Oscar Klefbom, Tyler Seguin May Need Surgery
The Edmonton Oilers were one of the more disappointing return to play stories, ousted by the Chicago Blackhawks in four games despite having the Hart, Lindsay and Art Ross winner and Connor McDavid on the roster. Oscar Klefbom led all Oilers defensemen in minutes during that four-game stretch but may not see the ice again for some time.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Klefbom is “weighing options” regarding injuries he suffered this season and could be out long-term if he chooses surgery. Those decisions are likely complicated by the fact that no one knows for certain when the next NHL season will begin, but as Friedman points out Klefbom’s absence from the Oilers lineup “would need to be addressed.” The 27-year-old is one of Edmonton’s best defensemen and is under contract for three more years at a $4.17MM cap hit.
If you watched Tyler Seguin in the Stanley Cup playoffs it seemed obvious that he was struggling with an injury of some sort, but teams were not revealing any of those specifics while the series was still on the line. It turns out, it wasn’t just one injury. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period tweets that Seguin was dealing with wrist, hip, groin, and knee injuries in the playoffs. Those ailments will be evaluated this week to see if surgery is necessary. Seguin had just two goals in 26 postseason games and both came in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite his lack of scoring, he still averaged more than 22 minutes of ice time during the finals.
Seguin still did manage to supply five assists during the six-game series, but it’s a disappointing finish for a player who carries a $9.85MM cap hit and is expected to lead the offense in Dallas. Because of salaries like his, the Stars head into next season without a ton of cap room to maneuver. Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov are all restricted free agents that need new contracts and Anton Khudobin has likely priced himself out of a return with a strong postseason.
Today, Friedman wrote that the Stars “will try to move one big salary” though doesn’t clarify which one and only says that trade protection is an issue. That doesn’t clear it up much, as Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, and Ben Bishop—the team’s biggest cap hits save Esa Lindell—all have trade protection of some sort.
New Jersey Devils Re-Sign Three Players
The New Jersey Devils have re-signed a trio of minor leaguer players, inking Brett Seney, Ben Street and Joshua Jacobs to new deals. Seney and Jacobs will each be back on one-year, two-way contracts worth $700K at the NHL level, while Street has managed to secure a one-year, two-way deal that pays $750K in the NHL.
Seney, 24, played 51 games for the Devils in 2018-19 but was back to logging big minutes in the minor league this season. A sixth-round pick of the Devils in 2015, he has 53 NHL games under his belt and will likely be used as an injury replacement once again. The undersized forward has good skill, scoring 44 points in 61 games for the Binghamton Devils.
Street, the captain of those AHL Devils, has the most NHL experience of the three. A true journeyman, he went undrafted and has bounced around the professional ranks for the last decade, suiting up for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Wheeling Nailers, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Abbotsford Heat, Lake Erie Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Grand Rapids Griffins and San Diego Gulls before arriving in the Devils organization in 2019-20. He scored 42 points in 49 games for Binghamton and played just three games for New Jersey.
Jacobs, the only defender of the three, was actually a second-round pick of the Devils back in 2014 but has played just three NHL games so far in his career. Instead he has spent the last several years in the minor leagues manning an AHL blue line, the same place he’ll likely play next season.
Washington Capitals Loan Bobby Nardella To Djurgardens IF
The Swedish Hockey League recently instituted a rule prohibiting any more short-term loans from the NHL, which is why over the last few weeks there have been so many prospects ending up in the Allsvenskan, the county’s second league. That’s why when the Washington Capitals loaned Bobby Nardella to Djurgardens IF today, it raised some eyebrows. The announcement states that Nardella has been loaned for the 2020-21 season, likely for the whole thing if the recent guidelines stay intact.
A move like this is even more interesting because Nardella is heading into the final season of his two-year entry-level contract, signed last spring after he finished an excellent career at Notre Dame. Nardella, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing and ended up playing in 41 games for the Hershey Bears this season, scoring 31 points.
The undersized defenseman has always been an outstanding offensive producer, totaling 103 points in 147 college games. In the structured SHL he’ll be tasked with doing more than offense, but his development will certainly continue.
The Capitals will retain his rights as a restricted free agent after the season and could potentially sign an extension at any point during the year.
Snapshots: Ryan, Soucy, USHL
The Ottawa Senators bought out Bobby Ryan over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean his playing career is over. Interest has already started to emerge, with Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeting that the San Jose Sharks are one of “many teams” that have checked in on the free agent winger.
Ryan, 33, will be making more than $1.8MM in each of the next four years regardless of what his next contract is, meaning he may be willing to take a cheap deal to get back on the ice with a new organization.
