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Training Camp Notes: Stone, Biakabutuka, Mangiapane

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Injury troubles plagued the Vegas Golden Knights last season, something they can ill-afford a repeat of in 2022-23. There’s some good news on that front regarding one of their star players, though, as right wing Mark Stone skated in a contact jersey today for the first time during training camp.

The Golden Knights will count on Stone to have a rebound year as their captain, especially with their offensive depth thinning. The 2021 Selke Trophy finalist and 2019 runner-up played in just 37 games due to injury last season, registering nine goals, 21 assists, and 30 points. Hopefully, the serious back injuries that plagued him last season don’t become a long-term issue for the 30-year-old.

  • Somewhat of a rarity these days, a player attending camp on an amateur tryout might do well enough to earn a contract within the organization. Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that the Red Wings have been impressed with defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka, with head coach Derek Lalonde complimenting his skating and compete level. The 20-year-old is set to return to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders next season but could receive an NHL entry-level contract from Detroit or receive an AHL offer from the Grand Rapids Griffins when his season is over.
  • Calgary Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane was a full participant in camp today after missing the first four days of group skates with what the team called a “minor lower-body injury.” He made his return to scrimmages skating on a line with newcomer Nazem Kadri, a role he’s likely to reprise in the regular season as well. Mangiapane is coming off a career-high 35 goals and 55 points.

Snapshots: Extension Talks, Sutter, Border Mandates

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There are several players around the league that have been involved in extension talks over the summer, including the likes of MacKenzie Weegar and Bo Horvat. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet touches on several of these situations in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, giving his thoughts on whether in-season negotiation will be an option.

In Weegar’s case, Friedman notes that there is a feeling that once the season begins, extension talks will be shelved to the end of the year. The 28-year-old defenseman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is coming off a career-best 44 points last season. While Horvat’s situation is a bit murkier, Friedman believes that David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins is open to talking throughout the year.

  • Another important member of the Calgary Flames is in the final year of his contract but he isn’t a player. Friedman believes that Darryl Sutter will likely be extended at some point, as his three-year deal approaches expiry. Sutter was hired in 2021, making the first year of his deal the end of the 2020-21 season, and has had a strong effect since returning to Calgary. Under his leadership, the team went from missing the playoffs with a sub .500 record in 2020-21 to winning the Pacific Division and reaching the second round.
  • The Canadian government is dropping all vaccine requirements for non-citizens entering the country as of October 1, meaning that unvaccinated players in leagues like the NHL, NBA, and MLB should now be able to travel with their teams for games in Canada. Last season, for instance, the Detroit Red Wings were forced to leave Tyler Bertuzzi behind when they went on road trips north of the border, something that may well have cost him the team lead in scoring, given the pace he produced at through 68 games. Hopefully, the league will not need to deal with these limitations in the future, as health officials continue to reduce restrictions.

Snapshots: Gaudette, Lightning Penalty Kill, Lundkvist

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs are undoubtedly a team centered around star power, in recent years the organization hasn’t been afraid to give lesser-known players the chance to take the next steps in their careers. Last season, 26-year-old rookie Michael Bunting earned a spot next to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and played well enough to make the 2021-22 All-Rookie team. At this year’s training camp, it looks as though another under-the-radar player could get a massive opportunity in Toronto.

