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Overseas Signings: Poirier, Rubins, Haapala, Rodewald

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After being picked 22nd overall by the Flames in the 2013 draft, things never worked out for Emile Poirier in the NHL. He managed only one assist in eight games during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and didn’t receive a qualifying offer when his entry-level contract expired in 2018.

Poirier spent the next two seasons on a minor-league contract with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose before heading overseas at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s racked up many airline rewards miles in the few years since, switching European leagues every season. Now 29, he’s on the move again, inking a one-year deal with Nybro Vikings IF of the Swedish second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan.

The Montreal-born forward has been decently productive in Europe but has been at his peak in the Slovak Extraliga. There, he’s averaged nearly a point per game across two different teams during stints in the 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons. Poirier spent last season with HC Slovan Bratislava, and although injuries limited him to 28 games, he still rattled off 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.

He has played briefly in Sweden before, suiting up in 11 games for Djurgårdens IF, then in the Swedish Hockey League, to end the 2021-22 campaign. Poirier had three goals and two assists to end the season but went without a point in three relegation games as the Stockholm-based club was relegated to the HockeyAllsvenskan, where they remain entering 2024-25.

In Nybro, Poirier joins a club in just their second season at the second tier since 2009. They’ve spent much of their existence in the third tier of the Swedish hockey pyramid, now known as HockeyEttan. The Vikings impressed in their first season back in the HockeyAllsvenskan, going 20-22-7-3 and finishing 27 points out of the relegation zone.

Other notable European signings over the past few days with NHL pedigree:

  • Former Maple Leafs defenseman Kristiāns Rubīns has signed a one-year contract with HC Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga. The 26-year-old Latvian went undrafted after coming to North America to finish his junior career with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League but stuck it out and inked a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies in hopes of one day making the jump to the NHL. It paid off, yielding an entry-level contract in 2020 before making his NHL debut in 2021-22, posting a -2 rating and 4 PIMs while averaging 11:45 per game across a three-game stint. However, it wasn’t enough for the Leafs to issue him a qualifying offer, and he became a free agent the following summer. After spending 2022-23 on a two-way deal with the Senators and Flames, he headed to Europe last summer to play for the SHL’s MoDo Hockey. There, the 6’5″ defender posted 10 points in 44 games in a top-four role. He now takes his services to Czechia for the first time in his career, joining a blue line that includes projected 2024 first-round pick Adam Jiříček.
  • One-time Panthers winger Henrik Haapala will play in Sweden for the first time in his lengthy professional career next season, inking a one-year pact with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks. The undersized but dynamic playmaking winger has an illustrious career in his native Finland that includes one Liiga bronze medal, three silver medals, and two championships. His title-winning 2016-17 season with Tappara saw him lead the league in scoring with 45 assists and 60 points in 51 games, earning him his first NHL shot with Florida the following season. However, Haapala spent most of the year in the minors and only managed five NHL appearances, recording a lone assist. Now 30, he had 18 points in 28 Swiss National League games last season, split between Genève-Servette and Lausanne HC.
  • Former Senators depth forward Jack Rodewald is remaining in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League next season on a one-year deal with Admiral Vladivostok. The 30-year-old Winnipeg native played 10 NHL games with the Sens from 2017 to 2019 but failed to record a point and averaged just 7:09 per game. Since heading to Europe in 2020, he’s suited up for Czechia’s HC Oceláři Třinec, Finland’s TPS, and the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star and Traktor Chelyabinsk. He split last season between Kunlun and Traktor, recording eight goals and 21 points in 59 contests.

Nathan Todd Clears Unconditional Waivers; Signs In KHL

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6/12: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Todd has cleared waivers this morning. The Sharks organization can now release Todd making him an unrestricted free agent, and they will open up a contract spot before a busy summer. Instead of pursuing an AHL contract this summer, reports from the Kontinental Hockey League indicate Todd has already signed a deal with HC Salavat Yulaev for the 2024-25 KHL season.

