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Boone Jenner Signing Extension With Columbus Blue Jackets

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets are extending forward Boone Jenner. Dreger reports that it’s a multi-year extension for the long-time Columbus depth forward. The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that deal is a four-year contract with a cap hit of $3.75MM and will kick in at the end of this season.

Jenner, a defensively-minded middle-six forward, can play both center and wing and sits in the prime of his career at age 28. Playing over 500 NHL games, all for Columbus, Jenner will stick around with the Blue Jackets as they continue to navigate a sort of on-the-fly rebuild. Jenner’s a gritty forward who’ll swallow 17 to 18 minutes of ice time a game, a valuable asset in today’s league. While expecting him to repeat his 30-goal campaign from 2015-16 is extremely unlikely, he does carry some offensive upside and can guide some of Columbus’ up-and-coming forwards.

It’s important retention for Columbus. Jenner is a strong faceoff man and he’ll likely continue to post between 20 and 35 points per season for the duration of his next deal. Drafted 37th overall in 2011 by the team, he’s been a reliable contributor over the years and will continue to be an integral part of the team’s emotional core for years to come.

Sean Kuraly Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added some forward depth, signing Sean Kuraly to a four-year contract according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia tweets that the deal will be worth a total of $10MM. The $2.5MM AAV is more than double that of Kuraly’s previous contract with the Boston Bruins, implying that Columbus could have greater plans for the center than just a fourth line role.

This contract was one of the more easily anticipatable free agency deals this summer. Kuraly is a Dublin, Ohio native and Miami University grad, making his connection to Columbus obvious. For a team whose inability to retain talent in recent years has become an unfortunate focal point, it makes sense that they would commit long-term to a player who very much wants to play in the city. This is also not the first time that the Blue Jackets have targeted a Bruins fourth-line center in free agency; Riley Nash was the player that Kuraly replaced in Boston after he departed for a raise and greater role in Columbus, a move the team likely considered a success.

At 28, it may not seem that Kuraly has more room to grow. However, at times with the Bruins he flashed top-nine ability and arguably played better off the fourth line than on it. That is not to say that Kuraly isn’t an accomplished checker and smart two-way asset, but he could have the chance to produce at a much higher level if handed an elevated role by the Blue Jackets. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, Kuraly recorded back-to-back seasons of over 20 points despite not playing full seasons and being limited almost exclusively to a fourth line role. 30+ points per year is not out of the question for the newest pivot in Columbus.

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend Eric Robinson

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Eric Robinson to a two-year contract extension, according to PuckPedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.6MM.

Robinson, 26, still had one year left on his previous contract that will pay him $975K this season, but will now be locked up through 2023-24. He’ll earn $1.5MM in 2022-23 and $1.7MM in 2023-24, reaching unrestricted free agency at the end of the deal. An undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton in 2018, Robinson has now played 120 NHL games. He registered eight goals and 18 points this season, filling out a bottom-six role nicely.

This new deal bets that he can continue in that role, but for a team that is going through a transition period after the trade of Seth Jones it doesn’t come with much risk. At worst, he struggles to improve his offensive production and stays on the fourth-line, at best he provides a little extra secondary scoring for a reasonable price. For a player that has worked extremely hard for everything he’s earned as a professional, not a bad gamble to take.

Seth Jones Traded To Chicago Blackhawks

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July 27: The Jones extension has been officially announced. The full breakdown is as follows:

  • 2022-23: $750K salary + $9.25MM signing bonus
  • 2023-24: $7.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2024-25: $7.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2025-26: $5.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2026-27: $7.0MM salary + $1.0MM signing bonus
  • 2027-28: $2.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2028-29: $2.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
  • 2029-30: $2.5MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus

The deal includes a full no-movement clause as well.

