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San Jose Sharks Linked To Spencer Carbery

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The San Jose Sharks are late to the head coaching search party. After firing Bob Boughner and his staff later into the offseason, most marquee coaching options are off the market, leaving the Sharks to get creative with their search. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, multiple sources confirmed to him that the team has interviewed Spencer Carbery for the open position.

Carbery spent 2021-22 as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was responsible for the team’s power play, which finished first in the league during the regular season. 40 years old, Carbery was named the AHL’s Coach of the Year in 2021, his last of three seasons as the head coach of the Hershey Bears. He also won the same award in the ECHL in 2014 during a five-year run as head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays. You might recognize them for being the team where Stanley Cup Champion coach Jared Bednar got his head coaching start.

Carbery would certainly help San Jose’s goal output if his time in Toronto is any indication. San Jose’s power play clocked in at 19% last season, 22nd in the NHL, while they scored just 211 goals in total, which was third-last. He could be the key to an offensive resurgence from players like Erik Karlsson and help get the most out of youngsters like William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau if they make the team.

Minor Transactions: 07/19/22

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It hasn’t even been a week since free agency opened but things have already slowed to a crawl. After hundreds of NHL contracts were handed out, minor league deals are starting to come fast and furious. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Manitoba Moose have agreed to terms with three players to AHL deals, bringing back Evan Cormier, Thomas Caron, and Isaac Johnson. Cormier, a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2016, had a .905 save percentage in 14 games for the Moose this season.
  • In addition to first-round pick Emile Poirier, the Laval Rocket have also signed Alex Green and Kevin Poulin to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. Poulin, 32, was excellent for Laval this season, registering a .920 save percentage in 30 appearances.
  • Scott Wilson, Stanley Cup champion and veteran of more than 200 NHL games, has signed another AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers. The 30-year-old winger was a force for the team this season, scoring 24 goals and 40 points in 71 games while being his normal hard-working two-way self.
  • The ECHL’s Allen Americans have added an interesting player fresh out of college hockey. Hank Crone, 24, signed a one-year contract with the Americans after a strong final collegiate season with Northern Michigan University. In 32 games Crone had 44 points and showcased his all-around game as one of the team’s most heavily relied-upon forwards. Crone will make his pro debut in Allen and hope to translate his collegiate success to professional hockey.
  • Veteran professional winger Andrew Johnston was among the British EIHL’s top scorers in 2019-20, and now he’s returning to that league after two successful seasons in France. Johnston has signed a contract for 2022-23 with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers, per a team announcement. The former ECHL journeyman had 31 points in 39 games for the Rouen Dragons of the French Ligue Magnus and will join a Panthers squad eager to improve on last season’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.
  • The Minnesota Wild AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, announced that they have signed three players to one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) contracts: Mitchell Balmas, Kevin Conley, and Patrick Curry. Balmas, 24, is a former junior hockey star who led the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in scoring in his final season in juniors. 2021-22 was Balmas’ professional debut and he split time between the AHL and ECHL, and had five points in ten AHL games and 12 points in 17 ECHL games. Conley, 25, is the former captain of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks and made his professional debut as well last season, with three points in six games for the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Curry, 26, hasn’t quite cut it as an AHL forward yet, with just eight points in 53 career games, but he had a lot of success as an upperclassman at Boston University and had eight points in his five-game ECHL run with the Toledo Walleye.
  • Orli Znojmo of the European ICEHL could have a tough time repeating last season’s run to the playoffs. Two days ago, the team lost their leading scorer, Anthony Luciani, and it seems they’ve lost their captain this offseason as well. Per an announcement from his new club, Radim Matus, Orli Znojmo’s captain, has signed with Eisbaren Regensburg of Germany’s second-tier DEL-2. Regensburg are looking to establish themselves in DEL-2 after being promoted from the German third tier earlier this year, and Matus should be able to help them achieve that goal.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: McIntyre, Huntington, Dronov

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While the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins were handing out long-term extensions to Valeri Nichushkin and Rickard Rakell respectively, and as the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired their next starting goalie in Matt Murray, a few bits of business were still getting done around the league, with a pair of minor leaguers getting contract extensions, and the Coyotes extending an invite to training camp.

The first of these is the Minnesota Wild extending goaltender Zane McIntyre with a one-year, two-way contract extension to stay in the organization according to CapFriendly. The contract is worth $750K at the NHL level and $300K at the minor league level, but does guarantee the goaltender a minimum of $325K. McIntyre appeared in eight games with the Boston Bruins back in 2016-17, but has otherwise made a solid career in the AHL, most recently splitting the 2021-22 season between the Tucson Roadrunners and the Iowa Wild.

