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Sergey Tolchinsky Signs With KHL’s CSKA Moscow

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Sergey Tolchinsky is an enigma, but one commonly found among Russian players. The young forward has loads of talent and ability, but for some reason struggled to put it all together at the pro level in North America. Likely frustrated by the disconnect between his skill and his production over three years with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, Tolchinsky signed a try-out deal back in June with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, the parent club of his former junior team. Today, the league announced that Tolchinsky has earned a roster spot, signing a one-year contract with CSKA.

Tolchinsky, 23, may not be entirely done with the NHL, but at the very least he won’t be suiting up in 2018-19. However, a comeback can never be ruled out for  player with so much natural talent who has previously shown a commitment to the North American game. Although undersized at 5’8″ and 170 pounds, Tolchinsky has proven to be a very capable scorer, albeit streaky in the AHL. Tolchinsky made the trek across the Atlantic early in his development, joining the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2012-13 after being selected 12th overall in the CHL Import Draft. In his first North American junior season, the then-17-year-old notched 51 points in 62 games, outscoring teammates like Jared McCann, Darnell Nurse, and Tyler Gaudet. Yet, Tolchinsky went undrafted in 2013. The Hurricanes were quick to jump on the free agent, inking him to an entry-level deal, although he played two more years for the Greyhounds. Tolchinsky led Soo in scoring in each of those seasons, amassing 186 points in 127 games. He entered the pro ranks with high expectations, but struggled to score at the same rate, finishing his first campaign with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers with 36 points in 72 games and a -16 rating. With point totals and games played totals even lower than that in each of the past two seasons since, Tolchinsky simply couldn’t replicate his success in the AHL. Although he managed to contribute a pair of assists in four games with the Hurricanes, his inconsistency in Charlotte prevented any full-time promotion and the disgruntled Russian did not see any NHL action in 2017-18.

Now, Tolchinsky looks re-establish himself back home in Russia. There has never been a question of how skilled the young winger is, but rather can he put it all together. Skating for a CSKA squad that has been almost dynastic in its success this decade, he stands a good chance of producing plentiful points and boosting his image. Tolchinsky will be re-united with Hurricanes teammate Klas Dahlbeck and will also call the likes of Mikhail Grigorenko, Linden Vey, Jannik Hansen, Sergey Kalinin, Anton Slepyshev, Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Nesterov, Alexey Marchenko, and Ilya Sorokin his teammates. Moscow looks to be dominant again this season and Tolchinsky will be one of many members of the team keeping an eye out for NHL offers next off-season. The Hurricanes chose not to qualify Tolchinsky, a restricted free agent, after he chose to sign with CSKA, meaning he is free to sign with any NHL team when his new contract in the KHL expires.

 

NHL Rookie Tournaments Set For Early September

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8/31: The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders have joined to fray, as their rookie camps will clash in prospects game on September 12th at the Isles’ practice facility, the teams announced. This leaves only the Florida Panthers without a competition for their rookies in the coming weeks.

8/24: Before team training camps open up for veterans, the rookies get some work in each year with various rookie tournaments and exhibition games taking place around the continent. This is where you can catch your favorite team:

  • The most well-known preseason rookie tournament is obviously the Traverse City NHL Prospect Tournament. The annual tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings is in its 20th year of existence. The format consists of two four-team “divisions” who play a round-robin tournament with the winner of each group earning a berth in the championship game. Featured this year are the Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. The games run from September 7th to September 11th.
  • Buffalo is again set to host the Sabres’ Prospect Challenge Tournament. Running from September 7th to 10th, it is a single group round robin tournament with the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and Pittsburgh Penguins joining the Sabres on their home ice. This will be the first game action for top overall pick and preseason Calder Trophy favorite Rasmus Dahlin.
  • Across the border, the three eastern Canadian teams are set to square off in Laval, Quebec, the home of the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. The Habs announced a set of three games featuring themselves, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Ottawa Senators on September 7th, 8th, and 9th.
  • On the other side of the country, a previous rookie tournament has been split in half. The NHL Young Stars Tournament, held in Penticton, British Columbia, will now contain only the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks, as well as a pair of collegiate teams in a three-day series of games from September 7th to 9th. The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames chose not to participate this year and will instead face-off in one singular game in Red Deer, Alberta on September 12th.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights are set to host the first of a revolving tournament among U.S.-based Western Conference teams. Nicknamed the Vegas Rookie Faceoff, Sin City will be the location of this year’s tournament which also features the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. It will be a three-day, nine-game series taking place on September 8th, 9th, and 11th. The tournament is expected to head to Anaheim next year.
  • Finally, the NHL’s southeastern squads will square off in Estero, Florida at the home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. The Prospect Showcase will be four days of games between the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, taking place from September 8th to 11th.