July 23: The Columbus Blue Jackets have dealt Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that defenseman Adam Boqvist is part of the return to Columbus. TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the Blackhawks are also signing Jones to an eight-year extension worth $9.5MM per season. Elliotte Friedman reports that the full deal is Jones heading to Chicago along with the 32nd overall tonight and a 2022 sixth-round pick, with Boqvist, 11th overall, a second-round pick, and a 2022 first-round pick coming in return.

It’s a new beginning for Jones, who’s coming off one of the worst seasons in his career. Scoring 28 points in 56 games, Jones was unusually suspect defensively, and his regression was a decently large reason that Columbus suffered the way they did this season. It remains to be seen how Jones will fit in Columbus, but if he can get back to his former performance, he could help solidify an evolving defense core in Chicago. After Chicago acquired Seth’s brother, Caleb Jones, from the Edmonton Oilers in the Duncan Keith trade, it’s possible that the two brothers could form a pairing in Chicago’s top four along with Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy.

Columbus is getting a decent haul of assets here too. They’ll now be selecting twice in the top 15 picks of tonight’s 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and they’ll be selecting three times in the first round overall. Boqvist is also an extremely important young addition to the Columbus blueline. It’s likely that Boqvist, who’s seen his advanced metrics skyrocket since his rookie season, will be ready for more responsibility with Columbus next season. He put up nice offensive numbers with 16 points in 35 games this season, and could replace Jones as Zach Werenski’s partner on Columbus’ top pairing.

ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was the first to report the trade.

2021 NHL Draft Selections By Team

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Today concluded the 2021 NHL Draft, the first edition with 32 teams in the running. Some teams selected just three times (sorry, Toronto), while Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes selected an NHL-record 13 times for a seven-round draft. After all the chaos of last night and today, catch up here on who your team selected and when.

Anaheim Ducks
Round 1, Pick 3: F Mason McTavish
Round 2, Pick 34: D Olen Zellweger
Round 3, Pick 66: F Sasha Pastujov
Round 3, Pick 76 (from CHI via MTL): D Tyson Hinds
Round 4, Pick 98: F Josh Lopina
Round 5, Pick 130: F Sean Tschigerl
Round 5, Pick 148 (from EDM via OTT): G Gage Alexander
Round 6, Pick 162: F Kyle Kukkonen

Arizona Coyotes
Round 1, Pick 9 (from VAN): F Dylan Guenther
Round 2, Pick 37 (from CBJ via OTT): F Josh Doan
Round 2, Pick 43: F Ilya Fedotov
Round 2, Pick 60 (from COL via NYI): D Janis Jerome Moser
Round 4, Pick 107: D Emil Martinsen Lilleberg
Round 4, Pick 122 (from PIT): G Rasmus Korhonen
Round 5, Pick 139: F Manix Landry
Round 6, Pick 171: D Cal Thomas
Round 7, Pick 223 (from MTL via CHI): F Sam Lipkin

Boston Bruins
Round 1, Pick 21: F Fabian Lysell
Round 3, Pick 85: F Brett Harrison
Round 4, Pick 117: G Philip Svedeback
Round 5, Pick 149: F Oskar Jellvik
Round 6, Pick 181: D Ryan Mast
Round 7, Pick 213: F Andre Gasseau
Round 7, Pick 217 (from TOR): D Ty Gallagher

Buffalo Sabres
Round 1, Pick 1: D Owen Power
Round 1, Pick 14 (from PHI): F Isak Rosen
Round 2, Pick 33: F Prokhor Poltapov
Round 2, Pick 53 (from BOS): F Alexander Kisakov
Round 3, Pick 88 (from FLA): F Stiven Sardarian
Round 3, Pick 95 (from MTL): F Josh Bloom
Round 4, Pick 97: F Olivier Nadeau
Round 5, Pick 159 (from MTL): F Viljami Marjala
Round 6, Pick 161: F William von Barnekow Lofberg
Round 6, Pick 188 (from COL): D Nikita Novikov
Round 7, Pick 193: F Tyson Kozak

