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Snapshots: Carter, Sorokin, Hoefenmayer

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The Los Angeles Kings won’t be taking part in the 24-team playoffs this summer, so it’s time to get healthy and prepare for 2020-21. With that in mind, the team announced that Jeff Carter underwent surgery on June 4 to repair a core muscle injury. Carter is expected to be fully recovered for the next season.

Carter could very well be 36 when the next season starts and the front-loaded nature of his contract means he won’t be making very much (relatively speaking) when he does get back on the ice. With two years left on his deal but only $4MM in salary, he would be a potential option to trade out of Los Angeles in order to free up some playing time for some of their young talent. Carter does not have a no-trade clause in his deal, though there have been rumors in the past that he may decide to simply retire if sent to a destination he did not approve of.

  • Reports surfaced recently that New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin had restarted preliminary talks with his KHL team on a potential new contract, though absolutely nothing was decided at that point. Today, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Sorokin has changed his North American representation, hiring Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey as his new agent. Interestingly enough, Kirill Kaprizov, another high-profile KHL prospect (and teammate of Sorokin with CSKA Moscow) hoping to come to North America, recently parted ways with Milstein.
  • Noel Hoefenmayer has added another trophy to his cabinet after being named the CHL Defenseman of the Year today. The Arizona Coyotes draft pick led all OHL defensemen in scoring with 82 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67’s. Unfortunately, Hoefenmayer never signed with the Coyotes and instead had to settle for an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies a few months ago.

Lawrence Pilut Signs In KHL

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It’s official now, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut has decided to take his talents overseas. The 24-year old has signed a two-year contract with HC Traktor of the KHL, leaving the NHL after parts of two seasons.

When Pilut was first linked to the KHL last month, the Sabres told John Vogl of The Athletic that there would be an NHL out-clause in the contract that would allow him to return, though it is not clear if that was included.

The Sabres will be able to temporarily retain the restricted free agent’s exclusive rights by extending him a qualifying offer this summer.

Pilut actually appeared to be a potential building block for the Sabres, given how well he had transitioned to the AHL after a breakout season in the SHL. Over 67 minor league contests, the smooth-skating defenseman recorded 49 points, earning himself 46 opportunities in the NHL.

That clearly wasn’t enough for him, or perhaps he is worried about the huge break that will be between seasons for the Sabres. As one of the teams that will not participate in the expanded playoffs this summer, it could be as many as ten months between NHL games for Buffalo.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Justin Kloos Signs In KHL

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The season is over for the Anaheim Ducks, who didn’t qualify for the 2020 playoffs. For one of there minor league players, that means it is time to pursue other opportunities. Justin Kloos has agreed to sign in the KHL for the 2020-21 season, joining Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

Kloos, 26, played this season for the San Diego Gulls fo the AHL, recording 11 goals and 30 points in 53 games. A standout at the University of Minnesota, Kloos was an undrafted free agent signing by the Minnesota Wild in 2017 but has only played two NHL games to this point.

His contract, a one-year two-way deal signed in 2019, would have normally left him a restricted free agent given his age. But Kloos is eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency since he has been given such little opportunity in the NHL, meaning he can choose his next destination without any restrictions.

Snapshots: Sorokin, Phase 3, Future Schedule

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The New York Islanders have been waiting years for goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin to come to North America, since drafting him in 2014. The KHL star seemed poised to finally cross the pond before the coronavirus put things on hold, and now may be reconsidering his options.

As KHL reporter Gillian Kemmerer translates, the president of CSKA Moscow tweeted today that Sorokin is in “early talks” with the club to return to the KHL. This doesn’t mean Sorokin isn’t coming to the Islanders (take these kinds of statements with a grain of salt), but the NHL’s decision to not allow new contracts for the 2019-20 season, combined with the fact that next season may not start until January 2021 has certainly complicated things for top KHL players. As Kemmerer notes, CSKA admits that Kirill Kaprizov does intend to come to North America.

  • Even though the NHL has released the format for a return to play, there is still a lot of work to be done before teams actually take the ice. Eric Francis of Sportsnet tweets that the talk around hockey circles last night was that the Phase 3 target start date to open training camps will be pushed to August 1st. Commissioner Gary Bettman had explained previously that camps would open no sooner than July 10th, but that may turn out to be quite an optimistic threshold.
  • James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required) explains that hockey fans may want to get used to this kind of a summer schedule, as there are conversations happening about keeping an altered league calendar moving forward. There have been rumblings about shifting the season in the past to avoid some of the other top sports, including the NFL.

Snapshots: Williams, Drysdale, Nesterov

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

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

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

Chris Wideman, Frank Corrado Sign Overseas

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

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

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

San Jose’s Lukas Radil Signs With Spartak In KHL

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

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

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

Snapshots: Brackett, UAH, Voronkov

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

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

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

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

Snapshots: Blashill, Pilut, Canadiens

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

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

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

League Still Not Allowing New Contracts For 2019-20

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

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

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

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

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

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