Mike McKenna Announces Retirement
One of the most well-traveled goaltenders in professional hockey is finally calling it quits. After a 14-year professional career which included stops with teams in Las Vegas, Norfolk, Milwaukee, Omaha, Portland, Tampa Bay, Lowell, Albany, New Jersey, Binghamton, Peoria, Springfield, Columbus, Arizona, Syracuse, Texas, Dallas, Belleville, Ottawa, Vancouver, Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, Mike McKenna is hanging up his pads. The 36-year old goaltender announced his retirement on Twitter, thanking everyone he has come in contact with over the years.
McKenna was a sixth round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2002 after his first year at St. Lawrence University, and even with an extremely limited NHL career still carved out quite the name for himself in the hockey world. Described as a great teammate basically everywhere he went, the 6’2″ goaltender also performed admirably on the ice. In 35 career NHL contests he had just an .890 save percentage and 7-17-3 record, but he routinely posted strong numbers at the AHL level.
In 2017 and again in 2018 he came close to raising the Calder Cup, reaching the finals with the Syracuse Crunch and Texas Stars in consecutive seasons. Unfortunately he would lose both series through no fault of his own, meaning he would fail to secure a championship throughout his entire career.
McKenna is now known for his social media presence where he often comments on goaltending performances from around the NHL in real time. It’s not clear where his future will take him or if he even wants to stay involved in hockey, but broadcasting seems a natural progression for the journeyman netminder.
Chuck Fletcher “Not Concerned” About Lingering RFA Negotiations
The Philadelphia Flyers are like a dozen other teams around the NHL, waiting to have some clarity on whether their top restricted free agents will be suiting up when training camp opens in a few weeks. The Flyers have two top players still without contracts in Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, but GM Chuck Fletcher isn’t ready to panic just because they aren’t signed yet. Speaking with Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday, Fletcher explained the Flyers are in the same situation as all of the other teams but isn’t stressing out:
We’ll keep working at it. They’re good young players and we expect to have them signed and ready to go as soon as we can. … Right now, the landscape league-wide is murky, and I think things will start to clear up in the next few weeks. At this point, I’m not concerned. This has been the trend the last few years.
Fletcher is right, restricted free agents have started to wait longer and longer to sign their deals, though this crop is even bigger than normal. Last summer saw Noah Hanifin, Ondrej Kase, Josh Morrissey, Darnell Nurse, Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore all sign in either late-August or September, and among high profile players only William Nylander‘s negotiation leaked into the season. That group doesn’t exactly stand up to names like Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Mikko Rantanen, but it’s not just complementary or depth players either.
Things will certainly start to clear up for some of the restricted free agents in the near future, but there’s certainly no guarantee that both Konecny and Provorov will be signed by camp. Carchidi suggests that Provorov could get a deal worth around $7MM per season while Konecny is expected to get somewhere between $4-4.5MM per season. Obviously both of those cap numbers are contingent on the term of the contracts.
Jesse Puljujarvi Signs One-Year Deal In Finland
10:55am: Mark Spector of Sportsnet spoke with Holland, who explained that there has been new interest in Puljujarvi around the league but nothing is imminent:
I don’t know that him signing in Finland has a huge effect on the situation. I’ve had conversations with numerous clubs that have had interest, some interest, in acquiring Jesse. And I have had, probably in the last 10 days, two or three new teams reach out to me. Teams whose position have changed and are checking into the Puljujarvi situation.
I’ll do a deal if I feel good that I’m making a deal in the best interests of the Edmonton Oilers.
Holland basically has all the leverage here, as Puljujarvi playing a year in Finland can only really improve his value to the Oilers. There’s no rush to get a trade done from their perspective unless a team comes forward with an offer that can help them right away.
7:30am: Jesse Puljujarvi will at least have somewhere to play in 2019-20, even if things don’t get worked out with the Edmonton Oilers. The disgruntled young forward has signed a one-year deal with Karpat in Finland, though the contract includes an option to leave for the NHL before December 1st. In the NHL, if a restricted free agent is not signed before that date they are not eligible to play for the rest of the season.
