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Snapshots: Williams, Drysdale, Nesterov

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The Carolina Hurricanes are scheduled to play the New York Rangers in a qualifying round if the NHL resumes this summer, meaning they could potentially only have a handful of games remaining in the 2019-20 season. Does that mean that Justin Williams is closing in on retirement? Not so fast says Hurricanes GM Don Waddell, who told Sportsnet radio to not write off his team leader just yet.

Williams, 38, took the first part of this season off to spend with his family but returned to the Hurricanes lineup on January 19th. While he was held pointless in 12 of his first 15 games, Williams was actually on a five-game goal streak when the season was paused in mid-March. The 19-year veteran has 101 points in 155 career playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup three times.

  • If you want to know a little more about the top-rated defenseman in this year’s draft, Craig Button of TSN breaks down Jamie Drysdale’s potential. The smooth-skating Drysdale gets a 5/5 rating in both hockey sense and competitiveness from Button, with a comparison to Hall of Fame defender Sergei Zubov. Drysdale was ranked third among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and is expected to be off the board in the first few picks.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of TSN is hearing that Nikita Nesterov may actually leave CSKA Moscow after all, despite reports earlier in the year that he was planning on signing a long-term deal with the KHL organization. Back in March, Nesterov reportedly turned down a hefty offer from the Los Angeles Kings, the same team Dhaliwal has heard linked to the free agent defender now. In the three seasons since he left the NHL, Nesterov has recorded 60 points in 136 games for CSKA.

Chris Wideman, Frank Corrado Sign Overseas

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With the start of the 2020-21 NHL season likely pushed back several months, players on the seven teams already eliminated have a very long wait before they can get into game action. For minor league free agents in those organizations, seeking out new opportunities is obviously a priority. Today, both Frank Corrado and Chris Wideman, players with NHL experience, have decided to sign overseas.

Corrado, 27, spent the 2019-20 season with the Belleville Senators of the AHL, recording 10 points in 36 games. The fifth-round pick has suited up 80 times in the NHL counting regular season and playoff games but has been limited to mostly minor league work the last few seasons. He’ll now take his talents to Sweden where he has signed with MODO, who now play in Sweden’s second league after suffering relegation a few years ago.

Wideman meanwhile will be headed to the KHL after playing this season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The 30-year old Wideman was once a regular on the Ottawa Senators blueline but has bounced around the league the last few seasons and found himself firmly in the minor leagues in 2019-20. With 181 NHL games under his belt, he’ll try to find success overseas for the first time.

San Jose’s Lukas Radil Signs With Spartak In KHL

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The San Jose Sharks may have lost one of their pending UFAs already as TSN’s Brennan Klak reports that forward Lukas Radil has decided to return to the KHL, signing with his old club, HC Spartak Moscow for the 2020-21 season. No terms have been reported.

Radil signed a one-year, $750K contract back in 2018 to join the Sharks organization. While he spent some time with the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL, adjusting to North American hockey, Radil still managed to get into 36 games with the Sharks, scoring seven goals and picking up 11 points. The 29-year-old then opted to re-sign for a slight pay cut ($700K), but saw more time this past year with the Barracuda as the forward struggled keeping up with NHL and sometimes with AHL skaters. Radil played in just 14 games with the Sharks, going scoreless and averaging just 9:24 in ATOI. He will return to Spartak where he scored 41 goals over three seasons before joining the Sharks organization.

The Sharks have a number of pending unrestricted free agents they must make decisions on whenever the offseason gets underway, including forwards Joe Thornton, Melker Karlsson, Stefan Noesen, Jonny Brodzinski, Anthony Greco, defensemen Tim Heed, Dalton Prout, Brandon Davidson and goaltender Aaron Dell.

Snapshots: Brackett, UAH, Voronkov

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The Vancouver Canucks will not be bringing back amateur scouting director Judd Brackett after failing to come to a new agreement. Brackett’s name has been in the news the last few months after reports surfaced that there was a dispute over how much control he had in Vancouver, something that Canucks GM Jim Benning confirmed today to Thomas Drance of The Athletic:

I believe in a chain of command… I don’t know too many places where a team is going to give a head scout total autonomy to make all the picks without collaborating with people higher up..

Brackett has been with the Canucks for more than a decade and is credited–at least partially–for the team’s relatively strong draft record.

  • Amazingly, a GoFundMe to try and save the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program has reached its goal of $500,000. The program was cut due to financial concerns last week, but immediately fans of the team (and one famous alumnus) rallied to try and keep the Chargers from disappearing. No word yet on whether the plan has worked, but it was an impressive campaign nonetheless.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to wait quite some time to get Dmitri Voronkov into the organization after the prospect forward signed a new three-year contract in the KHL today. Selected 114th overall in 2019, the 6’4″ center was a standout at the World Juniors for Russia, scoring seven points in seven games. His new contract will keep him in the KHL through the 2022-23 season.

Snapshots: Blashill, Pilut, Canadiens

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The Detroit Red Wings season has come to an end following the announcement of the return to play format, meaning they’ll go down as one of the worst teams in history (at least in terms of points percentage). The club finished 17-49-5 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, leading many to question the future of Jeff Blashill.

