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Snapshots: Miller, Ruff, DeBoer

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All summer there has been chatter about J.T. Miller and the Vancouver Canucks, with reports swinging between extension talks and trade speculation as the star forward approaches unrestricted free agency. Signed for just one more season, the Canucks have been clear that they would love to keep Miller but it has to be at a price they feel comfortable with.

On the latest Dropping the Gloves podcast with former NHL enforcer John Scott, Miller spoke about his situation and admitted that his camp and the Canucks are “not as close” as they would like to be at this point. Miller continued to suggest that he wants to stay in Vancouver if possible but understands that it might not be possible.

  • Lindy Ruff spoke with team reporter Amanda Stein about the New Jersey Devils offseason acquisitions, gushing about the addition of Ondrej Palat. Explaining that Palat will be “big-time” for the team, Ruff was clear with the goal for this year. Development time is over and the veteran coach must now “make sure that this team gets to the playoffs.”
  • In an interview with Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun, former Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer admitted that he was surprised to be fired this offseason. While the team missed the playoffs for the first time in their history, they still finished with a 43-31-8 record, despite missing several key players for a huge part of the season. In fact, DeBoer had a 98-50-12 regular season record with Vegas over parts of three seasons and reached the third round in both of the first two years. DeBoer is now with the Dallas Stars, while Bruce Cassidy will takeover the Golden Knights.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Jake Leschyshyn, Paul Cotter

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The Vegas Golden Knights have announced a pair of three-year contract extensions, keeping Jake Leschyshyn and Paul Cotter in the organization for the next few seasons. Both players will earn the league minimum in all three years (PuckPedia adds that Cotter’s first year will be a two-way contract). Leschyshyn was a restricted free agent, meaning his deal starts in 2022-23, while Cotter was going into the last season of his entry-level contract, meaning this extension starts in 2023-24.

Leschyshyn, 23, was part of the Golden Knights’ inaugural draft class, selected 62nd overall in 2017. He Played 41 games for the team this season in his first taste of NHL action and managed six points in the process. The minor league portion of his year was much more productive with 27 points in 34 games but he enters next season in the mix for a full-time bottom-six role with Vegas.

While the team does have some forward prospects with a bit higher ceiling – namely Brendan Brisson – Leschyshyn represents a nice homegrown talent that can help fill out the lineup in the years to come. Any regular playing for the league minimum is providing surplus value, meaning if there can be any increase in production out of the young center, this contract could actually be quite a bargain for the Golden Knights moving forward.

The same might be said about Cotter, who managed to make it to the NHL for seven games this year and scored two goals in the process. Given this will be his age-23 season (he turns 23 in November), he is signing away nearly all of his restricted free agent years at the league minimum. It gives him some nice security to have one-way contracts in 2024-25 and 2025-26 but if he can take another step forward that too could be a nice bargain for the Golden Knights.

Cotter had 20 goals and 35 points in 59 games this season for the Henderson Silver Knights, while also racking up 62 penalty minutes (including two fighting majors).

Poll: Which Team Has Improved The Most This Offseason?

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It may not seem like it but we’re now less than two months away from the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. For the most part, teams have finished their remodeling and now have in place the roster that will start the year.

There are still some restricted free agents to sign, and Nazem Kadri is still without an officially filed contract, but the rest of the available players aren’t really difference-makers.

So now, with training camp a few weeks away (and players already starting to skate in groups) we can start grading offseasons. Who improved the most? Who missed the mark? Who will take a step back?

For many people, the Ottawa Senators have been the biggest beneficiaries this offseason. General manager Pierre Dorion clearly feels as though his group is ready to start contending for the playoffs, and made several moves to get them even closer. Alex DeBrincat, Claude Giroux, and Cam Talbot are now Senators, giving the team a veteran goaltender, a former MVP candidate, and an in-his-prime 40-goal scorer all in one summer.

But they aren’t the only club that improved.

The Seattle Kraken, for all of their detractors, added several interesting pieces. Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Justin Schultz have arrived, not to mention the drafting of Shane Wright. While Matty Beniers isn’t exactly an offseason acquisition, having him in the lineup every night will certainly push them forward as well.

Then there is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who landed the summer’s top free agent in Johnny Gaudreau. The recently-extended Patrik Laine has to be itching to get on the ice with one of the league’s best playmakers.

The Detroit Red Wings added big pieces in free agency, the Anaheim Ducks brought in pieces like Ryan Strome, John Klingberg, and Frank Vatrano, and the New Jersey Devils nabbed some Stanley Cup experience.

So who improved the most? Cast your vote below and explain your thinking process in the comments!

