Nikolay Goldobin Signs With Vancouver Canucks
As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have reached an agreement with restricted free agent Nikolay Goldobin. The young forward has re-signed with the team on a one-year, one-way contract worth $900K. Reports yesterday were that things had moved in a positive direction, and this deal will now leave the Canucks with just Brock Boeser left to get under contract. GM Jim Benning released a short statement on the signing:
Nikolay is a gifted offensive player who has shown good chemistry with some of our other younger players. He has taken steps to round out his game and we’re excited to see continued improvement from him this season.
Goldobin, 23, scored 27 points in 63 games last season for the Canucks but still hasn’t quite figured out his game at the NHL level. Armed with plenty of offensive talent, there are times when Goldobin fades into the background and doesn’t assert himself enough to deserve a bigger role. That said, there have been times that he looks right at home alongside top players like Boeser and the Canucks will hope he can grow on that moving forward.
The young forward will have arbitration rights as a restricted free agent when the deal expires next year. Vancouver will now turn its full attention towards Boeser and the ongoing negotiation which is still expected to take some time. Though Goldobin’s relatively low salary will give them some extra wiggle room, the Canucks don’t have a ton of cap space to fit Boeser in if the reports of demands reaching $7MM per season are to believed. There may be some more work coming for Benning and company to clear a bit of space, or the team may be heading into the year without much flexibility.
U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2019 Class
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame has announced the class of 2019, which will include Gary Bettman, Brian Gionta, Neal Henderson, Tim Thomas and Krissy Wendell. The five will be inducted on December 12th in Washington, D.C.
Bettman has served as the commissioner of the NHL for the last 26 years, joining the league in 1993 after working with the NBA. While he is a controversial figure with many fans thanks to the multiple work stoppages that the league has gone through, there is no denying his impact in growing the game all over North America and the world. The NHL is about to welcome its 32nd franchise into play with the Seattle expansion and hockey markets have been developed in countless non-traditional areas in the United States. Bettman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
Gionta finished his playing career in 2018 with a bang by captaining Team USA at the 2018 Olympic Games, pulling on a sweater he has done many times in the past. The veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games has suited up for USA Hockey at the Olympics, World Championships, World Juniors and several other international tournaments over the years, representing his country well on the world stage. The Boston College star was an All-American before his professional career started and is currently ranked 43rd among American-born skaters in NHL points.
Thomas last played in the NHL during the 2014 season but is one of the most decorated American-born goaltenders in history. The proud recipient of the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe, Vezina Trophy (twice), William Jennings Trophy, Olympic silver medal and World Championship bronze, Thomas’ spot in the U.S. Hall was only a matter of time. The goaltender represented his country several times on the international stage, including before his professional career even began and he was still playing at the University of Vermont.
A key part of the development of women’s hockey in the United States, Wendell represented USA Hockey on many occasions at the international level, including captaining the 2006 Olympic bronze medal-winning squad. With two Olympic and six World Championship medals, she’s one of the most decorated American-born women to ever play the sport. An incredible offensive talent, Wendell put up 247 points in 147 games while representing the United States and finished her collegiate career at the University of Minnesota with an 104-point season, despite playing just 40 games.
Henderson, a finalist for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award in 2018, has been a constant in the D.C. area hockey community for the last four decades. His programs have helped young players who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to learn the sport, while spreading the game throughout the area.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Florida Panthers Sign Troy Brouwer To PTO
The Florida Panthers will be bringing Troy Brouwer back to camp this season, but it won’t be with a contract. The team has signed Brouwer to a professional tryout instead, giving him a chance to earn his spot on the team or at least showcase his abilities around the league. Brouwer played last season for the Panthers on a one-year, $850K contract after being bought out by the Calgary Flames. He’ll still earn $1.5MM in each of the next three seasons thanks to the buyout.
