Afternoon Notes: Lisowsky, Islanders, Carle
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.
Snapshots: Myers, Necas, Buyalsky, Yeo
Defenseman Tyler Myers is one of Vancouver’s many notable pending unrestricted free agents but that might not be the case for much longer. In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted that there is optimism that the Canucks will be able to work something out with the blueliner. Myers has spent the last five seasons in Vancouver after inking a $30MM deal with them back in 2019. He struggled in a prominent role but found some traction in more limited minutes this season, notching 29 points in 77 games along with 136 blocks and 110 hits in just under 19 minutes a night. It’s safe to say that a new agreement for the 34-year-old won’t reach the $6MM mark but half that on a multi-year deal could be double.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Canadiens are among the teams to have inquired about Hurricanes forward Martin Necas, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic recently reported in an appearance on RDS (video link). The pending restricted free agent has been frequently mentioned in trade speculation in recent weeks with Carolina having a lot of players to re-sign and not enough cap space to bring everyone back. Necas had 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games during the regular season and added nine points in 11 postseason contests. He’s owed a $3.5MM qualifying offer but stands to earn much more than that this summer while also carrying salary arbitration rights.
- Avalanche prospect Andrei Buyalsky entered the transfer portal back on April 1st and has now found a new place to play next season. However, it’s not at the NCAA level as Barys Astana of the KHL announced on their Instagram page that they’ve signed they forward to a one-year contract. The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Colorado back in 2021, going 91st overall. Buyalsky spent the last three years at the University of Vermont but saw his production dip this season to just three goals and eight assists in 25 games.
- After parting ways with Vancouver yesterday, veteran coach Mike Yeo might not be out of a job for long. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Senators have interviewed Yeo for an assistant’s job on Travis Green’s bench while suggesting that he could be on the Maple Leafs’ radar as well having worked with Craig Berube before. Yeo spent the last couple of years in that role with Vancouver and also has head coaching experience with Minnesota, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
Adam Ruzicka Signs With KHL’s Spartak Moscow
Center Adam Ružička has signed with Spartak Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, the team announced today on X. He joins the club on a one-year deal after having his contract terminated by the Coyotes in February after he posted a video of himself on his Instagram story showing him next to an unidentified white powdered substance, believed to be cocaine.
Ružička, 25, looked like he was on his way to becoming an NHL regular with the Flames after posting 20 points in just 44 games in the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, the 6’4″, 215-lb pivot couldn’t keep up the momentum this year, limited to three goals and nine points in 39 games before landing on waivers in January. The Coyotes claimed him, but an illness and work visa issues limited him to three appearances, going without a point and averaging just 8:17 per game, before the contract termination.
He wasn’t a highly-touted prospect, going 109th overall to Calgary in 2017, but he did have spectacular showings with the AHL’s Stockton Heat that got him into an extended NHL tryout three years after turning pro. The Slovak pivot put up 32 goals and 36 assists for 68 points in 98 games with Stockton over three campaigns there, including 11 goals and 20 points in just 16 games in his final minor-league stint in 2021-22. There’s a good amount of offensive skill in his game, but a surprising lack of physicality and aggression, given his frame, has limited his effectiveness defensively. This year, he had a 45.4 CF% and 39.5 xGF% at even strength across 42 games with the Coyotes and Flames.
Ružička is set to be a top-six force for Spartak, given his previous offensive effectiveness in minor-league and limited NHL roles. He joins a club with longtime NHLers Alex Kovalev and Alexei Zhamnov on its coaching staff. Their top forward, former Canucks and Sharks winger Nikolay Goldobin, tied for second in the KHL in scoring last season with 37 goals and 78 points in 67 games.
Adam Clendening, Vladimir Tkachev Sign In KHL
China-based Kunlun Red Star of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League announced today that they’ve signed right-shot defenseman Adam Clendening for the 2024-25 season (X link). He wasn’t the only former NHLer to extend his stay overseas, as the KHL’s Avangard Omsk also re-signed forward Vladimir Tkachev to a five-year deal, per the league. While the agreement extends a lengthy KHL resume for Tkachev, it will be Clendening’s second season overseas and his first in the KHL.