Which team improved the most this offseason?
Ottawa Senators 32.02% (600 votes)
Detroit Red Wings 17.61% (330 votes)
Columbus Blue Jackets 5.71% (107 votes)
Seattle Kraken 4.59% (86 votes)
Edmonton Oilers 3.52% (66 votes)
Calgary Flames 2.72% (51 votes)
Boston Bruins 2.45% (46 votes)
New Jersey Devils 2.40% (45 votes)
Los Angeles Kings 2.24% (42 votes)
Buffalo Sabres 2.19% (41 votes)
New York Rangers 2.19% (41 votes)
Anaheim Ducks 2.08% (39 votes)
Carolina Hurricanes 2.03% (38 votes)
Montreal Canadiens 1.87% (35 votes)
Pittsburgh Penguins 1.76% (33 votes)
Florida Panthers 1.71% (32 votes)
Vancouver Canucks 1.60% (30 votes)
Washington Capitals 1.60% (30 votes)
Chicago Blackhawks 1.49% (28 votes)
New York Islanders 1.12% (21 votes)
Toronto Maple Leafs 1.12% (21 votes)
Philadelphia Flyers 1.01% (19 votes)
Minnesota Wild 0.75% (14 votes)
Colorado Avalanche 0.69% (13 votes)
St. Louis Blues 0.64% (12 votes)
Winnipeg Jets 0.53% (10 votes)
Nashville Predators 0.48% (9 votes)
Dallas Stars 0.43% (8 votes)
Arizona Coyotes 0.37% (7 votes)
San Jose Sharks 0.37% (7 votes)
Tampa Bay Lightning 0.37% (7 votes)
Vegas Golden Knights 0.32% (6 votes)
Total Votes: 1,874

Parker Foo Re-Signs In KHL

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Among NHL reserve lists, there are plenty of teams that own exclusive rights to players who have never suited up for them. Unsigned draft picks are the most common types of these but in most cases, those rights expire eventually – usually two or four years after they are drafted.

Some others though are maintained indefinitely, as they play in a league without a current transfer agreement. That’s the case for Parker Foo, whose rights are still owned by the Chicago Blackhawks, despite being drafted more than five years ago.

Selected 144th overall in 2017, Foo was a junior teammate of Cale Makar with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL. He then went to the NCAA to play for Union College, before leaving for the KHL in 2020.

That move, which took him to join Kunlun Red Star, helped him qualify for the 2022 Olympics for China. The country used that KHL team as their entry in the Games, which they hosted earlier this year. Foo also played for China at the World Championship, though they competed in the lower division tournament.

Now, the 23-year-old has re-signed with Kunlun, meaning any potential return to North American hockey will have to wait. Foo’s rights, meanwhile, will stay with Chicago indefinitely while he plays in the KHL.

Interestingly enough his brother, Spencer Foo, was also part of Kunlun the last few years and on that Olympic squad but he signed a contract with the Vegas Golden Knights last month. In an ironic twist, Spencer went undrafted in his youth and is now on his second NHL contract (playing four games with the Flames a few years ago), while fifth-round pick Parker has never signed.

Johan Larsson Signs In Sweden

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August 12: Larsson has indeed opted to return to Brynas, per a team release today. Brynas has Larsson locked in for three seasons, making him 33 years old at the end of the deal. Considering how effective Larsson still was this past season, though, an NHL return at that point shouldn’t be out of the question.

August 10: It appears as though Johan Larsson is heading home, as reports out of Sweden have the free agent forward signing with Brynas, the organization that developed him. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports tweets that Larsson, who played for the Arizona Coyotes and Washington Capitals last season, had offers from several NHL teams but wanted a bigger role.

He actually received that bigger role in Arizona, where he averaged nearly 18 minutes a night for the 29 games he played. That resulted in 15 points during his time in the desert, and the continued excellent defensive play that he has brought his entire career. Even in Washington, where he saw a dramatically reduced role, he added six points in 14 games, and entered the summer as an interesting option for teams looking to increase their center depth.

Now 30, Larsson has always been an excellent defensive presence and has nearly 500 games of NHL experience. His previous career-high was 18 points, set in the 2019-20 season but he broke that in just 43 games this year. Going unsigned is rather surprising, even if it is because he was looking for a bigger role. Heading back to the SHL now could very well end his NHL career.

Of course, it’s not just role. Larsson played years for Brynas before coming to the NHL, winning U18, U20, and Elite League titles with the organization during his time there. If he does return, it will be the homecoming of a legendary club player, even if his North American career wasn’t everything he had hoped. In 488 career regular season games, Larsson scored 53 goals and 132 points.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Kevin Korchinski

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August 11th: CapFriendly has reported the expected financial terms of the deal. Korchinski’s $950K cap hit is made up of an $855K base salary and a $95K signing bonus. It also contains $1MM in Type A performance bonuses and pays $82.5K per season in the minors. Interestingly, the contract will also pay Korchinski a $10.5K salary each year he spends in juniors, which The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that the defenseman is likely to spend a year or two in the WHL.