- The Minnesota Wild are still negotiating with Carson Soucy according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, one of their pending unrestricted free agents. Russo reports they are also speaking with Kyle Rau and Matt Bartkowski, and will be signing Hunter Warner to an AHL deal instead of issuing him a qualifying offer. With the Stanley Cup now awarded, front offices will be in overdrive trying to get new deals in place before free agency opens on October 9.
- The USHL has released its schedule for the 2020-21 season, expected to start on November 5. Each team will be scheduled for 54 games over the 24-week season, which ends on April 24. The junior league is an important development step for many prospects and will try to navigate the season with a regional schedule.
Islanders Notes: Injuries, RFAs, Barzal
New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello spoke to the media today, giving his thoughts on several topics. As Andrew Gross of Newsday tweets, that included an update on several injured players. Casey Cizikas, Adam Pelech, and Tom Kuhnhackl have all undergone successful surgeries and are expected to be ready for the start of the 2020-21 training camp (whenever that takes place).
While Cizikas and Pelech are heading into the last year of their respective contracts, Kuhnhackl will actually become an unrestricted free agent next month. The 28-year-old forward suited up in three postseason games for the Islanders and could potentially be brought back as a depth option next season.
- While Kuhnhackl is one of several unrestricted free agent decisions the team has, there are even more to be made on restricted free agents. While players like Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock are obviously going to get qualifying offers, that may not be the case for some of the Islanders minor league players. In fact, Lamoriello expects that there will be one or two RFAs not qualified. That may be the case in many organizations around the league as teams navigate their new financial situations.
- For Barzal though, Lamoriello isn’t worried about the upcoming negotiation. When asked about the danger of an offer sheet, Lamoriello told Gross that he is confident the team will get their players signed. The 23-year-old center is coming off another excellent season and showed he could be a postseason performer as well with 17 points in 22 games.
USA Hockey Invites 39 Players To World Junior Evaluation Camp
The NHL season is over and it’s not clear when professional hockey will return. In the meantime, fans can look forward to the World Junior Championship, scheduled to begin December 25 in Edmonton, Alberta. The tournament will be held in a bubble similar to the one used in the NHL playoffs and extends through January 5.
Today, USA Hockey announced the 39 players that have been invited to the evaluation camp that will help determine the roster for the event. The list of invitees is as follows:
G Drew Commesso (2020 draft eligible)
G Spencer Knight (FLA)
G Logan Stein (2020 draft eligible)
G Dustin Wolf (CGY)
D Brock Faber (2020 draft eligible)
D Domenick Fensore (CAR)
D Drew Helleson (COL)
D Ryan Johnson (BUF)
D Jackson LaCombe (ANA)
D Case McCarthy (NJD)
D Mitchell Miller (2020 draft eligible)
D Jake Sanderson (2020 draft eligible)
D Hunter Skinner (NYR)
D Jayden Struble (MTL)
D Henry Thrun (ANA)
D Alex Vlasic (CHI)
D Marshall Warren (MIN)
D Cam York (PHI)
F John Beecher (BOS)
F Matthew Beniers (2021 draft eligible)
F Brett Berard (2020 draft eligible)
F Matthew Boldy (MIN)
F Thomas Bordeleau (2020 draft eligible)
F Bobby Brink (PHI)
F Brendan Brisson (2020 draft eligible)
F Cole Caufield (MTL)
F Sam Colangelo (2020 draft eligible)
F John Farinacci (ARI)
F Sean Farrell (2020 draft eligible)
F Michael Gildon (2020 draft eligible)
F Owen Lindmark (FLA)
F Robert Mastrosimone (DET)
F Patrick Moynihan (NJD)
F Josh Nodler (CGY)
F Dylan Peterson (2020 draft eligible)
F Landon Slaggert (2020 draft eligible)
F Sam Stange (2020 draft eligible)
F Lukas Svejkovsky (2020 draft eligible)
F Luke Tuch (2020 draft eligible)
It is important to note that there will be many more players eligible for the tournament that could make the final roster depending on the status of the 2020-21 NHL season. This evaluation camp will be held on October 8-13 and includes only a handful of returning players from the last tournament.
Draft Pick Breakdown By Team
The NHL released the full order of selection earlier this afternoon following Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup victory last night. To see the full order in its entirety, click here. Below is a breakdown for each team heading into the draft on Tuesday, Oct 6.