6/11: Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka is reporting that the organization has placed forward Nathan Todd on unconditional waivers for contract termination. Although the move does not carry significant weight at the NHL level, it will impact the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

As an undrafted free agent, Todd spent much of his first four professional years in the ECHL before making the full-time jump to the AHL in 2020-21 for the Manitoba Moose. After securing nearly a point-per-game season with the Moose, Todd left to join the Springfield Thunderbirds for the next two seasons. In his first year with the Thunderbirds, the team would make it to the Calder Cup Final before finally being ousted by the Chicago Wolves in five games. During that postseason, Todd became a quality depth scorer, putting up four goals and 11 points in 18 games.

Last offseason, Todd signed on with the Sharks organization to a two-year, two-way contract. Playing the entire year for the Barracuda, Todd rewarded the team nicely, scoring 19 goals and 55 points in 69 games which is far and away his most productive season to date. Todd tied for 27th in the AHL in total scoring while also leading the Barracuda in assists and points.

Assuming Todd is not picked up on waivers over the next 24 hours, he will hit the open market to search for another AHL franchise to call home this summer. After failing to make the Calder Cup playoffs in the last two years, Todd’s breakout year in the minor leagues may earn him a spot on a much more competitive roster next season.

Snapshots: Warsofsky, Radulov, Utah Branding

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The San Jose Sharks have interviewed a long list of candidates for their vacant head coaching position, including assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky who, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, is now pulling ahead as the favorite for the job. He pulls ahead of a list of interviewees that features Jay Woodcroft, Matt Nieto, Jeff Blashill, Jeff Halpern, and Jeremy Colliton. Warsofsky also interviewed for San Jose’s head coach role in 2022, though he was ultimately hired behind David Quinn.

Warsofsky oversaw San Jose’s defense and penalty kill while serving behind Quinn, serving as the coach behind Erik Karlsson’s 101-point, Norris Trophy-winning season last year. But he was also the coach behind San Jose’s 326 goals allowed this season – the third-most of any team over the last decade.

Warsofsky is just two years into his NHL coaching career – experiencing two of the staunchest extremes he could have – after leading the Chicago Wolves to the 2022 AHL Calder Cup Championship to cap off his three-year tenure as an AHL head coach. Warsofsky’s hire would follow a growing trend of teams finding their coaches internally, with each of Winnipeg, St. Louis, Seattle, and Los Angeles already promoting coaches to the NHL head coach role this off-season. The role in San Jose would be the first NHL head coaching role of Warsofsky’s still very young career.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Long-time Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Lokomotiv (Twitter link). Radulov has spent the last two seasons with Kazan Ak-Bars, posting a combined 41 goals and 97 points across 120 games. He’s remained productive, even at the age of 37, and will now be set to play with the fourth KHL club of his career – after four seasons with Ufa, four with CSKA Moscow, and two with Kazan. Those seasons add to Radulov’s nine-year career in the NHL, where he totaled 368 points in 524 career games spent with three different clubs. With no signs of slowing down, Radulov will look to vindicate this one-year contract with a strong season and continue his trek to becoming just the 19th KHL player to play beyond 40 years old.
  • NHL Utah is down to six finalists for its permanent name after an initial vote yielded over 500,000 responses. They’ll be called the Utah Blizzards, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom or Utah Yeti beginning with the 2025-26 season. They’ll carry temporary Utah Hockey Club branding for their inaugural 2024-25 campaign. Fans can choose between the six finalists using this link.

Minor Transactions: 6/5/24

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While the bulk of signings in the NHL is still at least a month away, activity around the hockey world has picked up in recent weeks.  Here’s a rundown of recent moves with an NHL association.

