Brett Leason Signs Entry-Level Contract
Another top draft pick has inked his entry-level contract, as Brett Leason has signed with the Washington Capitals. Leason’s three-year entry-level deal will carry an average annual value of $842,500. Unlike many other draft picks, Leason’s deal does not have the opportunity to slide forward as he is already 20 years old after being passed over in the past two drafts. He will be a restricted free agent following the 2021-22 season.
Being selected 56th overall by the Capitals last month was the result of years of hard work by Leason, who wasn’t even a high pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft and only played a single CHL game before the 2016-17 season. He would score just 18 point for the Tri-City Americans that year and went undrafted as an 18-year old who wasn’t even an offensive contributor in junior. The next season things started out poorly again for Leason with the Americans, scoring just a single goal in the first 12 games before a trade to the Prince Albert Raiders changed everything.
Leason would find success in Prince Albert scoring 32 points down the stretch but was still overlooked entirely at draft time. After all, 19-year old NHL prospects are expected to dominate the CHL at that point. Well, dominate he did in his third WHL season and first full year with the Raiders. Leason scored 36 goals and 89 points in 55 regular season games and added an appearance at the World Juniors for Team Canada. In the playoffs he would continue to be a force, adding 25 points in 22 games while taking home a WHL championship with the powerhouse Prince Albert squad.
The question now will be whether or not Leason can take that kind of production into the professional ranks, but betting against him at this point is probably a bad idea. Armed with an NHL-ready shot—in strength, accuracy and release—the 6’4″ forward will try to establish himself as a goal scorer and powerplay option in the minor leagues and force his way onto the Capitals roster before long. With so much money tied up in their top players, Washington will need some entry-level contributions over the next few seasons and Leason might be the right prospect to give them that on a hastened timeline.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Samuel Fagemo
The Los Angeles Kings have signed one of their recent draft picks, inking Samuel Fagemo to a three-year entry-level contract. His contract is not expected to kick in until the 2020-21 season as he is likely headed back to the SHL this year.
Fagemo, 19, went undrafted in 2018 during his first year of eligibility but has been a target of the Kings for some time. This year they decided to spend the 50th overall pick on him after he drastically improved his skating ability and ended up one of the top young players in Sweden. In 42 regular season games with powerhouse club Frolunda, Fagemo recorded 14 goals and 25 points before blowing up in the playoffs for another six and ten in just 16 games. His team won the SHL title and would go on to win the Champions League as well, while Fagemo also suited up for Sweden at the World Juniors.
All that makes quite an impressive resume for the young forward, who will inject a healthy amount of skill into the Kings prospect pipeline. A natural goal scorer, he has shown an ability to take large developmental steps in a short period of time and could very well be challenging for a spot in Los Angeles next fall. There will be real opportunity on the Kings for young players over the next few years, something that should drive the second-round pick to get even better this year.
Kaapo Kakko Signs Entry-Level Contract
The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Kaapo Kakko on his three-year entry-level contract, getting a bit of business done before restricted free agents take up the rest of the summer. Kakko’s deal will likely kick in this season as he is expected to play in the NHL, and should contain a huge number of performance bonuses.
Kakko, 18, was the second overall selection in last month’s NHL Entry Draft after an outstanding season in Finland and internationally. The rangy, powerful forward broke Aleksander Barkov‘s Liiga record of goals scored in one season by an under-18 player with 22, and won Rookie of the Year. That performance wrapped around an outstanding effort at the World Juniors where he and his Finnish teammates took home the gold medal. Kakko scored the game-winning goal in the final against Team USA and draft rival Jack Hughes.
With some unfinished business after his TPS squad was eliminated from league playoffs, the teenager then suited up for Finland again at the IIHF World Championship where he recorded six goals in ten games and once again helped Finland capture the gold. Even with nearly unprecedented success in his draft year, he was unable to pass Hughes for the honor to be selected first overall.
The Rangers won’t be complaining though, as Kakko is exactly the kind of franchise-changing talent that they can put in the middle of their rebuild. The team had already been growing a strong program with recent trades, but have now obviously turned the corner towards competing with the selection of Kakko and signing of Artemi Panarin. The wingers should form the basis of a solid forward core for years to come while other young talents like Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden and Vitali Kravtsov fill in the rest of their impressive depth chart.
Obviously there may be growing pains for Kakko in his first season, but after showing he can compete against NHL stars at the international level he should step right into a substantial role with the Rangers in 2019-20.
Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Joel Armia
The Montreal Canadiens are set to sign another one of their restricted free agents, agreeing to terms with Joel Armia on a two-year contract. The deal will carry a $2.6MM average annual value and keep him in the organization through the 2020-21 season. Armia will be an unrestricted free agent when the contract expires, but avoids his scheduled arbitration hearing later this month.
Armia, 26, was acquired by the Canadiens last year in a deal with the Winnipeg Jets that saw them assume the rest of Steve Mason‘s contract. Losing Armia was the price the Jets had to pay for the Canadiens to perform the buyout on Mason, which will pay him another $1.37MM this season. While it looked at that point like they might be losing just a depth forward, Armia actually took another step forward in Montreal and posted 23 points in just 57 games with a career-high 13 goals. A force on the penalty kill, the 6’4″ forward was a versatile option that likely would have set new highs in basically every category if he hadn’t suffered a knee injury in November that forced him out of the lineup for nearly two months.