Anaheim Ducks
1st round – 6th overall
1st round – 27th overall
2nd round – 36th overall
3rd round – 67th overall
4th round – 104th overall
5th round – 129th overall
6th round – 160th overall
Arizona Coyotes
4th round – 111th overall
5th round – 142nd overall
6th round – 173rd overall
7th round – 204th overall
Boston Bruins
2nd round – 58th overall
3rd round – 89th overall
5th round – 151st overall
6th round – 182nd overall
7th round – 213th overall
Buffalo Sabres
1st round – 8th overall
2nd round – 38th overall
4th round – 100th overall
5th round – 131st overall
7th round – 193rd overall
7th round – 216th overall
NHL Announces Official 2020 Draft Order
Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded the order of selection has been finalized for next week’s draft. The first round will take place on Tuesday, Oct 6 and will be followed by rounds 2-7 the next afternoon. The entire draft will be held virtually this year.
The full draft order:
Round 1
1. NY Rangers
2. Los Angeles
3. Ottawa (from SJS)
4. Detroit
5. Ottawa
6. Anaheim
7. New Jersey
8. Buffalo
9. Minnesota
10. Winnipeg
11. Nashville
12. Florida
13. Carolina (from TOR)
14. Edmonton
15. Toronto (from PIT)
16. Montreal
17. Chicago
18. New Jersey (from ARI)
19. Calgary
20. New Jersey (from VAN via TBL)
21. Columbus
22. NY Rangers (from CAR)
23. Philadelphia
24. Washington
25. Colorado
26. St. Louis
27. Anaheim (from BOS)
28. Ottawa (from NYI)
29. Vegas
30. Dallas
31. San Jose (from TBL)
Round 2
32. Detroit
33. Ottawa
34. San Jose
35. Los Angeles
36. Anaheim
37. Nashville (from NJD)
38. Buffalo
39. Minnesota
40. Winnipeg
41. Carolina (from NYR)
42. Nashville
43. Florida
44. Toronto
45. Detroit (from EDM)
46. Chicago (from PIT via VGK)
47. Montreal
48. Montreal (from CHI)
49. No selection
50. Calgary
51. Los Angeles (from VAN)
52. Ottawa (from CBJ)
53. Carolina
54. Philadelphia
55. Detroit (from WSH)
56. San Jose (from COL via WSH)
57. Montreal (from STL)
58. Boston
59. Ottawa (from NYI)
60. Los Angeles (from VGK)
61. Ottawa (from DAL via VGK)
62. Tampa Bay
Pick 49 – The NHL directed the forfeiture of this pick in sanctions against the Arizona Coyotes announced Aug. 26, 2020.
Alexei Toropchenko Assigned To HC Kunlun Red Star
The St. Louis Blues have sent another one of their prospects overseas, loaning Alexei Toropchenko to HC Kunlun Red Star in the KHL. The young forward will be available to return when training camps open for the 2020-21 season.
Toropchenko, 21, is coming off his first season of professional hockey, playing 59 games for the San Antonio Rampage. The 6’3″ winger scored just nine points during those games but is still an interesting prospect to keep an eye on given his mix of size and skill. Toropchenko did record 30 goals in 86 games during his final season of junior hockey but hasn’t yet been able to bring that level of offense to the next level.
If you wanted to learn from someone with offensive skill, it’s hard to find a better place than Kunlun. The team is coached by former NHL star Alexei Kovalev, one of the most skilled forwards to ever play the game.
Nashville Predators Sign Devin Cooley
The Nashville Predators have added some goaltending depth to the organization, signing Devin Cooley to a two-year entry-level contract. Cooley went undrafted and spent the last three years netminding at the University of Denver. Instead of returning for his senior year, he’ll be turning pro and jumping into the Predators minor league system.
Now 23, Cooley is a shot in the dark for the Predators given how little he has actually played during his collegiate career. As a freshman in 2017-18 he appeared in just three games as Tanner Jaillet was in the senior season of an excellent run at DU. Jaillet would win NCHC Goaltender of the Year that season, making it difficult for a young Cooley to see any game action. The next year, Denver happened to convince Detroit Red Wings draft pick, Filip Larsson, to play a year of college hockey, just after winning the USHL Goaltender of the Year award. Cooley would play in 20 games to Larsson’s 22, actually posting better numbers than the one-and-done goaltender.
You would think that after such a strong outing that Cooley’s junior season would be when he took over the full-time starting duties, but a lower-body injury just five games into the season opened the door for freshman goaltender Magnus Chrona to take over. Chrona, a Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, posted a .920 save percentage in 27 games and never gave back the net. Since he is expected to return for his sophomore season (assuming DU has a season), it makes sense for Cooley to take this opportunity in the Predators system.
He enters it though with just 32 appearances under his belt over three years in college. The minor leagues will be quite the test physically, even if Cooley proves he has enough talent to stick.