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Vancouver Canucks Sign Danny DeKeyser To PTO

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The Vancouver Canucks are bringing in some extra defensive depth, signing free agent Danny DeKeyser to a professional tryout. The veteran will attend training camp with the Canucks and try to earn an NHL contract.

DeKeyser, 32, has spent his entire career to this point with the Detroit Red Wings, playing in 547 games over parts of ten seasons. Undrafted, he was a hometown kid that made good, playing for Western Michigan before going almost directly to the NHL as a steady two-way presence.

With a career-high in points set way back in 2014-15, there isn’t a lot of offense left in the veteran. DeKeyser registered just 11 assists last season and failed to score a single goal. But for experience and defensive ability – especially on a PTO – you could certainly do worse.

The Canucks, who are currently over the salary cap ceiling, may even have a deal done with DeKeyser, whose agent told ESPN just a week ago that he was confident his client would get a contract before training camp. As we’ve seen in the past, sometimes teams that have little cap flexibility bring a veteran in on a PTO only to sign them just as the season begins, once some other mechanisms (like in-season LTIR) can be used.

If DeKeyser does land a spot with the Canucks, he would be joining a defense corps that has both aging veterans and young talents. Quinn Hughes leads the way and Travis Dermott was brought in as a younger option, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Myers, and Luke Schenn are all on the wrong side of 30 and likely not bringing as much to the table as they once did.

Adding another piece for a low cost (even perhaps league minimum in this case), certainly seems prudent, especially when Tucker Poolman’s status is still up in the air.

Minor Transactions: 09/09/22

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Another week down and we are getting closer and closer to the start of the regular season. Things kick off in less than a month when the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks battle in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8. The regular season in North America begins a few days later.

As we inch toward the starting line, all of the notable minor moves will be covered here.

  • Joseph Blandisi, a player with more than 100 games of NHL experience, has decided to take an AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies, staying put after a strong minor league campaign. The 28-year-old had 29 points in 43 games for the Marlies last season, playing very close to his hometown of Markham, Ontario.
  • Defenseman Devante Stephens, a fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Tucson Roadrunners. Stephens spent last season with the Abbotsford Canucks, scoring 15 points in 59 games. After spending the beginning of his pro career in the ECHL, Stephens’ play in Abbotsford has seemingly established him as an AHL-caliber player and landed him this one-way AHL deal with the Roadrunners.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Last 10 Restricted Free Agents

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And then there were ten. After Cayden Primeau inked his deal yesterday, there are now ten restricted free agents who have not yet signed contracts for next season. These players must be signed by December 1, or they will not be eligible to play in the NHL at all.

Jason Robertson, the young Dallas Stars forward, leads the way as the most impressive name, though many others represent key players for their respective teams.

The Los Angeles Kings, for instance, have two young defensemen on the list who each showed last season that they could be big parts of the future. Michael Anderson and Sean Durzi were each key in the team’s playoff run, with the former averaging more than 20 minutes a night during the regular season.

Arizona’s Barrett Hayton is a bit of a headscratcher, given how much cap space the team has, but his development has been anything but normal to this point, so it fits the pattern. The 22-year-old forward has played in 94 games at the NHL level and just 35 in the minor leagues since he was selected fifth overall in 2018.

The full list is:

Arizona Coyotes

Barrett Hayton

Calgary Flames

Adam Ruzicka

Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson

Edmonton Oilers

Ryan McLeod

Los Angeles Kings

Michael Anderson
Sean Durzi

New York Islanders

Parker Wotherspoon

Ottawa Senators

Alex Formenton

Toronto Maple Leafs

Rasmus Sandin

Vegas Golden Knights

Nicolas Hague

Several of these players are likely already signed, with teams only waiting to clear additional cap space before officially filing the deals. Others may end up missing part of training camp or even the regular season, as they try to work out the best contract for the present and the future.

Minor Transactions: 09/08/22

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The feeling of hockey is starting to come back, as players report to team facilities to get their workouts in and new faces arrive to start familiarizing themselves with the area. In just a few weeks there will be NHL action, meaning time is running out to make those last-second roster changes. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable minor moves right here.

  • The Hershey Bears have agreed to terms with Michael Kim and Matthew Strome, signing them to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. The Strome last name will certainly draw some attention, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful as his brothers when it comes to professional hockey. Selected 106th overall in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, Strome has been playing in the ECHL for parts of the last few seasons, only seeing a full AHL campaign in 2021-22 for the first time.
  • Alexandre Carrier (no, not that Alexandre Carrier) has signed with the Savannah Ghost Pirates for the upcoming season. This Carrier is a 31-year-old ECHL stalwart, who has made a career in the low minors without ever being much of an offensive threat. In 357 games, he has just 23 goals and 71 points but has racked up 615 penalty minutes.

