Calgary Flames Sign Artyom Zagidulin
Though it took longer than expected, the Calgary Flames have officially announced a one-year entry-level contract with Artyom Zagidulin. The two sides actually signed the deal on March 30th, but since Zagidulin’s KHL contract doesn’t expire until the end of April they likely had to wait for his team to terminate the deal.
Zagidulin, 23, recorded a .924 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average for Magnitogorsk this season, the first time he was given a hefty load. Those numbers actually improved in his four playoff games where he had a .928, and should bode well for his future in North America.
With the Flames still struggling to find answers in net and approaching an offseason where both Mike Smith (UFA) and David Rittich (RFA) are free agents, Zagidulin is joining the organization at the perfect time. While he likely won’t give them an NHL contribution right away, adding a young goaltender with upside is never a bad thing. He’ll battle with other netminders like Tyler Parsons, Nick Schnieder and Mason McDonald for playing time unless he can impress Bill Peters’ staff enough to break camp with the NHL club next fall.
Antti Niemi Will Not Return To Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens will have a new backup goaltender next season, as GM Marc Bergevin told Antti Niemi he won’t be back with the team. The veteran goaltender’s contract is coming to an end and he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
It’s hard to argue with the decision to let Niemi go after the struggles he experienced this season. The 35-year old goaltender saw his numbers decline across the board and finished with an 8-6-2 record and .887 save percentage. That’s where things appeared to be headed when Niemi was bought out by the Dallas Stars in 2017, but he found incredible success with Montreal in the second half of the 2017-18 season.
The Canadiens though have a backup ready and waiting for an opportunity in Charlie Lindgren and a young goaltender in Cayden Primeau that will need playing time in the minor leagues. Lindgren was given the final game of the regular season once the Canadiens had been eliminated from playoff contention, and figures to at least compete for the backup role next season—though he experienced his own struggles this season in the AHL and could potentially be replaced by a more veteran option if Montreal finds one to their liking.
For Niemi, if this is the end it was quite a ride. Undrafted, the Finnish goaltender signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008 and found himself starting in the playoffs by spring of 2010. As a rookie Niemi led the Blackhawks all the way to a Stanley Cup championship on the back of his .910 save percentage through 22 postseason starts. He would start another 43 games in the playoffs for San Jose and Dallas, but failed to capture another title. If he believes he can still compete at the highest level there will surely be people willing to give him a chance, but a guaranteed backup role seems like a stretch for the veteran netminder at this point in his career.
Los Angeles Kings To Offer Nikolai Prokhorkin One-Year Contract
The Gagarin Cup Western Conference finals came to an end today when CSKA Moscow defeated SKA St. Petersburg. With that news comes plenty of speculation surrounding the players on SKA whose draft rights belong to NHL teams, including star forward Nikita Gusev. While Gusev may get many of the headlines over the coming days, another forward will be offered an NHL contract soon enough as Los Angeles Kings GM Rob Blake confirmed to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. The Kings will offer Nikolai Prokhorkin a one-year, entry-level contract to try and get him to join their organization.
Prokhorkin, 25, won’t see his current contract with SKA expire until April 30, but could find a place in the Kings organization next season. He does have a familiar face to help his transition to North America as former teammate on SKA and the Russian Olympic team Ilya Kovalchuk is already in Los Angeles. With Kovalchuk gone Prokhorkin actually took up a bigger scoring role on the team this season, recording 41 points in 41 games.
Originally drafted by the Kings in the fourth round in 2012, Prokhorkin actually signed with the team and played eight games with the Manchester Monarchs in 2012. The Kings alleged that the young Russian forward’s contract in the KHL was invalid, but the NHL ruled against them and voided his entry-level deal. He hasn’t returned since, but could get an opportunity for a fresh start with the new management group in Los Angeles.
Slava Voynov Suspended For Entire 2019-20 Season
The NHL has finally made a decision regarding Slava Voynov. The defenseman has been suspended for the entire 2019-20 season and playoffs, while his eligibility will be restored on July 1, 2020 assuming “good behavior.” Voynov had applied for reinstatement after he previously received an indefinite ban from the league following his 2014 arrest for domestic violence. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has released this statement:
I have determined that Player Slava Voynov engaged in acts of domestic violence directed at his wife. Today’s ruling, while tailored to the specific facts of this case and the individuals involved, is necessary and consistent with the NHL’s strongly-held policy that it cannot and will not tolerate this and similar types of conduct, particularly as directed at a spouse, domestic partner or family member.
