Minor Moves: Enroth, Balcers, Chaput
Jhonas Enroth has found a home for the upcoming season, but it won’t be in the NHL. The free agent goaltender has signed on with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL for one season. Enroth split last season between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks organization, finding much success in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls.
Enroth is undersized for the new NHL, standing just 5’10” as one of the shortest goaltenders in the league last year. That size has limited him at times, but he’s also shown an incredible set of reflexes and actually holds a .909 career NHL save percentage. In the minors it’s even better than that and he’ll try to prove he can be that successful at the KHL level as well.
- The San Jose Sharks have signed Rudolfs Balcers to a three-year entry-level deal, calling him a “natural goal-scorer.” The Latvian forward spent last season with the Kamloops Blazers, scoring 40 goals in just 66 games. That number led all WHL rookies, though he was several years older than most with that distinction. The small Balcers will now bring his talents to the AHL where it will be even harder to find the back of the net.
- Though their hearing wasn’t scheduled for another week, the Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with Michael Chaput according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The two sides decided on a figure of $687,500 which is barely more than the league minimum this season. The 25-year old Chaput played 68 games for Vancouver last season, registering just eight points.
Andrei Loktionov Signs PTO With Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have kicked off the professional tryout season, as according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, the team has signed former NHL forward Andrei Loktionov to a PTO for this fall’s training camp. Loktionov will attend camp in search of a spot on the Kings roster after spending the last three seasons in the KHL.
Selected by the Kings in 2008, Loktionov spent one outstanding season with players like Taylor Hall, Ryan Ellis and Adam Henrique in Windsor of the OHL before making the jump to professional hockey. It wasn’t long before he got a chance in the NHL, but couldn’t seem to deliver quite the same offensive jump. After bouncing around for a few years from Los Angeles to New Jersey to Carolina, Loktionov signed in the KHL where he has turned himself into a two-way force that logs big minutes for Yaroslavl.
Though this doesn’t come with the promise of an NHL contract, it’s an easy chance to give for the Kings who could desperately use his speed down the middle. He could also add another dimension to a penalty kill that was already among the league’s best, though he still isn’t an excellent faceoff man. In Russia last season he won just 48% of his draws.
There will be more PTOs given out over the summer, many to older players looking for one last chance or European free agents. Remember it doesn’t neccessarily mean the player will sign with the team he’s working out with. Last year saw Calgary snatch Kris Versteeg out from under Edmonton’s nose, something that happens fairly often.
Friedman’s Latest: McDavid, Duchene, Kuznetsov
In his final “30 Thoughts” column for the summer, the venerable Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet left us with some interesting tidbits from around the league. First off, he launches into a long explanation of how Connor McDavid‘s eight-year, $100MM contract will affect the rest of the league. It’s clear that the shockwaves of the deal will make future deals with stars like Erik Karlsson, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel even more expensive, but by just how much is still yet to be seen.
Friedman confirms a report that McDavid himself was the one who went after less money after an original verbal agreement put his deal at $13.25MM per season, saying he felt “skittish about the reaction to the original number” before settling on $12.5MM. Though that $750K per season won’t have a huge effect on the Edmonton Oilers salary cap, it’s a substantial amount ($6MM over the course of the contract) to leave on the table. It will be interesting to see if other superstars will be willing to take a similar cut.
- Matt Duchene is still on the market, but Friedman is clear that it’s now possible he starts the year in Colorado. That would be an unsatisfying ending to a saga that has been burning on the hot stove for months now, with seemingly half the league connected at one point or another to the Avalanche center. While obviously Duchene doesn’t lose all his value the day the season opens, the Avalanche do need to be careful here. Though he has two years left on his deal, a serious injury or another disappointing season could drastically lower his value and leave them trying to find any deal available before losing him in the summer or 2019. Duchene scored just 41 points last season, and Colorado looks like one of the worst teams in the league once again.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov was locked into a huge contract by the Washington Capitals, and part of it is because of the real threat the KHL posed. Even without the attraction of playing for Russia at the Olympics, Friedman writes that there were rumors of a $10MM per season contract for Kuznetsov a huge number to turn down. Losing Kuznetsov in a year when Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams and Nate Schmidt have all found new homes would have been one of the hardest offseasons imaginable for the Capitals.
Morning Notes: Jensen, Streit, Nolan
The New York Rangers won’t be signing Nicklas Jensen this summer, despite issuing him a qualifying offer a few weeks ago. The minor league forward has signed a one-year contract with Jokerit of the KHL, which also contains an option for the 2018-19 season.
