Flames Rumors

Calgary Trying To Extend MacKenzie Weegar; Looking To Add Forward

August 29, 2022 at 1:51 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Calgary Flames quickly signed newcomer Jonathan Huberdeau to an extension after acquiring him from the Florida Panthers, and will now try to do the same with MacKenzie Weegar, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Weegar met with Flames general manager Brad Treliving last week and both sides apparently have had good discussions about a long-term extension. Calgary, says Pagnotta, hopes to have something done by training camp or at the very latest, the start of the regular season.

On the same NHL Network appearance, Pagnotta also noted that the Flames are still looking to add another free agent forward, mentioning Evan Rodrigues and Sonny Milano in particular. Rodrigues had 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games last season, while Milano racked up 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games.

Calgary Flames Announce ECHL Affiliation

August 25, 2022 at 12:26 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 1 Comment

The ECHL’s Rapid City Rush announced today that they have reached a “multi-year agreement” with the Calgary Flames organization to serve as their ECHL affiliate. This news is today’s third announcement of new NHL-ECHL affiliation agreements. Flames assistant GM Brad Pascall gave the following statement as part of the announcement:

The Calgary Flames are pleased to reach an affiliate agreement with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. Our organization prides itself on its ability to develop young prospects and was seeking a team with great ownership like Rapid City that shares our principles and objectives regarding player development. This affiliation with a hockey city like Rapid City, led by general manager and head coach Scott Burt, will be a great fit with the Calgary Flames.

The Flames have a new location for their AHL affiliate this season, with the new Calgary-based Wranglers coming into the fold. Now they have a new ECHL affiliate to pair with the Wranglers as part of their player development plan. The Rush spent the past three seasons as the ECHL affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes, who earlier today announced an agreement with the Atlanta Gladiators.

The ECHL is generally considered to be most relevant to NHL clubs as a place to develop goaltenders. The Flames’ goaltending situation throughout their organization is relatively clear-cut. As a result, the Rush are, at least at this point, unlikely to play a large part in the team’s player development plans for next season.

Goaltenders Dustin Wolf and Oscar Dansk are clearly entrenched as the Wranglers’ tandem, and Jacob Markstrom and Daniel Vladar are the same in Calgary. That being said, this is a multi-year agreement, per the announcement, so fans in Calgary should expect to see some prospects eventually don a Rush jersey as they look to climb the pro ladder as a member of the Flames organization.

Flames Reportedly Interested In Adding A Forward

August 25, 2022 at 10:25 am CDT | by Ethan Hetu 1 Comment

The Calgary Flames have had an offseason for the ages, going from the lows of losing both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk to the highs of adding Jonathan Huberdeau (and extending him), Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri. It’s been evident from these moves that despite his early summer predicament GM Brad Treliving had no plans on putting the brakes on the Flames’ Stanley Cup hopes, and it seems that the Flames are still attempting to improve their competitive chances, even this late into August.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his 32 Thoughts Podcast that he believes that the Flames are “going to add another forward,” and names free agent Evan Rodrigues as a specific name to watch. Rodrigues, whose free agency we profiled last month, is coming off of a strong platform season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The versatile 29-year-old forward scored 19 goals and 43 points last season and could be a fit in Calgary on the team’s third line, especially if they don’t view top prospect Jakob Pelletier as being ready for immediate top-nine duty.

Prospect Notes: Clang, Feuk, Veinbergs

August 23, 2022 at 12:58 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

John Gibson’s name is beginning to come up in trade rumors more and more, and, while it seems like the Anaheim Ducks might be in a lot of goaltending trouble without him, that’s not entirely true. Behind Gibson, the team has one of the best one-two goalie prospect punches in the league, quietly adding to their prospect pool this season via trade.

That trade was the Rickard Rakell deal, where the Ducks acquired goalie prospect Calle Clang from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the return. Today, they’ve officially loaned Clang to Rögle BK of the SHL for the 2022-23 season, per a team tweet. Clang was the backup for Team Sweden at the 2022 World Juniors, only so due to the brilliance of Jesper Wallstedt. In two games, Clang had a .944 save percentage, complementing what was a strong rookie season for him in the SHL (2.28 GAA, .915 SV%, 10-5-0 record). While he’ll be staying there for another season, it’s probably the best for his development — the team has another high-end goalie prospect in Lukas Dostal who will receive the lion’s share of the starts for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL.