Brouwer, 34, played in 75 games for the Panthers last season and recorded 12 goals and 21 points, but that wasn’t enough to earn him a new contract just yet. The team has added even more depth to their already dangerous forward group with names like Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari coming in through free agency and have several other prospects pushing for NHL playing time. The capability of those prospects may be exactly what Brouwer is battling against, as if someone like Owen Tippett plays himself onto the opening day roster there might not be room for the veteran.
Still, Brouwer provides a nice bit of insurance for the club in training camp. If they suffer injuries or someone doesn’t live up to expectations, the Panthers could likely just come to a one-year agreement with the power forward to give them another option in the bottom-six. A Stanley Cup champion from 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks, Brouwer’s presence and experience can only help the young forwards in Panthers camp trying to make their way in the NHL.
If he doesn’t land a deal with the Panthers, Brouwer could very well end up somewhere else just before the season begins. We’ve seen players on tryouts in the past end up signing elsewhere after proving they still have what it takes to play in the NHL.
Canucks Notes: Boeser, Goldobin, Juolevi
The Vancouver Canucks are one of the teams looking at the start of training camp in a few days with one of their key players still without a contract as Brock Boeser remains unsigned now into September. Though there is obvious upside for both the player and team to have things resolved before camp, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweeted yesterday that there is still “lots of work to do” before a deal can be made.
Boeser, 22, has already scored 59 goals in his young career but has been limited by injury in each of his two full seasons with the Canucks. While other players like Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Mikko Rantanen have huge point totals to bring up in negotiations, Boeser has a career-high of just 56 thanks to all the time he’s missed. There’s no question how important he is to the Vancouver attack but there are serious risks on both sides to both a bridge deal and long-term deal, which may have made the negotiations a bit more difficult. Boeser is expected to be looking for a four-year deal with a cap hit around $7MM, but with less than two weeks before training camp opens things may have to change to get it done in time.
- The Canucks have another restricted free agent that gets much less publicity, but still could be an important piece. Nikolay Goldobin hasn’t been able to find his way in the NHL just yet, but Dhaliwal reports that there has been “positive dialogue” towards a new contract. The 23-year old Goldobin had 27 points in 63 games last season and showed flashes of the offensive ability that made him the 27th overall pick in 2014, but he needs to find more consistency in order to really be an impact player for the Canucks moving forward.
- Speaking of high draft picks that haven’t quite found their way, the Canucks still have high hopes for defenseman Olli Juolevi as he continues to rehab a knee injury. Juolevi may not participate much in the upcoming prospects camp according to Ben Kuzma of The Province, who spoke with Canucks GM Jim Benning. Benning explained that the team wouldn’t “throw [Juolevi] into the fire” as they try to avoid any setbacks and have him ready for the start of the season. Juolevi underwent knee surgery last December and still has not made his NHL debut despite being the fifth overall pick in 2016.
Seattle Hires Ricky Olczyk As Assistant GM
The Seattle expansion team now has a third member of their hockey operations department. The club has hired Ricky Olczyk as an assistant general manager, serving under GM Ron Francis. Olczyk spent last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has previous experience as an assistant GM alongside Francis with the Carolina Hurricanes and served for several years in the same capacity with the Edmonton Oilers. He’ll join Francis and director of hockey administration Alexandra Mandrycky in the expansion team’s front office for the time being.
Bringing in Francis with so much runway before their inaugural season in 2021-22 gave the Seattle group the ability to slowly watch the market and pounce on front office candidates that may come available, but the first hire is one that comes with plenty of familiarity. Olczyk (who is the brother of former NHL player Ed Olczyk) spent four years beside Francis with the Hurricanes, slowly building the foundation for the team that broke out last season and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Carolina minor league and development system was extremely strong during that time, though much of that credit has to go to former Charlotte Checkers coach and GM Mike Vellucci, who is now with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
Even including that run with the Hurricanes however, Olczyk’s time as an NHL assistant GM hasn’t been very successful. Hired by the Oilers in 2007, Olcyzk was part of an organization that had continual turnover and that failed to reach the postseason in any of his six years with the team. In fact, given that the Hurricanes only made the playoffs after he left the organization, Olczyk’s career as an AGM still doesn’t have a single postseason appearance in it. The blame for both team’s failures obviously can’t be placed on Olcyzk alone, but he’ll have to hope that a fresh start in Seattle will bring more success.
