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Colorado Avalanche Re-Sign Jonas Johansson

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The Colorado Avalanche have some question marks in net even after acquiring Alexandar Georgiev, meaning they need some depth at the position. That will come in the form of Jonas Johansson, who has re-signed for one year. He’ll be on a two-way contract that carries an NHL salary of $750K and an AHL salary of $350K.

After losing Johansson on waivers last December, the Avalanche had to watch as he basically became a practice goaltender for the Florida Panthers organization. The 26-year-old played just two games for Florida and one for their AHL affiliate during the five months he was with the team, meaning he will be a bit out of practice by the time he gets back in game action next season.

That is, of course, if they’re able to get him through waivers this time, which isn’t a given after his experience in 2021-22. He certainly won’t be staying with the Avalanche NHL roster though, unless there’s an injury, as Georgiev and Pavel Francouz are locked in as the everyday tandem.

Winnipeg Jets Sign David Rittich

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The Winnipeg Jets lost Eric Comrie to free agency and needed another goaltender to backup Connor Hellebuyck. That will be David Rittich, who is coming in on a one-year, $900K contract.

While general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff suggested that Comrie’s arbitration case would have priced him out of their financial plans had they given him enough starts to avoid Group VI unrestricted free agency, it still does seem odd that they would make a change to Rittich, after his performance this year. The 29-year-old goaltender posted an .886 save percentage in 17 appearances for the Nashville Predators, numbers that following several relatively sub-par seasons.

In fact, Rittich holds a career save percentage of just .904 now, and has never posted a single season with a number over .911. “Big Save Dave” has been extremely inconsistent throughout his 152 NHL games, and now will be tasked with backing up a starting goaltender that plays more than most in the league. His starts will be sporadic, and while that may be why the team didn’t want to spend much on their backup position, if Hellebuyck were to suffer an injury, it’s hard to imagine Rittich leading them to the postseason.

Shane Wright Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Seattle Kraken have signed their top draft choice, Shane Wright, to a three-year entry-level contract. The young forward was selected fourth overall earlier this month.

Wright has a lot to prove after falling out of the top three, an unexpected result for not only him but most of the hockey world. He’ll now get a chance to become one of the first franchise icons in Seattle, if he can live up to the expectations that have been on him since he was in minor hockey.

For the Kraken, the idea of slotting in Wright and Matty Beniers down the middle for the next decade is extremely appealing, though there may be a steep learning curve this season with the youngsters in the lineup every night.

That is of course assuming Wright makes the Kraken. As an 18-year-old, he can’t be assigned to the minor leagues, meaning it’s either Seattle or Kingston for the young forward.

Florida Panthers Sign Marc, Eric Staal

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The Florida Panthers are bringing in some brotherly love, signing Marc Staal to a one-year, $750K deal and Eric Staal to a professional tryout, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.

The state of Florida will actually have three Staals on the ice, as younger brother Jared Staal is an associate coach with the Orlando Solar Bears. When Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes come to town, it can be a family reunion.

For the Panthers, adding Marc Staal on a league-minimum deal will give them a veteran presence to plug in whenever necessary. The 35-year-old defenseman has played over 1,000 regular season games, including 71 this season for the Detroit Red Wings.

While he isn’t the elite shutdown option he once was, the veteran defender is still an NHL-level talent that can handle penalty killing and third-pairing responsibilities. He may not play every night for Florida but when you look at a team that paid a huge price for defensive depth at the deadline, adding him now makes sense.

Eric Staal meanwhile didn’t play in the NHL last season, sitting out and suiting up at the Olympics instead. He was always open to a return but never found a job, suggesting that his career may be over. A PTO will give him a chance but it’s hard to see how the 37-year-old fits into the high-flying style of the Panthers.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Jan Rutta

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added another defenseman, and this one comes with a Stanley Cup pedigree. Jan Rutta has signed a three-year contract with the Penguins worth a total of $8.25MM. That means an average annual value of $2.75MM, likely more than the Tampa Bay Lightning could afford.

While he likely doesn’t regret his time in Tampa Bay–he did win the Stanley Cup twice, after all–it’s been hard for Rutta to really show what he was capable of on the powerhouse squad. During 158 regular season games with the Lightning, he averaged fewer than 16 minutes a night and that number actually went down in the postseason.