Calgary Flames prospect Lucas Feuk is heading to North America on an AHL contract with the Calgary Wranglers, according to his former league in Sweden, HockeyEttan. A 2019 fourth-round pick, the Flames have Feuk’s exclusive signing rights until June of next year. The 21-year-old had 27 points in 32 HockeyEttan games last year split between Väsby IK and Nybro Vikings IF. HockeyEttan is Sweden’s third-tier professional league, sitting behind the SHL and Allsvenskan.
Another prospect is heading to North America, according to his former team — Tampa Bay Lightning 2022 draft pick Klavs Veinbergs will suit up for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in 2022-23. Veinbergs, 19, was drafted from Zemgale in the Latvian league and represented his country at the 2022 World Juniors. He’ll head to the USHL to continue his development, which is becoming a popular destination among Latvian players.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames

August 22, 2022 at 8:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2022-23 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $80,363,333 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Jakob Pelletier (two years, $863K)

Pelletier has yet to play in the NHL but the 2019 first-rounder is coming off a strong season in the minors that saw him put up 27 goals and 35 assists in 66 games with AHL Stockton; that performance will give him a good chance to push for a regular roster spot in training camp. At this point, a bridge contract is the likeliest scenario for him but two strong NHL seasons could change that.

Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level

F Milan Lucic* ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
D Nicolas Meloche ($950K,UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($1.55MM, RFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($750K, RFA)
D MacKenzie Weegar ($3.25MM, UFA)

*-Edmonton is retaining an additional $750K of Lucic’s cap hit

Potential Bonuses:
Lewis: $200K

Lucic’s struggles on this contract have been well-documented. He’s not the high-end power forward that he was in the prime of his career and at this point, he’s best utilized in more of a limited capacity. It’s likely that he’ll be going year-to-year on any future contracts with a cap hit that is below $2MM, if not less. Lewis was second among Calgary forwards in hits last season and has been a capable fourth liner for several years now; he should give them some positive value on this deal.

Weegar is coming over from Florida where he spent most of the last two seasons on their top pairing and has developed a quality offensive game over that stretch as well. He’s likely to play a similar role with the Flames which has him well-positioned to more than double his current contract on the open market next summer. The fact that he’s a right-shot defender, the side that is always in high demand and short supply, only stands to help his value. Valimaki spent most of last season in the minors and didn’t do quite as well as either side had hoped. He’s now waiver-eligible which could help him stay on the roster at least but as things stand, he’s likelier to be non-tendered than receive a $1.86MM qualifying offer. That’s a surprising turn of events for someone believed to be a part of their future plans. Meloche saw extended NHL action with San Jose last season for the first time, helping him secure a one-way deal in free agency. If he can hold onto a spot on the third pairing with regularity, another small raise on the open market next summer would be achievable.

Vladar’s first full NHL season had some ups and downs with the end result being a 2.75 GAA and a .906 SV% in 23 games. Those numbers aren’t excellent but they’re backup-level and with the escalating salaries for second-stringers, Vladar could easily double his current cap hit next summer if he has a similar performance in 2022-23.

Signed Through 2023-24

F Mikael Backlund ($5.35MM, UFA)
F Dillon Dube ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Noah Hanifin ($4.95MM, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Elias Lindholm ($4.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Rooney ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Toffoli ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($3.75MM, UFA)

Backlund has spent parts of 14 seasons with Calgary and has been a key cog down the middle for most of those. Now 33 and with a couple of middlemen ahead of him on the depth chart, he’s likely to play a lesser role moving forward and while he’ll still be one of the stronger defensive centers in the league, this contract will quickly become an above-market one. Toffoli was added in a midseason swap with Montreal to give them some extra scoring on the wing and he did just that en route to his sixth 20-goal campaign. He’s basically making second line money so as long as he stays in that role and keeps producing his usual level of production, the Flames will get some good value here.