  • After having his contract terminated by Minnesota last month, winger Vladislav Firstov has returned to the KHL as Torpedo announced they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 22-year-old spent most of this season in Russia on loan but once that campaign ended, he suited up in ten games with AHL Iowa, picking up two goals and two assists.  However, he clearly wanted to stay at home for next season, leading to his release by the Wild.
  • The Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Laval announced they’ve signed forward Israel Mianscum to a two-year contract. The 21-year-old spent his five-year junior career with QMJHL Sherbrooke and was quite productive in his overage year, tallying 35 goals and 52 assists in 61 games, both career bests.  Overall, he had 215 points in 264 major junior contests.
  • The Jets have invited Cornell forward Kyle Penney to their upcoming development camp, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is coming off a strong year with the Big Red, one that saw him collect 10 goals and 18 assists along with a plus-30 rating in 35 games.  Penney has one season of college eligibility remaining.
  • The Panthers’ AHL team in Charlotte announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel to a two-year deal. The Checkers acquired the 27-year-old at the AHL trade deadline and he was a regular for them down the stretch where he had five points in 16 games.  Vande Sompel was originally a draft pick of the Islanders, spending five years in their system before moving on in 2022.
  • Kings prospect Matthew Mania is on the move in the OHL as Flint announced that they’ve acquired the defenseman as part of a six-player, nine-pick trade. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick last year, going 150th overall and is coming off an injury-riddled season that limited him to just 45 games where he had four goals and 19 assists.  Los Angeles has until June 1, 2025 to sign Mania to an entry-level deal or lose his rights.

Ilya Usau Signs With KHL’s Dinamo Minsk

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Ilya Usau has signed with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, the team announced. The move comes more than a week after he was placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination by the Lightning.

James Mirtle of The Athletic reported at the time that Tampa’s release of Usau was likely a precursor to his return to the KHL. It wasn’t clear where he’d be signing, but it’s a surprise to no one to see the Belarus native return home. The 6’1″ pivot is the second signing from North America that Minsk has made this week, joining minor-league veteran defender Xavier Ouellet.

Usau, 22, has spent the last two years playing for the Lightning’s primary minor-league affiliate, the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Undrafted, he signed with the Lightning as a free agent in March 2022 after a breakout season with Dinamo that saw him record nine goals and 26 points in 40 games while also representing Belarus at that year’s Olympic qualifiers.

His results with the Crunch were middling and failed to ever thrust him into consideration for an NHL recall. Over 99 appearances since 2022-23, Usau managed 11 goals and 30 points with a +1 rating. He played only 42 out of the Crunch’s 72 regular-season games this season, recording seven goals and seven assists, and did not play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Had Usau honored the final year of his entry-level contract next season, there was a strong chance he would have been non-tendered by the Lightning next summer and become an unrestricted free agent anyway. Instead, he gets to return home a year early in hopes of re-establishing himself as a professional regular. He’s still young enough that he may earn consideration as an international free agent signing again down the line, but don’t expect to hear his name in NHL circles for a while unless a massive breakout season arrives.

Blues RFA Mikhail Abramov Signs In KHL

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Blues pending restricted free agent center Mikhail Abramov has signed a one-year deal with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, per a league announcement. Torpedo acquired Abramov’s KHL signing rights last week in a trade with CSKA Moskva, dealing the rights to Flames pending RFA defender Nikita Okhotyuk the other way.

If they choose, the Blues can still retain Abramov’s signing rights if they issue him a qualifying offer by the June 30 deadline. It’s unclear if they plan to do so, but it is clear that he won’t be re-signing with the club this summer.

Abramov, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2019. The Russian center spent parts of two seasons playing for their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, before his signing rights were dealt to St. Louis as part of the return for Ryan O’Reilly in February 2023.

He’s suited up for the Blues’ primary affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, ever since. Abramov has put up fine middle-six production in the minors since the deal, compiling 19 goals and 44 points in 80 games in a Springfield uniform, but has yet to earn an NHL call-up.

Now five years removed from his draft, he’s opting to return home – at least for the time being. Abramov hasn’t played there since suiting up in low-level juniors with CSKA in 2017-18, coming over to North America entering his draft year to play with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL.

Torpedo is coached by Hall of Fame center Igor Larionov and boasts two of the top five 2024 draft-eligible Russians in hulking defenseman Anton Silayev and winger Nikita Artamonov. They’re both contracted with Torpedo through the next two seasons.

KHL’s Dinamo Minsk Signs Xavier Ouellet

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Dinamo Minsk, the lone Belarusian team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, announced the signing of defenseman Xavier Ouellet today. The French-born Canadian is a pending unrestricted free agent after completing a two-year, two-way deal with the Penguins.