While Voynov had already been suspended for years, the important thing to note out of this decision is that he now has the right to appeal the decision with a neutral arbitrator. The NHLPA is reviewing the decision currently and could file an appeal on the behalf of Voynov.
In 2014, Voynov was arrested following a domestic violence incident and spent nearly two months in jail after pleading no contest. He was suspended indefinitely by the league and returned to Russia to play in the KHL, where he suited up for three years with St. Petersburg SKA. Last summer he petitioned the court to have his conviction dismissed, and started the process for reinstatement to the NHL.
As Bettman stated today, the incident revolved around Voynov and his wife, Marta Varlamova. That incident has been detailed and examined countless times since the arrest—perhaps most thoroughly by The Athletic’s Katie Strang (subscription required) last June—and will certainly bring about plenty more media speculation now that his name is back in the news.
It is important to note that Voynov’s NHL rights still belong to the Los Angeles Kings, the team he was playing for when he was first suspended. The team gave a statement to LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen, indicating that they are still reviewing the decision themselves and that it would be premature to comment at this point.
Victor Hedman Expected To Play Game 1
The Tampa Bay Lightning are expected to win the Stanley Cup. That is the simple truth after a nearly historic season in which the Lightning paced the NHL with an incredible 62-16-4 record. The only ones to score more than 300 goals—they scored 325—the Lightning had an incredible +103 goal differential on the year, routinely blowing out opponents en route to the Presidents Trophy. Still, with all that success there is also pressure to come flying out of the gate in round one of the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who only clinched a spot on the second last day of the season.
One of the biggest points of that pressure was the status of Victor Hedman, the Norris-winning defenseman that drives the entire bus from the blue line. Hedman hasn’t played since March 30th when he took an awkward hit from Carl Hagelin of the Washington Capitals, and it was unclear if he would be ready for tomorrow’s opening match. That’s no longer a mystery, as head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic that Hedman is expected to play in game one. The defenseman himself told Smith that he feels “fresh” after taking the last few games of the regular season off.
Hedman is already an incredibly important piece of the Lightning, but given that it doesn’t appear as though Anton Stralman will join him on the ice tomorrow evening he’ll become even more so. Hedman, Stralman and Braydon Coburn are the only three defensemen left over from the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals appearance by the Lightning, as the team will rely on some young faces to give them serious contributions. Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak and Jan Rutta are all expected to be in the lineup for the first game, meaning veterans Hedman, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh will have to really use their experience to slow down the Blue Jackets attack.
Bruce Boudreau To Return As Minnesota Head Coach
The Minnesota Wild made some big changes in the front office recently, but won’t be doing the same behind the bench. GM Paul Fenton spoke with reporters today and made it very clear that Bruce Boudreau will be back next season despite missing the playoffs this year. Fenton also explained that he will try to “fix this on the fly” instead of trying a full rebuild, and noted that players like Matt Dumba, Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise will be ready for training camp.
Boudreau, 64, has been with the Wild for three seasons and failed to get them past the first round of the playoffs in each of the first two. Missing completely led some to believe that he may be on his way out, given he wasn’t even hired by Fenton, but there are few with his history of success available. The former Washington and Anaheim bench boss trails only Scott Bowman and Jon Cooper in winning percentage among coaches with at least 500 games, and has still never had a season under .500 in his career. His resume also includes championships at both the ECHL and AHL level, and this season marks just the second time his NHL club has missed the playoffs. He won the Jack Adams award as Coach of the Year in 2008.
Even with all of that, the seat is certainly still hot in Minnesota. The team won’t be tearing down the walls to rebuild a roster that hasn’t been able to eclipse mediocrity, and if they don’t find success soon there will have to be changes. Fenton did already alter the look of the core group of players by trading away Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund, and will likely have some more moves coming this summer. Boudreau’s task will now be putting all those new pieces together and getting back in the race in the Western Conference, and will do it on the last year of his current contract.
Perhaps some luck will come Boudreau’s way this evening when the draft lottery results are announced, and he’ll have a new star to set into his line up. Even if it doesn’t, he’ll have to find a way to get more production out of young forwards like Luke Kunin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway.