Jensen was a first-round pick back in 2011, but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL on a full-time basis yet. That didn’t slow him down last year though, as he scored 32 goals in the AHL for the Hartford Wolf Pack, easily a career high. Since the qualified him, the Rangers will retain his exclusive negotiating rights for the time being.
- There is buzz around the Montreal Canadiens and free agent defenseman Mark Streit this morning, after a report from Marc de Foy of Le Journal de Montreal said that the team had offered him a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. Though he couldn’t confirm that the team had offered it, Eric Engels of Sportsnet thinks that Streit would be silly not to take that deal if presented with it. Streit will turn 40 this season, but was still a fairly effective point producing defenseman last year with both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. His role is obviously diminished, but he can still move the puck and contribute on the powerplay.
- Ted Nolan will be heading back to the international coaching ranks, as he’s set to take over the Polish National team. Nolan previously coached the Latvian team, and has had stops as the head coach for both New York (Islanders) and Buffalo in the NHL. Nolan has had huge success coaching young players in the junior ranks, and will try to help Poland grow their team to compete on the world stage.
Islanders Replace Goalie Coach Mike Dunham With Fred Brathwaite
In a headline that could have occurred ten years ago, the New York Islanders have replaced Mike Dunham with Fred Brathwaite. Dunham, a journeyman goalie who played ten seasons in the NHL, finished his career with the Islanders in 2006-07 and then took over as the team’s goalie coach. Brathwaite had left the NHL just three years earlier after a ten-year career of his own, and has been working as the goalie coach for Canada’s World Junior teams in recent years. Today, the Islanders announced a trade, as they have decided not to bring back Dunham and to instead hire Brathwaite as the team’s new goalie coach.
Last season, the Islanders missed the playoffs and finished 23rd in the NHL in goals against, likely leading to their new change in direction at goalie coach, moving on from Dunham, who had been there for ten years. In Brathwaite, New York adds a goalie coach with similar experience and succes to Dunham, but who also played in the KHL and in Germany. Brathwaite should be a good fit with the Isles, who boast two goalie that are more familiar with being backups than starters in Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak, and have goalie-of-the-future Ilya Sorokin currently playing in the KHL and waiting in the wings to make the jump to the NHL in the near future. Brathwaite also has a connection to head coach Doug Weight, whom he played with in Edmonton in the 1990’s.
For Dunham, this could be the end of the line in his hockey career. He thanked the organization for the opportunity to play and coach and expressed his excitement with spending more time with his family.
Anton Lander Signs With KHL Club Ak Bars Kazan
After six up and down seasons with the Oilers, Anton Lander has finally moved on from Edmonton and from the NHL altogether. KHL club Ak Bars Kazan reports this morning that they have signed the 26-year-old forward to a two-year deal. A deal that has been rumored for months finally becomes official and this likely closes the door on Lander’s NHL career, unless he is able to take major developmental steps in Russia over the next few years.
A skilled center, the question was never whether Lander was talented or not, but whether he could put that talent together for a well-rounded NHL-caliber game. A 2009 second-round pick of the Oilers out of Timra of the Swedish Elite League, the swift Swede gained attention with impressive World Junior performances before making the jump across the Atlantic in 2011, at the age of 20. Edmonton was excited to have the young star and gave him every chance to be an NHL regular. Lander played in 56 games with Oilers as a first year pro, but recorded just six points. He nearly matched that total in just 14 games with the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons. So, in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Lander spent more time in the minors, where he put up big numbers, than with the Oilers, as he seemed ill prepared for the NHL level. Lander scored 72 points in 93 games in the AHL in those two seasons and helped to lead the team to back-to-back playoff appearances, but played in just 38 games for a struggling Oilers squad during that span, recording only two points. Nevertheless, Lander worked his way back into the NHL lineup in 2014-15 and took major steps toward reaching his potential, scoring a career-high 20 points in just 38 games in Edmonton, while adding 31 points in 29 games with Oklahoma City. Expectations were high entering the 2015-16, but again Lander faltered, scoring just three points in 61 games with the Oilers. Lander had the best pro season of his career this past year…in the AHL. He posted 55 points in 42 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors and earned an AHL All-Star selection, but scored only one goal and three assists in 22 games with Edmonton. It was clear by the end of the season that both parties were tired of the back-and-forth; Edmonton was frustrated with Lander’s streaky play and inability to score at the same clip in the NHL, while Lander was tired of putting up major numbers in the minor leagues without being rewarded with more big league opportunity. A mutual split has been a long time coming.