The team’s heavy reliance on its top four left little for Rutta and others to cover, though when he was on the ice he was quite effective. Now in Pittsburgh, he currently projects in basically the same situation.

The Penguins have five defensemen that carry cap hits of at least $4MM, meaning Rutta’s signing only gives more credence to the idea that someone will be moved out in the coming days and weeks.

Philadelphia Flyers To Sign Braun, Deslauriers, Marody

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It’s time to come home for Justin Braun, who is signing a one-year, $1MM contract with the Philadelphia Flyers according to Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic. Because it will be a one-year, 35+ contract, Braun is eligible for performance bonuses, which can take the value of the deal to $1.75MM.

He’ll be joined by Nicolas Deslauriers, who is also heading to the Flyers on a four-year deal that will carry an average annual value of $1.75MM. In a lesser move, minor league star Cooper Marody will also be joining the Flyers on a two-year deal, according to his agency Bartlett Hockey.

Braun, 35, played parts of three seasons with the Flyers before ending up traded to the New York Rangers at this year’s deadline. A dependable defensive option, he doesn’t offer much offensive upside and will likely play an even smaller role this year as Philadelphia tries to contend for a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

It’s Deslauriers that will get the headlines, given the four-year term that the physical forward landed in Philadelphia. Already 31, this is a contract that will take him deep into his thirties despite Deslauriers scoring just 44 goals and 85 points in 506 career games.

He offers a bunch of other things, including the ability to drop the gloves, but handing out that many years to a fourth-line player isn’t common in today’s NHL. Still, with a cap hit of just $1.75MM it doesn’t carry a ton of risk for the Flyers, who could bury most of that in the minor leagues if necessary.

Erik Gudbranson Expected To Sign With Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are adding some size and physicality to the backend, as they work out a deal with Erik Gudbranson according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Per various outlets, the deal carries a ten-team no-trade clause for the duration of the contract.

Last September, Gudbranson signed a one-year deal worth $1.95MM. Now, he gets a sizeable raise from Columbus, a team that was looking to add physicality and veteran leadership to their back end. They were reportedly interested in acquiring Ryan McDonagh before he headed to Nashville, and he now gets his defenseman in Gudbranson.

The 30-year-old Ottawa native had a bit of a career renaissance in Calgary, fitting like a glove next to Nikita Zadorov on the Flames’ bottom-pairing, providing Darryl Sutter’s squad with imposing physical play. He averaged 18:07 per night and played nearly three minutes per game on the penalty kill. The Flames had the sixth-best penalty kill in the league, and it’s clear that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is crediting a decent amount of that success to Gudbranson’s efforts.

At a $4MM cap hit with four-year term, it’s fair to question whether this signing is the shrewdest on Columbus’ part. While his locker room contributions are certainly valuable, and the Blue Jackets obviously believe he can be an impact player on their penalty kill, there are enough question marks in Gudbranson’s game to make this deal a controversial one. For example, did Gudbranson really play that much better in 2021-22 that he earns a new contract worth twice as much per year as his last deal? Also, if the Blue Jackets are paying Gudbranson for his physicality and grit, why did they give Gudbranson a four-year term, when his physical style could eventually take its toll on his body and make him age worse?

NHL history is littered with leadership-first, physical defensemen getting long-term contracts, only for those deals to age terribly. The Karl Alzner deal in Montreal is a perfect example. Gudbranson had a good season in 2021-22, nothing can take away from that. But for a team that’s done so much right over the past year, it’s fair for fans to be a bit confused at this signing, although its far from a certainty that it’ll age as poorly as the comparables that were mentioned.

St. Louis Blues Sign Noel Acciari

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The St. Louis Blues have added a quality bottom-six forward at a reasonable cost, signing Noel Acciari to a one-year, $1.25MM contract. Acciari arrives in St. Louis having spent the last three seasons as a Florida Panther.

You can never have enough affordable bottom-six forwards, and that’s the attitude GM Doug Armstrong is taking with the signing of Acciari. At a $1.25MM price tag, Acciari is a market-price investment for Armstrong to bolster the back of his lineup. An undrafted player, Acciari has 307 NHL games on his resume.