For all updates on rookie tournament rosters, check in with Roster Resource and their running tracker of roster announcements.

What Does The Future Hold For Jake Gardiner?

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Before July 1st, few people outside of the Toronto Maple Leafs front office were too concerned about the contract status of defenseman Jake Gardiner, who enters the final year of his current deal in 2018-19. Then Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan McDonagh, and Ryan Ellis all preemptively signed long, expensive extensions. Just like that, the situation for Gardiner changed completely.

Looking ahead to next summer, there is now an argument to be made that Gardiner is the second-best defenseman on the unrestricted free agent market as it currently stands. That was far from true earlier this summer. He has gone from an afterthought to an Erik Karlsson consolation prize. While the free agent class features many prominent veteran defenders – Jay Bouwmeester, Anton Stralman, Marc Methot, and Alexander Edler – it lacks many long-term pieces behind Karlsson and Gardiner. The Winnipeg Jets’ Tyler Myers and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Nate Schmidt would perhaps offer Gardiner some competition, if either unexpectedly reaches the market, but there is a strong case to be made that Gardiner would be the superior target.

The real question is whether or not Gardiner actually makes it to free agency. While nothing has changed about Gardiner’s value or ability since July 1st, his relative cost has shifted dramatically. With a potentially loaded free agent market for defensemen, Gardiner would have been taking a risk by turning down a fair extension from the Leafs to pursue other offers that may not have come once the smoke cleared from the major signings. Now that he almost certainly will be considered one of the top available names, Toronto may have to pay a premium to keep him from testing the waters, if they can. By the time Gardiner finishes next season, his career games played and offensive production will likely be superior to those currently of a player like McDonagh, who just signed a seven-year extension worth $6.75MM AAV. Granted, Gardiner is not the all-around player that McDonagh is, but given his continuously improving play and the boost of being a top available younger player, it is a fair frame of reference. For example, look at the four-year, $18.2MM contract that Calvin de Haan – considered by many to be the best defenseman in this current free agent class – signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer despite missing the majority of last season due to injury. The market sets the price and scarcity drives up price.

So will Toronto ante up to keep Gardiner? The Maple Leafs have to be careful with their long-term salary cap management. The team still owes William Nylander a contract this summer, as well as extensions for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner by next off-season. Those are the three names that everyone is focused on when it comes to Toronto. Yet, in addition to Gardiner, other impending free agents that the Leafs would like to keep include forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Josh Leivo, defensemen Travis Dermott, Andreas Borgman, and Connor Carrick, goaltender Garret Sparks, and even incoming imports Par Lindholm and Igor Ozhiganov who could win spots on the team this season. This is the final year that Toronto can take advantage of this massive group of bargain players, all of whom are paid $1.3MM or less and due raises. Not to mention, signing Gardiner and the other blue liners and losing veteran Ron Hainsey will still keep a massive hole open on the right side of the defense that the team will need to continue to search to fill.