Puljujarvi’s free agent status will not be changed by this contract. Even if he decides to play the entire year in Finland, the Oilers will still own his exclusive negotiating rights.
This is not necessarily the end of the story for Puljujarvi and the Oilers, but at least it provides some sort of a resolution for the time being. The 21-year old has not been able to establish himself in the NHL since being the fourth overall pick in 2016 and needed a place to see regular playing time. He wasn’t going to get that in the AHL given that he has said he does not want to play in that league and the fact that he would need to clear waivers in order to be sent down. Finland may actually be the best place for his development to continue if the Oilers weren’t willing to give him a regular shift in the NHL.
For new GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett, giving him that top-six role seems out of the question. Puljujarvi has scored just 37 points in 139 NHL games, and though those have been about as inconsistently distributed as possible he simply hasn’t been good enough to deserve more playing time. He and his agent Markus Lehto have been clear about their desire for the Oilers to trade Puljujarvi to a team that would give him that opportunity, but that situation may not actually exist anywhere in the league. There is also likely a hesitation from Holland to move the young forward given the huge draft capital that has been invested in him, since he would be selling at an extremely reduced value.
Finland does not represent the same competition level as the NHL, but Liiga is still a solid professional league where Puljujarvi will be tested. He played one full season there before coming to the NHL and recorded 28 points in 50 games, but will hopefully be able to do even more now that he has some additional professional experience under his belt. Technically the Oilers will lose his negotiating rights on his 27th birthday, but since that is almost six years away one would expect the situation to be resolved before that happens.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Poll: Who Are The Best Goaltenders In The NHL?
Earlier this month the NHL Network started their annual exercise rating the top players in the NHL by position, and gave us Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Brent Burns as the best players in the world at their respective spots. The rest of the lists created such debate that we polled the members of the PHR community and came up with our own rankings, which differed quite a bit. In fact, our readers decided that there should be a different top name on each list, putting Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Victor Hedman in the top spots.
Most recently we asked our readers to select the best 20 defensemen in the NHL. Our PHR community-voted Top 20 Defensemen list currently looks like this:
- Victor Hedman (760 votes)
- Brent Burns (715 votes)
- Erik Karlsson (643 votes)
- Drew Doughty (565 votes)
- Mark Giordano (481 votes)
- Roman Josi (446 votes)
- Seth Jones (427 votes)
- Alex Pietrangelo (406 votes)
- P.K. Subban (332 votes)
- Morgan Rielly (330 votes)
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson (294 votes)
- John Carlson (257 votes)
- Shea Weber (248 votes)
- Charlie McAvoy (206 votes)
- Kris Letang (196 votes)
- Dustin Byfuglien (174 votes)
- Colton Parayko (172 votes)
- John Klingberg (151 votes)
- Jacob Trouba (140 votes)
- Aaron Ekblad (137 votes)
Now, the network has released their ranking of the best goaltenders in the NHL and the debate is red hot once again. Andrei Vasilevskiy probably doesn’t turn many heads after his first Vezina Trophy at the age of 24 but things quickly become less clear following the Tampa Bay Lightning netminder. The network brings in Sergei Bobrovsky, Ben Bishop and Carey Price in the next three spots, three goaltenders who have certainly had their ups and downs over the last several seasons. The $70MM man in Bobrovsky was recently rewarded for his play, but 2018-19 actually marked the lowest save percentage he’s ever had in a healthy season at .913. Bishop meanwhile put up an incredible .934 to lead the league last season but had been completely out of Vezina conversation the previous two.
Price always brings with him quite a bit of debate, and this year is no different. There is obvious all-world talent in the Montreal Canadiens goaltender but there have been real inconsistency issues over the last two seasons as he battled injury. A nice bounce back to a .918 save percentage and 35 wins put him back in the conversation for the best goaltender in the world, but at least on this list he’s now been passed by three others.
Perhaps most notable on the list is the inclusion of Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington, who had played just a single NHL game before his magical run in 2018-19. Binnington helped turn around the entire season for the St. Louis Blues and then took them all the way to their first championship in franchise history. There’s no doubt that Binnington played at a level that put him among the best in the world last season, but with such a short resume it’s hard to know if that success can continue.
