Snapshots: Ness, Greensboro, KHL
Veteran blue-liner Aaron Ness is still plying his trade in the minors despite not suiting up in the NHL since 2020-21 with the Coyotes. He’s now in his third season in a row with the Capitals’ affiliate, the AHL’s Hershey Bears, and he’ll make it a fourth next year after signing an extension today, the team announced.
Ness is no longer the dominant offensive presence he once was at the minor-league level, but he is still coming off a decent 23-point campaign in Hershey with a +18 rating as he won his second straight Calder Cup championship. He’s spent the last four seasons exclusively on AHL contracts with Providence and Hershey and hasn’t been bound by an NHL agreement since the two-year, league-minimum deal he signed with the Coyotes expired in 2021.
A second-round pick of the Islanders back in 2008, Ness led all AHL defenders in scoring with 55 points (5 G, 50 A) in 71 games with Hershey in 2019. The Minnesota native has just seven points in 72 career NHL games, though, coming with the Isles, Caps, and Yotes in parts of seven seasons. He has 322 points in 731 AHL games in parts of 14 seasons, though, tied for fourth among active AHLers in games played with Gabriel Dumont.
More from around the hockey world:
- The ECHL continues to expand what seems like every year. After teams in Tahoe and Bloomington joined the fold this season, they’ll add a team in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the 2025-26 campaign, per an announcement today. The second-tier minor league is up to 29 teams this year, giving all but three NHL clubs a full-time affiliate to feed their AHL depth and develop longer-timeline prospects. They’ll play at the First Horizon Coliseum in the Greensboro Complex, which hosted the Hurricanes during their first two seasons in the market while they awaited the completion of their current home in Raleigh. The Canes are one of three teams without a full-time ECHL affiliate, so they’ll be a natural favorite to strike an agreement with the new franchise in Greensboro. They do have a working agreement to send some players to Bloomington, though, which has a full-time affiliation with the Rangers.
- The recent changes in how Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League conducts business internationally haven’t affected players’ ability to make the jump to the NHL, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told James Murphy of Responsible Gambler. He also said there haven’t been any under-the-table deals to help get players out of their KHL contracts to come to the NHL in lieu of an official transfer agreement between the leagues. “There have still been players from Russia entering the NHL even though officially we’re not communicating with [the KHL] on any kind of commercial or business basis,” Daly said. “They find ways to get here that don’t involve direct participation by the NHL or any of our clubs. I don’t believe there’s been any reduction in the number of players that entered the league during this period of time,” referring to after the KHL declared independence from the IIHF last year.
East Notes: Liljegren, Shesterkin, Volokhin, Brandsegg-Nygard
While there has been some trade speculation surrounding Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that there is no imminent move on the horizon. Toronto is currently carrying eight blueliners while also having offseason additions Jani Hakanpaa and Dakota Mermis on LTIR so their depth is in decent shape, something Dreger notes Toronto likes. However, while having strong depth is one thing, having a healthy scratch making $3MM through next season isn’t ideal. Still just 25, Liljegren has nearly 200 career NHL regular season games under his belt and is coming off a season that saw him collect 23 points in 55 games while logging nearly 20 minutes a night. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some trade interest in him in the coming weeks, especially if a team gets hit with some injuries on the back end. If not, they may still need to make a move in a few weeks as some of their injured players potentially return.
More from the Atlantic:
- On the heels of Igor Shesterkin declining an eight-year, $88MM extension offer from the Rangers, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that the goaltender is asking for $12MM per season. Recognizing the team might not go that high, the 28-year-old wants to be the highest-paid player on the team which means he might decline anything below the $11.643MM AAV that Artemi Panarin has on his deal. Shesterkin has a career 2.42 GAA and a .921 SV% in 214 games at the NHL level and will soon be the highest-paid goalie in league history with the offer he declined already coming in higher than Carey Price’s $10.5MM per season.