The numbers simply don’t seem to add up, at least not very neatly. It would seem difficult for the Maple Leafs to pay Gardiner his market value, extend all of their other key impending free agents, fill the gap on the right side of the top pair next to Morgan Rielly, and still somehow end up under the salary cap next season. The story line to watch this season, as the John Tavares era begins, is whether the Jake Gardiner era is ending. Another career year for the capable defenseman could leave the Leafs without much choice but to let him walk next off-season and continue to work with a pieced together blue line. Do they trade him at the deadline? Do they trade a young core forward to replace him? Or instead do they somehow move salary to fit Gardiner in at any cost? Find out in 2018-19.

 

Influx Of Foreign Talent A Trend In 2018 Off-Season

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While the NHL free agent market remains flush with talented veteran players, some now beginning to depart for Europe without any leads around the league, NHL teams have quietly imported a fair amount of foreign talent this off-season. While few of these players are stars or even surefire regulars at the NHL level, the fact remains that those on two-way deals slated for depth roles are nevertheless taking those jobs from the current remnants of the market, who at this point would gladly take an AHL assignment with upside. Teams clearly have felt this off-season that taking a chance on a promising foreign player was a better use of a contract than recycling aging domestic veterans. A total of 36 players who played in Europe last season are now headed to North America, where they will suit up for 24 different organizations – showing the popularity of importing talent this off-season. Here are the foreign free agent signings this summer:

D Ilya Lyubushkin (Arizona Coyotes)
F David Ullstrom (Arizona Coyotes)
F Martin Bakos (Boston Bruins)
D Lawrence Pilut (Buffalo Sabres)
F Yasin Ehliz (Calgary Flames)
D Marcus Hogstrom (Calgary Flames)
F Saku Maenalanen (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Dominik Kahun (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Kevin Lankinen (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Jacob Nilsson (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Pavel Francouz (Colorado Avalanche)
F Valeri Nichushkin (Dallas Stars)*
G Patrik Rybar (Detroit Red Wings)
G Mikko Koskinen (Edmonton Oilers)
D Joel Persson (Edmonton Oilers)
D Bogdan Kiselevich (Florida Panthers)
F Ilya Kovalchuk (Los Angeles Kings)
D Eric Martinsson (Minnesota Wild)
D Michal Moravcik (Montreal Canadiens)
D David Sklenicka (Montreal Canadiens)
F Carl Persson (Nashville Predators)
D Filip Pyrochta (Nashville Predators)
G Miroslav Svoboda (Nashville Predators)
D Egor Yakovlev (New Jersey Devils)
F Jan Kovar (New York Islanders)
D Yannick Rathgeb (New York Islanders)
F Michael Lindqvist (New York Rangers)
F Ville Meskanen (New York Rangers)
D Juuso Riikola (Pittsburgh Penguins)
F Lukas Radil (San Jose Sharks)
F Antti Suomela (San Jose Sharks)
F Par Lindholm (Toronto Maple Leafs)
D Igor Ozhiganov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Brooks Macek (Vegas Golden Knights)
F Juuso Ikonen (Washington Capitals)
F Maximilian Kammerer (Washington Capitals)
F Dennis Everberg (Winnipeg Jets)

While the obvious highlight of this list is the return of Kovalchuk, inking a substantial deal with the L.A. Kings, the rest are far more than just AHL placeholders. Nichushkin, albeit not a true free agent signing since his rights never left the Stars, is back in Dallas and looking to make an impact. Koskinen is set to be the primary backup to Cam Talbot in Edmonton and, while his role was muddied somewhat by the acquisition of Philipp Grubauer, Francouz is sure to see some action in net with Colorado. Kovar was brought in to be a starter in New York, while Ullstrom – a former Islander – will push for a roster spot with Arizona. After a couple of years abroad, Everberg is back in the league and hoping to find a role in Winnipeg. If Simon Despres, on a PTO with the Montreal Canadiens, earns a contract, he could make a difference as well.

Several more of these players could wind up winning spots in training camp battles, while even more will earn call-ups throughout the year. It is an extensive list and each and every name bears watching as they begin or continue their North American pro careers. Both the risk and upside of bringing over fresh, foreign talent versus sticking with experienced yet stagnant veterans is apparent. For some teams these gambles will fail, while others may find a diamond in the rough.

