question marks remaining to commit $12MM a year to Shesterkin.

It’s difficult to argue from the standpoint of New York that Shesterkin hasn’t earned $12MM a year either. Over the last five years, he’s recorded a 135-59-17 record in 208 starts while posting a .921 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average including one of the greatest individual seasons in goaltending history in 2021-22. He’s still only 28 years old meaning a max-term extension would take him through his prime into his age 37 season.

Shesterkin was outspoken about his desire to stay with the organization a few days ago when he said, “I love the organization. I love the team. I love the fans. So, of course, it would be great to stay here, but you never know what can happen“. The Rangers’ murky cap situation for next summer will certainly cut to their disadvantage if they can’t come to terms before October 9th.

Since Shesterkin and his camp are committed to earning the largest payday for any netminder in NHL history, the Rangers will have plenty of competition for his services if he makes it to free agency. There are currently only six teams projected to have lower than $12MM in cap space heading into the 2025-26 offseason which means any team with a long-term need for help in the net will be calling on Shesterkin.

New York still has 16 days from today to negotiate with Shesterkin before he blocks out any distraction for the 2024-25 NHL season. They will also have a small window between the last possible day of the Stanley Cup Final (June 23, 2025) and the opening of free agency (July 1, 2025) to sign Shesterkin to a long-term contract.

West Notes: Sharks Leadership, Lehkonen, Buchnevich

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The San Jose Sharks have labeled their leadership for the 2024-25 NHL season with captain Logan Couture set to miss a significant amount of time. The team announced earlier today that Mario Ferraro would be an alternate captain for all games, Tyler Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow would be alternate captains for home games, and Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin would serve as alternate captains for away games.

New head coach Ryan Warsofsky made it a point to re-commit to Couture as the team’s captain for the upcoming season although he may not play for some time. The 2024-25 NHL season will mark Couture’s 16th season with the Sharks organization and his fifth as the team’s captain.

Ferraro will be the only returning alternate captain from last year’s leadership group with Toffoli and Goodrow coming to San Jose this offseason. Granlund served as the team’s offensive leader last season with 12 goals and 60 points in 69 games.

Other happenings out West:

  • Following reports that Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen would not be present for the team’s preseason or training camp, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports a return may not be far off. Masisak shares that Lehkonen could be a participant in the team’s opening night game on October 9th if he’s medically cleared for contact from his shoulder injury. Lehkonen and the Avalanche will certainly be looking for a cleaner bill of health from the Finnish winger as Lehkonen looks to expand upon last season in which he scored 16 goals and 34 points in only 45 contests.
  • Lou Korac of the NHL reports St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich did not practice today due to a foot injury from blocking a shot in the team’s contest yesterday evening. Buchnevich was able to finish the game last night against the Dallas Stars and the injury is not considered serious. Buchnevich went pointless in the team’s first preseason matchup but did tally one shot on goal and a 35.3% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Metro Notes: Morrow, Carrier, Sorokin, Beckman, Pavelski

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The Carolina Hurricanes are dealing with a few injuries as team reporter Walt Ruff shares that defenseman Scott Morrow and forward William Carrier are dealing with lower-body injuries. Morrow’s is not considered serious with him expected back at practice tomorrow but the team medical staff is still evaluating Carrier.

Morrow was originally selected with the 40th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Hurricanes and is largely considered the team’s second-best defensive prospect behind Alexander Nikishin. He had a relatively small chance of cracking Carolina’s blue line out of training camp despite making his NHL debut with the Hurricanes last year. It will be his first full professional season since ending his tenure at the University of Massachusetts and he’s expected to take on a key role with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

Carrier was brought in as an unrestricted free agent this summer to a long-term six-year, $12MM contract to serve in the team’s bottom six. The former Stanley Cup champion winger is largely known for his physicality but is only two years removed from scoring 16 goals in a season with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hurricanes could create one of the most physically punishing lines in the league if they pair Carrier with team captain Jordan Staal when fully healthy.

Other Metro notes:

  • New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin continues to progress in his recovery from offseason back surgery and is still expected to start the season on time. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reported earlier today that Sorokin has already resumed skating but has failed to appear in a team practice up to this point. He will still have limited time to get into regular season mode as he looks to improve upon a down year in which he produced a .906 SV% and 3.01 GAA in 55 starts.
  • Adam Beckman’s first preseason with the New Jersey Devils is off to a slow start with James Nicholas of New Jersey Hockey Now reporting he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Beckman was acquired by the Devils from the Minnesota Wild a few days before Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Final in late June. He’s not expected to be a part of New Jersey’s roster for the upcoming season. Still, he could have a valuable role with their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, after scoring 19 goals and 33 points in 51 games for the AHL’s Iowa Wild last year.
  • Longtime NHL veteran Joe Pavelski appears to be moving quickly onto his next plans after retirement. The Pittsburgh Penguins TV play-by-play announcer, Josh Getzoff, reported today that Pavelski was at the team’s training camp with general manager Kyle Dubas and assistant general manager Jason Spezza. There has been no indication since the Penguins are considering Pavelski for a role in their front office but it may be a small insight into Pavelski’s future in the NHL.