Clendening, 31, was once a decently high-value prospect with the Blackhawks after being taken in the second round of the 2011 draft, but never managed to land a role above a seventh defenseman at the NHL level. He appeared in parts of five seasons from 2014 to 2019, making brief stops with the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Coyotes, Oilers, Penguins, and Rangers before settling exclusively into a minor-league role shortly before the pandemic. Clendening was long an offensive force at the AHL level and put up decent numbers in his depth NHL minutes, totaling 24 points and a +11 rating in 90 career major-league appearances.
Since his last NHL appearance with Columbus in 2019, Clendening spent the next three seasons on two-way NHL contracts but didn’t receive any call-ups. After settling for an AHL contract in 2022-23, splitting the season between Rockford and Hartford, he opted to take his talents overseas for the first time. The New York-born blue-liner signed a one-year deal with Ilves in the Finnish Liiga, putting up eight goals, 20 assists and 28 points with 41 PIMs and a +9 rating in 40 showings. They opted not to retain him, though, and he now takes his talents to a Red Star team that’s failed to make the playoffs since its inaugural season in 2016-17. The team remains technically based in China but has played most of its games in Mytishchi, a suburb of Moscow, since the pandemic.
As for Tkachev, he’ll be a familiar name for Kings fans. They attempted to bring him over as an undrafted free agent in 2021, but he appeared in only four games, recording two assists, and spent most of the 2021-22 season on assignment to AHL Ontario. After failing to match his KHL production rate in the minors, they opted not to issue him a qualifying offer and let him become an unrestricted free agent, upon which he returned home. The 5’10” winger has since established his status as one of the best players in the league, leading to some spotty speculation that he would attempt an NHL comeback next season, but that won’t be the case. He had a career-high 75 points in 58 games with Omsk last year, serving as an alternate captain and ranking fifth in the league in scoring.
Afternoon Notes: Hintz, Goldobin, Sharks Coaching
The Dallas Stars will once again be left with a game-time decision on centerman Roope Hintz, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Hintz has missed Dallas’ last four games with an upper-body injury sustained in Game 4 of the second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Hintz was an integral piece of the Stars lineup through the regular season, posting 30 goals and 65 points – both marks he’s also reached in the last two seasons. He’s maintained that strong presence into the postseason, posting six points through the 11 games he’s been healthy for. Maybe more importantly, Dallas hasn’t yet found their de facto fill-in for Hintz’s injury.
Radek Faksa was previously filling the vacancy, but head coach Pete DeBoer decided to switch to Ty Dellandrea for Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Dellandrea recorded three shots on goal through 11:39 in ice time but did little to command the lineup spot as his own. Hintz should return to the team’s top six immediately upon his return. But Dallas will be left with a tricky lineup decision should he once again be unavailable.
Other notes from around the league:
- Former San Jose Sharks first-round pick Nikolay Goldobin has signed a two-year extension with Moscow Spartak of the KHL (Twitter link). The 28-year-old forward is coming off a career year, posting a career-high 37 goals and 78 points through 67 games this season and adding nine points in 11 playoff games. His regular season scoring tied him for second in the KHL in scoring behind Reid Boucher, who posted 44 goals and 78 points of his own. It was Goldobin’s third full-time season in the KHL, having posted 39 and 36 points over the last two years, respectively. He’ll look to build off a dazzling season, now re-upped in Russia.
- The San Jose Sharks are advancing their search for their next head coach, providing second interviews to both Jeff Blashill and Ryan Warsofsky, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the recent 32 Thoughts Podcast. Warsofsky has been an assistant coach in San Jose for the last two seasons, moving to the NHL after leading the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup win in 2022. Meanwhile, Blashill has been an assistant to Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning for his last two seasons – proceeding his seven-year tenure as the Detroit Red Wings head coach.
Morning Notes: Islanders, Paquette, Leonard
Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News writes that the New York Islanders’ recent trade of draft picks with the Chicago Blackhawks could be a prelude to a bigger move. Rosner wonders if the extra second-round draft pick the Islanders acquired might be used to clear salary cap space in a similar fashion to the trade the Islanders made last summer in which they traded Josh Bailey and his $5MM cap hit a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations.