Just like our other polls, we want the PHR community to let us know who the best goaltenders in the world are. Like the last poll, we’ll ask you to select just 10 names. Make sure to leave a comment below on who you think deserves to be recognized, or your thoughts on how the other three polls ended. We’ve included many names that could be considered, but if you think we’ve missed someone important (which we undoubtedly have) make sure to leave his name down below.
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Tyler Pitlick Out Four Weeks Following Surgery
The Philadelphia Flyers will be without newcomer Tyler Pitlick in training camp after he underwent wrist surgery last week. Pitlick will start rehab next month and is expected to be out four weeks. The injury was suffered during offseason training, but to the same wrist that Pitlick had surgery on just six months ago.
Philadelphia acquired Pitlick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for the rights to Ryan Hartman earlier this offseason—who ended up going unqualified and eventually signed with the Minnesota Wild—and was expected to compete for playing time in the bottom-six this season. The 27-year old is on the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $1MM salary but played just 47 games for the Stars last season and scored 12 points. With several young Flyers prospects ready to fight for roster spots there was never a guarantee that Pitlick would get a full-time role, and missing training camp with his second wrist surgery only complicates things.
A four-week timeline would have Pitlick back in time for the regular season, but without a training camp he may have difficulty ramping up to game speed in time to be on the opening night roster. He’ll have to work hard in his rehab and compete in whatever chance he gets with the team to show he can make a positive impact on the NHL roster. The team could likely send him to the AHL for a conditioning stint at the beginning of the season, which would also give them a chance to try out some of the young players like Morgan Frost or German Rubtsov.
Scottie Upshall To Sign PTO With Dallas Stars
The team at the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast have now moved on to breaking news, as they reported this weekend that veteran forward Scottie Upshall would be attending Dallas Stars camp on a professional tryout. Today, Sean Shapiro of The Athletic confirmed the report.
Upshall, 35, didn’t play last season thanks to a knee injury that caused him to fail his physical with the Edmonton Oilers in training camp. He had been signed to a PTO by the Oilers as well, something that he’s used to at this point after going through it several times in the last few years. There’s good reason for interest in Upshall even without any games played last season as he was previously a pretty effective bottom-six player for more than a decade.
Originally drafted sixth overall in 2002, Upshall never did quite live up to the high expectations put on him after an excellent junior career with the WHL. Even without his offensive game really blooming at the NHL level however, the feisty forward carved out a long career and played 759 regular season games for six different teams. Most recently he suited up 63 times in 2017-18 with the St. Louis Blues and recorded 19 points.
A PTO certainly does not guarantee Upshall a spot on the Dallas roster, but it does provide a place for him to show he can still hack it at the NHL level and perhaps secure a contract somewhere around the league. If the Stars believe he could be a valuable depth option perhaps it will be them who would offer that deal, but you can bet several teams will be keeping an eye on him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Florida Panthers Agree To Terms With Denis Malgin
The restricted free agent market is still frozen, but for the Florida Panthers things have thawed just a bit. Denis Malgin has agreed to terms with the Panthers on a new one-year, one-way contract. He will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal, but will be eligible for salary arbitration.
Malgin, 22, has played at least 47 games for the Panthers in each of his three seasons in the NHL including 50 in 2018-19. The 5’9″ forward registered seven goals and 16 points during those contests, playing just under 13 minutes a night. The question now becomes whether he can take a step forward and become a more valuable part of the Panthers’ offense, even with the loaded top-six the team will ice this season.
Originally selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, Malgin seemed like a long-shot to even make the NHL at all. His small stature and lack of any real dominance in the Swiss leagues made it hard to know exactly what he could bring, but the Panthers gave him the chance in 2016 after some very strong international appearances and he ran with it. With a one-way deal you can bet he’s penciled into the opening day roster, though where exactly he fits in now that Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari have been added isn’t clear. The Florida training camp will be extremely interesting to watch this season as young players like Malgin, Henrik Borgstrom, Jayce Hawryluk and Owen Tippett battle for playing time.
Malgin was the Panthers final restricted free agent left to sign.