- Canadiens goaltending prospect Yevgeni Volokhin has been loaned to HK Sochi, per an announcement from the KHL club. SKA St. Petersburg acquired his rights earlier this week but will let the 19-year-old get his feet wet at the top Russian level elsewhere for the time being. Montreal drafted Volokhin in the fifth round in 2023, going 144th overall. He was one of the top netminders at their junior level last season, posting a 1.57 GAA with a .938 SV% in 31 games with Mamonty Yugry and has similar numbers (1.95 and .931 respectively) in eight appearances at the MHL level this year.
- The Red Wings wanted to assign prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to AHL Grand Rapids but the first rounder and his camp insisted on him being assigned back to Sweden, relays Norren’s Robin Lindgren (Twitter link). The 19-year-old spent last season with Mora in the second-tier Allsvenskan level where he had 18 points in 41 games but his rights are now held by SHL Skelleftea. It’s believed that Brandsegg-Nygard feels that playing at the top level in Sweden will be better for his development than suiting up for the Griffins in the minors.
Metro Notes: Panarin, Rust, Shabanov
New York Rangers star forward Artemi Panarin told the media today that he’s feeling good and is expecting to be able to play Wednesday when New York begins the regular season (as per Peter Baugh of The Athletic). Panarin returned to Rangers practice today for the first time since he left a preseason game almost a week ago with a lower-body injury. It was the second time he’d exited a preseason game with an ailment; however, it appears that he is optimistic he can play when the Rangers take on Pittsburgh in two nights.
Panarin took his usual spot on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere and appeared set to open the season, however, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was a bit more conservative with his comments after practice saying that the Rangers were taking things slow with Panarin and they would see how he feels over the next two days.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Bryan Rust on IR, retroactively to last Sunday (as per Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop). Rust will be able to come off IR at any time and could play in the Penguins opener on Wednesday night as Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas called him day-to-day. Dubas admitted that the Penguins are being cautious with Rust and are trying to avoid his ailment becoming a long-term complication. Rust has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career and has never played a full 82-game season. Last year, he missed time and dressed in just 62 games but was very effective posting 28 goals and 28 assists.
- The New York Islanders are reportedly among four NHL teams that have already expressed an interest in KHL forward Maxim Shabanov (as per Ethan Sears of The New York Post). Shabanov is off to a good start in the KHL this season with 14 points in his first 12 games and is coming off a season in which he posted 25 goals and 25 assists in 64 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Shabanov is expected to decide at the end of the KHL season as to whether he will sign in the NHL or not and many expect that his list of suitors will grow into the double digits by that time. The Islanders are fresh off signing another young Russian in Maxim Tsyplakov who should receive playing ample time in the Islanders’ top-six forward group this season.
Central Notes: Eremenko, Johnson, Shalunov
The Predators had discussions with prospect defenseman Vladislav Eremenko this summer about bringing him to North America, the blueliner revealed in an interview with Sport-Express’ Mikhail Skyal. The 25-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2018 but has played exclusively in the KHL since the 2019-20 campaign. However, he requested and received a one-year deal from Metallurg to stay with the Gagarin Cup champions for this season. Eremenko indicated that he wouldn’t rule out the idea of signing with Nashville for next season but would likely want a European Assignment Clause put in the deal so that he wouldn’t have to play in the minors. If he does sign, he would be capped at a one-year, entry-level agreement.
More from the Central:
- Wild forward Reese Johnson returned to practice yesterday after missing a few days with an upper-body injury, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old signed a one-year deal with Minnesota this summer after being non-tendered by Chicago back in June. He played in 42 games last season primarily on the fourth line, picking up five points while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. He’s likely to fill a similar role for Minnesota if he cracks their opening night lineup.
- The Blackhawks have relinquished the rights to winger Max Shalunov, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). The 31-year-old was drafted back in 2011 but with there being no transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation, Chicago held his rights indefinitely. Shalunov has elected to stay in the KHL since returning there for the 2014-15 season following a stint in Chicago’s farm system on a minor league deal. He had 36 points in 68 games with Lokomotiv last season and GM Kyle Davidson decided that he didn’t intend to sign Shalunov so they elected to release his rights.