Yet, the Oilers still issued a qualifying offer to Lander, a restricted free agent, last month, so they will retain the rights to the talented forward while he plays overseas. Although it is unlikely that Lander will make a return to the NHL, especially any time soon, it’s always a possibility. Edmonton could be rewarded for their years of dedication to developing the young scorer if he flourishes in the KHL the next few seasons and decides to come back.
KHL Confirms Kovalchuk Will Stay In Russia
The KHL tweeted today that Ilya Kovalchuk officially will stay in Russia for one more season and play for his current team, SKA St. Petersburg. As reported last week by PHR, Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Andrew Gross of The Record both reported that Kovalchuk had decided to stay one more year in Russia and come back to the United States next year when he can become an unrestricted free agent and negotiate with anyone.
Kovalchuk was still property of the New Jersey Devils and any way of playing in the NHL this season would have been reliant on the Devils trading him to another team. However, it doesn’t necessarily get easier for Kovalchuk now that he will be a free agent at age 35. Any contract he signs stays on a team’s cap regardless if he retires or is bought out. Therefore, a long-term deal is unlikely, although Kovalchuk’s asking price for this year was a three-year, $6.5MM per year deal.
The 34-year-old former first-overall pick in 2001 has played in the KHL for the past four years, putting up his best-ever season in the KHL last year when he scored 32 goals and 46 assists for 78 points. Several teams had expressed interest in the veteran, including the New York Rangers, the Florida Panthers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
KHL Notes: Off-Season, Gilroy, Roy, Zadorov
Given the relatively weak NHL free agent market and the financial instability of the KHL, it would not have been a surprise to see an influx of talent come overseas this off-season. When Vadim Shipachyov signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in June, it seemed that floodgates were about to open. Yet, one month later, it’s been quite the opposite. Other than Shipachyov’s SKA St. Petersburg teammate Evgeni Dadonov signing with the Florida Panthers, most big names in the KHL have re-signed, while others in North America have crossed over. Already, Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Nesterov have left the NHL for a return to Russia, as have Sergey Kalinin and Roman Lyubimov; prospects Nikita Gusev, Kirill Kaprizov, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Ilya Sorokin have decided to stay put, and so too have former NHLers playing overseas like Ben Scrivens, Paul Szczechura, and of course Ilya Kovalchuk; and even Nashville Predator’s first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen, spurned by Boston College, has signed in the KHL.
- Joining the trend of former NHLers staying in the KHL and joining Tolvanen with Helsinki, Finland-based club Jokerit is defenseman Matt Gilroy. The team announced the signing this morning, inking one of the KHL’s top-scoring blue liners to a one-year deal. Gilroy, 32, is a former Boston University standout who played in 225 NHL games over six seasons with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers. Unable to ever find a long-term home or lock down a regular role, Gilroy crossed the Atlantic in 2014 and has never looked back. Gilroy had the best season of his professional career in 2016-17, but nonetheless decided to stick it out overseas.
- NHL veteran and four-time 20-goal scorer Derek Roy has bucked the trend of staying in the KHL, but he’s also not heading back to the NHL next season either. Roy continues his tour around Europe, as he has left Russia to sign in Sweden. Roy originally left the NHL to sign in Switzerland with the NLA’s SC Bern in 2015, and after a strong campaign, took a step up to the KHL. Roy played 21 games with Avangard Omsk last year before a mid-season trade sent him to Traktor Chelyabinsk for 34 games and the postseason. Altogether, Roy posted just 11 goals and 11 assists in the KHL last year, a drop off from his production in the NLA and from his NHL days as well. Roy will try his hand at the SHL this season, after signing with Linkoping HC, and will try to boost his offense back toward the 30+ point mark that he hit in the NLA and annually reached in the NHL, even at the end. At 34 years old, Roy is still trying to make the most of his ability overseas, but the door is not closed for a member of the NHL’s 500-point club to eventually try to make his North American comeback
- CSKA fans shouldn’t get their hopes up, but KHL insider Aivis Kalnins is reporting that the club has a deal in place with young Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov if the restricted free agent cannot come to terms on a new NHL deal. The news has gained traction today, but seems unlikely to be anything more than jsut a negotiation tactic. The 22-year-old blue liner is from Moscow, where CSKA plays, but played his junior hockey with the London Knights of the OHL before being drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013. Zadorov may have connections to his hometown team, but has always shown a commitment to North American hockey. The 6’5″, 230-lb. defender logged almost 20 minutes of ice time per game last year for Colorado, and even though they were historically bad, it seems extremely unlikely that they would let their best young defenseman go unsigned. The Avs have plenty of cap room and will budge on term if need be. Even if they couldn’t come to terms, the rebuilding Avs could get plenty in return for dealing Zadorov. Don’t expect him to use the CSKA safety blanket this off-season or any time soon. Grigorenko will be the only 2016-17 Avs member headed to Russia next season.