Lindholm has really seen his career take off since coming over from Carolina four years ago. He has continued to be a high-end defensive player while he has gone from being more of a secondary offensive producer to a legitimate top-line center. His contract is certainly a sizable bargain for now as he’ll have an opportunity to potentially double his current AAV two years from now if he continues to produce at this pace in their new-look lineup. Dube did well offensively in very limited minutes last season and is poised to play a bigger role in 2022-23; if he can increase his production accordingly, he’s someone that could have a shot at doubling his price tag as well in 2024. Rooney has been a serviceable fourth liner the past couple of seasons and will play in that role with Calgary; it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command much more than that in his next trip through the open market.

Hanifin is coming off a career year offensively and while he hasn’t become the consistent two-way threat Carolina thought he’d be when they made him the fifth-overall pick in 2015, he is a legitimate top-pairing defender. The market value for those players is considerably higher than what he’s making now, making this another team-friendly deal. His next contract will be a few million higher than this one. Tanev has stayed healthy the last two years which isn’t normal for him which has allowed Calgary to get a better-than-expected return so far. He’ll need to be scaled back a bit over the next couple of years which will put him in line for a bit of a smaller deal in 2024, one that will almost certainly be a short-term contract.

Zadorov had an underwhelming first season with the Flames but the market wasn’t there for him so he opted to stick around. If he can’t become more of a core piece for Calgary over that stretch, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll get another deal like this one; size and physicality aside, depth defenders rarely command this type of contract. Kylington went from being a depth piece to a full-time regular last season, providing some secondary production in the process. Interestingly, he signed a deal that walks him straight to unrestricted free agency at 27 so there’s a chance for another sizable jump in his contract in 2024.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Andrew Mangiapane ($5.8MM, UFA)

To call last season for Mangiapane a career year would be an understatement. After his previous benchmark in points was 32, he passed that in 2021-22 with his goal total alone, notching 35 along with 20 assists in 82 games despite averaging less than 16 minutes a night. In the end, the two sides opted for what is essentially another bridge contract, one that gives him a significant raise on the $2.425MM AAV he had for the last two seasons without locking in a lot of long-term risk for the Flames if his production reverts back closer to his career averages. The pressure will be on now and Mangiapane will need to prove he’s a reliable 30-goal scorer to have a chance at getting that much on his next deal.

Signed Through 2025-26 Or Longer

D Rasmus Andersson ($4.55MM through 2025-26)
F Blake Coleman ($4.9MM through 2026-27)
F Jonathan Huberdeau ($5.9MM in 2022-23, $10.5MM from 2023-24 through 2030-31)
F Nazem Kadri ($7MM through 2028-29)
G Jacob Markstrom ($6MM through 2025-26)

Huberdeau was the centerpiece of the Matthew Tkachuk trade with Florida last month. He’s coming off a career year and even a record-setting one as he set a new NHL record for most assists by a left winger with 85. The Flames will have him on another below-market contract for the upcoming season before he becomes one of the most expensive wingers in the league on a deal that might not age well. Kadri’s deal was just signed a few days ago, giving him some long-term stability at a much higher rate than he has received in the past. Like Huberdeau, this contract may not look too great in the back half but if he can provide similar production to his output last year in the first few seasons, they’ll be okay with it in the end. Coleman is overpaid relative to his production (his career-high in points is only 36) but he provides plenty of physicality and is consistently strong in terms of possession. His contract won’t be thought of as a bargain but there’s more to his value than it might seem at first glance.

There was seemingly some risk to Andersson’s contract at the time, one that bypassed the bridge deal with the hopes that he’d eventually play his way into an impact role. He has done just that and is coming off a career year offensively with 50 points. Even if that type of production isn’t sustainable, as long as he can play top-pairing minutes and chip in with a point total that’s a little above average, Calgary will get a very strong return on this contract as well.

Markstrom’s first season with Calgary wasn’t the best but his second year was quite strong as he was the runner-up in Vezina Trophy voting. His AAV is a little higher than the median for a starter but as long as he performs at a level that’s better than a median starter, they’ll do well with this contract. There’s little reason to think he won’t be able to perform at that level for a few more years at least.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

F Adam Ruzicka

Ruzicka split last season between the Flames and AHL Stockton and was quite productive with the Heat, in particular, collecting 20 points in 16 games. He’s coming off his entry-level deal and didn’t have arbitration rights while he has just 31 career NHL appearances under his belt. A short-term deal is in the cards and at this point, the discussion is likely whether to do a one-year, one-way contract that’s closer to the league minimum or a two-year, two-way pact that’s closer to the $900K mark.