Per Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs have started camp with forward Adam Gaudette on a line with Marner and captain John Tavares. Additionally, Siegel notes that Gaudette will get looks on the team’s top power-play unit in the preseason. Gaudette, the 2017-18 Hobey Baker Award winner, has struggled in recent years to live up to the hype he had as a college hockey star. After a 2019-20 campaign that saw him post 33 points in 59 games, the holes in Gaudette’s all-around game led the Canucks to trade him to the Blackhawks. Gaudette played just 15 games in Chicago before heading to Ottawa as a waiver claim, and he had 12 points in 50 games as a Senator last season. He was not qualified by the team this summer, and then Gaudette signed a one-year, league-minimum deal in Toronto. At this point it, looks as though the Leafs will give Gaudette every chance to showcase his offensive talent and far outproduce what is typically expected from a player on a 750k cap hit.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Detroit Red Wings parted ways with coach Jeff Blashill this summer, and hired former Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde to fill that vacated role. Now, it seems a similar situation is playing out in Tampa. Today, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said (as relayed by The Athletic’s Joe Smith) that Blashill has taken over Lalonde’s old role in Tampa running the team’s penalty kill. Cooper also notes that with the departures of Jan Rutta, Ryan McDonagh, players like Ian Cole and Cal Foote will see roles on the penalty kill this season.
  • Nils Lundkvist got his wish earlier this week, as the Dallas Stars traded two picks, including a first-rounder, to acquire him from the New York Rangers. Some questioned why the Stars would pay such a high price for a player with very little NHL experience, but it’s clear the Stars were undeterred by those concerns. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on the 32 Thoughts podcast today that the Stars had been attempting to acquire Lundkvist for “seven to eight months,” and Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek added that the Stars had a strong interest in Lundkvist going back to the 2018 draft. While the Stars’ longstanding interest in acquiring him won’t alone earn Lundkvist a top-four role in camp, it does speak to why the organization felt confident in sending those picks in order to acquire Lundkvist.

Buffalo Sabres To Name Captain Prior To Regular Season

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The Buffalo Sabres haven’t officially had a captain since just prior to this season when they stripped the title from the injured Jack Eichel prior to an early-season trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. That year-long absence will come to an end soon, though, as newly-extended general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters today that the team will announce their leadership group for 2022-23, including a team captain, prior to the regular season.

As mentioned by The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski in the linked story above, veteran winger Kyle Okposo is the leading candidate for the role, supported by rumors over the offseason. Okposo had his best offensive year as a Sabre despite largely playing in a fourth-line role, cracking the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2015-16 and had 45 points, his highest total in a Sabres jersey. Forming solid chemistry with Zemgus Girgensons, also expected to be named an alternate captain as the longest-tenured Sabre, Okposo’s taken on a de facto leadership role and is becoming an integral part of the team’s voice.

While Okposo has been an alternate captain in Buffalo for the past five seasons, Alex Tuch also jumps out as an obvious candidate for the job. Acquired in the Eichel trade, the Buffalo native had 38 points in 50 games as a Sabre this past year and cemented himself as a top-six fixture.

Speaking today on the team’s leadership group, head coach Don Granato said the following:

I’ll just point out our three older, I think our three oldest guys, are Girgensons, Okposo and Craig Anderson. And they do a tremendous job. They have that presence. And they are in it, obviously, as competitors, but they really have a deep care for helping some other guys achieve more. They don’t fear that this guy might replace me. Which is very uncommon. Whether that is an unconscious thought, or a subconscious thought. Sometimes it’s hard for the older players to really, really help a guy who might replace them or take some ice time away from them. And those three guys there, they love it.

Snapshots: Hague, Pastrnak, Jets

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When Vegas Golden Knights training camp opens tomorrow morning, defenseman Nicolas Hague won’t be there as he awaits a new contract. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports that he isn’t expected to be on the ice with his teammates Thursday morning at City National Arena, the team’s practice facility.

Hague is one of the few remaining restricted free agents in the NHL, alongside Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin and Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson as the marquee names. Granger expertly notes that Hague missing camp is more detrimental than in previous seasons, as new head coach Bruce Cassidy will be installing a completely foreign defensive system from what the Knights have been used to in past seasons. Hague, the 34th overall pick in 2017, had 14 points in 52 games last season.

  • Speaking today during preseason media availability, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney says it’s a priority for him to get pending free agent winger David Pastrnak signed as soon as possible. Pastrnak, while he’s expressed a strong desire to stay in Boston, hasn’t shared the same urgency in negotiations in previous reporting. Pastrnak, who’s notched 40 or more goals in his last two full seasons, will be in line for a substantial raise, and it may behoove Sweeney to get a deal done before his value rises even further.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have made three scouting hires, including the first woman scout in team history, Sydney Daniels. Daniels joins the team as an NCAA scout, having previously served as the assistant coach for the women’s team at Harvard. The team also brought on Jari Kekalainen, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, as a European scout, and former Toronto Maple Leafs scout Tony Martino as a USHL scout.