Minor Transactions: 04/09/19
There’s just one sleep left before the NHL playoffs get underway, and teams are preparing as best they can for the grind that is about to begin. Tomorrow evening will see five series kick off, all starting in Tampa Bay with the Presidents Trophy-winning Lightning welcoming the Columbus Blue Jackets. As they get set for a weeks-long war to lift the Stanley Cup, we’ll be here keeping track of any minor moves they make along the way.
- The Blue Jackets have recalled Adam Clendening from the minor leagues once again, and he will serve as the seventh defenseman for their opening night match. The team has left Ryan Murray and Adam McQuaid back in Columbus as they continue to deal with upper-body injuries, meaning Clendening was needed to give them some extra insurance in case something goes wrong before tomorrow night.
- After clearing out their lockers yesterday, Luke Kunin, Jordan Greenway and Ryan Donato are all on their way to the minor leagues to take part in a Calder Cup chase. The trio of forwards should give the Iowa Wild an incredible boost as they try to climb their way into a playoff spot, especially given how much NHL experience they received this year. Greenway especially will be a welcome addition, given he played 81 games for the Minnesota Wild this season and scored four points in his two-game stint with Iowa earlier in the year.
- It’s going to be tough for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to make the playoffs this season, so the Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to recall Tristan Jarry in order to give themselves a little more insurance in net. Jarry has played nearly the entire season in the minor leagues, ending up with a 23-15-3 record and .915 save percentage. The 23-year old goaltender will join the team tomorrow in New York.
- Conor Garland will be going down to help the Tucson Roadrunners according to Craig Morgan of The Athletic. The 23-year old Arizona Coyotes forward was a revelation this season, scoring 13 goals in 47 NHL games while also contributing more than a point-per-game at the AHL level. The former junior superstar will try to help the Roadrunners catch the San Diego Gulls or Colorado Eagles and secure a playoff berth in the Pacific Division.
- The Calgary Flames have recalled Jon Gillies from the minor leagues to give them another goaltender for the playoffs, though Mike Smith is still expected to start the series. The Flames have dealt with goaltending issues all year long, but don’t expect Gillies to come in and get much action. The 25-year old played all season in the minor leagues and struggled to the tune of an .899 save percentage.
Brock Boeser “Open To Anything” In Contract Negotiations
When you look at the Vancouver Canucks salary cap situation for next season, there is one big question that needs answering. No, not whether Nikolay Goldobin will have a place on the team or what kind of deals Josh Teves and Brogan Rafferty will earn after signing out of college. The biggest and most pressing question of the Canucks offseason is what happens to Brock Boeser? The 22-year old sniper is coming off his entry-level contract and should be in line for a huge raise. Vancouver though will need to decide whether they want to lock him in long-term right away, or sign a shorter deal that keeps him under their control as it expires. Boeser, for his part, is apparently “open to anything” according to his agent Ben Hankinson who was on Sportsnet radio this morning (via Rick Dhaliwal):
We will figure it out, whether it’s a one-year deal or eight-year deal, something is going to happen in between now and six months from now. I don’t know if there is a big rush, I would like to get it done with Jim [Benning], that could happen in the next week or later on. We are both open to discussing all options. Overall Brock is open to anything.
Boeser has been one of the most productive goal scorers in the league since joining the Canucks less than 24 hours after his University of North Dakota team was eliminated from the 2017 NCAA tournament. He scored in that first game as part of the Vancouver organization and hasn’t slowed down, tallying 59 goals in 140 games. Injuries have been the only thing that stopped Boeser from reaching the 30-goal plateau in each of his first two seasons, but they could also put a cap on how much he’s able to earn on a long-term deal signed this summer.
Instead, Boeser and the Canucks may want to look at something shorter to prove he can stay healthy and productive for a whole season. The team has plenty of cap space, but does need to keep one eye on the future after the impressive debuts from some of their other young players. Elias Pettersson looks like he’ll demand a huge contract in a few years, and Quinn Hughes could do the same if he builds off his outstanding first impression. Those shouldn’t decide what kind of deal is offered this summer to Boeser, but a good team is always looking towards the future and trying to stay out of cap trouble.