 

Retained Salary For 2018-19

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Among the ways teams can increase the value of potential trade candidates is by retaining a portion of their salary. These moves are often used on star players who may have declined slightly and are no longer deemed worthy of their big cap hits, or at the deadline in order to fit in as many contracts as possible for the playoff stretch. Any team can retain up to 50% of a player’s salary for the remainder of the contract, though a single player can only be involved in two of these transactions per contract.

Teams meanwhile are limited to three retained salary transactions on the books at any one time, and they cannot in aggregate equal more than 15% of the cap ceiling. That means, for this season a team can retain up to $11,925,000 in salary given the $79.5MM cap ceiling. Some teams have already started in on that number given the previous retained salary transactions that they are still paying off. Below is a list of all the active contracts involved in transactions like this:

Arizona Coyotes

Mike Smith – Retained $1,416,667 per season through 2018-19

Boston Bruins

Matt Beleskey – Retained $1,900,000 per season through 2019-20

Carolina Hurricanes

Marcus Kruger – Retained $308,333 per season through 2018-19

Florida Panthers

Jason Demers – Retained $562,500 per season through 2020-21

Ottawa Senators

Dion Phaneuf – Retained $1,750,000 per season through 2020-21

Toronto Maple Leafs

Phil Kessel – Retained $1,200,000 per season through 2021-22

Vancouver Canucks

Roberto Luongo – Retained $800,000 per season through 2021-22

Vegas Golden Knights

Derick Brassard – Retained $2,000,000 per season through 2018-19

While these transactions are hardly crippling the above teams, they are something to remember when the trade deadline rolls around and clubs are trying to swap contracts. Teams like Toronto and Vancouver who have retained salary for another four years might not want to get into a similar situation and lock up two of their three possible options for the future.

The other question surrounding retained salary transactions will be how they affect the upcoming CBA negotiations, after teams like Vegas have acted as a sort of middle man. Brassard was never really part of the Golden Knights, only coming there on his way from Ottawa to Pittsburgh in order to reduce his salary for the Penguins. Though Vegas received compensation, it is not how the rule was intended to be used.

Hurricanes Have Started Extension Discussions With Sebastian Aho

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The Hurricanes have started discussions on a contract extension for forward Sebastian Aho, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  Aho acknowledged that he’s hopeful that his agent Gerry Johansson can get a long-term deal done but that he has “nothing to say yet”.

The 21-year-old is coming off of a very strong sophomore campaign that saw him improve his point total from his rookie season by 16.  His 65 points on the year led all Carolina players and he followed that up with a stellar showing at the World Championships where he finished second in the tournament in scoring with 18 points in just eight contests.

Aho could also be in line for a position change for next season.  After finishing the year as a center, new head coach Rod Brind’Amour noted that they will consider moving him back to the wing.  Despite losing both Elias Lindholm (trade) and Derek Ryan (free agency), Carolina still has some good options down the middle in Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, as well as youngster Martin Necas who is expected to be a regular in 2018-19.

Aho is already signed through the upcoming campaign with a $925K cap hit plus another $850K in Schedule ‘B’ bonuses that he should have a strong chance at achieving.  It’s safe to say that his next deal, whenever it’s signed, will vastly surpass that amount.  Fortunately for Carolina, they have plenty of room to work with under the salary cap so they shouldn’t have to move anyone out to accommodate his eventual new salary.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Carolina Hurricanes

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert 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 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Carolina Hurricanes

Current Cap Hit: $61,879,997 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Sebastian Aho (one year remaining, $925K)
D Haydn Fleury (one year remaining, $863K)
F Martin Necas (three years remaining, $894K)
F Andrei Svechnikov (three years remaining, $925K)

Potential Bonuses

Aho: $850K
Fleury: $850K
Necas: $538K
Svechnikov: $2.6MM

Total: $4.838MM

Aho very quietly led the Hurricanes in scoring last season with 65 points (29-36-65) in 78 games.  He’s poised to be on the top line once again next season and if he picks up where he left off, he’ll be looking at a significantly more expensive long-term deal next summer around the $6MM-$7MM range.  Fleury spent the bulk of last season with the Hurricanes but with their extra depth on the back end, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was sent to the minors at times to get some extra work in.  With that in mind, he’s a strong candidate for a bridge deal next summer.