Snapshots: Wild Training Camp, Boychuk, Lodin

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The Minnesota Wild may not have had their season end the way they’d hoped it would last spring, but that hasn’t stopped GM Bill Guerin from pushing forward with his plans to bring a Stanley Cup to the Twin Cities. The Wild are returning a very similar roster to the one they ran last season, and as a result, the Wild’s training camp is expected to be a highly competitive affair.

Wild head coach Dean Evason spoke on the upcoming competition in camp as part of an interview with The Athletic’s Michael Russo. (subscription link) Evason said that with the team’s top two lines relatively set in stone (Kirill Kaprizov’s line and the Joel Eriksson-Ek line), the team has seven forwards (Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy, Brandon Duhaime, Sam Steel, Frederick Gaudreau, Connor Dewar, and Nic Petan) competing for the six remaining available forward slots in the opening night lineup. Additionally, Evason previewed the camp competition for a spot on the defense’s third pairing, a competition expected to feature Alex Goligoski, Calen Addison, Andrej Sustr, and Dakota Mermis. All in all, expect a competitive camp in Minnesota, a camp fit for a team looking to have another strong regular season.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Johnny Boychuk played over 400 career games with the New York Islanders, and now he’s back with that organization, albeit not as a player. Per Newsday’s Andrew Gross, Boychuk has been hired by the Islanders in a player development role. The Islanders have long relied on their defense as the foundation of their success, so if this hire can help blueliners such as Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Robin Salo, and Calle Odelius grow their game, it’ll be a major help to the organization.
  • After a successful season helping his Swedish club, Timra IK, survive its first season back in the SHL, Viktor Lodin crossed the Atlantic and saw his first North American professional action with the Senators. The 2019 fourth-round pick played well, scoring eight points in 10 AHL games and even got into his first NHL game. That success meant Lodin would be competing for a lineup spot in Senators training camp, but unfortunately he may have to wait. In today’s prospect tournament game vs. the Montreal Canadiens, Lodin went hard into the boards and sustained an upper-body injury that caused him to leave the game. While we don’t have word on the full extent of the injury, it’s surely not an ideal development for Lodin’s NHL odds.

Blake Wheeler No Longer Captain Of Winnipeg Jets

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There have been rumors all offseason about big potential trades the Winnipeg Jets could make to change the dynamic of the team, and yet now with a few weeks to go before the season begins, not much has changed.

Today, however, the team did announce some interesting news regarding their leadership group. Blake Wheeler will no longer wear the captain’s “C” – in fact, no one will. New head coach Rick Bowness released the following:

It is the determination of the coaching staff that we will enter the 2022-23 season without a specific captain but rather a group of assistants still to be determined. It is our goal to expand the leadership base within our hockey team. We have high expectations for our core players and we want to provide them with the opportunity to step into those greater leadership roles as a group. 

Bowness and Wheeler will meet with the media together later this afternoon to discuss the situation.

The core of the Jets has remained intact over the offseason, with Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, and Josh Morrissey still the group that drives the team, making at least $6MM each and signed through 2023-24 (at least). Pierre-Luc Dubois, as important a player on the ice as any other, has been surrounded by rumor since he made it clear that a long-term extension wasn’t on the table. Dubois is signed through this season and is an arbitration-eligible RFA in 2023 but could reach the open market the following summer.

Wheeler, Schiefele, and Hellebuyck are all scheduled for UFA status in 2024.

Latest On Laurent Brossoit

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When the Vegas Golden Knights acquired Adin Hill late last month via trade, it raised some questions about how long goalie Laurent Brossoit would be out to start the season after having surgery.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments added to that uncertainty today. While he did say Brossoit was healing well from his surgery, Cassidy wasn’t sure if Brossoit would return just weeks into the season or closer to the end of the calendar year instead. However, he did still reaffirm that Brossoit is tracking to be a healthy member of the Golden Knights this season.

Brossoit had a tough 2021-22 campaign, as did much of the Golden Knights team, but he’ll need to rebound in his second season in Vegas in the season-long absence of Robin Lehner. Brossoit does have some of the pressure taken off him with Hill’s acquisition, but the’s still the most experienced of Vegas’ now trio of NHL goalies.