Reports linked Ouellet to Minsk over the weekend. A second-round pick of the Red Wings back in 2011, the 30-year-old spent nearly a decade with them and the Canadiens before signing with Pittsburgh in free agency in 2022. He was placed on waivers to begin both seasons of his contract and spent the entirety of the deal on assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, not even landing an NHL call-up for injury insurance purposes.

As such, while Ouellet has been signed to an NHL contract every season since 2012-13, he hasn’t played in a major-league game since a six-game run with Montreal in 2020-21. He last avoided AHL assignment in 2017-18 with Detroit, serving as a bottom-pair/seventh defenseman for the Wings for a pair of campaigns. He’s made 178 total NHL appearances in parts of eight seasons, totaling five goals and 28 points with a -3 rating while averaging 16:07 per game.

He’d still played an important depth role for the Pens while a part of the organization, serving as an alternate captain with WBS for the past two seasons. He was named to the AHL All-Star Game in 2023 after posting 17 points in 29 games, but an injury ended his season after New Year’s. This season, he compiled 25 points with a +9 rating in 63 showings, finishing second to Ty Smith on the team in points from defensemen.

Ouellet now takes his services to Europe for the first time, assumedly on a one-year deal. Dinamo didn’t disclose the length of his contract. He links up with a handful of former minor-league mainstays in Minsk, including one-time leading point-getter Sam Anas, ex-Islanders center Tanner Fritz, and Flames pending Group 6 UFA defenseman Brady Lyle.

Snapshots: Firkus, McCoshen, Tung

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Seattle Kraken forward prospect Jagger Firkus has won the CHL’s David Branch Player of the Year Award, after posting a Canada-leading 126 points in 63 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. He was the star of a Moose Jaw team rife with NHL talent, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Brayden Yager, who took home the league’s ‘Sportsman Player of the Year’ Award. Firkus and Yager were joined by Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Denton Mateychuk in Moose Jaw, forming a dominant team that won the WHL Championship and recently ranked third in the Memorial Cup.

Firkus signed his entry-level contract with Seattle ahead of the Memorial Cup and will now turn his sights towards pushing for the NHL lineup this off-season. The Kraken boast a strong prospect pool, including Shane Wright, Carson Rehkopf, and Jani Nyman – all players who could vie for an NHL opportunity of their own next season. That’ll mean plenty of competition for Firkus as he looks to adjust his aggressive offense to much tougher competition.

Other notes around the league:

  • Former Florida Panthers defenseman Ian McCoshen has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star (Twitter link). The move continues McCoshen’s tour across international hockey, after bouncing from a 2022 stint in Finland to a 2023 stint in Czechia, where he scored 12 points in 50 games with Liberec Bili Tygri HC. McCoshen is a veteran of just 60 NHL games, scoring seven points, though he did play in 174 games across five seasons in the AHL. He managed a season-high of just 11 points over his AHL career, a number he’s since topped in both Finland and Czechia. He’ll look to do the same in China next season, though the one-year deal could suggest another move coming soon.
  • BCHL goaltender Callum Tung will be attending both the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers development camps, shares his Alberni Valley Bulldogs (Twitter link). Tung took over the Bulldogs’ starting role this season, posting 22 wins and a .917 save percentage across 38 regular season games. He managed to get even hotter in the postseason, winning 11 of 18 games and setting a .940 save percentage, though Alberni Valley ultimately fell to the Penticton Vees in the BCHL Championship. Tung remains eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft, after going overlooked in 2022 and 2023.  Tung isn’t currently committed to the NCAA either, suggesting he could be ready for a big challenge should he earn it at an NHL development camp.