Kirill Kaprizov Expected To Stay In KHL
3:28pm: Interestingly, as Russo points out, Kaprizov seems to indicate the contract isn’t finished yet in a recent interview with Sovsport. As with any deal between the KHL and NHL, take all sources with a grain of salt before we have confirmation the contract is signed.
12:41pm: Rumors have been swirling today about the future of Minnesota Wild draft pick Kirill Kaprizov, with KHL insider Aivis Kalnins originally reporting a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow. Though there was some doubt in the report because Michael Russo of the Star Tribune couldn’t get an answer from Kaprizov’s agents, the KHL themselves have now tweeted out that he’ll stay for the next three years.
Kaprizov was Minnesota’s fifth-round selection in 2015, but has talent to play in any league he wants eventually. Scoring 42 points in 49 games last season in the KHL, and captaining the Russian World Junior team to a bronze medal—a tournament in which he scored 12 points in 7 games and was named best forward—he had quite the season. Short but not out-muscled often, Kaprizov can rack up points in all situations. Moving to CSKA will surround him with even more talent, and likely push his point totals even higher.
He turned 20 just this April, meaning he still has plenty of time to continue his game in North America should he choose to come to the NHL eventually. It’s not clear if that’s his eventual goal, but for now the Wild will watch his development from afar. After trading Alex Tuch to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Wild are starting to thin out in terms of forward prospects, and will now rely on Luke Kunin and Jordan Greenway as the key pieces going forward. Remember they did not have a first or second round pick this year, though nabbed young OHL forward Ivan Lodnia in the third round.
Nikita Nesterov, Mikhail Grigorenko Sign In KHL
A pair of players have decided their underwhelming NHL careers are over for now, as Nikita Nesterov and Mikhail Grigorenko have both signed three-year deals with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. Nesterov’s agent had recently reported that he had at least two NHL offers, while Grigorenko did not receive a qualifying offer from the last place Colorado Avalanche.
Talent continues to stream away from the KHL despite any thoughts of Olympic participation, with players like Vladimir Sobotka, Evgeni Dadonov, Vadim Shipachyov, Alexei Bereglazov, Viktor Antipin and Klim Kostin all coming over in the past few months. Even non-Russian players like Jakub Jerabek and Stephane Da Costa are leaving the KHL for greener pastures. With that, the league has tried desperately to recruit some of their former talent back, getting Nikita Tryamkin and others to return before today.
We’ve written extensively over the past few days on Nesterov, who has had trouble finding a role in the NHL. Though his offensive ability suggests he should be able to quarterback a powerplay and take advantage of third pairing matchups, he’s never consistently shown that he can perform in those roles. A mid-season trade to the Canadiens was an even worse fit than with the Lightning, and ended with him going unqualified by Montreal this offseason.
Grigorenko on the other hand is an even worse story. Drafted 12th-overall in 2012 after dominating the Canadian junior ranks, Grigorenko was supposed to develop into a powerful center capable of playing in all scenarios. Buffalo began developing him before quickly realizing he wasn’t going to be that top-line player, and including him in a trade to Colorado for Ryan O’Reilly. In Colorado, given all the opportunity in the world with skilled players and on the powerplay, Grigorenko was still only able to reach a career-high of 27 points. He just didn’t play as big as he looked, and had trouble bringing a consistent effort.
Now just 23, it’s far from over for Grigorenko in terms of an NHL career. Should he find his game in Russia and develop into the two-way center his skills should allow, there will likely be several suitors in a few seasons to bring him back. He clearly had dreams of playing in the NHL, coming over to play in Canada when he was just 16. That dream isn’t dead, but it will be put on hold for a while.