Calgary Flames
Round 1, Pick 13: F Matthew Coronato
Round 2, Pick 45: F William Stromgren
Round 3, Pick 77: F Cole Huckins
Round 4, Pick 89 (from TOR via LAK): D Cameron Whynot
Round 5, Pick 141: D Cole Jordan
Round 6, Pick 168 (from LAK): F Jack Beck
Round 6, Pick 173: F Lucas Ciona
Round 7, Pick 205: G Arsenii Sergeev

Carolina Hurricanes
Round 2, Pick 40 (from LAK via NSH): D Scott Morrow
Round 2, Pick 44 (from CHI via CBJ): D Aleksi Heimosalmi
Round 2, Pick 51 (from NSH): F Ville Koivunen
Round 3, Pick 83 (from NSH): G Patrik Hamrla
Round 3, Pick 94 (from VGK via DET): D Aidan Hreschuk
Round 4, Pick 109 (from CGY via LAK): F Jackson Blake
Round 5, Pick 136 (from LAK via OTT): F Robert Orr
Round 5, Pick 147 (from NSH): F Justin Robidas
Round 6, Pick 170 (from OTT): D Bryce Montgomery
Round 6, Pick 187: G Nikita Quapp
Round 7, Pick 200 (from LAK): G Yegor Naumov
Round 7, Pick 209 (from STL): C Nikita Guslistov
Round 7, Pick 219: D Joel Nystrom

Chicago Blackhawks
Round 1, Pick 32 (from TBL via CBJ): D Nolan Allan
Round 2, Pick 62 (from VGK): F Colton Dach
Round 3, Pick 91 (from CAR): D Taige Harding
Round 4, Pick 105 (from VAN): D Ethan Del Mastro
Round 4, Pick 108: F Victor Stjernborg
Round 6, Pick 172: F Ilya Safonov
Round 7, Pick 204: D Connor Kelley
Round 7, Pick 216 (from FLA): F Jalen Luypen

Colorado Avalanche
Round 1, Pick 28: F Oskar Olausson
Round 2, Pick 61 (from NYI via NJD): D Sean Behrens
Round 3, Pick 92: F Andrei Buyalsky
Round 7, Pick 220: F Taylor Makar

Columbus Blue Jackets
Round 1, Pick 5: F Kent Johnson
Round 1, Pick 12 (from CHI): F Cole Sillinger
Round 1, Pick 25 (from TOR): D Corson Ceulemans
Round 3, Pick 69: D Stanislav Svozil
Round 4, Pick 101: D Guillaume Richard
Round 5, Pick 132 (from NJD): D Nikolai Makarov
Round 5, Pick 133: F James Malatesta
Round 6, Pick 165: F Ben Boyd
Round 7, Pick 197: F Martin Rysavy

Dallas Stars
Round 1, Pick 23 (from WSH via DET): F Wyatt Johnston
Round 2, Pick 47: F Logan Stankoven
Round 2, Pick 48 (from NYR via DET): D Artem Grushnikov
Round 3, Pick 73 (from VAN): F Ayrton Martino
Round 3, Pick 79: F Justin Ertel
Round 4, Pick 111: F Conner Roulette
Round 5, Pick 138 (from OTT via MTL, DET): D Jack Bar
Round 5, Pick 143: D Jacob Holmes
Round 6, Pick 175: F Francesco Arcuri
Round 7, Pick 207: F Albert Sjoberg

Detroit Red Wings
Round 1, Pick 6: D Simon Edvinsson
Round 1, Pick 15 (from DAL): G Sebastian Cossa
Round 2, Pick 36 (from NJD via VGK): D Shai Buium
Round 3, Pick 70: F Carter Mazur
Round 4, Pick 114 (from WPG via VGK): F Redmond Savage
Round 5, Pick 134: F Liam Dower Nilsson
Round 5, Pick 155 (from CAR via VGK): D Oscar Plandowski
Round 6, Pick 166: F Pasquale Zito