  • Shortly thereafter, the Nashville Predators extended forward Jimmy Huntington on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level and $80K in the minors, leaving him an RFA at the conclusion of the deal, per CapFriendly. Huntington spent five years in the QMJHL, finishing his career with an incredible 92 point season with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2018-19 before turning pro, spending parts of the previous three seasons between the ECHL and AHL. The undrafted forward spent 2021-22 with the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 13 goals and 22 assists in 61 games combined.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have made a move to continue looking at depth options, extending a professional tryout to defenseman Grigori Dronov, according to CapFriendly. An undrafted free agent, Dronov has spent his professional career as a member of Magnitogorsk Metallurg in the KHL, featuring as a steady defenseman, though not much of a point producer. Dronov also appeared as a member of team Russia at the 2017 World Junior Championships, where he had one point in seven games.

Florida Panthers, Florida Everblades Sign Affiliation Agreement

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A partnership that always seemed to make sense has finally returned, as the Florida Panthers and Florida Everblades of the ECHL have signed a multi-year affiliation agreement. The deal brings the clubs back together for the first time since 2010 and comes on the heels of a Kelly Cup championship from the minor league club.

Brett Peterson, assistant general manager of the Panthers, released a statement:

We are pleased to announce a new affiliation with the Florida Everblades. We want to thank the Swamp Rabbits for two great seasons and look forward to beginning a new partnership just down the road in Estero, Fla. We look forward to the development of our young players in Florida and many opportunities together with this new pipeline plan.

As Peterson references, this will be the end of the Panthers’ agreement with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, who will now have to find a new NHL partner. Perhaps that could be the Nashville Predators, who were previously affiliated with the Everblades before this change.

The ECHL club took home the league championship this season, winning the Kelly Cup for the second time. An exceptionally consistent organization, they have made the postseason in 23 of 24 years, and gone to the finals five different times.

Ryan Kuffner Signs In Germany

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Sometimes a college free agent signing turns out well but very often, it doesn’t. When the Detroit Red Wings inked Ryan Kuffner out of Princeton University in 2019, it appeared as though they had added a talented offensive piece to the depth chart for little more than a contract slot and some bonus money.

After all, he had put up 152 points in four NCAA seasons, scoring at a 1.15 point-per-game rate. Kuffner quickly entered the Red Wings lineup, playing in ten games down the stretch. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to record a point in those games–a sign of what would come at the professional level. Kuffner struggled the next season in the AHL, recording just six goals and nine points in 32 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, before ending up with the Edmonton Oilers organization as part of the Sam Gagner–Andreas Athanasiou deal.

The Oilers decided not to qualify him at the end of the year (the same decision they made with Athanasiou, leaving them completely empty-handed from that transaction), making him a free agent. After a year in Germany during the 2020-21 season, Kuffner played this year in the ECHL, putting up huge numbers for the Iowa Heartlanders. He’s parlayed that into another opportunity in Germany, this time with Augsburger of the DEL.

Now 26, any dream of returning to the NHL is likely over for Kuffner, who leaves North America with just 11 points in 41 AHL games. The ECHL meanwhile is losing a star, a player who was right near the top of the leaderboard with 1.56 points per game this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend ECHL Affiliate

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The Kalamazoo Wings will continue to be the Columbus Blue Jackets’ ECHL affiliate for next season, after signing an extension today. Blue Jackets director of player personnel Chris Clark released a statement explaining the new agreement:

We enjoyed working with Head Coach Nick Bootland and the K-Wings organization last season as they offered a great place for some of our prospects to play and develop. The Blue Jackets and Monsters are pleased to continue that relationship as Kalamazoo will once again be our ECHL affiliate for the 2022-23 campaign.

As part of a three-tiered development system, the ECHL is important for maintaining the depth and success of an AHL program, while also providing playing time to raw prospects. In this case, Kalamazoo saw Jet Greaves for 15 games, an undrafted netminder that ended up signing an NHL contract partway through the season.

Greaves, 21, could be back in the ECHL at some point during next season, given the goaltending depth that the Blue Jackets have built by re-signing Joonas Korpisalo and extending Daniil Tarasov. The low minors give an organization more playing time for netminders, given the relative lack of opportunities at the position.

The Wings had previously been affiliated with the Blue Jackets between 2014-16, and have been in operation since 1974 (though not always in the ECHL). The team went 36-35-1 last season and did not qualify for the postseason.

Minor Notes: Warsofsky, Comets, Wilkins

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The AHL Calder Cup Playoffs are an important scouting event for clubs all across the league, who want to see how their young players respond in high-pressure situations. But it can also be a proving ground for someone else: coaches. Ryan Warsofsky, for one of the youngest coaches in the league, it’s been exactly that. Patrick Williams of NHL.com writes that Warsofsky, who has led the Chicago Wolves to the finals, could soon start to receive interest from higher up after experiencing so much success.

Under Warsofsky, who took control of the Wolves when the Carolina Hurricanes switched their affiliate in 2020, Chicago has won 71 of their 109 games, posting an overall record of 71-25-13. Given his previous success in the ECHL, where he led the South Carolina Stingrays to the Kelly Cup Finals in his first year and then posted a .722 winning percentage in year two, it seems Warsofsky is on the fast track to becoming a staple in the NHL coaching community. The Wolves will continue their quest for the Calder Cup tomorrow night.