August 10th: The Chicago Blackhawks made big moves to acquire the seventh-overall pick in this year’s draft and used it on super-talented WHL defenseman Kevin Korchinski. Today, they’ve officially added him to the organization, signing the young Korchinski to a three-year, entry-level contract.

If you want a defenseman that has the puck on his stick every time he is out there, it’s Korchinski, who is involved in the play at all times. This is not a player who relies on dumping the puck out or giving it to his partner to deal with; he wants to be in control of every breakout.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson explained on the draft floor that it was Korchinski they were always targeting as they moved up the board, by sending Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for a package that included the seventh selection. If he hits, he’s going to be a tremendous addition to the team for a long time, anchoring their defense.

The question is whether or not he will hit, and quite frankly, there isn’t a lot to go on just yet. Korchinski played just 24 WHL games before the 2021-22 season, meaning his experience level is still relatively low to many of his peers. A June birthday, he had only just turned 18 a few weeks before the draft, and will likely take a little while before he’s manning the Blackhawks blueline on a regular basis.

After missing the cut at the current World Juniors, he is a strong candidate for the tournament in December and is expected to spend the season with the Seattle Thunderbirds once again. His entry-level deal will slide, provided he doesn’t play ten games in the NHL next season.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Riley Sheahan

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Aug 11: Sheahan’s contract includes a $375K AHL salary, according to CapFriendly.

Aug 10: The Buffalo Sabres have brought Riley Sheahan back to the organization, signing him to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal has a $950K NHL salary.

Sheahan, 30, spent last season with the Seattle Kraken, registering 17 points in 69 games. He also cleared waivers in November though, leading to four games in the minor leagues, his first time in the AHL since 2013-14.

It perhaps is that fact that makes this contract structure so interesting. It’s not often a two-way contract has an NHL salary as high as $950K. Sheahan will be nicely rewarded if he can make the roster but that isn’t guaranteed, given how many other players will be in camp.

The Sabres already had ten forwards signed to one-way deals, with a large group of entry-level prospects pushing for playing time. Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, and Jack Quinn are all likely to make the opening day group, which doesn’t necessarily leave a lot of room for Sheahan.

Still, with more than 600 games of NHL experience and a strong defensive pedigree at center ice, he represents nice depth for the Sabres to add this late in the summer.

Dmitri Osipov Signs Professional Tryout

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The Anaheim Ducks are bringing free agent Dmitri Osipov to camp this season, as CapFriendly reports he has signed a professional tryout with the club. Osipov has played with the Rockford IceHogs the last several seasons.

Now 25, the Russian-born Osipov has been on this side of the ocean for years now, including four seasons in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants (and half a year with the Brandon Wheat Kings). Having played defense for most of his career, he recently made the switch to forward to better utilize his huge frame and strong skating ability, which led him to rack up 84 penalty minutes last season for Rockford.

A big open-ice hitter, he still managed only three goals and five points for the IceHogs but will now try to catch on in the Anaheim organization as a physical depth presence.

Remember, professional tryout contracts do not lock a player in with a certain organization, meaning this is really a showcase for the entire league. Osipov could sign with any team, if they’re willing to give him an NHL contract.

Poll: How Will Vegas Solve Their Goaltending?

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The Vegas Golden Knights announced some stunning news today, explaining that because of upcoming hip surgery, Robin Lehner will be out for the entire 2022-23 season. With Laurent Brossoit coming off hip surgery of his own, the team is left with Logan Thompson and Michael Hutchinson as their NHL tandem for the moment.

Even if Brossoit is able to return rather quickly, he doesn’t offer a huge upgrade. The 29-year-old has a career .905 save percentage, which includes an .895 in 24 appearances for Vegas last season. While he has NHL experience he certainly isn’t the kind of goaltender you feel comfortable with if you want to be a Stanley Cup contender.

Free agents

So one can assume that they will make a goaltending addition at some point either before the start of the season, or at some point during it. The problem, of course, is that the free agent market has been picked clean at this point. There are only seven unsigned goaltenders who played a game at the NHL level last season. Braden Holtby, who leads that group with 24 appearances, is dealing with an injury of his own and is not expected to play this season.

Andrew Hammond, who is second with 11 games played last season, recently signed a professional tryout with the Florida Panthers. That certainly doesn’t block him from signing with Vegas but he isn’t the answer for a playoff contender at this point. Jean-Francois Berube, Garret Sparks, Cory Schneider, Michael McNiven, and Adam Huska are the others, who all come with similarly limited upside.