Steve Yzerman, Detroit GM, is not one of those questioning his head coach. On a conference call with reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Yzerman explained that he has “no plans on making a coaching change at this time.” Blashill signed a two-year contract extension in 2019 that carries him through the 2020-21 season but now has a 153-194-52 record as head coach of the Red Wings.

  • A report out of Russia has Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut heading to the KHL next season, though it has not been confirmed at this point. Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that the Sabres are inquiring with Pilut to see if he has indeed signed or agreed to terms with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Pilut is scheduled to become a restricted free agent later this summer, but with the Sabres already eliminated from play he could be looking for a new opportunity already. The 24-year old Pilut ended up playing just 46 games over two seasons for Buffalo, despite being excellent in the minor leagues and showing he could handle NHL duty. Should he decide to pursue a contract overseas, the Sabres could temporarily retain his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer.
  • With just a few days left to sign them, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin explained to reporters including Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports that they will not be issuing contract offers to a few prospects. Allan McShane, Cole Fonstad and Samuel Houde–all players that will see their draft rights expire on June 1st–will not receive contracts from the Canadiens.

League Still Not Allowing New Contracts For 2019-20

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When Scott Perunovich agreed to terms on two different contracts with the St. Louis Blues back in March, it led to plenty of confusion around the league. The plan was to have Perunovich sign a contract for 2019-20 if the season returned, allowing him to step right into a spot on the Blues roster for the playoffs. Several other top college and international players agreed to similar structures, hoping to burn the first year of their entry-level contracts before the 2020-21 season began.

Unfortunately, as Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) reported, that made the league furious given that they had put a hold on any contracts for 2019-20. Teams were still holding out hope that the league would change their minds and allow players to sign, but yesterday Gary Bettman and Bill Daly dealt another blow to those hopes.

Daly explained that the league’s position was still that new players are not allowed to sign a contract for 2019-20, even going so far as to call them “ringers.” That means players like Perunovich won’t be seeing action this summer and will have to file their contracts for the 2020-21 season instead.

CapFriendly has even tentatively added them to their database in those spots. Along with Perunovich, this includes Alexander Romanov (MTL), Ian Mitchell (CHI), Grigori Denisenko (FLA), John Leonard (SJS), and Brinson Pasichnuk (SJS) though there are countless others like New York Islanders prospect Ilya Sorokin that have been waiting on word from the league as well.

The question now is how that affects their decisions moving forward, especially for the Russian players. The 2020-21 season is not expected to start on time, with the commissioner even suggesting yesterday that it could kick off with the Winter Classic in early January 2021. That would mean a very long wait for players ineligible to join the playoff festivities this summer, and could lead to some returning to the KHL should it open sooner.

Sergei Mozyakin Re-Signs In KHL

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It’s not that he was going to come over to North America at this point in his career, but there was some doubt if Sergei Mozyakin would continue at all. The all-time KHL scoring leader has decided to come back for one more season (at least), signing a one-year extension with Magnitogorsk.

Mozyakin, 39, is one of the great players that decided never to try his hand at the NHL. The legendary Russian forward now has 735 points in 647 games since the KHL was formed in 2008, not to mention his countless awards and trophies. A two-time Gagarin Cup champion, Mozyakin also has Olympic and World Championship gold medals to his name and has served as captain of the Magnitogorsk team for the better part of a decade.

It’s hard to really know what he could have accomplished if Mozyakin ever did decide to play in North America, but you can bet he would have made it fun to watch. The flashy forward still routinely makes highlight-reel plays and once tallied 48 goals in a 60-game KHL season.

He’ll turn 40 before this contract ends, but technically is still on the Columbus Blue Jackets reserve list. Because draft rights are held indefinitely for Russian league players, that ninth-round, 263rd overall pick still has him attached to the Blue Jackets organization. Last summer, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) profiled Mozyakin as “the greatest Blue Jacket who never was.”

Snapshots: Alabama-Huntsville, Ottawa, Timashov

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When hockey seasons were canceled or postponed all around the world just over two months ago, it was always the expectation that they would eventually return to normal. The NHL is headed toward a return of some sort this summer, while the AHL is working through models for how they can run a 2020-21 season. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case for the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program, which according to Todd Milewski of USCHO is no more. UAH president Darren Dawson and athletics director Cade Smith released a statement on the situation:

After a comprehensive review of UAH’s athletic offerings and the associated long-term budget implications, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the men’s hockey, men’s tennis, and women’s tennis programs.

The UAH program is perhaps best known for producing Cam Talbot, the Calgary Flames goaltender who has played in over 300 NHL games. Talbot spent three seasons there before working his way up through the New York Rangers farm system to eventually become a starting goaltender.