  • The Utica Comets have announced several AHL contracts today, retaining captain Ryan Schmelzer along with two others. Samuel Laberge and Mareks Mitens have both agreed to terms in order to return, while Schmelzer has locked in for two seasons. Utica was one of the best teams in the league this season, posting a 43-20-9 record but were eliminated in the North Division Semifinals by the upstart Rochester Americans.
  • Josh Wilkins, who left the AHL after the 2020-21 season to pursue a contract in Sweden is coming back to North America, agreeing to terms with South Carolina in the ECHL. The 25-year-old Providence College star actually signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators when he turned pro but wasn’t issued a qualifying offer in 2021 when it expired and is now an unrestricted free agent.

Minor Transactions: 6/18/22

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We’re just a couple hours away from the start of Game Two of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, the eyes of the hockey world shifting to Denver, Colorado to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Colorado Avalanche, Colorado up 1-0 in the series. Amidst the excitement the NHL’s biggest stage, followed by some early offseason rumblings around the league, there is still plenty of action going on around the hockey world, including in the AHL. We’ll keep track of that action here throughout the day.

  • The Toronto Marlies announced the signings of three forwards to one-year, AHL contracts today: Orrin Centazzo, Marc Johnstone, and Keenan Suthers. Centazzo, 22, just completed his rookie season in the ECHL with the Newfoundland Growlers who, like the Marlies, are an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a rookie, Centazzo recorded 51 points in 51 regular season games, followed up by another 15 points in 18 playoff games. Johnstone, 25, also spent a majority of last season with Newfoundland, putting up 21 points in 58 games. The Sacred Heart University alumni also appeared in four AHL games with the Marlies, but failed to record a point. The 6’8″, 245-pound Suthers just wrapped up a four-year NCAA career, split between St. Lawrence University and the University of Maine, tallying 13 points in 30 games in 2021-22, his lone season at Maine.

Minor Transactions: 06/16/22

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As the Stanley Cup Final is officially underway, all but two NHL organizations are fully focused on preparing their teams for next season. Oftentimes, that includes their AHL affiliates fortifying their depth with veterans and younger players not quite ready for NHL deals. We’ll keep track of those signings and transactions today right here.

  • After a rough season for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies that saw them miss the league’s expanded 23-team playoffs, they’re keeping a pair of defensemen around through next year. The Maple Leafs’ affiliate announced today that they’ve re-signed Noel Hoefenmayer and Matteo Pietroniro to one-year AHL contracts. Hoefenmayer excelled with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers this season, finishing 12th in scoring among defensemen with 40 points in just 46 games. He was third in playoff scoring for defensemen, contributing 16 points in 19 games to help the Growlers on a long playoff run. The offensively-gifted defenseman and former Arizona Coyotes prospect will likely see more AHL time next season in hopes of earning an NHL contract with the Maple Leafs in the future. Pietroniro, undrafted, had 27 points in 59 games with Newfoundland last year.
  • A Detroit Red Wings prospect remains in the organization, albeit without an NHL contract. Their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, announced today the re-signing of forward Kirill Tyutyayev to a one-year AHL contract. Selected in the seventh round (190th overall) in 2019, the 21-year-old Tyutyayev played just nine games last season in Grand Rapids due to injury, registering just three assists. It was his first campaign in North America. After having not played since early November 2021, Tyutyayev will look for a much smoother sophomore campaign.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

West Notes: Woodcroft, Nill, Preseason

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A few months ago, many would have identified the Edmonton Oilers as a team with coaching uncertainty heading into the offseason after they fired Dave Tippett mid-season. However, after their run to the Western Conference Final this year, Jay Woodcroft would appear to have earned the confidence of the team and fanbase to continue in his role. TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting today that Woodcroft and the Oilers continue to have ongoing discussions about a new contract this week, although there’s still more to be done.

With the Oilers yet to be linked publicly to any other coaching free agents, it’s becoming clear that the team prefers to retain Woodcroft as their head coach. It’s important to note that Woodcroft was fully named the head coach when he took over for Tippett; he was not given the interim title. Woodcroft led the Oilers on a 26-9-3 run to end the regular season in addition to their playoff run.

  • One team that isn’t having such a smooth time with their coaching hiring process is the Dallas Stars. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that potential candidates are hesitant to commit to the Stars given the fact that general manager Jim Nill only has one year left on his deal. It’s understandable that when a coach commits long-term, they’d like to have a solid idea of the team’s vision for the future. With Nill’s future uncertain, Dallas’ new coach won’t have that guarantee.
  • The Stars will be playing in two neutral-site preseason games come September and October. On October 1, they’ll be facing off against the St. Louis Blues at Cable Dahmer Arena in Kansas City, home of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. Before that, though, they’ll be playing the Arizona Coyotes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 27, as previously announced. It marks a return to normalcy for the NHL’s regular-season preparations.

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