Minor Transactions: 09/03/19
It’s now September and teams are still filling out their organization depth charts as they wait on the restricted free agent market to heat up. With moves being made daily in the minor, professional, collegiate and European leagues, we’ll keep track of all the notable ones right here. Check back often for an updated list:
- Conner Bleackley‘s career has taken another turn, this time towards the Idaho Steelheads organization. Originally selected 23rd overall in 2014, Bleackley never signed with the Colorado Avalanche and instead re-entered the draft in 2016 where he was taken by the St. Louis Blues. After a few unsuccessful seasons on his entry-level contract, the Blues decided not to issue Bleackley a qualifying offer this summer making him an unrestricted free agent. He’ll join the ECHL’s Steelheads for 2019-20.
- If you want to bring a Kelly Cup championship to your ECHL team, why not take a chance on Shawn St. Amant. The 22-year old forward has already won two ECHL championships with the Colorado Eagles in his young professional career, and spent most of last season with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. The Fort Wayne Komets have agreed to terms with St. Amant for the 2019-20 season.
- The New York Rangers will have another goaltender in training camp later this month, as Francois Brassard has been added on a tryout. The 25-year old made his ECHL debut last year after spending three years at Carleton University, and posted a .917 save percentage in six games with the Maine Mariners. Brassard was a sixth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2012 but never signed.
Snapshots: RFA Market, Schuldt, Pominville
The restricted free agent market still hasn’t budged much since the beginning of the offseason, but that means Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic hasn’t missed much during his vacation. The insider returned today with a look at several of the biggest names (subscription required) still without contracts and explained that in many situations term is the big sticking point. In particular, LeBrun spoke with Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas who maintains that even though the team hasn’t been able to get a deal done with Mitch Marner, the idea of a trade is still almost unthinkable.
That’s the same sentiment that Dubas gave Bob McKenzie of TSN in their interview, explaining that Marner is still a huge part of the Maple Leafs program and they want him in a Toronto sweater for as long as possible. That’s the same company line that almost every GM has uttered over the last two months, but names like Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Matthew Tkachuk and Brayden Point are now just a few days away from missing the start of training camp.
- One name not mentioned in LeBrun’s piece is Jimmy Schuldt, who continues to negotiate with the Vegas Golden Knights after signing and burning his one-year entry-level deal last season. Schuldt played one game down the stretch for the Golden Knights after finishing his four-year career at St. Cloud State and was expected to challenge for a full-time spot on the Vegas blueline this season. Jesse Granger of The Athletic tweets that nothing has changed in the negotiations of late and that the Vegas front office “believes it can wait Schuldt out to sign him for as cheap as possible.” The Golden Knights have very little cap space remaining even after trading away players like Erik Haula, Colin Miller and Nikita Gusev, obviously leaving them without much flexibility when it comes to Schuldt’s deal.
- Even with all the focus on the RFA market there is still some talent left among the unrestricted free agent names. One of those is Jason Pominville, who according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet has at least had preliminary conversations with the Montreal Canadiens. The 36-year old has likely had some talks with several teams after registering 31 points in 73 games last season for the Buffalo Sabres. Pominville may not be the 70-80 point player he once was, but he can still contribute enough that he should find a landing spot somewhere before the season begins.
Minnesota Wild Sign Louie Belpedio
The Minnesota Wild have locked up another one of their restricted free agents, signing Louie Belpedio to a one-year two-way contract. The deal will carry a salary of $700K at the NHL level and keep Belpedio a restricted free agent at its conclusion. Kevin Fiala now becomes the final RFA for GM Bill Guerin and the Minnesota front office.