Acciari has struggled to stay healthy as of late, but in his most recent healthy season he scored 20 goals. The five-foot-ten, 209-pound winger is a bundle of energy, physicality, and grit and will give coach Craig Berube a trustworthy bottom-six option. Given his recent inability to stay in the lineup and overall lack of scoring since his impressive 2019-20 campaign, expecting another 20-goal season from Acciari would be a mistake. But with reasonable expectations, Blues fans should be satisfied with this move as a sensible, low-risk option.

San Jose Sharks Sign Oskar Lindblom

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After being bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers, Oskar Lindblom is getting a fresh start. He has signed a two-year contract with the San Jose Sharks and Pierre LeBrun adds that it will carry a $2.5MM average annual value.

General manager Mike Grier released a statement:

Oskar is a proven forward who can provide offensive upside in the middle of our lineup. He has overcome significant obstacles in his young career and his strength and desire to play hockey is immeasurable. We are happy to have him join our organization.

Lindblom was once one of the more promising young forwards in the Flyers organization, outperforming his fifth-round pick status and scoring 17 goals and 33 points in 2018-19. Lindblom showed an ability to effectively use his size and strength to create chances and looked like a potential middle-six scoring option with room to grow.

Then, Lindblom was hit with an immense challenge. In December 2019, Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma and had to focus his energy, not on his battles on the ice but on his new fight off of it. Lindblom’s story rallied the entire hockey world behind him, and he eventually made his return to Philadelphia’s lineup, even featuring in the team’s three-round run in the 2020 playoffs. Lindblom won the 2021 Bill Masterton Trophy, but unfortunately, the end of his tenure in Philadelphia serves as a sobering reminder that hockey is a business above all else.

Since returning from his absence, Lindblom has been unable to rediscover the form that made him such a promising young player in 2018-19. Lindblom had 12 goals and 26 points in 2021-22, not bad production by any means but certainly not worth the $3MM they were paying him. Working against Lindblom as well was the fact that the Flyers would not only get out from under the full weight of his $3MM cap hit, but they would also get a small cap credit as well from buying him out.

So the math became simple for GM Chuck Fletcher, paving the way for Lindblom to land in San Jose. For the Sharks, if Lindblom can rediscover the form he showed earlier in his career he can be an important player in their lineup. But even if he doesn’t, $2.5MM isn’t an unreasonable price to pay for what he will provide.

Washington Capitals Sign Lindgren, Irwin, Gustafsson

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The Washington Capitals have found their entire NHL goaltending tandem on the free agent market, adding Charlie Lindgren to the previously signed Darcy Kuemper. Lindgren has inked a three-year deal that will carry an average annual value of just $1.1MM.

They’ve also added some defensive depth, inking Matt Irwin to a one-year, two-way deal worth $750K at the NHL level according to PuckPedia, and Erik Gustafsson to a one-year contract worth $800K.

Their first signing, Lindgren, is one that might confuse more casual fans but will make a ton of sense to fans who closely followed either the St. Louis Blues or the 2021-22 AHL season. Lindgren was incredible with both the Blues and their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In St. Louis, Lindgren played five games and went 5-0-0 with a .958 save percentage and 1.22 goals against average. While he wasn’t as absurdly dominant in the AHL, he was still great, going 24-7-1 with a .925 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against-average. It’s on the back of this breakout year that Lindgren gets this (relatively) sizeable deal, and along with the money attached Lindgren gets the chance to be a backup on what looks to be a contending NHL team.

The second signing is of Matt Irwin, who has been a depth defenseman for most of his NHL career. The defense-first blueliner skated in 17 games for the Capitals this season and provides steady injury fill-in play. He’s the sort of defenseman the Capitals likely hope doesn’t play too often but also won’t really have to worry about for the games he does play, as he’s best when he’s not noticed.

The same cannot be said about Erik Gustafsson. Gustafsson’s profile is, well, different, to say the least. Gustafsson is an offense-first, puck-moving defenseman who has a 60-point season on his resume. The Capitals aren’t likely signing him thinking he’ll be a 60-point player for them but after the loss of Justin Schultz in Seattle he might be able to help them as a secondary offensive defenseman. He had 18 points in 59 games on a bad Blackhawks team and played bottom-pairing minutes on a Montreal Canadiens team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

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