International Rumors: Ouellet, Heatherington, Lethemon

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Defenseman Xavier Ouellet has played 178 career NHL games so far along with 441 career appearances in the AHL.  However, it appears that he won’t be adding to those totals next season as Belarus Hockey relays that the blueliner is expected to sign with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL.  The 30-year-old was a full-time NHLer for a couple of years with Detroit but since then, he has primarily played in the minors.  Ouellet inked a two-year deal with the Penguins in 2022 and was expected to be a key veteran with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while being a capable recall when injuries arose.  However, injuries limited the pending unrestricted free agent considerably in 2022-23 and while he was healthier this season, he didn’t get a recall to Pittsburgh and wound up posting two goals and 23 assists in 63 minor league appearances.

Other international rumblings pertaining to pending free agents:

  • The Senators have already lost Lassi Thomson and Jacob Larsson to overseas contracts and a third blueliner might be joining them as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Dillon Heatherington is examining his international options. The 29-year-old played in a dozen games with Ottawa between 2021-22 and 2022-23 but didn’t see any NHL action this season.  Instead, Heatherington skated in 60 games with AHL Belleville and was briefly loaned out to play for Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December.
  • Red Wings pending UFA John Lethemon is expected to sign with Lukko in Finland, per a report from Satakunnan Kansa’s Kimmo Makelainen. The 27-year-old netminder has spent the last two years on an NHL deal with Detroit but has primarily played at the ECHL level in that span.  This season, Lethemon had a 2.90 GAA and a .892 SV% in 37 games with Toledo although he improved those to 2.46 and .899 respectively in nine playoff contests.  An NHL two-way deal likely wasn’t going to be on the table for Lethemon this summer so going overseas, assuming the contract gets finalized, makes some sense.

Afternoon Notes: Lisowsky, Islanders, Carle

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The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expected to sign 2022 seventh-round pick Brandon Lisowsky to his entry-level contract, shares Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Lisowsky is one of 47 prospects with rights set to expire this Saturday unless their NHL club signs them to an entry-level deal.

Lisowsky recently ended his OHL career, after spending the last four seasons with the Saskatoon Blades. He recorded 226 points across his 227 games with the club, ranking him sixth in team scoring since 2000. That includes the career-high 42 goals and 80 points he managed in 68 games this season. He was helped along a tremendous Saskatoon offense that also led undrafted free agent Trevor Wong to a 101-point season and Anaheim Ducks prospect Yegor Sidorov to an 88-point year in as many games. Lisowsky was also joined by fellow Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten, who managed 38 points in 36 games of his own.

Lisowsky joined Wong as the ace up Saskatoon’s sleeve all season long. Both players have blazing speed and an ability to make slick puck moves at top seed. But they each struggled with physicality throughout their juniors career, each standing at a lean 5-foot-9. That kept many scouts skeptical, even despite their highly creative and productive offense. The pair will now enter free agency together, looking to market teams on their ability to outpace competition.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New York Islanders have hired Sergei Naumovs as the goalie coach for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Previous Bridgeport goalie coach Chris Terreri has joined the NHL staff as ‘Director of Goaltending Development and Scouting’, while Piero Greco will remain the NHL goalie coach, shares Andrew Gross of The Athletic (Twitter link). This shakeup in the Islanders goaltending room follows Mitch Korn’s – the team’s previous ’Director of Goaltending’ – departure for the Nashville Predators. Naumovs has served as the goalie coach of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow since 2018, coaching Ilya Sorokin before his move to the NHL. He most recently coached Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, who posted a .914 save percentage in 44 KHL games last season. He’ll rejoin his previous star goalie in the Islanders organization – likely overseeing Henrik Tikkanen as Bridgeport’s starter next season.
  • Acclaimed Denver University head coach David Carle shared with Meghan Angley of The DNVR that he did formally talk to one NHL team about a coaching role, though it wasn’t the New Jersey Devils (Twitter link). Carle took over Denver’s head coaching role in 2018 and has since crafted a collegiate legend, winning the league championship in two of the last three seasons, while posting a combined 94-28-4 record over that span. Carle most notably crafted a dominant defense, featuring Colorado Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens, Detroit Red Wings prospect Shai Buium, and top 2024 NHL Draft defender Zeev Buium. He’s been speculated for many NHL coaching roles, including interest from the Devils. But Carle is set on returning to Denver next season, where he’ll look to make another strong push, following multiple notable transfers this off-season.

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