Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Stelio Mattheos
Two-time Calder Cup champion Stelio Mattheos has re-signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, inking a new one-year, two-way contract. The deal carries an NHL salary of $750K, an AHL salary of $70K and includes a minor league guarantee of $85K. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell released a short statement:
Stelio has played key roles on championship teams throughout his junior and professional career. He is incredibly resilient and hard-working both on and off the ice, and we are thrilled to keep him in our organization.
Mattheos, 23, was selected 73rd overall in 2017, and has had an interesting experience so far at the professional level. While he is kept almost completely off the board during the regular season, his postseason performances have been excellent so far.
With just 21 points in 92 AHL regular season games it might be easy to write him off as a player who isn’t able to translate his junior production to the pros. But then his energy, forechecking, and tenacity have given the Charlotte Checkers and now the Chicago Wolves a valuable piece as they chased the Calder Cup.
As a restricted free agent this summer with no arbitration rights, there was basically no leverage for Mattheos. But with this new contract in hand, he’ll get another chance to show that he can be a capable, reliable piece, and potentially put his name in the mix for bottom-six action in the NHL.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign William Lagesson
The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms with William Lagesson, who had hit the open market as a Group VI unrestricted free agent. The deal will be a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K in the NHL, $225K in the AHL, and includes a $275K minor league guarantee. General manager Don Waddell released a short statement on the deal:
Lagesson provides a strong, physical presence on the blue line. He has plenty of NHL and AHL games under his belt and adds to the experience of our defensive unit.
Now 26, Lagesson was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers back in 2014 and took a very interesting path to the NHL. After being picked out of the Swedish junior leagues, he played a year in the USHL and two in the NCAA before returning to the SHL in 2017-18. Two more seasons starting in the AHL and he was finally ready to make his debut with the Oilers, nearly six years after being picked.
Since then, he has played in 60 games at the NHL level, including three with the Montreal Canadiens after being part of the return for Brett Kulak earlier this year.
Now in Carolina, he’ll serve as useful depth and could even battle for a final roster spot depending on what happens with Ethan Bear, who has been in trade rumors for the past several weeks. While he likely won’t play in every game, Lagesson will probably get a chance to hit the ice at least a handful of times with the Hurricanes and show that he can handle himself at the highest level.
Andrej Sekera Retires From NHL
After 16 seasons, one of the best Slovak defensemen to ever lace them up is calling it a career. Andrej Sekera told a Slovak-language newspaper today that he’s stepping back from the NHL.
A 2004 third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Sekera carved out a quite long, underrated NHL career with the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars, where he spent the last three years and 135 games of his career.
His peak season, interestingly enough, came during his only full season with Carolina, notching 11 goals and 44 points in 74 games while averaging a career-high 23:41 per game.
Sekera was one of the more overlooked pieces that helped the Edmonton Oilers return to relevancy with Connor McDavid at the helm. He was the team’s most important defensive player in the 2016-17 season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, but a torn ACL during the second round in 2017 really hurt his career. He never played more than 57 games in a season after that and never averaged higher than 18 minutes per game after consistently averaging 20 or more for a number of seasons prior.
Sekera retired third all-time in games played amongst Slovak defensemen, trailing the obvious (Zdeno Chara) and Lubomir Visnovsky.
Ethan Bear, Maxime Lajoie File For Salary Arbitration
The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.
Mason Appleton (WPG)
Ethan Bear (CAR)
Jesper Bratt (NJD)
Lawson Crouse (ARI)
Morgan Geekie (SEA)
Mathieu Joseph (OTT)
Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)
Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)
Keegan Kolesar (VGK)
Oliver Kylington (CGY)
Maxime Lajoie (CAR)
Steven Lorentz (SJS)
Isac Lundestrom (ANA)
Zack MacEwen (PHI)
Niko Mikkola (STL)
Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)
Matthew Phillips (CGY)
Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)
Tyce Thompson (NJD)
Yakov Trenin (NSH)
Vitek Vanecek (NJD)
Jake Walman (DET)
Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)
Pavel Zacha (BOS)
Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.
A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.
Waddell: Scott Morrow Likely To Turn Pro After Next Season
- Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects prospect defenseman Scott Morrow to turn pro after next season. The 19-year-old was a second-round selection (40th overall) back in 2021 but played quite well at UMass in his freshman year, notching 13 goals and 20 assists in just 38 games. If he’s able to build on that performance in 2022-23, Waddell feels that Morrow would be reaching a point where there will be nothing left to work on in college even though he’d still have two years of eligibility left at that point.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Mackenzie MacEachern
The Carolina Hurricanes have made another free agent signing this evening, inking experienced forward Mackenzie MacEachern to a one-year, two-way contract, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $750k cap hit, $225,000 AHL salary, and $275,000 total guarantee. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell had the following to say about his newest addition:
Mackenzie is a big power forward who is willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice to score, he’s got NHL experience and is capable of contributing at this level.
MacEachern spent most of 2021-22 with the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In Springfield, MacEachern had 12 goals and 25 points, helping lead the Thunderbirds to the Calder Cup Final. MacEachern also got into 14 NHL games with the Blues, recording two assists. The 28-year-old MacEachern has 115 NHL games to his name and 11 career NHL goals.
As Waddell mentioned, MacEachern is a big power forward who can make an impact on both ends of the ice. He was a penalty killer for the Thunderbirds and should be a capable middle-six forward at the AHL level. This deal will allow MacEachern to compete for a spot on the Hurricanes’ roster during training camp before in all likelihood being sent to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
If MacEachern doesn’t make the Hurricanes’ roster and is sent to Chicago, it will actually be his second tour of duty with the Wolves. MacEachern made his professional debut there in 2016-17, signing with the Wolves after a successful career with the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA.