Still, there may be some real value in locking up Boeser right away. Shock waves were sent through NHL front offices when the Toronto Maple Leafs recently committed such a huge cap number to Auston Matthews while only getting five years of term, a deal that will make the star center an unrestricted free agent at age 26 but is also paying him nearly $16MM next season. While Boeser obviously won’t be pulling in that kind of dough, the idea of expensive five-year deals for players coming off their ELC is not one that teams will want to emulate given how it walks them right into UFA status at a young age.
Today is all about the draft lottery and where the Canucks will select in June, but before long they’ll be sitting down and hammering out a deal with Boeser. His agent has already suggested it will be a painless negotiation, meaning the team will get back to preparing for a 2019-20 season which could see them get back to the playoffs. If they do, Boeser will be a big part of it.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minnesota Wild Start Front Office Changes
If you though the changes in Minnesota were over following the big trades they made this season, you were wrong. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the team have fired former assistant general managers Andrew Brunette and Shep Harder along with lead hockey researcher Andrew C. Thomas. Russo adds that Chris O’Hearn could potentially be brought in as a replacement AGM, and Bruce Boudreau is expected to return as head coach.
All three of the people the Wild let go would’ve seen their contracts come to an end this summer, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were looking for a shakeup in the front office. After years of making the playoffs but failing to progress, the team brought in GM Paul Fenton to enact drastic change on the organization. The roster looks much different after veterans like Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle were all sent packing, and now the front office will have several new voices as well.
Brunette especially was a well known member of the Wild, going back to his playing days with the team. The veteran of 1,110 NHL games spent several seasons in Minnesota over two stints with the team, and re-joined the organization after retirement in 2012. Harder too had been with the team for more than a decade, starting as an intern.
The Wild missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 2012, but made a commitment to get younger by acquiring pieces like Victor Rask, Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala. The team also signed top college free agent Nico Sturm, and will have a chance tomorrow at winning the draft lottery to move up in the first round. Still, there are big decisions to be made on what direction the team takes this summer. Veteran defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be entering the final year of his current contract and is eligible for an extension on July 1st. So too is Mikko Koivu, though his future depends much more on how his 36-year old body responds to a major knee injury.
There’s also plenty of work to be done, as Sturm, Donato, Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Pontus Aberg are all restricted free agents that need new contracts. If all five of those players are back with full-time roles, there may not be enough room for the rest of the veteran group including Jason Zucker, who was close to being traded to the Calgary Flames at the deadline and could be a candidate to be moved this summer.
Minor Transactions: 04/08/19
Though we won’t get many transactions this late in the year, teams will take the opportunity over the next few days to send some of their younger players back down to the minor leagues. The AHL season still has another few games to go, and players who are playoff-eligible in the minor leagues will not be quite done with their season even if they’ve already cleared out their NHL locker. We’ll keep track of all these minor moves right here:
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Sam Steel, Max Jones, Jacob Larsson and Jaycob Megna down to the San Diego Gulls, giving the AHL squad a boost as they try to lock up a playoff spot. The Gulls are currently in third place in the Pacific Division but haven’t yet clinched a spot thanks to a hard charging Tucson Roadrunners team.
- Bobby Nardella has signed an amateur tryout with the Hershey Bears, joining the club after recently agreeing to an entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals. Nardella will be joining a Hershey team that has already locked up a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division and who have their eyes set on a Calder Cup run.
- As if Carter Hart wasn’t enough for the Philadelphia Flyers, another young goaltender has joined the organization. Felix Sandstrom has been assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after his season in the SHL came to an end. The 22-year old goaltender signed his entry-level deal with the Flyers in 2018, and was originally selected by them in the third round of the 2015 draft.
- With Louis Domingue returning from his minor injury, Eddie Pasquale is on his way back to the Syracuse Crunch. That’s a big deal for a team that is one of the favorites to win a Calder Cup this season. The Crunch have the second best record in the entire NHL, and have been relying on Pasquale all season. The 28-year old goaltender has a 25-12-3 record with a .916 save percentage this year.
- The Buffalo Sabres have sent Alexander Nylander, Lawrence Pilut and Victor Olofsson back to the Rochester Americans for their playoff run, as all three are eligible to compete in the AHL postseason. The Americans have already clinched a spot and could very well make a run at the Calder Cup this season, especially with this trio of talented players back in the fold.