The Islanders have several contracts on the books that they would love to move to acquire additional help in the top 6, but most of those contracts would require a sweetener to facilitate a trade. The Islanders are slated to have just over $6MM in cap space available heading into the summer.
In other morning notes:
- Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette has reportedly signed a two-year extension with Dynamo Moskva of the KHL (as per KHL). Paquette is a veteran of 448 NHL games and last played in the league back in 2021-22 with the Montreal Canadiens tallying two assists in 24 games. The 30-year-old won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020, before eventually moving on to play for Ottawa, Carolina, and eventually Montreal. Paquette spent his final season in North America split between the NHL and AHL before signing in the KHL in 2022 with Dinamo Minsk. Since making the move overseas, the Gaspe, Quebec native has seen his offensive numbers trend upwards as he enjoyed his best offensive season in a decade last year with 22 goals and 13 assists in 57 games.
- Sean Shapiro of EP Rinkside is reporting that if Boston College forward Will Smith signs his entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks as expected, it could create a ripple effect that might see his teammate Ryan Leonard move to sign his ELC as well. A report surfaced a few weeks ago that the Washington Capitals would re-engage in contract talks this summer with the 19-year-old in the hopes of having him turn pro, but now with the possibility of his teammate leaving the NCAA, it seems more likely that Leonard would move on as well. The Amherst, Massachusetts native had a terrific freshman year posting 31 goals and 29 assists in 41 games with the Eagles.
Nikita Okhotyuk Signs Two-Year Deal In KHL
Earlier this morning, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk would be leaving the Calgary Flames organization to sign a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. Okhotyuk’s signing rights were traded in the KHL only four days ago in a swap between CSKA and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
Okhotyuk became a solid prospect with the New Jersey Devils organization after being selected with the 61st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Poised to be a defensive defenseman at the NHL level, Okhotyuk scored 10 goals and 47 points over 148 games with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League after coming to North America for the start of the 2017-18 OHL season. Okhotyuk finished his junior career with a whopping +72 rating, which covered up for his subpar offensive output.
Okhotyuk’s prospect stock began to rise throughout his first couple of years with the Devils organization as he continued to display his knack for shutting down opponent’s top lines in the American Hockey League. His defensive prowess would eventually lead to Okhotyuk’s inclusion in one of the more high-profile trades of the 2022-23 season, as the Devils traded the young defenseman to the San Jose Sharks in a deal that would bring Timo Meier out east.
During his tenure with the Sharks, Okhotyuk displayed flashes of his defensive capabilities that made him such an important prospect in New Jersey but failed to move up the depth chart for San Jose in any meaningful way. Because of this, Okhotyuk was once again traded this past year, this time in a small move to the Flames organization.
Albeit otherwise unnoteworthy news to see a struggling depth defenseman in the NHL try his luck overseas, this transfer by Okhotyuk has already become quite controversial. Much like goaltender Ivan Fedotov‘s situation with the Philadelphia Flyers before the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Okhotyuk’s contract appears to violate Article II.4.1 of the IIHF International Transfer Regulations which could lead to sanctions by the international governing body.
Snapshots: Hronek, Mikheyev, Okhotyuk, Abramov
Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek had a career year this season, notching 48 points in 81 games while logging over 23 minutes a night in his first full year in Vancouver. The timing couldn’t have been much better as he’s eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility this summer. While a long-term deal has been expected for a while, Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that there has been very little progress made on a new agreement nor have their been any sort of substantive negotiations in several months. Hronek is owed a $5.28MM qualifying offer next month, one they’ll have no issue tendering as a long-term agreement is likely to run past the $7MM mark.
More from around the hockey world:
- Still with Vancouver, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Canucks might consider buying out Ilya Mikheyev this offseason. The 29-year-old wound up with a respectable 11 goals and 20 assists in 78 games this season but his production cratered as the year went on as he managed just a single tally and nine helpers in his final 45 regular season and was held off the scoresheet altogether in 11 playoff contests. Mikheyev has two years left on his deal that carries a $4.75MM AAV; a buyout would carry a cap charge of $1.15MM next season, $2.15MM in 2025-26, and $1.55MM for two more years after that.
