Semyon Der-Arguchintsev Loaned To KHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs have loaned another one of their prospects overseas, this time sending Semyon Der-Arguchintsev to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL. Der-Arguchintsev signed his entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs back in 2018 but has been playing in the CHL, meaning it still has three years remaining on it.
Now 20, Der-Arguchintsev’s professional career is about to start. The undersized forward was drafted 76th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2018 and recorded 75 points in 55 games this season for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Notably, he has routinely been a linemate of Toronto’s top forward prospect, Nick Robertson, who led the league with 55 goals this season. A pure playmaker, Der-Arguchintsev racked up and 63 assists, good for third in the league behind only top draft picks Marco Rossi and Cole Perfetti.
Born in Russia, Der-Arguchintsev has been playing in Canada since he was 14 and has never been included in the Russian national junior teams. Now he’ll be heading back to his native country to take the next step in his professional career. The Maple Leafs did not specify whether the young forward will return for NHL training camp in the coming months, or spend the entire season in the KHL.
Pittsburgh Penguins Fire Jason Karmanos
The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired assistant general manager Jason Karmanos, who had been with the team since 2014. While the team searches for a replacement, Sam Ventura, the team’s director of hockey research, will assume the AGM duties. Erik Heasley, manager of hockey operations, has been named interim GM of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, which Karmanos had also been in charge of.
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released this statement:
We would like to thank Jason Karmanos for his contributions to the organization over the past six years. I have been evaluating our hockey operations department and this is the first part of the process to re-organize our group.
While assistant general managers are let go all the time in the NHL, this move is especially surprising because of the long history between Rutherford and Karmanos. Not only did they come to the Penguins together in 2014, but they also were together for more than a decade in the Carolina Hurricanes front office. Karmanos’ father was the owner of the Hurricanes at the time and has worked closely with Rutherford since the 80’s in various organizations.
The relieving of Karmanos from this post should not be taken lightly in Pittsburgh, though it will immediately bring up additional speculation about former AGM Jason Botterill. The former Buffalo Sabres GM cut his teeth in Pittsburgh under Rutherford and has been rumored to be a candidate to return to the Penguins since the Sabres let him go earlier this year.
Rutherford has actually been open about his desire to add to the front office this offseason, but with Karmanos gone it leaves a very thin group in terms of managerial experience. The GM was clear he was extremely disappointed by the team’s postseason performance and has already made sweeping changes to the front office, coaching staff and roster.
Chris Tierney To Re-Sign With Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators have come to another relatively hefty extension for a veteran player, agreeing with Chris Tierney on a two-year contract according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $3.5MM, with Tierney earning $2.8MM in 2020-21 and $4.2MM in 2021-22. The 26-year-old forward was a restricted free agent with an arbitration hearing scheduled for November 8. That hearing will no longer be required.
While many players are able to post career-highs when they move from a good team to a bad one and are given more responsibility, since arriving in Ottawa, Tierney still hasn’t been able to match the 17 goals he recorded during his final season in San Jose. He did post a career-best 48 points in 2018-19, but it came with just nine goals. This season he increased that number to 11, but the points dropped down to 37 in the shortened season.
Averaging more than 17 minutes a game, Tierney has become a core piece of the Senators forward group that trailed only Connor Brown, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk in ice time. While he likely should settle into a lesser role when Ottawa wants to compete, for now, he can continue to help the youngsters find their game while providing solid middle-six production.
The question that comes with almost every Senators signing these days is whether or not Tierney will actually finish this two-year deal in Ottawa. The contract is heavily back-loaded, allowing the team to move a good chunk of the salary owed if they decide to flip him at some point. With several top prospects pushing up the lineup and even more on the way, Tierney’s spot won’t be there forever. With no trade protection, he will be a valuable asset at the deadline if the team decides to move on.
Zane McIntyre Signs In KHL
A former NHL goaltender has decided to take his talents overseas, as Zane McIntyre signs with Dinamo Riga of the KHL. McIntyre played in eight games for the Boston Bruins in 2016-17 but has been logging starts in an AHL crease ever since. When his 2019-20 contract with the New Jersey Devils expired, he became an unrestricted free agent.