Edmonton Oilers
Round 1, Pick 22 (from MIN): F Xavier Bourgault
Round 3, Pick 90 (from PIT via SJS, MIN): D Luca Munzenberger
Round 4, Pick 116: F Jake Chiasson
Round 6, Pick 180: F Matvei Petrov
Round 6, Pick 186 (from PIT): F Shane Lachance
Round 7, Pick 212: D Maximus Wanner

Florida Panthers
Round 1, Pick 24: F Mackie Samoskevich
Round 2, Pick 56: D Evan Nause
Round 4, Pick 120: D Vladislav Lukashevich
Round 5, Pick 152: G Kirill Gerasimyuk
Round 6, Pick 184: F Jakub Kos
Round 7, Pick 210 (from WPG): D Braden Hache

Los Angeles Kings
Round 1, Pick 8: D Brandt Clarke
Round 2, Pick 42 (from OTT): F Francesco Pinelli
Round 2, Pick 59 (from CAR): F Samuel Helenius
Round 3, Pick 84 (from EDM via CGY): D Kirill Kirsanov

Minnesota Wild
Round 1, Pick 20 (from EDM): G Jesper Wallstedt
Round 1, Pick 26 (from PIT): D Carson Lambos
Round 2, Pick 54: D Jack Peart
Round 3, Pick 86: F Caedan Bankier
Round 4, Pick 118: D Kyle Masters
Round 4, Pick 127 (from MTL): F Josh Pillar
Round 6, Pick 182: D Nate Benoit

Montreal Canadiens
Round 1, Pick 31: D Logan Mailloux
Round 2, Pick 63: F Riley Kidney
Round 2, Pick 64 (from TBL): F Oliver Kapanen
Round 3, Pick 87 (from WSH via SJS): D Dmitri Kostenko
Round 4, Pick 113 (from STL): D William Trudeau
Round 5, Pick 142 (from PHI): D Daniil Sobolev
Round 5, Pick 150 (from MIN): F Joshua Roy
Round 6, Pick 191: F Xavier Simoneau
Round 7, Pick 214 (from MIN): G Joe Vrbetic

Nashville Predators
Round 1, Pick 19: F Fedor Svechkov
Round 1, Pick 27 (from CAR): F Zachary L’Heureux
Round 3, Pick 72 (from LAK via CAR): D Anton Olsson
Round 4, Pick 115: D Ryan Ufko
Round 4, Pick 124 (from COL via OTT): D Jack Matier
Round 6, Pick 179: F Simon Knak

New Jersey Devils
Round 1, Pick 4: D Luke Hughes
Round 1, Pick 29 (from NYI): F Chase Stillman
Round 3, Pick 68: F Samu Salminen
Round 4, Pick 100: G Jakub Malek
Round 5, Pick 129 (from BUF): D Topias Vilen
Round 6, Pick 164: D Viktor Hurtig
Round 7, Pick 203 (from ARI): F Zakhar Bardakov

New York Islanders
Round 2, Pick 52 (from EDM via DET): F Aatu Raty
Round 3, Pick 93: G Tristan Lennox
Round 4, Pick 125: F Cameron Berg
Round 5, Pick 157: F Eetu Liukas
Round 6, Pick 189: D Aleksi Malinen
Round 7, Pick 221: D Tomas Machu

New York Rangers
Round 1, Pick 16: F Brennan Othmann
Round 3, Pick 65 (from BUF): F Jayden Grubbe
Round 3, Pick 75 (from ARI via NJD, WSH): F Ryder Korczak
Round 4, Pick 104 (from LAK): F Brody Lamb
Round 4, Pick 106 (from OTT): F Kalle Vaisanen
Round 4, Pick 112: G Talyn Boyko
Round 5, Pick 144: F Jaroslav Chmelar
Round 7, Pick 208: D Hank Kempf