This page will continue to be updated with any further transactions

Jonathan Bernier Not Expected To Be Ready For Start Of Season

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The New Jersey Devils went out and got a goaltender this offseason, trading for and then signing Vitek Vanecek to a three-year, $10.2MM contract. Given that we’re now a few weeks from the start of the regular season with both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier still on the roster, it was unclear exactly how the position would shake out.

In his latest for NJ.com, Ryan Novozinsky relays that a source close to the situation told him Bernier “definitely won’t be ready for the start of the season.” The veteran netminder had hip surgery in January and appears poised to start the season on the sidelines. It is not clear when he will be back, which will certainly raise some alarms over whether his career is nearing an end.

Bernier, 34, has played more than 400 games in the NHL but just 34 since the start of the 2020-21 season. Incredibly, during that long career, he has never posted a save percentage under .902 in a season in which he appeared at least five times. His .912 career number is impressive, especially when you consider some of the brutal teams he has played behind.

The 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs won just 29 games and finished dead last in the league, leading to the selection of Auston Matthews that summer. The team’s leading scorer (Nazem Kadri) had just 45 points. Despite that, Bernier posted a .908 save percentage in 38 appearances. In 2019-20, the Detroit Red Wings won just 17 games, finishing dead last in almost every category during a historically-bad season. Bernier, ever the stable presence, posted a .907 in 46 games.

While he has never been the best goaltender in the league, it’s been a long productive career for the 2006 11th overall pick. Hopefully, this latest injury can be resolved at some point and he can return to the ice.

For the time being, it’s Vanecek and Blackwood in the crease for the Devils, though they do have some additional depth at the position. Both Akira Schmid and Nico Daws played NHL games last season and will be needed if the team suffers another injury.

U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2022 Inductees

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The class of 2022 has been announced for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Five new hockey icons will receive the honor; Jim Johannson, Steve Cash, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique Lamoureux-Morando, and Ryan Miller.

The induction event–the 50th anniversary of the Hall–will be held on November 30, 22 in St. Paul Minnesota. Mike Trimboli, president of USA Hockey, released a statement:

These five individuals have had a tremendously positive impact on hockey in America. They have all made countless contributions to the game throughout their impressive careers and their impact will be felt for years to come. We look forward to honoring them as the 50th class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in November.

There are few people who have impacted hockey as much as the late Jim Johannson, who spent nearly two decades at the top of USA Hockey and had an effect on so many of the best players to come from America. The USA Hockey College Player of the Year award was renamed to the Jim Johansson Award in 2019 after his passing, and his addition to the Hall of Fame was only a matter of time.

Cash, one of the best sled hockey players of all time, has three Paralympic gold medals and five World Championship titles. He made his debut on the international stage at the age of 16 and posted an all-time record of 129-40 with an incredible .898 save percentage over his career in goal for Team USA.

The Lamoureux twins, as they came to be known, were some of the most dominant players in the game during their time, winning six World Championship golds, an Olympic gold, and several other silver medals on the international level. Having last competed for Team USA in 2018, they were always going to go into the Hall together.

Miller, perhaps the most recognizable name to NHL fans, had one of the most successful professional careers ever from an American-born netminder. His 391 regular season wins rank 14th all-time among NHL goaltenders, and he won the Vezina trophy in 2010 as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Internationally, Miller won an Olympic silver medal at the 2010 Olympics, where he posted a pristine .946 save percentage to lead the U.S. team within inches of gold.

It is easy to forget just how dominant Miller was at the college level, given his success in the NHL. He won the CCHA Best Goaltender award in each of his three seasons at Michigan State, posting a career .941 save percentage during his 106 NCAA games. He won the Hobey Baker in 2001 and was a first-team All-American in both his sophomore and junior campaigns. He retired in 2021 following his 18th season in the NHL.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Perreault, Kadri

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The San Jose Sharks appear to be headed for a rebuild, after trading away franchise icon Brent Burns this summer, or at least a retool around some of their younger options. What that meant for Erik Karlsson, the 32-year-old defenseman with a long injury history and an $11.5MM cap hit wasn’t clear, until he spoke with Corey Masisak of The Athletic.

Karlsson was very clear that he won’t be seeking a trade out of San Jose explaining that he “committed” to the organization a long time ago. He has had some preliminary talks with Grier about the direction of the team but isn’t looking to abandon ship. Of course, while his no-movement clause allows him to decide things like that, it isn’t necessarily up to Karlsson in this case. There aren’t many teams who would be able to afford his deal even if San Jose retained part of it, especially because it still has five years left on it.