Morning Notes: Kadri, Kuznetsov, Hughes
Calgary Flames Forward Nazem Kadri left yesterday’s practice with an apparent knee injury (as per Salim Nadim Valji of TSN). Kadri suffered the injury after a collision with teammate Blake Coleman and went to the locker room right away. No word yet on the severity of the injury to the 33-year-old but Kadri and Coleman did collide knee on knee. Flames head coach Ryan Huska commented after practice that the team got off lucky, so the news sounds encouraging.
Kadri is expected to be one of the Flames’ on-ice leaders this year as the team has entered a rebuild. He was one of Calgary’s most consistent contributors last season posting 29 goals and 46 assists in 82 games. The Flames reportedly listened to offers on Kadri this past summer but opted to keep the veteran with the Flames.
In other morning notes:
- Former Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov was reportedly injured and will miss the next two months (KHL twitter link). Kuznetsov has dressed in nine KHL games this season for SKA St. Petersburg and posted a goal and four assists. Specific details about his injury are murky but the ailment is being called a serious one. Kuznetsov has been playing on the third line this year after mutually terminating the final year of his NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
- Jack Hughes was a scratch last night for the New Jersey Devils after he was originally slated to play in their preseason game (as per James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now). Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe clarified the reason for the scratch post-game saying that Hughes experienced a Charley horse in the previous game, and the team opted to hold him out of the game before their trip to Prague. Hughes is expected to play when the team arrives overseas and did work yesterday with the second training camp group before getting the evening off to rest.
Chris Tierney Signs With Dinamo Minsk
Free agent center Chris Tierney has signed a one-year deal in the Kontinental Hockey League with Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk, the team announced Monday on Telegram.
Tierney, 30, was one of three UFA centers remaining who logged significant NHL time last season and the only one who wasn’t in an NHL training camp on a professional tryout. He was a serviceable fourth-line piece for the Devils last season, recording 12 points in 52 games with a +3 rating while averaging a career-low 9:02 per game, winning 57.2% of his draws.
A second-round pick of the Sharks back in 2012, Tierney grew into a full-time NHLer down the stretch of his first professional season two years later and never looked back. Within a few years, he was one of the league’s premier third-line centers, capping off his tenure in San Jose with a career-high 17 goals and 40 points in 2017-18.
The Sharks traded Tierney to the Senators the following offseason in the blockbuster swap that sent Erik Karlsson to the Bay Area. Early on, Tierney was a serviceable middle-six piece for Ottawa, averaging north of 17 minutes per game during his first two seasons in the Canadian capital and averaging 0.56 points per game.
But after the pandemic hit, Tierney’s offense dropped off. He was limited to only 12 goals and 37 points in 125 contests over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns while seeing his ice time drop accordingly. Following the expiry of a two-year, $7MM contract, Tierney had to settle for a two-way deal with the Panthers for 2022-23. He split his brief tenure in Florida between the Panthers and their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, before he was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens in February. He finished out the year with seven points in 23 games for Montreal, doing well to rebuild his stock somewhat and stick in the NHL with New Jersey last season.
He wasn’t so lucky this summer, though. With presumably no NHL offers, the Ontario native lands in Minsk to continue his career. He becomes the eighth player with NHL experience on Dinamo’s roster, joining Dillon Dubé, Jordan Gross, Dmitry Korobov, Nicolas Meloche, Xavier Ouellet, Vadim Shipachyov, and Alexander Volkov.
If this marks the end of Tierney’s NHL career, he finishes with 80 goals, 168 assists, 248 points, and a -70 rating in 649 regular-season games.
Tony DeAngelo Signs With SKA St. Petersburg
Sep. 23: DeAngelo is indeed heading to SKA on a one-year contract, the team announced Monday on Instagram.
Aug. 14: Tony DeAngelo seems likely to head overseas with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League after a tough year with the Hurricanes, Anton Panchenko of Championat reported Monday. DeAngelo was the subject of more speculative rumors about a move to SKA earlier this month, which he refuted at the time and said he was focused on landing another NHL opportunity.