Snapshots: Mattheos, McDavid, Rantanen
Carolina Hurricanes prospect Stelio Mattheos will not be taking part in the team’s training camp this year, as he instead will be completing treatment for testicular cancer. Mattheos was diagnosed in June and has already undergone surgery and multiple courses of chemotherapy. He is expected to return to full health. The 20-year old forward released a statement through the team:
I’d like to thank everyone who reached out to offer support and well wishes since the diagnosis. I’ve had amazing support from my friends, family, teammates, coaches and all of the hockey organizations I’ve been a part of, including the Hurricanes, Checkers and Brandon Wheat Kings.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my surgeon, Dr. Sabeer Rehsia, and all of the staff at Grace Hospital, as well as Dr. Piotr Czaykowski at Cancer Care Manitoba and all of the nurses on the chemotherapy ward.
The third-round pick from 2017 got his first taste of professional hockey earlier this year when he joined the Charlotte Checkers for their stretch drive and playoff run that eventually ended in a Calder Cup championship. The former WHL standout was expected to compete for a bigger role with Charlotte this season but will obviously be taking care of his health first.
- Speaking of missing part of training camp, alarm bells went up today when Connor McDavid decided not to take part in the annual BioSteel camp in Toronto. Edmonton Oilers fans can breathe however as McDavid explained to reporters including Mark Masters of TSN that he has not suffered any setbacks in his recovery from a knee injury suffered late in the season. The Oilers star has been on the ice for the last couple of months and is working towards his goal of being on the ice at the beginning of training camp next month.
- Mikko Rantanen doesn’t have a contract yet and will likely not be attending Colorado Avalanche training camp without one, but that doesn’t mean he’s not on the ice. The Storhamar Dragons in Norway tweeted today that Rantanen has been skating with them. Unsigned restricted free agents often find a place to skate and train while their contracts are negotiated, like we saw with William Nylander throughout the first part of last season. Mitch Marner recently was connected to the Zurich Lions, and many of the other names on the RFA list will likely follow suit if their deals aren’t completed soon.
Oscar Lindberg Signs In Switzerland
The Ottawa Senators won’t be bringing back forward Oscar Lindberg, as he signed today with EV Zug of the Swiss NLA. The deal is for one year with an option for 2020-21, and will end his run in the NHL for now.
Lindberg, 27, split last season between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Senators, suiting up 55 times and recording 20 points. In 252 career NHL regular season contests he has 79 points, but will now take his talents overseas to see if he can build up his value. Originally selected in the second round in 2010, he was a dominant presence in the AHL but has struggled to find any consistency over the last several seasons. In 2017 he signed a two-year contract with the Golden Knights worth a total of $3.4MM, but likely failed to find a huge market after his disappointing recent play.
That’s not to say that there won’t be a chance for Lindberg to return to the NHL. The Swedish winger has at very least proven that he can fill a bottom-six spot, though his skill set suggests that he may be better suited to a more offensive role. He’ll certainly find that opportunity in Switzerland, something that could change some minds and lead to a return next summer if he chooses to pursue the NHL once again.
Cody McLeod Signs In AHL
The run of eleven consecutive seasons in the NHL appears to be coming to an end for Cody McLeod. The 35-year old forward has signed an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild along with Olivier Archambault and Kyle Bauman. McLeod played last season with the New York Rangers and Nashville Predators.
Undrafted out of the WHL, McLeod battled his way through the minor leagues before breaking into the NHL as an enforcer for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2007-08 season. A scrappy fourth-line player that could chip in now and again he actually recorded a career-high 15 goals in his sophomore season, but was known more for his physical presence and fisticuffs than anything else. Across a 776-game NHL career, McLeod has recorded 1,630 penalty minutes and 127 points. The last time he played in the AHL was during that 2007-08 season with the Lake Erie Monsters.
Archambeault and Bauman meanwhile are just depth options for the Wild, though the latter comes with a solid college pedigree. The 26-year old Bauman played four years at Bemidji State University and captained the team during the 2017-18 season before making his professional debut. In his first full AHL season last year he recorded 18 points in 67 games for the Ontario Reign.