Svechnikov, the second-overall pick back in June, is expected to play an important role right away, especially after they dealt winger Jeff Skinner to Buffalo for a package of future assets.  A top-six spot isn’t out of the question which should put him in line to at least hit some of his Schedule B bonuses.  Necas actually made the big club out of training camp last year but was quickly sent back to the Czech league.  He’s likely to fill the vacancy opened up by Derek Ryan’s signing in Calgary.  If he’s in the bottom-six, he probably won’t hit most of his bonuses but if he moves into a top-six role, that could certainly change.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Phillip Di Giuseppe ($750K, RFA)
F Micheal Ferland ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Jordan Martinook ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Brock McGinn ($888K, RFA)
G Petr Mrazek ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($2.86MM, RFA)
F Justin Williams ($4.5MM, UFA)

Teravainen, the ‘prize’ that the Hurricanes received for taking on Bryan Bickell’s contract from Chicago two years ago, really blossomed into a top-line talent last season.  He certainly has outperformed his bridge contract already and will be pegged to more than double his current AAV on his next deal.  Williams, who is their second-highest-paid forward, had a nice year in his return to Carolina with 51 points.  He’ll turn 37 right before the season starts and it will be interesting to see if he can repeat those numbers.  If he shows signs of decline, it will have a big impact on his next deal.  Ferland took advantage of the opportunity to play in the top-six with Calgary last year as he set career highs across the board offensively.  Those opportunities probably won’t present themselves with the Hurricanes which will hurt his value on the open market.  Despite that, he could still push to double his cap hit with a solid season.

Mrazek had a rough year in 2017-18 split between Detroit and Philadelphia and he will be looking to rebuild his value.  Given the questions surrounding their starter, the opportunity will certainly be there for Mrazek to do well and look for a longer-term deal next summer.  If not, he could join the list of backups that seem to bounce around several organizations rather quickly.  Martinook was added during the playoffs in what was basically a move to save a little bit of money.  He’ll likely suit up on their fourth line and could very well be flanked by McGinn and Di Giuseppe.  McGinn is coming off a 16-goal, 30-point season and another year like that could push him into the $2MM per year range while Di Giuseppe will be looking to lock down a regular role next season.

Two Years Remaining

D Justin Faulk ($4.83MM, UFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Valentin Zykov ($675K, RFA)

Faulk is coming off of a down year by his standards.  After averaging 16 goals over the previous three years, he tallied just six in 2017-18 which has certainly contributed to the significant increase in trade speculation.  With their current roster construction, he projects to be on the third pairing and while that’s a very nice luxury to have, that’s also not the best use of an asset like that, especially when there appears to be a mandate to keep payroll low for the time being.  If the right deal doesn’t present itself then Faulk will start the season in a Carolina uniform but it certainly feels like a question of when, not if, a trade eventually gets done.

The player to really benefit from the expected move is van Riemsdyk who either will have to play his off-side as things stand or serve as the extra defender to start the season.  Neither of those are particularly ideal scenarios as the Hurricanes didn’t more than double his previous deal to have him in a different spot than he was last year.  As for Zykov, he’s now waiver-eligible and will be trying to lock down a full-time spot.  He showed some promise in limited action last year and could push for a top-nine spot quickly.

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Poll: Did The Carolina Hurricanes Improve This Offseason?

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The Metropolitan Division is a meat grinder. In the five seasons since the NHL realigned into the current divisional structure, the Metro has produced 14 teams with 100 or more points, sent a team to the Stanley Cup Finals four times and won it on three occasions. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils have all been to the playoffs at least twice. Notoriously absent from that group is the eighth team in the division, the Carolina Hurricanes.