McIntyre, 28, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Bruins back in 2010 but didn’t make his professional debut until the 2015-16 season. After three outstanding seasons at the University of North Dakota, he joined the Providence Bruins where he quickly found success. In his sophomore year, McIntyre posted a .930 save percentage at the AHL level, leading the entire league and earning himself a spot at the minor league All-Star Game. It also landed him a chance with Boston, though those eight games may end up being his only stint in the NHL.
More recently, the Grand Forks native has struggled in the minor leagues, posting save percentages under .900 in each of the last two seasons. He’ll try to increase those numbers in the KHL, though of course, he’ll have to battle for playing time over there as well. Unless he experiences a huge step forward in play, it seems unlikely that we’ll ever see McIntyre at the NHL level again.
Nikita Nesterov Signs With Calgary Flames
4:50pm: The Flames have officially announced the Nesterov signing. The veteran defenseman has signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $700K.
3:45pm: The Calgary Flames appear to be closing in on a contract with free agent defenseman Nikita Nesterov, according to PuckPedia. A report out of Russia says that the deal will be a one-year, $700K contract, bringing Nesterov back to North America after several years in the KHL. It is important to note that the same outlet reported just recently that Nesterov was close to a deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This certainly isn’t the first time that an NHL return for Nesterov has been speculated on. Just this summer he was linked to the Los Angeles Kings, with reports even surfacing that he turned down a multi-year contract with the team.
If you’re wondering why so many teams would be after a player who recorded just 33 points in 132 NHL games, bouncing up and down from the minor leagues during his first tenure in the league, you wouldn’t be alone. But over his three years in the KHL Nesterov has taken real developmental steps to polish his game at both ends of the rink while winning an Olympic gold medal and Gagarin Cup championship.
For the Flames, Nesterov is attractive not only because of his improvements, but also his versatility. The 27-year-old has experience playing both sides and penalty kill, meaning he could potentially help fill in for the holes left by the departures of unrestricted free agents T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Derek Forbort, Erik Gustafsson, and Michael Stone. The team did bring in Chris Tanev on an expensive deal and have their own young defensemen ready to step up, but needed to add some experience and depth to the position before the offseason was complete.
Travis Dermott Re-Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed restricted free agent Travis Dermott to a one-year contract. Dermott, who was not eligible for arbitration, has signed for his qualifying offer amount of $874,125.
This always seemed the likely outcome for the Maple Leafs, given how tight their cap situation is this offseason. The team had all the leverage in a negotiation with the young defenseman and benefit most from pushing any multi-year talks down the road. Dermott, 23, will be arbitration-eligible next offseason and able to command a bigger salary after playing in 157 games through his first three NHL seasons.
Though he hasn’t quite turned into the top-four defenseman the Maple Leafs envisioned when they selected him 34th overall in 2015, Dermott has been a quality contributor for the team and figures to be that once again in 2020-21. Even with several new additions on the right side, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas even told reporters that Dermott would likely move to his off-side. Where that puts him in terms of the depth chart isn’t clear, though at such a low cost he can now be kept around even if he’s not in the lineup every night.
The Maple Leafs now sit just a little more than $1MM over the salary cap ceiling, though that CapFriendly projection has them at a full roster of 23 players. The team can easily send players like Rasmus Sandin down to the AHL to get under that $81.5MM threshold and have only Joey Anderson (who is also waiver-exempt) to sign as a restricted free agent.
It may have cost them Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson to do it, but the Maple Leafs appear to have basically completed their offseason goals while staying cap compliant—something that seemed extremely difficult just a few months ago. Time will tell whether the team has actually improved and how head coach Sheldon Keefe will deploy his new players.