Atlantic Notes: Edvinsson, Dahlin, LeBreton Flats

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The Detroit Red Wings already have high hopes for defensive prospect Simon Edvinsson despite not playing in a preseason game this year. Max Bultman of The Athletic shared earlier that head coach Derek Lalonde expects Edvinsson to find consistent playing time in the team’s top four to start the season.

The young Swede has spent the better part of two years with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, but also has 25 NHL contests under his belt. There are high expectations for the sixth overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft as the Red Wings desperately need to take pressure off Moritz Seider to balance out their defensive core.

Edvinsson is a remarkably smooth skater considering his 6’6″ frame and has moved the puck well with 44 assists in 106 AHL contests. He was seen skating on a line with veteran defenseman Jeff Petry yesterday during practice and that will be the likely pairing heading into the 2024-25 NHL season.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was back skating today after suffering an undisclosed injury in yesterday’s practice (X Link). He’s unlikely to play in tomorrow’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins as the team remains cautionary with their top blue liner. It’s a positive sign that Dahlin is already back skating despite having little to prove in preseason action. He’s coming off another quality year with 10 goals and 59 points in 81 games and the Sabres’ brass will prioritize him being ready for the regular season opener.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported this morning that the Ottawa Senators and National Capital Commission had reached a deal for the organization to build a new arena and entertainment district in Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats neighborhood. As more news regarding the acquisition continues to break, Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet reports the land purchase should be finalized in 2025. This shouldn’t have any major impact on the deal as the Senators’ organization never indicated that developing their new arena and district would be quick.

Ville Heinola Out Long-Term With Infection

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Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ville Heinola will miss an extended time due to an infection in his ankle. The infection appears to be stemming from a screw placed in Heinola’s ankle during surgery last year to repair a fracture. Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel said the team would re-evaluate Heinola in a week but there are little odds of him starting the season on time.

It’s a gut punch for Heinola who will now miss the better part of another season due to an ankle fracture requiring the surgical repair. He was limited to 41 games last year with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, scoring 10 goals and 27 points. The young Finnish defenseman was entering camp with a legitimate shot at earning a full-time spot with the Jets’ after an offseason of departures for the team’s blue line.

Murat Ates of The Athletic followed up on the initial report indicating that Heinola and the team’s medical staff would look into antibiotic treatments and surgery. The physical depth of the surgery will likely make the largest impact on Heinola’s recovery timeline if they decide to take that route.

Even if Heinola misses another half-season it should not be a total detriment to his development. He’s still only 23 years old and is one of the better defensive prospects in Winnipeg’s pipeline. One could reasonably expect the former 20th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft to eventually pass Colin Miller, Dylan Samberg, and Logan Stanley on the team’s depth chart over the next two years.

Outside of Heinola being out long-term, the only other downstream effect of this news is that one of Dylan Coghlan or Haydn Fleury will make the Jets’ roster out of camp as the team’s seventh defenseman. Winnipeg brought in both defensemen as unrestricted free agents this summer on identical one-year, $775K contracts. The organization should provide an update over the next week indicating Heinola’s recovery path and timeline.

Central Notes: Holland, Perfetti, Sundqvist, Jiricek

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Longtime executive Ken Holland may be joining the third team of his career with former player Jordan Schmaltz reporting Holland will be joining the Utah Hockey Club in some capacity. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff slightly downplayed the report by indicating Holland had merely been invited to Utah’s camp and no formal hire had been made.

Both reports from Friedman and Seravalli indicated that Holland maintained several connections in Utah’s front office leading to the invite to training camp. There may even be a pathway for Holland to work with his son Brad in some capacity with the newly relocated franchise as the latter recently parted ways with the Edmonton Oilers as assistant general manager.

A hire of Holland would undoubtedly bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the new franchise with Holland starting his professional career as an amateur scout for the Detroit Red Wings in 1985-86. He went on to win four Stanley Cups with Detroit (three as general manager) in six attempts and one attempt with the Oilers last year. Any hypothetical role he takes in Utah will be a lesser one than he is accustomed to with the organization already having a president of hockey operations in Chris Armstrong and a general manager in Bill Armstrong.