In the meantime, Vegas hopes that Thompson’s strong end to the 2021-22 season, nearly miraculously getting them back into the playoffs despite anemic offensive play, carries over through training camp into the start of this season. They’ll also hope for Hill’s strong start to last season before going down with injury repeats itself as well.

Brossoit is entering the second season of a two-year deal worth $2.325MM per season. He finished last year with a 10-9-3 record in 24 games, just the second time in his career that he’s played more than 20 games in a season. He struggled statistically with a .895 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average, both worse than his career average numbers.

Snapshots: McLeod, Red Wings, Boudreau

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With the Oilers having minimal cap flexibility (as it is, they likely need to clear money), Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal believes that RFA center Ryan McLeod will ultimately be forced to take a one-year contract.  The 22-year-old had 21 points in 71 games last season but doesn’t have much leverage on his side as it’s unlikely he’ll be offer-sheeted while the bulk of his NHL experience is from 2021-22.  Accordingly, Leavins posits that a one-year agreement might check in just above the league minimum which would help Edmonton’s cap situation but also give him arbitration rights next summer.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Red Wings have invited prospect Ivan Ivan to rookie camp, the youngster confirmed to Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now. The 20-year-old went undrafted back in July despite a strong season with Cape Breton of the QMJHL where he had 31 goals and 34 assists in 65 games.  Ivan most recently suited up for the Czechs at the World Juniors last month and is eligible to play in the pros this season so even if he can’t earn an entry-level contract with Detroit, an AHL deal could still be a possibility.
  • Last season, Bruce Boudreau was the toast of the town in Vancouver as the new bench boss nearly led the Canucks to an improbable playoff appearance. Despite that, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News posits that the head coach is squarely on the hot seat for 2022-23.  The team is clearly in win-now mode and has returned its core from last season with a couple of additions and he wasn’t picked by current management as he was installed behind the bench before Patrik Allvin took over as GM.  Allvin declined to offer a contract extension after the season so Boudreau instead will coach on the final year of his deal.  Those factors will certainly put pressure on him early and often.

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Mike Sullivan

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Mike Sullivan is locked in long-term as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today, the team announced a three-year extension for the esteemed coach, beginning after the 2023-24 season and lasting through 2026-27.

Sullivan gave a statement today on his extension:

My family and I are excited to continue the journey in Pittsburgh. Words can’t express the respect and gratitude I have for what we have accomplished during my tenure with the Penguins. It is a testament to the character of the people and players in this organization, and the standard of excellence that we have established collectively. I’m grateful to Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins management group for their trust and confidence in me.

Sullivan is quickly transforming into one of the most important figures in Penguins’ history. His tenure as head coach has been nothing short of elite from a management perspective, guiding the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 while also consistently keeping a standard of excellence throughout regular season play. The significance and amount of injuries that the Penguins have faced, especially in recent years, have been overcome largely in part due to Sullivan’s coaching.

In 507 games behind the Penguins bench, Sullivan has a record of 297-156-54 or a points percentage of .639%. He has a playoff record of 44-38.

If he remains Pittsburgh’s coach for the duration of his new extension, it’ll be at least a 12-year tenure for Sullivan as the team’s head coach. With seven seasons under his belt already, he’s been the longest continuously-serving coach in Penguins history, and he’s tied with Eddie Johnston for total seasons served behind the bench as head coach for the organization.

In the coming years, Sullivan could be given the tall task of leading the Penguins out of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era. Both of their contracts expire prior to 2027, and while they surely may re-sign, it’s unlikely that they’ll be at the same dominant level of play. Without a slam-dunk prospect in the system to solidify the future, the team will rely heavily on Sullivan’s coaching performance to keep them competitive.

But that’s all Sullivan’s done so far in Pittsburgh — keeping them competitive. The team has the longest active playoff streak in the NHL, dating back to 2007, and it was one he singlehandedly saved in 2016 after taking over for Mike Johnston midseason after just a 15-10-3 start. Going 33-16-5 the rest of the way, Sullivan and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in the first two seasons he served behind the bench, and while their playoff success has been limited since that point, Sullivan’s managed to keep the ship turned in the right direction.

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