Nashville Predators Hire Todd Richards
The Nashville Predators have hired another assistant coach, adding Todd Richards to John Hynes‘ staff. Richards joins Dan Lambert and Dan Hinote as the other assistants in Nashville. Predators GM David Poile released a statement on the hire:
We are extremely pleased to be able to bring in Todd and his expansive coaching background to our staff. He not only has an experienced resume, but a winning one as well, and further added to it this past season by winning the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay. He began his rise through the professional ranks in our organization with the Milwaukee Admirals, and we are happy to have him back with us to complete John Hynes’s coaching staff.
Richards comes to Nashville just a few weeks after raising the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, an organization he had been with for the last four seasons. Prior to that, he had served as head coach in both Columbus and Minnesota, where he reached the playoffs only once.
Even though his time running an NHL bench didn’t result in much postseason success, Richards did register a 204-183-37 record in parts of seven seasons as a head coach. He also took the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins deep in the playoffs twice, reaching the Calder Cup Final in 2008.
As a player, Richards spent almost his entire career in the minor leagues, suiting up just 19 times for the Hartford Whalers.
New Jersey Devils Hire Chris Taylor
The New Jersey Devils have added another assistant coach for the upcoming season, hiring Chris Taylor to join Lindy Ruff‘s staff. The team has also added Dave Rogalski as a goaltending coach. The group will be joined by two other assistants, Alain Nasreddine and Mark Recchi.
Taylor is the notable hire here, given his recent stint as head coach of the Rochester Americans. Over three seasons with the minor league team, he led them to a 116-65-33 record though wasn’t able to find much postseason success. Still, Taylor was believed to be a top coaching prospect and even served as an interim assistant with the Buffalo Sabres down the stretch.
While Buffalo cleaned house under new GM Kevyn Adams, Taylor will land on his feet in New Jersey for his first full-time NHL coaching role. He’ll bring a wealth of knowledge to the position, including nearly 20 years as a professional player. Taylor suited up for 151 NHL games over the years, doing most of his damage in the AHL.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings Exchange Arbitration Figures
The next arbitration hearing is scheduled for Sunday between the Detroit Red Wings and scrappy young forward Tyler Bertuzzi. Today the two sides filed arbitration figures, with Elliotte Friedman reporting that Bertuzzi came in at $4.25MM while the team is looking for a $3.15MM contract.
It is important to remember that in the NHL, the arbitrator does not need to choose one filing or the other and usually instead awards a contract somewhere in the middle. The two sides can also come to an agreement in the coming days, though this year once the hearing begins they must wait for the reward and cannot settle while the arbitrator deliberates.
In this case, the player’s ask is not above the $4,538,938 “walk away” threshold, meaning that the Red Wings will have to sign Bertuzzi to whatever the arbitrator awards should the hearing begin.
The 25-year-old has been one of the team’s best players since arriving in the NHL full-time in 2017-18. With consecutive 21-goal seasons under his belt, his arbitration case is strong from a purely statistical standpoint. Bertuzzi also brings a lot of the most sought after hockey intangibles, with his ability to get under opponents skin and instigate physical play while taking relatively low penalty totals.
In 2019-20 he actually led the team in goals, finishing only five points behind Dylan Larkin in total points. Though the Red Wings are working on a rebuild that will revolve around several new faces, Bertuzzi is currently one of the most important players on the team.
Minnesota Wild Sign Louis Belpedio
The Minnesota Wild have signed Louis Belpedio to a one-year two-way, contract, according to PuckPedia. The deal will be worth $700K in the NHL.
Belpedio, 24, was the team’s final restricted free agent to sign (save for Brennan Menell, who signed in the KHL). He was also arbitration-eligible but chose not to file, signing this deal
As PuckPedia notes, Belpedio is a likely candidate for Group VI unrestricted free agency in 2021 as he would need to play in 77 NHL games this season to avoid the designation. While the depth defenseman is a useful player to keep in the organization, it’s hard to see him becoming (and remaining) a regular in 2020-21.
Instead, it is much more likely that he serves as an extra defenseman or is sent to the minor leagues where he has spent each of the last two seasons. In 62 games with the Iowa Wild this year, he recorded 20 points and 102 penalty minutes.