Not only have the Hurricanes failed to make the postseason in each of the five seasons they’ve been part of the Metro, but they haven’t even cracked 88 points during that period, instead topping out at 87 in 2016-17. Even before the realignment the Hurricanes hadn’t been finding any success, failing to reach the postseason since 2008-09. It’s been a long run of futility for the franchise, and this year looks like they’ll have another powerhouse division to take on with the Devils, Flyers and Blue Jackets all potentially taking steps forward while the Capitals and Penguins try to continue their dominance.

The other teams in the Hurricanes division aren’t going to get out of their way, meaning the only way to the top for Carolina is by improvement. With new ownership, management and coaching staff in place now is the time to try something different. That’s been shown in plenty of different examples this offseason, including most recently with the trade of scoring winger Jeff Skinner. Skinner was sent to Buffalo (and the Atlantic Division) for a package of picks and prospect Cliff Pu, in order to give the team a different look up front. That trade followed the draft blockbuster that sent Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin out west in exchange for Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland (and the rights to Adam Fox), which certainly shook up the roster construction for new head coach Rod Brind’Amour.

In free agency, Carolina shocked many by signing another defenseman in Calvin de Haan, and brought in Petr Mrazek to compete with Scott Darling for starts in goal. The team also drafted Andrei Svechnikov with the second-overall pick, and could get full-time contributions from prospects like Martin Necas and Janne Kuokkanen.

The question though now remains: did Carolina actually improve this offseason?

Up front the team still doesn’t have the first-line center they’ve been searching for since trading Eric Staal, despite his younger brother Jordan Staal and 25-year old Victor Rask being fine players. With time Necas may become that, but certainly shouldn’t be expected to shoulder that role this season. Even with the added skill of Svechnikov up front, it’s hard to imagine he and Ferland replacing the contributions of Skinner, Lindholm and outgoing free agent Derek Ryan right away. The improvement on defense is real, as Hamilton is close to being an elite offensive defenseman in the NHL and is basically the ceiling of what the team had hoped Hanifin had become. But it’s tough to think that de Haan really pushes the needle given that his addition comes at the expense of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Hayden Fleury’s playing time.

In goal, adding Mrazek doesn’t at all address the situation that they found themselves in last year after Darling struggled. In fact, there’s not much of a reason to believe that Mrzak will perform any better than Cam Ward did. Mrazek has shown potential in the past, but struggled immensely in Philadelphia and has shown real inconsistency in his game.

In aggregate, it doesn’t seem all that clear if the Hurricanes actually improved much this summer. To overcome some of the other teams in the Metro they’ll have to take a big step forward, and if some of their young players struggle there may be tough times coming. Do you think they’ll be able to jump up in the standings and make the playoffs? Or is another disappointing season coming in Carolina? Cast your vote and make sure to explain your thoughts in the comment section below.

Did Carolina improve this offseason?
No 68.13% (526 votes)
Yes 31.87% (246 votes)
Total Votes: 772

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Metropolitan Notes: Dundon, Schneider, Devils Defense, O’Brien

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When Tom Dundon took ownership of the Carolina Hurricanes earlier this year, he said he was going to make changes. Trading one of its top scorers in Jeff Skinner certainly qualifies, but the owner made it clear that it wasn’t even a hard decision to make, according to Chip Alexander and Luke DeCock of the News & Observer.

“It had to be done,” Dundon said Friday. “The consensus in the organization, and it has been for a while, was it was better for all parties. It’s good for him, too.”

The team didn’t get a top return for the 26-year-old who has scored 204 goals for Carolina over the course of eight seasons. He had a no-trade clause and could have chosen to play out his final season in Carolina and then walk away leaving the Hurricanes with nothing to show for him. Instead, Carolina walked away with prospect Cliff Pu and three draft picks, none of which are first-round picks. Buffalo has three of them in 2019.

“This was not money motivated,” Dundon said. “This was simply that we think the team has a better chance to perform at the level we think it can perform at right now.”