Belpedio, 23, was a third-round pick of the Wild in 2014 but spent one year with the USNTDP and then four years at Miami University (Ohio) before joining the professional ranks. With that long development history behind him he played his first full season in the organization in 2018-19 and was a strong option for the Iowa Wild. In 81 AHL games he recorded 24 points, but will have his sights set on an even bigger role this year.
The Minnesota blueline is quite crowded heading into the year, but should the team run into any injury trouble Belpedio may be one of the first to be called up. Luckily he is still waiver-exempt to start the year and can be stashed in the minor league, only to pop up at the first sign of trouble. After scoring two points in a memorable NHL debut in 2018, the young defenseman played in two more games this past season and was held scoreless.
Niklas Kronwall Announces Retirement, Joins Detroit’s Front Office
The Detroit Red Wings brought one franchise legend back to run their front office in Steve Yzerman, and he’ll be joined by another one. Niklas Kronwall has announced his retirement as a player and will now move to the front office as an advisor to Yzerman. Kronwall and the team released a four-minute video explaining his decision and thanking everyone that has been involved in his long career.
The 38-year old Kronwall was an unrestricted free agent after his last contract with the Red Wings expired, but it never seemed like he would sign anywhere else. Selected 29th overall in 2000 out of the Swedish Elite League, Kronwall spent his entire career with Detroit, playing in 953 regular season games and winning the Stanley Cup in 2008. In that playoff run Kronwall was one of the Red Wings’ best players, recording 15 points in 22 games and leading the entire postseason with a +16 rating.
Known best for his punishing open-ice hits, Kronwall was an extremely effective player at both ends of the rink. Three times he recorded at least 44 points in a single season with his career-best of 51 coming in 2008-09 as part of a three-headed monster on defense along with Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. When Lidstrom and Rafalski would eventually retire, Kronwall took on the mantle of top dog for the Red Wings defense corps and reached new heights in ice time and responsibility. For three consecutive seasons from 2012-2015 he received Norris Trophy votes as one of the best defensemen in the league, while averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time.
To go along with his incredible NHL resume, Kronwall also consistently performed well internationally. In 2006 he took home an Olympic gold medal with Sweden to go along with his Stanley Cup and World Championship gold, putting him in the rare “Triple Gold Club.” Add in his two Swedish championships before coming to the NHL, another pair of silver medals at the Olympics and Worlds, and Kronwall is one of the most decorated hockey players of his era in terms of team success.
Even last season as age and injury started to catch him, Kronwall recorded 27 points and averaged nearly 20 minutes a night for the Red Wings. Losing him from the blueline eventually was inevitable, but his departure will likely have a fairly substantial impact on how the team performs next year. The Red Wings will now look to some of their young players to start taking on more responsibility while veterans like Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley all enter their finals years under contract.
Kerby Rychel Signs In KHL
It hasn’t been a very successful offseason for Kerby Rychel. First the Calgary Flames decided not to issue him a qualifying offer which made him an unrestricted free agent, and then he had to settle for a one-year deal in Sweden in late July. Just a month later Rychel parted ways with Orebro HK due to “personal reasons,” leaving him a free agent without a team once again. Now, Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Rychel has signed a one-year deal with Neftekhimik in the KHL.
Rychel, 24, was a first-round selection by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013 but failed to ever make a real impact at the NHL level for the club. After several years developing him in the minor leagues—including a Calder Cup championship with the Lake Erie Monsters—he was flipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 for Scott Harrington. The Maple Leafs never even gave him a single game in the NHL before trading him again to the Montreal Canadiens, where he suited up just four times. Last season Rychel spent the year almost entirely with the Stockton Heat, scoring 43 points in 57 games.
There has always been the potential of a top-level power forward in Rychel, but things to this point just haven’t worked out. In 43 NHL games has just 14 points, though his AHL numbers are much more respectable. In the KHL he may get a bigger offensive opportunity, but Rychel will need to commit himself to improving his fitness and dedication at both ends of the rink if he is to ever get another sniff at the NHL.