- A pair of young NHL players were traded recently in the KHL. CSKA announced that they traded the rights to Blues prospect Mikhail Abramov in exchange for Flames blueliner Nikita Okhotyuk. Abramov picked up 14 goals and 22 assists in 59 games with AHL Springfield this season and has yet to play at the NHL level. Okhotyuk, meanwhile, spent most of the season in San Jose before being acquired late in the season by Calgary; he notched nine points, 80 blocks, and 147 hits in 52 NHL games. Both players are set to become restricted free agents in July.
Arseni Gritsyuk To Remain In KHL
Over the past couple of days, one of the major news items was that forward Matvei Michkov is intent on terminating his contract with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL to begin his career with the Philadelphia Flyers organization. The same will not be true for Michkov’s teammate, Arseni Gritsyuk, who will remain with SKA St. Petersburg for the 2024-25 KHL season, instead of signing on with his draft team, the New Jersey Devils.
In an article published by James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now, the agent of Gritsyuk, Shumi Babev stated, “Gritsyuk will stay in SKA for sure. If nothing’s gonna be changed, [he] will join [New Jersey] in the next season”. Unlike Michkov, Gritsyuk’s contract is set to end after the 2024-25 season, indicating that he is resolute on honoring that agreement before taking his talents overseas.
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft at 129th overall by the Devils organization, Gritsyuk’s slow start to his professional career coupled with his desire to stay in his native Russia for the time being caused him to fall quite a bit down the draft board. Over the last two years in the KHL, Gritsyuk has played for both Avangard Omsk and SKA, scoring 34 goals and 78 points over his last 116 games.
This commitment made by Gritsyuk to St. Petersburg may represent a mutually beneficial option for both himself and New Jersey. Gritsyuk will be able to hone his talents in a comfortable environment, while the Devils can allow him to grow before rushing him too quickly to North America.
Matvei Michkov Expected To Terminate KHL Contract, Join Flyers
Russian phenom Matvei Michkov is expected to terminate his KHL contract and continue his career with the Philadelphia Flyers next season, per Russia’s Sport-Express. Sport-Express adds that SKA St. Petersburg will retain Michkov’s exclusive KHL rights until 2026.
This news seems to be first step towards Philadelphia landing one of their biggest prospects in recent memory. Michkov has become a sensation in Russia, coming off a season where he recorded 41 points in 48 games with the KHL’s HK Sochi – the second-most any U20 player has scored in the KHL, behind Kirill Kaprizov‘s 42-point season in 2016-17. That’s the type of company Michkov’s scoring has always earned him, similarly posting the highest KHL points-per-game from a U19 player during his time with Sochi last season, ranking ahead of Eeli Tolvanen, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Vladimir Tarasenko.
Michkov has managed the strong scoring despite playing on one of the KHL’s weakest teams. HK Sochi, who operate as a feeder team for SKA, have won just 28 of their 136 games over the last two seasons, even despite Michkov raising their average goals-per-game from 2.01 to 2.47 during his time there. The meager setting served both pros and cons, allowing Michkov to emerge as a KHL team’s star but also providing him with little support. He made up for modest deployment when he was younger by absolutely dominating on the international stage. Michkov recorded 12 goals and 16 points in seven games at the 2021 World U-18 Championship – leading the tournament in scoring ahead of both Shane Wright and Connor Bedard. The tally also ranked him behind just Gavin McKenna, Alex Ovechkin, and Mikhail Grigorenko for the most a U17 player has ever scored at the event. Russia was banned from international events in the following season, limiting Michkov to friendly matches with the country’s Men’s team over the last two years.
A move out of Russia should bring Michkov much more team success, especially if it’s a move to the playoff-hopeful Flyers. He’s a phenomenal player, boasting a control of the puck and ability to cut through lanes that simply seems special. Combined with a hard-nosed drive towards the net and a nifty shot, Michkov has all of the traits of a bona fide scorer. He’s proven that at every level in Russia, but now faces his biggest challenge yet in moving to the NHL. How the Flyers support their star prospect, and just how high Michkov’s ceiling can go with that support, will be among the most exciting questions as the 2024-25 seaosn rolls around.