But in the days following DeAngelo’s statement, SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg confirmed that his club had contacted DeAngelo and maintained interest (via Championat’s Anton Nekrasov). Panchenko’s report from Monday, albeit translated from Russian, indicates that DeAngelo has now agreed to a contract with the KHL powerhouse.
DeAngelo, 28, became a UFA this summer after a second stint with the Hurricanes failed. The right-shot defenseman, whose play style is as one-dimensional as they come, enjoyed an offensive revival in Carolina in 2021-22, leading the club’s defense in scoring across the board with 10 goals, 41 assists, 51 points, and a career-high +30 rating in 64 games.
He gave Carolina that production on a dirt-cheap one-year, $1MM deal after he played just six games the year prior with the Rangers. That resulted from an early-season altercation with then-teammate Alexandar Georgiev, which resulted in DeAngelo being placed on waivers and assigned to the minors. He didn’t report to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack and instead sat out most of the shortened 2021 season before the Rangers bought out the final season of his contract, making him free to sign with the Canes as a UFA.
The Hurricanes couldn’t afford to keep him around after he punched far above his weight financially, trading his signing rights to the Flyers during the 2022 offseason. Philadelphia promptly signed him to a two-year, $10MM contract, and he entered 2022-23 near the top of their defensive depth chart.
However, DeAngelo’s defensive struggles became much more apparent outside of a strong Carolina system. He posted a team-worst -27 rating and became a healthy scratch at times near the tail end of the campaign. He was still a respectable contributor offensively, leading Flyers blueliners with 11 goals, 31 assists and 42 points in 70 games, but his relationship with head coach John Tortorella was fractured as a result of the scratches.
Shortly after the season ended, the Flyers made DeAngelo the first player in NHL history to be bought out twice. He then returned to Carolina on a one-year, $1.675MM deal to try and rediscover past magic. But he wasn’t their only notable free agent signing on the back end, and he was relegated to the No. 7 spot on their defense depth chart for most of the season after Dmitry Orlov was brought into the mix. He was a healthy scratch for over half the season, limited to 11 points in 31 games while averaging a career-low 14:20 per contest.
It’s not just DeAngelo’s poor defensive play that’s limited his interest from NHL teams. His lack of discipline has rendered him wholly ineffective at times. Aside from the Georgiev incident in New York, he was suspended for physical abuse of an official while with the Coyotes in 2017 and again for spearing during the tail end of his time with the Flyers. During his junior hockey days with the Sarnia Sting, he was suspended twice for violating the Ontario Hockey League’s Abuse/Diversity policy.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Chase De Leo Expected To Sign In KHL
September 7: De Leo has officially signed with Barys Astana, per a team announcement. He receives a one-year deal.
August 24: After spending the last two full seasons in the minors, it appears that UFA forward Chase De Leo is opting to try his hand overseas. Sport-Express’ Ivan Bohun reports that De Leo is expected to sign a one-year contract with Barys Astana of the KHL.
The 28-year-old has been a quality producer in the AHL for the past nine seasons, including 2023-24 when he put up 15 goals and 33 assists in 52 games with San Diego, good for third on Anaheim’s farm team in scoring despite missing 20 games. However, despite the solid production, none of those games missed were due to an NHL opportunity but rather an injury.
For his career, De Leo has 135 goals and 214 assists in 494 AHL appearances. But that level of production hasn’t yielded much of an opportunity at the top level. While he has seen NHL action in five seasons (most recently in 2021-22 with New Jersey), his total number of NHL contests is only seven where he wasn’t able to hit the scoresheet.
De Leo has been subject to the AHL veteran rule for the past three seasons, a restriction that often makes it difficult for older players to find another opportunity at that level. Whether that’s the reason for De Leo’s expected signing with Astana or whether he just wants to try another league, it appears his time in North America is coming to an end for the time being.