Other Central notes:

  • Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke at length today regarding the extension negotiations with forward Cole Perfetti (X Link). Cheveldayoff was adamant the team is still trying to craft a resolution with Perfetti now that training camp has kicked off. Perfetti is looking for other skating arrangements while the contract negotiations play out to be ready for the start of the regular season. It doesn’t appear the lengthy negotiations will tarnish the relationship between the Jets and Perfetti with Cheveldayoff saying, “Personally, I’d give these guys the moon. I’d love to have the ability to pay them everything they want and deserve. In a salary cap world I have to make business decisions“. Winnipeg currently has approximately $5.77MM in cap space with no other RFA’s to sign according to PuckPedia.
  • The St. Louis Blues will be without a couple of players to start training camp with Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting Oskar Sundqvist and Adam Jiříček are out with knee injuries. Neither player is expected to play any preseason contests but Sundqivst should already have a guaranteed spot on the roster despite his early absence. Jiricek, the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman, David Jiříček, was recently selected by the Blues as the 16th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Jiricek was limited to 19 games last year with Czechia’s HC Plzeň due to a season-ending knee injury and his availability for the 2024-25 season is still in the air.

San Jose Sharks Announce Multiple Injuries

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The San Jose Sharks are set to begin camp without four notable players. General manager Mike Grier announced that Yaroslav Askarov, Logan Couture, and Shakir Mukhamadullin are out with lower-body injuries, while Marc-Edouard Vlasic is out with an upper-body injury (X Link).

None of the injuries, except for Couture, are expected to be long-term, but they will prohibit each player from joining the team at the beginning of camp. Max Miller of The Hockey News reported today that Couture hasn’t skated since his last game on January 31st, 2024, and isn’t close to resuming on-ice activities. There is little to no chance that Couture will be available to the team at training camp with Miller also reporting Couture is expected to start the year on the team’s injured reserve.

Couture was limited to only six games in the 2023-24 season due to osteitis pubis, joint inflammation that causes considerable pain and swelling in the groin and lower abdomen. It appears to be a question of not when but if Couture can return to his duties in San Jose for the 2024-25 season. He remains the highest-paid player in the organization with three years and $24MM remaining on his contract.

The team’s second highest-paid player, Vlasic, has been relatively healthy throughout his 18-year NHL career but did lose about two weeks of playing time last year in February with an upper-body injury. Vlasic has seen his playing time drop considerably over the previous four seasons after being one of the league’s best shutdown defensemen for over a decade. The acquisitions of Jake Walman and Cody Ceci over the offseason will likely lead to an even further decrease in ice time for the team’s most veteran defensemen.

The injuries to Askarov and Mukhamadullin will delay San Jose’s ability to analyze two of their better prospects heading into the season. Askarov’s success in the AHL is well-known up to this point and he is well-positioned to be the Sharks’ goaltender of the future after being acquired from the Nashville Predators late in the summer.

Mukhamadullin joined the organization in 2023 as a part of the package for Timo Meier. He skated in 55 games last year for the organization’s AHL affiliate in San Jose recording seven goals and 24 points. His size and skating ability on the blue line should make him a popular candidate to make the Sharks defensive core out of camp.

Predators To Sign Lucas Johansen To PTO

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Defenseman Lucas Johansen will join the Nashville Predators in training camp on a professional tryout agreement as reported by Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game. The younger brother of former Predator Ryan Johansen has spent the better part of the last decade with the Washington Capitals organization.

Johansen was previously thought to be one of the better two-way defensive prospects in the Capitals pipeline after being selected by the organization with the 28th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft. He came from a Kelowna Rockets program in the WHL that became known for churning out quality defensive prospects. Johansen got off to a quick start with the Capitals’ organization in the 2017-18 season scoring six goals and 27 points in 74 games for the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Injuries quickly began to pile up for the young defenseman who only mustered 59 games for the Bears from 2018-2021. The injury concerns negatively impacted his value as a prospect as Washington pivoted to other options on the blue line. Johansen only managed to skate in six games for the Capitals from 2021-24 with only two points to show. There is little to no chance of Johansen cracking Nashville’s blue line for the upcoming season out of camp. Still, he could prove valuable with the organization’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.

The Admirals have been one of the AHL’s best regular season teams over the last few years finishing third or higher in the Central Division in seven out of the previous eight seasons. The team has failed to deliver in the playoffs despite the regular season success losing the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back campaigns against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Johansen may be the missing piece to finally get the Admirals over the hump, however, as he recently won back-to-back Calder Cup championships with Hershey.

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