The Canadiens haven’t changed the makeup of their team dramatically this summer, moving in and out depth pieces instead of pursuing the top UFA names. They did attempt to nab Sebastian Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes with an offer sheet, but now sit with many of the same faces—save for Andrew Shaw, who was flipped to Chicago for draft picks—as the summer stretches on.
There still might be more coming for GM Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens, but even just experiencing a little more health and a bit of development from young players like Victor Mete, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling may push them up to a playoff spot this season. Armia is a real part of those hopes, and if he can play all 82 there’s no doubt he can be a reliable contributor.
Front Office Notes: Holmgren, Wright, Rychel
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that long-time executive Paul Holmgren will be transitioning into an advisory role with the team moving forward, while GM Chuck Fletcher will now also have the title of president of hockey operations. Holmgren has been with the Flyers organization for 40 (non-consecutive) years in almost every role possible including player, assistant coach, head coach, assistant general manager, general manager, director of pro scouting and president, but will be taking a step back to spend more time with family.
Fletcher will take on even more responsibility as he tries to reshape the Flyers and take them back to the playoffs next season. The Flyers haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1975 and haven’t won a playoff round since 2012. Fletcher has already made several moves to try and change that streak this offseason, adding Matt Niskanen, Justin Braun and Kevin Hayes to the mix.
- According to several reports including Ansar Khan of MLive, Detroit Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright will be following former GM Ken Holland to his new post with the Edmonton Oilers. Kris Draper, who had been serving as an assistant to the general manager is expected to take over for the Red Wings under new GM Steve Yzerman. Several other scouts including Jeff Finley and Andrew Dickson will not return to the Red Wings, while Archie Henderson is following Wright to Edmonton.
- Warren Rychel has stepped down as GM of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, replaced by Bill Bowler after a 13-year run. Rychel is a part-owner of the team and brought three Memorial Cup titles during his run in the front office. The Spitfires are one of the most successful franchises in the OHL and routinely produce NHL talent including names like Jason Spezza, Taylor Hall, Ryan Ellis, Adam Henrique, Josh Bailey, Cam Fowler and countless others.
Dallas Stars Sign Jason Dickinson
The Dallas Stars have re-signed Jason Dickinson to a two-year deal worth a total of $3MM. Dickinson was a restricted free agent and had filed for arbitration, but will no longer require his hearing on July 20. GM Jim Nill released a short statement:
Jason is a conscientious player who plays a very detailed, 200-foot game. As last season progressed, he began impacting games night in and night out, and he really established himself during the playoffs. We fully expect him to continue to build upon that and be a big part of our team for years to come.
Dickinson, 24, looked for a time like he might be one of the countless first-round picks that never make much of an impact in the NHL. Selected 29th overall in 2013, he had played just 38 career games coming into the 2018-19 season and had just five points. As Nill says though, that has all changed as he finally established himself as a real full-time option for the Stars and a core piece moving forward. The two-way forward took on a much bigger role in the playoffs and ended up with five points while averaging close to 16 minutes a night.
With a new pair of veteran wingers added to the Stars forward group and an emerging Roope Hintz, Dickinson will need to continue to work hard for every shift of ice time next season. That said, he’ll now be surrounded by even more talent and should be expected to shatter the career-high of 22 points he set last year. The Stars have struggled to find reliable secondary scoring for some time, but will hope Dickinson can add that while not losing any of his defensive acumen.
Dallas now has just two restricted free agents left to sign, most notably defenseman Julius Honka. It’s not clear where Honka fits into the picture for the team next season and with less than $1MM left in cap space there very well could be a trade coming at some point.
Early Notes: Hurricanes, Eriksson, Contracts
The Carolina Hurricanes have made some changes in their scouting department, promoting Robert Kron and Mike Dawson while hiring Cody Nickolet, Eric Fink and Oleg Smirnov. Kron will now serve as Director of European Scouting, while Dawson is now the Head North American Scout.
While adding top names from the WHL in Nickolet and Fink is important, Smirnov may actually be the most interesting hiring after working as an agent and for the players’ union in Russia for the past decade. The Hurricanes have just a single Russian on the NHL roster in Andrei Svechnikov, and he was selected second-overall after playing two years in North America. Perhaps adding another scout there will help the Hurricanes find even more hidden talent in the later rounds.
- After signing Micheal Ferland to a long-term deal yesterday, immediate speculation erupted about how the Vancouver Canucks were going to find playing time and cap space for their glut of forwards. The idea that came to everyone’s mind was a potential Loui Eriksson trade, a possibility that his agent admitted to on TSN radio. J.P. Barry explained that it “has gone past any kind of request” at this point and said that everyone—meaning Eriksson’s camp and GM Jim Benning—is looking for a solution. David Alter reported yesterday that Eriksson’s $4MM signing bonus is actually due on July 15th, meaning he becomes much less expensive ($9MM remaining over three years) after that date.
