Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Adam Brooks
The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up one of their young depth forwards, signing Adam Brooks to a two-year two-way contract extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $725K in the NHL. Brooks was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason.
It’s hard to really call Brooks a prospect at this point in his career, even though he has only played seven games in the NHL. The 24-year old was originally selected in the fourth round by the Maple Leafs in 2016 after dominating the WHL, but his progression as a professional has been slow and relatively unspectacular. The 5’10” forward has always been more of a playmaker than a goal-scorer, but it’s his work ethic that will have to be the thing that gets him an opportunity at the next level.
The Maple Leafs are always on the lookout for cheap talent to add to their roster thanks to the heavy contracts at the top, but at this point Brooks is likely still penciled into a role with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Should the 2019-20 playoffs resume, he will likely be one of the team’s “Black Aces,” recalled to skate and practice with the NHL team in case of injury.
Even though Brooks will still be only 26 when this contract expires, there seems to be a good chance that he will become an unrestricted free agent. He would need to play in another 73 NHL games to avoid Group VI UFA status in the summer of 2022.
League Notes: Bettman, Draft, PWHPA
Canceling the 2019-20 NHL season without awarding the Stanley Cup is not something commissioner Gary Bettman is “even considering” according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Bettman was confident in his answers that this season would be completed at some point, even if it does appear more and more likely that any resumption of play would move directly into a playoff.
Other reports have emerged, like the one from Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, indicating that Arizona could be a hub to host playoff games at some point. That comes after the state’s governor announced that major league sports will be able to operate after Friday, May 15th. That very clearly does not mean that the NHL will be jumping back onto the ice in Arizona this weekend, but it does mean there may be a path forward for the state to host some games in the future—especially considering Bettman’s confidence that the season will resume.
- As for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, deputy commissioner Bill Daly had his own update. Daly told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) that they will likely have some news to announce next week on when the draft will be held. A June draft before the completion of the season, which at one point seemed inevitable, has lost momentum recently but is still an option for the league. Of course, the draft will be virtual and is not expected to be held in Montreal as originally planned.
- Though not exactly a league, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association has announced some changes in its own structure for the upcoming season. After spending a year touring the continent playing showcase tournaments, the PWHPA will now focus on five regional training hubs for their members based in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, New Hampshire and Minnesota. There will now be try-outs for each training group (which will consist of 25 players) and they will be provided with additional resources.
U.S. National Junior Team Coaching Staff Announced
You won’t be able to blame a lack of coaching experience if Team USA experiences another disappointment at the 2021 World Junior Championship. After failing to advance past the quarterfinal in this year’s tournament, the team is looking for some revenge in a few months. Today the team announced the rest of the coaching staff that will surround Providence College head coach Nate Leaman behind the bench. Ted Donato, head coach at Harvard, Kris Mayotte, assistant coach at Michigan and Steve Miller, associate coach at Ohio State will all be assistants for the tournament. The team will also bring in Theresa Feaster as a video coach, making her the first female to ever serve on the coaching staff of a U.S. National Junior team.
Almost the entire group has experience together at Providence and brings a huge amount of experience to the tournament. The question now becomes how exactly the team will be constructed, given the Summer Showcase will not be happening this year. The event is usually used to gather the top prospects for the WJC and test them against each other, seeing which mix will provide the most success.
Of course, all of this is assuming that a 2021 tournament actually happens, which is not at all certain at this point. Recently, Bob McKenzie of TSN explained that Hockey Canada is still discussing the feasibility of hosting the event in Edmonton or potentially even holding it without any fans.
Snapshots: Cohen, Lehtera, Vasilevskiy
According to Craig Morgan of The Athletic (subscription required) the Arizona Coyotes have parted ways with Ahron Cohen, who has been with the club in various capacities for the last five years. Cohen was named president and CEO in 2018.
The Coyotes were purchased by Alex Meruelo last summer, who may want to install his own hand-picked head of business operations. Cohen did not run the hockey operations side, which is still under the control of John Chayka.