Ottawa Senators
Round 1, Pick 10: F Tyler Boucher
Round 2, Pick 39 (from SJS): F Zach Ostapchuk
Round 2, Pick 49 (from STL via BUF, VGK, LAK): D Ben Roger
Round 3, Pick 74: F Oliver Johansson
Round 4, Pick 123 (from CAR): F Carson Latimer
Round 7, Pick 202: D Chandler Romeo

Philadelphia Flyers
Round 2, Pick 46: F Samu Tuomaala
Round 3, Pick 78: G Aleksei Kolosov
Round 4, Pick 110: D Brian Zanetti
Round 5, Pick 158 (from VGK via WSH): D Ty Murchison
Round 6, Pick 174: D Ethan Samson
Round 7, Pick 206: F Owen McLaughlin

Pittsburgh Penguins
Round 2, Pick 58: F Tristan Broz
Round 5, Pick 154: D Isaac Belliveau
Round 7, Pick 194 (from ANA): D Ryan McCleary
Round 7, Pick 215 (from WSH): D Daniel Laatsch
Round 7, Pick 218: F Kirill Tankov

San Jose Sharks
Round 1, Pick 7: F William Eklund
Round 3, Pick 81 (from STL): G Benjamin Gaudreau
Round 4, Pick 103: D Gannon Laroque
Round 4, Pick 121 (from TOR): F Ethan Cardwell
Round 5, Pick 135: D Artem Guryev
Round 5, Pick 156 (from COL): F Max McCue
Round 6, Pick 167: F Liam Gilmartin
Round 6, Pick 177 (from STL): F Theo Jacobsson
Round 7, Pick 199: F/D Evgenii Kashnikov

Seattle Kraken
Round 1, Pick 2: F Matthew Beniers
Round 2, Pick 35: D Ryker Evans
Round 3, Pick 67: F Ryan Winterton
Round 4, Pick 99: D Ville Ottavainen
Round 5, Pick 131: F Jacob Melanson
Round 6, Pick 163: G Semyon Vyazovoi
Round 7, Pick 195: F Justin Janicke

St. Louis Blues
Round 1, Pick 17: F Zachary Bolduc
Round 3, Pick 71 (from SJS): F Simon Robertsson
Round 5, Pick 145: D Tyson Galloway
Round 7, Pick 198 (from DET): F Ivan Vorobyov

Tampa Bay Lightning
Round 3, Pick 96: D Roman Schmidt
Round 4, Pick 126 (from VGK via MTL): F Dylan Duke
Round 5, Pick 160: F Cameron MacDonald
Round 6, Pick 192: D Alex Gagne
Round 7, Pick 196 (from NJD): D Daniil Pylenkov
Round 7, Pick 211 (from NSH): F Robert Flinton
Round 7, Pick 224: F Niko Huuhtanen

Toronto Maple Leafs
Round 2, Pick 57: F Matthew Knies
Round 5, Pick 153: F Ty Voit
Round 6, Pick 185: G Vyacheslav Peksa

Vancouver Canucks
Round 2, Pick 41: F Danila Klimovich
Round 5, Pick 137: G Aku Koskenvuo
Round 5, Pick 140 (from CHI): D Jonathan Myrenberg
Round 6, Pick 169: D Hugo Gabrielsson
Round 6, Pick 178 (from WPG): F Connor Lockhart
Round 7, Pick 201: F Lucas Forsell

Vegas Golden Knights
Round 1, Pick 30: F Zach Dean
Round 2, Pick 38 (from DET): D Daniil Chayka
Round 4, Pick 102 (from DET): F Jakub Brabenec
Round 4, Pick 128 (from TBL via DET): F Jakub Demek
Round 6, Pick 190: D Artur Cholach
Round 7, Pick 222: G Carl Lindbom

Washington Capitals
Round 2, Pick 55: D Vincent Iorio
Round 3, Pick 80 (from NYR): D Brent Johnson
Round 4, Pick 119: D Joaquim Lemay
Round 5, Pick 151: F Haakon Hanelt
Round 6, Pick 176 (from NYR): D Dru Krebs
Round 6, Pick 183: G Chase Clark