Trades

The team that immediately sprang to almost everyone’s mind is the San Jose Sharks, who have Kaapo Kahkonen, James Reimer, and Adin Hill all signed for at least $2.175MM next season. All three would need to clear waivers to be sent down, meaning there already seemed to be a trade coming at some point. The fact that San Jose signed Aaron Dell (and to a lesser extent Strauss Mann) only furthered that idea.

Both Reimer and Hill have just one year left on their contracts and either one could potentially be targeted. The 34-year-old Reimer had a .911 save percentage in 48 games last season and Hill, though he hast just 74 games of NHL experience, has performed pretty well whenever given the chance. The 26-year-old stands 6’6″ and has a career .908, despite never playing on a very good team.

There are some other interesting options around the league though. Veteran netminder Anton Khudobin was suggested by Saad Yousuf of The Athletic as a stop-gap option, while someone like Semyon Varlamov is an interesting candidate given the Islanders’ expected cap issues.

Part of the question for Vegas might be whether they believe Lehner is going to be return for the 2023-24 season, or if they need to look at a more long-term solution. Perhaps someone like 26-year-old Alex Nedeljkovic of the Detroit Red Wings could be an answer if it is the latter. The Red Wings recently made a hefty commitment to Ville Husso in free agency and Nedeljkovic will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

John Gibson’s name always emerges in trade discussions, warranted or not, and he’ll likely be linked again this time around. The Ducks have Anthony Stolarz and goaltender-of-the-future Lukas Dostal in place, and the Golden Knights have never been shy about going after big (expensive) names. The potential trade candidates are endless, though because Vegas now has so much cap flexibility through long-term injured reserve, another option has emerged in the conversation this afternoon

Offer sheet

Jake Oettinger still doesn’t have a contract, and if the Golden Knights wanted to really make a move, they could try to get him to sign an offer sheet. The important thing to note here is that because they don’t have their own 2023 second-round pick they would be limited in what they can put on the table. Unless they recover that pick from the Buffalo Sabres (who received it as part of the Jack Eichel trade) the Golden Knights will only be able to table an offer sheet with a certain average annual value.

This year’s compensation table looks like:

$1,386,490 or less No compensation
$1,386,491 to $2,100,472 Third-round pick
$2,100,473 to $4,201,488 Second-round pick
$4,201,489 to $6,302,230 First and third-round picks
$6,302,231 to $8,402,975 First, second and third-round picks
$8,402,976 to $10,503,720 Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
Over $10,503,721 Four first-round picks

Anything with a second-round pick would be off the table. One other thing to mention about these totals is that it is either the average annual value or for a contract over five years in length, the total divided by five. For example, if they were to sign a goaltender to a seven-year, $42MM contract the cap hit would be $6MM but the value for compensation would be $8.4MM.

It would be a tricky needle to thread for the Golden Knights to find an offer sheet that Oettinger would actually sign, the Dallas Stars would actually fail to match, and fits their compensation abilities without that second-round pick.

There is of course the option of doing nothing, and allowing Thompson, who played well last season, to try and run with the job. If Vegas’ history is anything to go by, they’re at least considering a much bigger move. Will they be able to pull it off?

How will the Golden Knights solve their goaltending this offseason?
Trade 65.79% (627 votes)
Nothing 20.46% (195 votes)
Free agent 9.44% (90 votes)
Offer sheet 4.30% (41 votes)
Total Votes: 953

Hershey Bears Hire Todd Nelson

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The Hershey Bears lost their head coach Scott Allen to the NHL a few weeks ago, when the Washington Capitals promoted him to replace the outgoing Scott Arniel. That left an appealing vacancy for the Capitals affiliate, one they have filled with an equally experienced coach. Todd Nelson, who spent the last four seasons as an assistant with the Dallas Stars, has been hired as the new head coach in Hershey.

It was in 2017 that Nelson led the Grand Rapids Griffins to a Calder Cup championship but his success in the minor leagues started long before that. In 11 seasons as the head coach of an AHL or UHL team he has never missed the playoffs or had a record below .500. With two championships in the UHL with the Muskegon Fury, the Calder Cup win just a few years ago, and even some head coaching experience at the NHL level with the Edmonton Oilers, it’s hard to argue with the choice.

Fans of the team may even remember him from his playing days when he spent one season with the Bears and racked up a career-high 50 points in 70 games. The former defenseman appeared seven times at the NHL level, including six (two regular season, four playoff) games for the Capitals where he scored his first (and only) NHL goal.

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