- Jori Lehtera is staying in the KHL for another season, after signing a one-year deal with Spartak today. The former St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers forward last played in the NHL during the 2018-19 season, but found himself playing for SKA St. Petersburg during the most recent campaign. The 32-year old is a former Olympic, World Championship and World Cup competitor for Finland and scored 111 points in 307 NHL games.
- Alexei Vasilevskiy, the older brother of a certain Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender, broke out offensively this season with 26 points in 59 games for Yekaterinburg. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be following his sibling to North America however, as the 27-year old defenseman has re-signed with the squad for another three seasons.
Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Cameron Hillis
The Montreal Canadiens have signed another top prospect, agreeing to terms with Cameron Hillis on a three-year entry-level contract. Hillis finished this season as captain of the Guelph Storm, his third season in the OHL.
After an injury-plagued 2018-19 season that saw Hillis play in just 33 games for the Storm, the 19-year old center came roaring back in 2019-20. In 62 games as captain he recorded 24 goals and 83 points, the best totals of his junior career. That obviously sparked the Canadiens interest again, though it’s hard to imagine they ever really lost faith in the third-round pick.
Undersized but feisty, Hillis will have to make the leap to professional hockey next season and test himself with the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Jack Dugan Agrees To Terms With Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights have convinced top college prospect Jack Dugan to join the organization, though it’s not clear exactly when he will sign on the dotted line. The forward recently finished his sophomore season at Providence College where he was named a Hobey Baker top-ten finalist, and will likely be following the precedent set by fellow collegiate star Scott Perunovich. The Golden Knights have not announced a contract, likely meaning Dugan will start his deal with the 2019-20 season should it resume, or 2020-21 if this year is canceled entirely.
Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon was obviously excited about bringing Dugan aboard:
We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to play a key role in the development of Jack Dugan as both a hockey player and as a young man within our organization. Jack took significant steps in his growth over the past two seasons as one of the best all-around players in college hockey, and has proven that he is ready for the next challenge in his young career.
Dugan, 22, led the entire NCAA in scoring this season with 52 points in 34 games but didn’t end up as a Hat Trick finalist for the Hobey Baker–which Perunovich eventually won. Many believed his omission was a mistake given how dominant he was offensively, but he won’t get a chance to avenge that snub with a junior or senior campaign.
Drafted in the fifth round back in 2017, there’s little more that Dugan could have accomplished over the last three years. He first went to the USHL and finished third in league scoring (while recording over 100 penalty minutes) before stepping right into the college ranks as a playmaking dynamo. The 6’2″ winger has gotten stronger and stronger since his draft year and now is a legitimate power forward who looks ready for the grind of professional hockey while still possessing his strong skating ability and puck skills.
While there may not be a first-line ceiling on Dugan, this is a player that looks ready to contribute to the Golden Knights NHL squad right away. If the 2019-20 season resumes with the playoffs, you could see him in the lineup on opening night.
San Jose Sharks Sign Timur Ibragimov
The San Jose Sharks continue to complete contract negotiations as they wait for the NHL season to resume at some point. Today, they have signed Timur Ibragimov to a three-year, entry-level contract. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a short statement on his newest prospect:
Timur is a fast, physical winger with a nose for then net. He uses his quickness to beat players up the ice and is hard to play against. We are confident his speed, shot, and work ethic will be assets to this organization.
Ibragimov, 19, marks the fifth signing the Sharks have made since the NHL hit pause on the regular season. The sixth-round pick from 2019 made his VHL debut (the Russian AHL equivalent) this season and recorded 13 points in 35 games for SKA. That performance may not seem all that impressive, but when you consider how young he was it obviously was strong enough for the Sharks to believe he has a future in North American professional hockey.
There is still a long way to go in the development of Ibragimov, but it’s not every day you find his mix of skating ability and physicality in an offensive-minded player. The raw tools are there, but the Sharks organization will need to put them all in the right places for him to contribute at the NHL level.
Los Angeles Kings Parting Ways With Mike Futa
Despite having a draft coming at some point in the next few months, the Los Angeles Kings are parting ways with assistant GM Mike Futa, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Futa has been rumored as a candidate for GM positions in the past, and will now be allowed to speak with other teams about a new position (as long as they receive official permission from the Kings, according to Friedman).