Winnipeg Jets
Round 1, Pick 18: F Chaz Lucius
Round 2, Pick 50: F Nikita Chibrikov
Round 3, Pick 82: D Dmitri Kuzmin
Round 5, Pick 146: F Dmitri Rashevsky

Flyers, Blue Jackets Swap Jakub Voracek, Cam Atkinson

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The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired another big-ticket player acquiring  Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, the Flyers will send Jakub Voracek back to the Blue Jackets. Atkinson joins Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen as the other big names coming into Philadelphia this offseason, really changing the landscape of the Flyers roster. Neither team has retained any salary in the deal.

Atkinson, 32, has four years left on his current contract and carries a $5.875MM cap hit. After scoring 41 goals in the 2018-19 season, Atkinson’s numbers have come down significantly over the last two seasons, but is still one of the most dynamic players on the Blue Jackets roster. After trading Seth Jones, this next move perhaps signals that the Blue Jackets are going to tear out all of the older players on the team and start a rebuild.

Of course, Voracek doesn’t fit into that narrative, as he is 31 and actually comes with an even higher cap hit. The Flyers were clear that Voracek was on the table when they left him exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, as his $8.25MM cap hit limits what they can do with the rest of the roster. Voracek’s deal will expire at the end of the 2023-24 season, and could perhaps even be flipped by the Blue Jackets to make his contract more palatable. Despite his big cap number, the veteran forward doesn’t have any trade protection.

Voracek actually started his NHL career in Columbus, playing three years for the club before going to the Flyers in 2011. He has been a consistent offensive performer through the years, but has never been a big goal-scoring threat. This season, he registered just nine goals, but still had 43 points in 53 games. For the Flyers, it’s mostly just about shaking up a core that had hit a plateau and no longer looked like true contenders. Adding Atkinson gives the team a different look, while also saving the team a little bit of cap space.

In fact, Philadelphia now has a little over $12.4MM in cap space for this summer, with new contracts for RFAs Carter Hart and Travis Sanheim to come. The team actually could still be in the market for some free agent additions, though they’ll have to be careful with how they spend their money. Both captain Claude Giroux and top forward Sean Couturier are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next summer. If they intend to re-sign them—which certainly doesn’t seem guaranteed after the huge changes recently—handing out any other big-money deals will be tough to work around.

Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Jake Bean

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may have traded Seth Jones, but they’re adding quite a bit of young talent to the blue line. After acquiring Adam Boqvist from the Chicago Blackhawks, the Blue Jackets have also nabbed Jake Bean from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a second-round pick. The 44th overall selection, it was one of the picks that they received for Jones.

Bean, 23, was left unprotected by the Hurricanes in the recent expansion draft, but seemed to avoid a move when the Seattle Kraken decided to take Morgan Geekie instead. Instead, it only kept him in the Carolina organization for a few more days. He’s off to Columbus to negotiate his next contract as a restricted free agent, where there is suddenly plenty of playing time available.

That’s not something Bean is used to. The young defenseman was selected 13th overall in 2016 and has been stuck behind a deep defensive group in Carolina for years, despite dominating at the minor league level. In 2018-19 he recorded 44 points in 70 games as an AHL rookie, winning the Calder Cup in the process with the Charlotte Checkers. The following year he was given the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defenseman, scoring 48 points in 59 games to lead all players at the position. Despite that success, Bean received just two games of NHL experience before the 2020-21 season.

This year he stepped into a full-time role in Carolina but was still given limited minutes, averaging just 14:32 through his 42 appearances. He scored 12 points, including five on the powerplay, but rarely saw the ice at even-strength as the Hurricanes relied on Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton and Brady Skjei to soak up the 5v5 minutes. In Columbus, he’ll likely be given a much bigger chance to show what he can do as they look to build a new identity in the post-Jones world.