  • New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider isn’t going to be rushed back after undergoing hip surgery this offseason, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic (subscription required). The 32-year-old goaltender had another turbulent season in which he started the season strong, struggled and then fared well to end the season. He finished the season with a 2.93 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 40 games, his worst season statistically of his career. Masisak says the timetable for Schneider to return remains murky and general manager Ray Shero has commented on Pekka Rinne’s post-surgery success on multiple occasions, suggesting the team will almost certainly be starting the season with Keith Kinkaid as their starter.
  • With four top defenders on their roster, the New Jersey Devils have to choose their new pairings between Sami Vatanen, Will Butcher, Andy Greene and Damon Severson. While the obvious choice might be that Vatanen and Greene should remain together as their shutdown line, Todd Cordell of HockeyBuzz writes that they should look at a different option which would be to match Severson with Greene instead, pointing out that Severson’s numbers alongside Greene have been as good, if not better, than Vatanen’s. That would leave Butcher with Vatanen, which could also provide a solid pairing.
  • Bill Meltzer of NHL.com writes that the Philadelphia Flyers walked away with a good feeling about many of their prospects at the World Junior Summer Showcase today, especially with the success of their 2018 first-round pick Jay O’Brien. The 18-year-old has not had much of an opportunity to play against top competition against his own age, but thrived in the game against Canada where he was named Player of the Game for Team USA after potting two goals and showing a great defensive presence.

Sabres Notes: Botterill, Skinner, Reinhart, Smith, Okposo

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The Buffalo Sabres acquisition of winger Jeff Skinner only suggests to a defeated Buffalo fanbase that the Sabres intend to shake things up and improve on their inability to even reach the playoffs since the 2010-11 season. However, Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News takes it a step further as he suggests that general manager Jason Botterill and the Sabres fleeced the Carolina Hurricanes in their stealing of Skinner and it shows how Buffalo means business.

The key to the deal is the fact that Buffalo didn’t give them anything off their current rosters for a top-line left wing. The only player they did hand over will be playing in the NHL next season. Of the picks that Botterill did give to Carolina, the GM didn’t give up one of the three first-rounders that Buffalo has in the 2019 draft. And for Buffalo, Harrington writes, it’s a no-lose for the Sabres. If Skinner signs a long-term deals, they win. If they trade him at the deadline, they should be able to get a similar return than what they paid for him in the first place.

  • The Athletic’s Jon Vogl (subscription required) writes that Skinner is currently focused on getting integrated in Buffalo and coach Phil Housley’s system and his mind is not on his contract. The 26-year-old has said he is not focused on his contract. “Our focus with Jeff is to make this transition into Buffalo as easy as possible for him,” general manager Jason Botterill said, “for him to get settled in, focused in on the start of the season, go through the process here for him to get to know his teammates, get to know Phil (Housley), get to know myself, and we’ll talk about things such as extensions or contract down the road.”
  • The Athletic’s Joe Yerdon writes that there is little movement on a contract for Sabres’ restricted free agent Sam Reinhart. Botterill said the team would be waiting until all arbitration cases are completed, which suggests that Reinhart and his camp wanted to see how everyone did before agreeing to a new deal. Reinhart is coming off a career-high 25 goals and 50 points.
  • In another Yerdon piece, the scribe writes that the Sabres are expecting a lot of development from their defensemen now that they have assistant coach Steve Smith aboard for this upcoming season. The former Carolina Hurricanes’ assistant is well known for working well with young defensemen including Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Noah Hanifin to name a few. He could have a positive affect on a number of players in Buffalo, including Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nathan Beaulieu, Marco Scandella and Brendan Guhle.
  • Scott Billeck of NBC Sports writes that this will be a big year for high-priced winger Kyle Okposo to prove himself. After suffering through two major concussions over the past two years, the 30-year-old needs a bounce back season after posting just 34 goals over the past two seasons. He’s likely going to start on the team’s second-line next to rookie center Casey Mittelstadt. However, he must show he can stay healthy to even come close to showing he’s worthy of the $6MM AAV he’s carrying for the next five years.

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