It’s been more than a decade since Futa joined the Kings, taking the position of co-director of amateur scouting back in 2007 following his run as GM of the Owen Sound Attack. He was promoted to vice president of hockey operations in 2014, before being named AGM in 2017. A well-respected scout, Kings GM Rob Blake explained exactly why he was promoting Futa at the time:
Mike has made tremendous contributions to our hockey club over the years and he will be one of several people we are going to internally lean on. He and his department have enjoyed success here both with the NHL Draft and the Ontario Hockey League in particular, and we look forward to additional success in the immediate future.
Notably, the Kings leaned on that knowledge of the OHL just a few months later when they selected Gabriel Vilardi with the 11th overall pick. Akil Thomas and Arthur Kaliev, both picked in the second round the following seasons, are two other OHL players that look to have promising futures.
While no scout ever hits on all of his picks, the collection of prospects Futa has built over the last few years is almost unrivaled. In fact, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) ranked the Kings as the top prospect pool in the entire NHL just a few months ago, indicating that they were the “clear-cut” choice at No. 1. Futa can’t be credited for all of it, as Mark Yannetti is actually the team’s director of amateur scouting, but he was definitely involved.
There will surely be teams interested in bringing Futa aboard, but the timing of such a hire will be interesting. It may be possible that he has to wait until after this scouting season is over, though it is unclear when exactly that will be.
AHL Cancels Remainder Of 2019-20 Season
Not only has the AHL suspended their season, but now will go a step further. The league announced today that the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign has been canceled, there will be no playoffs and no Calder Cup awarded this year. AHL President David Andrews released a statement:
After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions.
The League’s operational focus has turned toward actively preparing for the 2020-21 season.We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months.
The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21.
It is important to note that the AHL and NHL are technically independent operations even though they do work closely with each other. This announcement does not mean a similar one is coming from the NHL, though obviously it is a possibility as they traverse the unknown waters of the coronavirus outbreak.
This is the first time the Calder Cup will not be awarded since it was introduced in 1937. The Charlotte Checkers, last season’s Calder Cup winners, will hold the title for another year.
For minor league players, this now makes the next few months even more confusing. Though they will not be returning to play in the AHL, they could still potentially be recalled by their NHL affiliate to play in games should the season resume, or at least skate with the team as a “Black Ace.” Those are the players brought up to play and travel with the NHL club during the playoffs just in case of injury. Obviously that would be dependent on there actually being an NHL playoffs, something that is not certain at this point.
Unfortunately, the question now becomes what happens with the 2020-21 season. Andrews told Sportsnet radio that “it might be something dramatically different than what it looks like now” and told Michael Traikos of Postmedia that it would be unlikely the league would be able to play if there were no fans allowed in the stands. The AHL is almost entirely gate-driven, meaning without the revenue generated from ticket sales they wouldn’t be able to afford to stage games–at least, not an entire season’s worth.
Washington Capitals Terminate Contract Of Brendan Leipsic
Saturday: Leipsic has cleared waivers, reports Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That paves the way for the Capitals to officially terminate the contract.
Friday, 10:00am: Just minutes later, the Capitals have announced that they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.
9:55am: Earlier this week, private messages of a group chat that included Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic and Florida Panthers minor league forward Jack Rodewald were leaked. In the messages, the participants were using misogynistic language that the league immediately condemned, releasing the following statement:
The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible remarks made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media. There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved.
Yesterday, Leipsic’s younger brother Jeremy Leipsic–who also took part in the chat– was removed from the University of Manitoba hockey team. Today, it seems as though the Capitals will come to the same decision.
Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Capitals will terminate the remainder of Leipsic’s contract today. The 25-year old forward is on a one-year, $700K contract for the 2019-20 season. After it is terminated, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Though the Capitals must obviously believe a termination like this is within the rules given Leipsic’s behavior, it wouldn’t be surprising if the transaction is met with a grievance from the NHLPA.
It is not clear what will happen to Rodewald, who is also on a one-year contract but earns just $100K in the Panthers minor league system.