East Notes: Raymond, Berggren, Voronkov, Capitals
The Red Wings still have three restricted free agents to re-sign, defenseman Moritz Seider along with wingers Lucas Raymond and Jonatan Berggren. In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relayed that while there’s no concern on either side yet, talks don’t appear to be progressing between Detroit and Raymond’s camp. The 22-year-old is coming off his entry-level deal and had a breakout showing last season, recording 31 points and 41 assists in 82 games, leading some to suggest that a long-term agreement between the two sides is likely to push past the $7MM mark per season.
Berggren, meanwhile, was largely a regular for the Red Wings in 2022-23 but spent most of last season with AHL Grand Rapids, tallying 24 goals and 32 assists in 53 games. The 24-year-old also collected six points in 13 games with Detroit. Pagnotta reports that a deal between the two sides is expected before training camp and it’s likely to be a short-term agreement. With a little over $17MM in cap space per PuckPedia, it’s possible that the eventual contracts with Seider and Raymond could dictate how short of a deal Berggren ultimately receives.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Dating back to last season, there was speculation that Blue Jackets winger Dmitri Voronkov might want to return to the KHL. In an interview with Championat’s Dmitry Storozhev, Ak Bars GM Marat Valiullin acknowledged that he spoke with Voronkov after last season, presumably to gauge his interest in returning to the KHL but no discussions have taken place since then. The 23-year-old had a solid rookie season last year, notching 18 goals and 16 assists in 75 games and is someone that Columbus will undoubtedly be looking to keep beyond the upcoming season when his current contract expires.
- While the Capitals have already inked a PTO agreement with Jakub Vrana, don’t expect them to be signing any others. GM Chris Patrick recently told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that he doesn’t envision bringing in any more players on tryouts for training camp. Washington has shaken up their roster a fair bit this summer, bringing in Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, and Logan Thompson (and others) so allowing the newcomers to get some early chemistry may be the focal point at camp. If that’s the case, bringing in other players with an outside shot of making the team would run counter to that objective.
Snapshots: Poolman, Prosvetov, Stenlund
With the Oilers needing to clear up some cap space to accommodate the offer sheets tendered to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway this week, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province wonders if the Canucks might be able to help in that regard. Vancouver blueliner Tucker Poolman has played just three games over the last two seasons combined due to concussion issues and was on LTIR for all of 2023-24. He has one year left on his contract but isn’t expected to play, meaning he’ll remain LTIR-eligible for the upcoming season.
The Canucks aren’t believed to want to incentivize a team to take that contract off their books but with his $2.5MM AAV coming close to Brett Kulak’s $2.75MM, perhaps there’s a basis for a swap. Vancouver would likely have to add in that package, allowing Edmonton to get an asset in return instead of potentially having to part with one to clear a blueliner. The Oilers would then be able to utilize Poolman and Evander Kane on LTIR, reducing the imminent need to free up any more cap room while Vancouver would get an NHL roster player in return for someone whose playing days are over. It’s an odd idea on the surface but perhaps it becomes a palatable one before Edmonton has to decide on matching the offer sheets by Tuesday’s deadline.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Earlier this month, UFA goaltender Ivan Prosvetov officially signed a three-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. He did, however, have some NHL interest as the netminder told Championat’s Pavel Panyshev that he had a one-way offer on the table that he declined in order to return home. The 25-year-old split last season between the NHL and AHL with Colorado, putting up a 3.16 GAA and a .895 SV% in 11 games with the Avs and a 2.33 GAA with a .921 SV% in 21 minor league appearances. A good showing back home could have Prosvetov on the NHL radar again when his contract is up in 2027.
- Kevin Stenlund’s decision to sign with Florida last summer was a wise one. He put up a career-best 11 goals in 2023-24 while winning the Stanley Cup. The middleman told Hockeysverige’s Ronnie Ronnkvist that he was hoping to remain with the Panthers in free agency but those talks didn’t progress very far. The 27-year-old wound up signing a two-year, $4MM deal with Utah, a price point that Florida simply wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay for someone in a depth role given their salary structure.