MacEachern is useful depth for the Hurricanes and should help the Wolves in their attempt to defend their Calder Cup title.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Malte Stromwall
The Carolina Hurricanes have added an intriguing KHL player, signing Swedish forward Malte Stromwall to a one-year, two-way contract with a $750K cap hit and a $175K total guarantee. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell had the following to say about his newest free agent addition:
“This is a player we’ve been tracking for a while, Malte is a tremendous skater with high-end skill coming off a very productive season in the KHL.”
Waddell is certainly right about Stromwall, as he enjoyed a breakout 2021-22 campaign in the KHL. Stromwall, coming off of a disappointing 21-game run with SKA St. Petersburg to end 2020-21, came to Dynamo Minsk and made an immediate impact. He finished second on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 32 points in just 38 games, doing so on a flawed Minsk team that finished second-to-last in the KHL’s Tarasov Division. Stromwall saw significant time on Minsk’s power play as their most reliable goal-scoring option.
Stromwall doesn’t have extensive experience in North America, and his last stint on this side of the pond was several years ago, when he played in the New York Rangers organization. Stromwall looked out of place on North American ice and had only six points in 44 AHL games. The Hurricanes are adding Stromwall with the hope that he can be more productive this time around.
He’ll head to their training camp with an outside chance to make their team if he plays extremely well. In all likelihood, though, Stromwall will head to the defending Calder Cup Champion Chicago Wolves and look to prove that he can be an offensive difference maker on smaller North American ice surfaces.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Zach Sawchenko
The Carolina Hurricanes have added a goaltender to their pipeline, signing Zachary Sawchenko. The young netminder has agreed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level, $85K in the AHL, and includes a minor league guarantee of $110K. Sawchenko was left unqualified by the San Jose Sharks this week, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of the Canadian college level–a pipeline rarely used by NHL teams–in 2019, Sawchenko quickly worked his way up the Sharks depth chart and made his NHL debut this season. He played in seven games, posting a .901 save percentage and his first win near the end of the year.
No one should believe that Sawchenko will be taking over the Hurricanes’ crease right away but adding a 24-year-old netminder with NHL experience isn’t always an opportunity that presents itself. Given that he is still waiver-exempt, he’ll be loaned to the minor leagues at the start of the season where he can continue his development.
With Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta in place as the NHL tandem, the risk of injury is always high for the Carolina crease. Pyotr Kochetkov would be next on the depth chart but beyond him, the Hurricanes had no one signed after parting ways with Jack LaFontaine. Sawchenko will fill that gap, and may even get a chance to show what he can do in the NHL again, should injuries become an issue.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Ondrej Kase
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Ondrej Kase to bolster their forward depth, giving him a one-year contract worth $1.5MM. Kase was recently left unqualified by the Toronto Maple Leafs, though the team did try to re-sign him before he decided to head south. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell released a short statement on his newest forward:
Ondrej is an exciting young player and we’re happy to add another goal-scoring winger to our forward group. He can play in all situations and we expect him to contribute offensively.
After losing several key forwards to free agency or trade (though Nino Niederreiter has yet to actually sign anywhere), and missing out on Mason Marchment, who went to the Dallas Stars, the Hurricanes have still managed to add some impressive talent up front with the additions of Kase and Max Pacioretty.
The 26-year-old Kase isn’t someone you want to rely on, as one of the most injury-prone players in the league but when he’s healthy, he’s quite an effective middle-six winger who can play in a lot of different roles. For the Maple Leafs this season, he contributed 14 goals and 27 points in 50 games, while averaging fewer than 14 minutes a night.
For a Carolina team that could have lots of different alignments, he will likely plug into the third line next to Jordan Staal or even perhaps the fourth line, something that is more than reasonable with a $1.5MM cap hit. If they can keep him healthy all season there is a ton of room for excess value–the only problem is no team has been able to do that before.
Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Max Pacioretty
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes are acquiring Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan from the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster trade. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the return to Vegas is nothing but future considerations.
Pacioretty, 33, has just one year left on his contract and carries a cap hit of $7MM. The Golden Knights are not retaining any of that, meaning they’ve cleared a huge chunk of space for their other moves. Still, this move appears to be a stunning example of poor asset management for the Golden Knights.
In 2018, the team traded a first, second, and third-round pick for Tomas Tatar at the trade deadline. After playing just 28 total games for the team, they then included Tatar in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire Pacioretty. Along with Tatar went recently drafted Nick Suzuki and another second-round pick, while the Canadiens retained just ten percent of Pacioretty’s contract. The Golden Knights then signed the former Montreal captain to a four-year, $28MM extension before he had even played a game for them, a contract that they are now sending along with 24-year-old defenseman Dylan Coghlan for no return.
They did receive parts of four seasons from Pacioretty in the interim, though his time in Vegas has been marred by injuries. He played just 39 games this season, a big part of why the Golden Knights eventually missed the playoffs.
Still, the Hurricanes are getting an impact goal-scoring talent, if the veteran forward can stay healthy enough next season. In his career, Pacioretty has 323 goals in 850 games, an 82-game pace of over 31. For nothing but cap space, it is a worthwhile move for general manager Don Waddell, who also landed veteran Brent Burns earlier today.
Carolina is obviously pushing some of their chips to the middle, though it’s important to note that this isn’t a long-term gamble. Pacioretty will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and off the books for the Hurricanes if it doesn’t work out.
For Vegas, this opens enough space to sign Reilly Smith, while the team also has the Shea Weber LTIR flexibility to work with.
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