For Carolina, the move will raise some eyebrows, given the fact that Hamilton is a pending UFA. It’s not that Bean could directly replace him if he decides to sign elsewhere, but he at least is capable of providing some of the offensive upside that the group will be lacking. Of course, there would have been the issue of his RFA contract, and perhaps Bean was asking for more than the Hurricanes were willing to give. At any rate, they’ll now have to fill out the depth chart with other names but at least have an extra second-round pick to show for it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Patrik Laine May Take His Qualifying Offer

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Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine has received his $7.5MM qualifying offer from the team and is giving strong consideration to simply accepting it, suggests Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.  The 23-year-old disappointed after being acquired from Winnipeg, notching just 21 points in 45 games.  While he’s eligible for salary arbitration, Laine would be hard-pressed to land considerably more than that in a hearing even factoring in his previous success with the Jets.  If Laine does indeed accept the offer, he will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next summer and will be owed a $7.5MM qualifier once again.  Notably, he’d also be a year away from unrestricted free agency at that time.

Snapshots: Baptiste, Letowski, Kalamazoo

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Nicholas Baptiste found new life with the Texas Stars this season, getting his career back on track with 23 points in 34 AHL games. The 25-year-old forward will now head overseas to play for Ilves in Finland, where he could find even more offensive success. A third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Baptiste played 47 games with the team between 2016-18, scoring ten points. He’s been stuck in the minor leagues ever since, suiting up for the Milwaukee Admirals, Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators in addition to the Stars.

An unrestricted free agent that was playing under an AHL deal, Baptiste is still young enough to go to Europe, boost his value and potentially return on an NHL contract down the line. He’ll have to perform, obviously, but this may not be the last we’ve heard of Baptiste in North American pro hockey.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have hired Trevor Letowski as an assistant coach for the upcoming season, adding him to Dominique Ducharme’s staff. Letowski, who played more than 600 games in the NHL, was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires for four seasons before this new appointment, though he didn’t get to serve during the canceled 2020-21 OHL season. Letowski joins a staff that already had assistants Alexandre Burrows and Luke Richardson, the latter of which signed a new three-year contract recently.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have reached an affiliation agreement with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL, joining forces once again. The two were affiliates between 2014-16, but the Wings had other agreements with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks since then. For the 2021-22 season, after opting out of the ECHL season this year, they’ll be linked to the Blue Jackets, meaning they’ll receive some of their lower-end prospects. The ECHL is especially important for goaltending prospects, who need playing time above all else for their continued development.

Nick Foligno Likely To Sign With Minnesota Wild

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When Nick Foligno left the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL Trade Deadline this season, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, many expected that he could return to the team this off-season. The Columbus captain since 2015, Foligno has strong ties to the organization and the city, enough that there was an expectation that the veteran forward would re-sign with the rebuilding club. While Foligno is technically the property of the Maple Leafs until July 28 and is now able to negotiate with the Seattle Kraken after being exposed in the Expansion Draft, this was the anticipated path of his off-season and the expectation remained that it would end back in Columbus.

Not so fast, says Bally Sports Andy Strickland. If there was any other team the could seduce Foligno from Columbus, it would be the Minnesota Wild, where his brother Marcus Foligno is a core player and signed long-term, not to mention protected from the Expansion Draft. That appears to be exactly what he is thinking. Strickland reports that there is a “strong possibility” that Foligno joins his brother in Minnesota when the free agent market opens next week.

Foligno, 33, is a gritty, hard-working forward who wins puck battles and creates offense in front of the net. Even as he has gotten older, Foligno’s offense has remained consistent throughout his career, scoring between 0.4 and 0.65 points per game in 12 of his 13 full NHL seasons (the one exception was a .92 PPG aberration in 2014-15). Foligno is also a smart, experienced leader, both in the locker room and on the ice. Foligno could help to make up for the recent departures of long-time Wild leaders Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, even replacing Parise’s middle-six winger role. The fit makes sense for a Minnesota team that is looking to take a step forward this coming season after a major turnaround in 2020-21.

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