  • Just yesterday there was excitement in the Ottawa area when a local rink opened its doors and allowed a limited number of people on the ice, a sign that things were starting to return to normal in the hockey world. Unfortunately that hope was dashed just 24 hours later when the Minto Arena was ordered to close again temporarily. Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun reports that the rink had been completely booked, but closed the doors after authorities told them to wait until “a more fulsome discussion about the application of the provincial orders could occur.”
  • Dmytro Timashov finally looked like he was going to get a better opportunity in the NHL before the coronavirus put a halt to the 2019-20 season. The young forward had been claimed off waivers by the Detroit Red Wings and played in five games with the team, but may not be sticking around to play another. A report out of Russia has Timashov close to a deal with Dinamo Riga of the KHL, though obviously nothing is official at this point. The Red Wings season technically isn’t finished until the league announces the return-to-play format (something that could happen this weekend), while Timashov isn’t actually a free agent until July 1 when his entry-level contract expires. In 44 total games this season between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings, Timashov recorded nine points.

Snapshots: Ozhiganov, Veilleux, Saganiuk

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Standout KHL defenseman Igor Ozhiganov has secured some consistency in his career, at least for a little while. Ozhiganov initially left the KHL and CSKA Moscow after eight years following the 2017-18 season to sign in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After a good but not great debut season with Toronto, Ozhiganov opted to return home to Russia, signing with Ak Bars Kazan. However, Kazan traded the top defender for fellow NHL vet Viktor Tikhonov early in the season. Ozhiganov headed to SKA St. Petersburg, where he enjoyed one of the best stretches of his KHL career with 12 points in 35 games. Elite blue liners are often hard to come by in the KHL and SKA has decided not to let Ozhiganov go. The club has announced a new two-year extension that will keep Ozhiganov in St. Petersburg until the 2022 off-season. At that time, Ozhiganov will still be just 29 years old, but an NHL comeback seems unlikely. However, if he continues to perform at a high level with one of the top clubs in the KHL, that could certainly change.

  • The AHL’s Laval Rocket got lucky this season when a midseason tryout turned into one of their more productive players. Quebec native Yannick Veilleux, who had previously played with Laval in 2017-18, re-joined the club mid-year after playing in the ECHL and proceeded to record 12 goals and 20 points in 26 games. It was the 27-year-old forward’s best AHL season by far and has now earned him a second chance. The Rocket have announced a one-year, one-way extension for Veilleux, who finished second only to Riley Barber in per-game scoring for Laval this season. The team hopes he can replicate that success next year, while Veilluex himself hopes another strong season could lead to an NHL contract.
  • The next stage of 17-year-old USNTDP forward Colby Saganiuk’s developmental path will still take place in Pennsylvania, but now with a different team. Saganiuk, who calls Pittsburgh home, was drafted by the nearby Erie Otters last year but was also being pursued by Penn State University as well. Earlier this season, Saganiuk made the decision to join the NCAA rather than the OHL when he committed to Penn State. However, he has now reversed that decision. The Otters have announced that Saganiuk has signed his OHL contract and will join the club next season. While it is possible for a college player to leave for the Canadian juniors, the opposite is not allowed, meaning Saganiuk has given up the option of the NCAA route. This change of decision is likely tied to Saganiuk’s poor 2019-20 season. Considered one of the top players on the USNTDP U-17 squad, Saganiuk instead saw limited action and struggled to produce. Rather than stick with the developmental program for another year before joining the Nittany Lions, it seems Saganiuk has opted for a change of scenery sooner rather than later by committing to Erie. Whether he is able to bounce back next season and revive his draft stock remains to be seen, but Saganiuk will be an interesting player to watch in the junior ranks next season.

Snapshots: LTIR, Burdasov, Cohen

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most financially-powerful organizations in the league, backed by multi-billion dollar companies with one of the strongest markets in North America. They’ve used that financial might in past decades to buy up expensive, high-profile talent from around the league but have little to show for it in terms of team success. Since the salary cap was introduced they’ve tried to find creative ways to get an advantage, most notably with their use of long-term injured reserve and acquiring players like Nathan Horton and David Clarkson who were never expected to play again.

Now with Clarkson and Horton’s contracts expiring, Frank Seravalli of TSN suggests that the Maple Leafs could be on the lookout for some new dead money to give them extra cap flexibility next season. He breaks down five options the team might go after but notes that Ryan Kesler’s contract may be the most suitable. Kesler underwent major hip surgery last year and is unlikely to play again, but still has two years remaining on his contract with the Anaheim Ducks. As Seravalli reports, 80% of the salary owed to Kesler is covered by insurance but the veteran forward still carries a cap hit of $6.875MM.

  • For the last several years there has been talk of Anton Burdasov considering a transition to the NHL, with the Russian forward even signing a professional tryout with the Edmonton Oilers last summer. Burdasov was apparently only interested in a one-way deal, something that he didn’t receive with the Oilers at the time. It looks like that opportunity won’t be coming anytime soon, as the 29-year old just signed a new two-year contract in the KHL.
  • After a report surfaced earlier this week that Ahron Cohen had left the Arizona Coyotes, the team officially announced their “mutual” parting today. Cohen was the team’s president and CEO but was hired long before new owner Alex Meruelo took over the organization. The announcement includes that the Coyotes “will immediately begin a search to fill the role of president and CEO.”

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