  • Mathieu Perreault has retired and joined TVA Sports, according to a release they issued yesterday. While he hasn’t announced it personally, last season did seem like a farewell for the 34-year-old, who played 25 games for the Montreal Canadiens an experience that he called a “childhood dream.” Selected in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, Perreault managed to work his way through the minor leagues and put together an NHL career that spanned more than 700 games. His best season came in 2016-17 with the Winnipeg Jets, when he finished with 45 points (in just 65 games).
  • Now that Nazem Kadri has signed a lucrative, long-term deal, he’s decided to give back to the place that raised him. The veteran forward has made a $1MM donation to the London Health Sciences Centre, establishing the Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre. Kadri signed a seven-year, $49MM contract with the Calgary Flames last month.

St. Louis Blues, Jordan Kyrou Working On Extension

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Earlier this offseason, the St. Louis Blues locked up part of their future when they signed Robert Thomas to an eight-year, $65MM contract. The 23-year-old center exploded with 77 points in 2021-22, establishing himself as one of the best young pivots in the league. His teammate, Jordan Kyrou, may soon be getting the same treatment. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweets that the Blues have begun extension talks with Kyrou.

Now 24, Kyrou had his own breakout season in 2021-22, reaching 27 goals and 75 points in 74 games. He was a horse in the playoffs as well, adding seven goals in 12 games. Last year at this time, the Blues decided to go with identical two-year bridge deals for Thomas and Kyrou, contracts that carry an average annual value of just $2.8MM. It was an incredible bargain in year one and likely will give even more surplus value in 2022-23.

It will be interesting to see if another matching deal is coming, given the positional differences. While Thomas is a full-time center, Kyrou is a pure winger, something that isn’t usually quite as lucrative when it comes to long-term deals.

Importantly, the Blues have some other contracts to think about in any negotiation. Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are both set to become unrestricted free agents next summer. General manager Doug Armstrong has been more than willing in the past to move out key pieces early if they have indicated they aren’t going to re-sign, but losing O’Reilly in particular right now seems like it would set the team back significantly. If he’s to be extended, the 31-year-old will likely be looking for a deal at least as lucrative as the $7.5MM cap hit he currently carries.

For now, if contract talks with Kyrou are going “very good,” as Strickland says, the futures of O’Reilly and Tarasenko might have to wait.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Cayden Primeau

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The Montreal Canadiens have finished their RFA work for the summer, signing Cayden Primeau to a new three-year contract. Interestingly enough it is a one-way contract for all three years, paying him an average annual value of $890K. Primeau will earn $770K in 2022-23, $800K in 2023-24, and $1.1MM in 2024-25.

As CapFriendly points out, the young netminder is waiver-exempt for one more season (or 56 games, should he assume full-time duties for some reason). This will give them the chance to run a tandem of Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault this season, with the former becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer (though Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweets that extension talks between Allen and the Canadiens have begun).

Even when Primeau does become eligible for waivers, a contract like this could potentially help him slip through. It is not as if he has proven himself at the NHL level to this point. The 23-year-old netminder has an .874 save percentage in 18 appearances with the Canadiens, and despite considerable hype, has had mixed results even at the AHL level.

This is a bet on his potential and the incremental growth he is expected to experience over the next few years. At some point, the Canadiens are hoping that he takes over one of the NHL jobs and even if he doesn’t, the deal isn’t so lucrative as to negatively affect their cap situation. The entire hit can be buried in the minor leagues if necessary, and Primeau is still young enough to be a restricted free agent at its expiry.

Tye Felhaber Signs In ECHL

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In the spring of 2019, as Tye Felhaber was wrapping up an incredible final season with the Ottawa 67s, that saw him score 76 goals in 86 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Dallas Stars signed the undrafted forward to a three-year entry-level contract. It was a lottery ticket that cost nothing more than a contract slot, and gave another outstanding young hockey player a chance to test himself at the professional level.

Felhaber ended up playing 41 games for the Texas Stars the following season but was held to just two goals, as his offensive touch didn’t follow him to the AHL. Earlier this year, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning who have a history of working with talented junior scorers, but even they couldn’t turn things around. By the summer, Felhaber was left unqualified by the Lightning, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Now, he’ll try to work his way back up the ladder by first signing with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. He (along with Logan Barlage and Scott Allan) was introduced by the team today as new bodies for the minor league club.

Given that he is 24, it is likely too late for Felhaber to make it as an impact NHL player. But given his early ECHL performance – 12 goals in 20 games – the Komets may have a star on their hands. Felbhaber’s rights are no longer owned by the Lightning.

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