Best Value: Weegar
Worst Value: Lucic

Looking Ahead

Calgary is in pretty good shape for the upcoming season. They project to have some in-season space after Ruzicka’s deal gets done, a rarity among teams with an eye on contending so if they stay healthy, they should be able to bank enough room to add another piece midseason or closer to the trade deadline.

But it’s clear that their contention window is now. GM Brad Treliving has several significantly team-friendly deals on his roster, most of which will be expiring by 2024. At that point, they’re not going to be able to keep the core together; they’ll still be spending to the Upper Limit but will be getting much less bang for their buck. They have a couple of years to try to contend before that opening closes shut.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Breaking Down The Sean Monahan Trade Conditions

August 18, 2022 at 6:53 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 8 Comments

Seeing conditional draft picks get dealt is commonplace in this day and age. However, the stipulations on them are usually easy enough to understand. Whether it’s a third-round pick dropping down to a fourth if a player doesn’t play enough games for their new team, or a second-round pick upgrading to a first if the team in question wins the Stanley Cup, the conditions on trades are sensible, at least for the majority of the time.

The Montreal Canadiens seem to buck that trend, though. Starting with some lengthy conditions on the Christian Dvorak trade prior to last season, the Canadiens have agreed to an even more complex (and frivolous, depending on who you ask) set of conditions on the 2025 conditional first-round pick that they acquired today from the Calgary Flames, along with Sean Monahan. So much so that it’s worth its own post, with reference drawn from CapFriendly’s posting and reporting on the topic.

There are three possible umbrella scenarios that could determine which draft pick Montreal actually receives:

Scenario 1: If Calgary’s 2024 first-round pick falls between 20th and 32nd overall, Montreal can elect to receive Calgary’s 2024 first instead of their 2025 first.
Scenario 2: Calgary receives the 2025 lottery-protected first-round pick sent to them by the Florida Panthers in the Jonathan Huberdeau trade.
Scenario 3: Calgary does NOT receive Florida’s 2025 lottery-protected first-round pick.

Scenario 1

This is easily the simplest and potentially most likely scenario if the Flames are still rolling strong two years from now. If Montreal opts to swap out an unknown 2025 first-rounder for a late 2024 first-rounder, then the trade tree ends and Montreal receives no additional compensation.

Scenario 2

Now, things get complex with the addition of Florida’s 2025 lottery-protected first-round pick. In the event that both the Flames’ and Panthers’ 2025 first-round picks are NOT in the top 10, the Canadiens will receive the better of the two selections.

However, if the Flames’ 2025 first-round pick is a top 10 pick and the Panthers’ pick is not, Montreal is guaranteed to receive the Panthers’ pick. If the opposite is true, Montreal will receive Calgary’s selection.

Scenario 3

This is the most unlikely yet most complex scenario. If Florida’s 2025 first-round pick ends up as a top-ten choice, they’ll retain the pick and send their 2026 first-rounder to Calgary instead. This has two possible implications for Montreal:

If Calgary’s 2025 first is NOT top 10: Montreal will receive Calgary’s 2025 first-round pick, and, if Florida’s 2025 first-round pick is not top ten, but was transferred to another team due to prior conditions AND is a better pick than Calgary’s, Montreal will also receive Calgary’s 2025 fourth-round pick as compensation.

If Calgary’s 2025 first is top 10: If Calgary’s 2025 first-round pick is first overall, Montreal will receive the better of Florida’s and Calgary’s 2026 first-round picks AND Calgary’s 2025 third-round pick. If Calgary’s 2025 first-round pick falls between selections 2 through 10, Montreal will receive the pick.

All in all, if the reported conditions are correct, the Canadiens have the potential to receive one of the following five outcomes:

2024 Calgary first-round pick
2025 Calgary first-round pick + potential 2025 Calgary fourth-round pick
2025 Florida first-round pick
2026 Calgary first-round pick + 2025 Calgary third-round pick
2026 Florida first-round pick + 2025 Calgary third-round pick

Calgary Flames Sign Nazem Kadri

August 18, 2022 at 4:50 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 38 Comments

The Calgary Flames may have lost Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, but they certainly aren’t rebuilding. After trading Sean Monahan to the Montreal Canadiens to clear enough cap space, the team has signed free agent forward Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, $49MM ($7MM AAV) contract. PuckPedia has the full details:

2022-23: $4.5MM salary + $2.5MM signing bonus
2023-24: $4.5MM salary + $2.5MM signing bonus
2024-25: $4.5MM salary + $2.5MM signing bonus
2025-26: $4.5MM salary + $2.5MM signing bonus
2026-27: $6.0MM salary + $1.0MM signing bonus
2027-28: $7.0MM salary

Kadri, 31, came into the summer as one of the top free agents on the market after an incredible season with the Colorado Avalanche that included a career-high 87 points and resulted in a Stanley Cup championship. It’s not often a player of that caliber sits on the open market for more than a month but it appears as though the Flames and general manager Brad Treliving (whose birthday is today) are going to be the beneficiaries. Kadri comes to town along with Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, completely changing the look of the team and essentially replacing the production of Gaudreau and Tkachuk.

Treliving released the following statement:Nazem is a highly competitive top six player who makes our centre ice position deep. He brings a high skill level and determination to our group combined with his recent experience of a Stanley Cup championship. We look forward to welcoming Nazem and his family to Calgary and his contributions to our team’s ultimate success.

The issue some will point to is the age of the two-way pivot, who will turn 32 in October, and how he had never really come close to his 2021-22 level of production previously. While that is true, Kadri also offers some things outside his overall offensive production that can make him a valuable part of the team. A strong defensive player who has received Selke Trophy votes on three occasions, he is also willing to engage physically and has had a knack for scoring at clutch moments. Avalanche fans will fondly remember his first playoff run with the team when he led all postseason players with five game-winning goals in just 15 appearances.

Of course, as good as those two performances were, you can’t discuss Kadri without mentioning his other postseason escapades. Three times–twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs and once for Colorado–he has been suspended in the playoffs, arguably costing his team a chance at advancing. While he can say that part of his game is behind him, the most recent incident was just a year ago, and there’s no guarantee he won’t do something to jeopardize his team again in the future.

Still, adding a player like this to the mix keeps the Flames’ competitive window wide open, at least for the next couple of seasons. The Huberdeau extension and this long-term deal for Kadri will likely not end well, though, with the salary cap expected to increase significantly down the road, they at least will get some relief.

One other thing that might be brought up is how Kadri blocked a trade to the Flames just a few years ago, when the Maple Leafs tried to send him west in exchange for T.J. Brodie. The London, Ontario native explained that decision earlier this year in a piece for the Player’s Tribune, saying that it had nothing to do with Calgary and everything to do with trying to stay in Toronto, where he wanted to win. The Maple Leafs would end up sending him to Colorado, a team he couldn’t block, and signed Brodie in free agency instead.

The only way the Flames can afford a player like Kadri is by moving out considerable salary, and that’s what a Monahan trade represents. The 27-year-old forward has a $6.375MM cap hit for next season and has completely fallen off a cliff in terms of production over the last few years. Once a consistent 30-goal, 60-point center, Monahan had just eight goals and 23 points in 65 games this year while seeing his ice time drop to just 14 minutes a night. Injury has hampered his game significantly, and there’s no telling at this point if he’ll ever get back to being a top-six contributor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Sean Monahan

August 18, 2022 at 4:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 24 Comments

After news broke that the Calgary Flames will be signing Nazem Kadri, the obvious move to clear cap space was trading away Sean Monahan’s contract. That will be the case as Monahan is headed to the Montreal Canadiens.

Given Kadri’s reported $7MM cap hit, the swap represents just a $625K cap increase for the Flames, who were on the hook for the final season of Monahan’s seven-year, $44.625MM contract. Moving from Monahan to Kadri will cost them more than that though, as Calgary is sending a conditional 2025 first-round pick to the Canadiens in order for them to take the whole contract. Montreal will send future considerations (nothing) back.

The reason the trade took so long to work out is the set of conditions, which are some of the most complicated the league has ever seen.