- Something to keep in mind over the next few weeks as the remaining unrestricted free agents wait for their next opportunity is that teams are only allowed to have 50 players under contract at anytime. Some teams are already quite close to that limit, including the Edmonton Oilers (48) and Dallas Stars (47). There is a little flexibility here because several young prospects will be heading back to their junior organizations and come off the books—Philip Broberg and Olivier Rodrigue in particular for Edmonton—but it is still a necessary consideration when speculating on where players will end up. Being too close to the limit could force a team to miss an opportunity at the end of training camp when teams place talented players on waivers.
Minor Transactions: 07/10/19
Like always, as teams prepare their organizational depth charts for the upcoming season we’ll be right here tracking all the minor moves:
- The Stockton Heat have signed three players to AHL contracts, bringing in Zac Leslie, Alex Gallant and Jeremy McKenna. While the first two already have plenty of AHL experience, McKenna will be getting his first taste of professional hockey after scoring 45 goals and 97 points for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats last season. The 20-year old appeared at both Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames development camp recently and earned himself a deal.
- The Belleville Senators have signed Jack Dougherty to a one-year AHL contract, bringing in the former top prospect to fight for playing time in the minor leagues. Dougherty was originally selected in the second round in 2014, but failed to receive a qualifying offer last month from the Buffalo Sabres and became an unrestricted free agent.
Alex Iafallo Re-Signs With Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed restricted free agent Alex Iafallo to a two-year, $4.85MM contract. Iafallo had filed for salary arbitration and was set to have a hearing on July 20th, but will instead play the next two seasons at a $2.425MM cap hit and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021.
A free agent signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017, Iafallo quickly established himself as a full-time player for the Kings. The undrafted winger played in 75 NHL games in his first professional season and recorded 25 points, only to improve that the following year. Part of that production is due to the fact that the Kings have been desperate for youth and skill on the wing, but make no mistake Iafallo has worked hard to deserve his playing time. The 25-year old scored 13 even-strength goals last season, ranking behind only Anze Kopitar‘s 19 for the team lead.
As the Kings try to rebuild their group to contend in the future, there will be plenty of opportunity for Iafallo to establish himself as a core piece. If he can, the team will have the chance to sign him to a longer-term deal down the road, and if not he could be auctioned off as a complementary piece for a contending team.
Los Angeles still has several restricted free agents left to sign, including Adrian Kempe whose brother was recently brought into the organization. The team has just over $9.4MM in cap space to do it, meaning they’ll likely have plenty of wiggle room to operate with this season.
John Hovan was first to report the contract details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Vancouver Canucks Sign Micheal Ferland
The Vancouver Canucks have signed another free agent forward, inking Micheal Ferland to a four-year, $14MM deal. The contract carries a $3.5MM cap hit, and will have a no-movement clause in the first two years before transitioning to a partial no-trade clause. Canucks GM Jim Benning released a short statement on his new forward:
Micheal is an energetic player that drives the play and can contribute in all three zones. He’ll make our team harder to play against on a nightly basis and we’re excited that he’ll call Vancouver home.
Ferland, 27, was the highest forward remaining on our Top 50 UFA list, coming in at number 11 just ahead of Ryan Dzingel. His versatility and effectiveness over thel ast two seasons made him an attractive target for many teams, though it does seem as though his market was shrunk somewhat given how long it took for him to sign. A deal with Vancouver represents a return to the Pacific Division where he started his career with the Calgary Flames, and a reward for a ton of hard work to this point.
Originally a fifth-round pick of the Flames in 2010, Ferland didn’t catch on as a full-time NHL player until 2015 when he used his physical play to establish himself in Calgary’s bottom-six. Within a few years he was playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for long stretches on the top line, scoring 21 goals and 41 points in the 2017-18 season. That summer he was flipped to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the bigger Elias Lindholm–Dougie Hamilton deal, bringing a new dimension to their attack.
In Carolina he got off to a blistering start and was setting himself up for a huge payday this summer. Through his first 54 games he had 17 goals and looked like he was well on his way to a career-high. Unfortunately, Ferland didn’t score a single goal in the 17 games after the trade deadline and was held to just a single assist in seven postseason contests. Dealing with various injuries, he finished the year with 40 points but is still a potential top-six add to a club like Vancouver.
After showing that he could keep up with top players in Calgary, there’s good reason to believe he might get the same opportunity with Vancouver. The team has Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson anchoring their top two lines, and Ferland could slide in on one of their wings to give them a little more physicality. The interesting thing will be where he fits in with relation to J.T. Miller, who is another big-bodied forward that can play either wing and add a little punch.
The addition of Ferland though raises more questions with how the Vancouver roster will shake out after training camp. The team already had 13 forwards on one-way contracts plus Pettersson and Adam Gaudette on their entry-level deals. That’s not even including restricted free agents Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin, at least the former of which will be assured a spot on opening day. There may be more moves coming for Vancouver, who have been looking for a landing spot for Loui Eriksson for some time and are set to pay him a hefty bonus on July 15 according to David Alter.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report a deal was close.