If Calgary’s 2024 first is pick 20-32, Montreal has the option to take that pick (must decide before draft starts).
If Florida’s 2025 first transfers to Calgary (from the Matthew Tkachuk trade) then:
- If Calgary and Florida’s 2025 firsts are both outside the top-10, Montreal will receive the earlier one OR
- If Calgary’s 2025 first is inside the top-10 and Florida’s is not, Montreal will receive Florida’s
If Florida’s 2025 first does not transfer to Calgary then:
- If Calgary’s 2025 first is not in the top-10, Montreal will receive it AND
  - If Florida’s 2025 first is not in the top-10, it has been transferred to another team, and is better than Calgary’s 2025 pick, Montreal will receive Calgary’s 2025 fourth-round pick
- If Calgary’s 2025 first is in the top-10, Montreal will receive it UNLESS
  - If it is the first-overall selection, Calgary will retain the 2025 first, and Montreal will receive Calgary’s 2025 third-round pick, and the better of Calgary and Florida’s 2026 firsts.

For the Canadiens, who are trying to orchestrate a full rebuild under new general manager Kent Hughes, going after Monahan is a no-brainer. Adding a premium future asset for nothing more than a year of wasted cap space is exactly how you move things along, even though they will have to make some adjustments if Monahan is healthy enough to play after hip surgery earlier this year.

“Healthy enough to play” seems to be the operative phrase in Montreal right now, as their cap situation could vary wildly depending on the status of Carey Price. If the veteran goaltender is placed on long-term injured reserve again, the team would have some added flexibility. If he does play, it will be interesting to see how the Canadiens fit Monahan in.

Regardless, this is likely not a competitive year for the Canadiens, even though they’ve added some young talent, meaning they can take on salary without any real risk. In fact, should Monahan prove healthy enough, he might even be a nice deadline chip for the team to re-sell. While he is cost-prohibitive at his full cap hit, a retained Monahan for the last part of the season could be an attractive target for contenders looking to add some depth.

Calgary Flames Prospect Mitchell Mattson To Become Free Agent

August 15, 2022 at 8:20 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 9 Comments

One of the Calgary Flames’ picks from an otherwise fruitful draft class for them will hit the open market. 2016 fifth-round pick Mitchell Mattson is no longer listed on the team’s reserve list in their media portal, per FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike, meaning the team didn’t sign him prior to today’s deadline for certain college players’ signing rights.

Mattson, a center, was a somewhat risky selection at the time, and unfortunately for Calgary, there was no reward involved either. In his draft year, Mattson had a strong high school showing with 46 points in 25 games but had just two points in 21 USHL games with the USHL’s Bloomington Thunder.

After joining Michigan State for the 2018-19 season, it took Mattson two entire seasons to score his first college goal. Over four years at Michigan State, Mattson scored just eight points in a combined 80 games.

With production like that, even an ECHL contract might be out of reach for Mattsson if he’s staying in North America. If he can get a chance somewhere, though, the 2022-23 season will be crucial for him to get a professional hockey career back on track.

Andrew Hammond, Josh Brook, Cole Schneider Sign Professional Tryouts

August 10, 2022 at 2:34 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

Three more players have settled this offseason, as Andrew Hammond, Josh Brook, and Cole Schneider have agreed to professional tryouts according to CapFriendly. Hammond will be attending training camp with the Florida Panthers, Brook with the Calgary Flames, and Schneider with the Nashville Predators.

As the summer continues, more and more players will be taking tryout offers, as they try to land NHL contracts that have at least call-up eligibility. For a goaltender like Hammond, an NHL at some point seems likely since he saw 11 games this season and has a history at the level. In four games for the Montreal Canadiens, he registered a .920 save percentage, though that was dragged down considerably by the .860 he put up in seven appearances for the New Jersey Devils.

For his career, he actually holds a .916, thanks to that incredible run with the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15, when he posted a 20-1-2 record and .941 save percentage to carry the team into the playoffs.

Brook meanwhile is the only one of the three without any NHL experience, though he is just 23 years old and was a second-round pick of the Canadiens in 2017. Last season he split just 12 games between the AHL and ECHL, making it difficult to see how he’ll land an NHL deal even with a strong camp. That doesn’t mean it’s out of the question down the road but for this year, a minor league deal still seems more likely.

Schneider, who last saw NHL action during the 2016-17 season, is an excellent minor league player and has been for a long time. In 71 games with the Milwaukee Admirals last season he scored 30 goals and 60 points but hasn’t been on an NHL contract since 2019. Perhaps he’ll be able to negotiate one, though a call-up for the Predators seems unlikely at this point in his career.

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