Kevin Labanc Linked To CSKA Moscow
July 22: While Labanc may have CSKA’s interest, it doesn’t appear to be mutual. His agent, Mike Curran, tells Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now that his client isn’t considering KHL offers and is fully healthy after last season’s shoulder surgery.
July 21: Free agent winger Kevin Labanc is attracting the interest of KHL club CSKA Moscow, as relayed by BelarusHockey.com.
Labanc, 29, has had a truly tumultuous couple of seasons. He once looked like a potential long-term top-six piece with the Sharks, but offensive struggles led to him walking as an unrestricted free agent last summer.
His poor platform season with San Jose (2-7–9 in 46 GP) predictably meant Labanc yielded little interest on the open market, forcing him to settle for professional tryout offers. He landed one from the Devils that led to an NHL contract, just not with New Jersey.
Instead, Labanc signed a one-year, league-minimum contract with the Blue Jackets shortly before the last season began. Initially, it looked like things were going well for Labanc to rehab his image as an everyday NHLer. He did well as a depth forward for Columbus, averaging a career-low 10:30 per game but still managing 12 points in 34 outings, better than the low production floor he’d hit in the Bay Area in previous years.
Then, he required shoulder surgery in February, ending his campaign. That limited his ability to extend his sample and means over the last two NHL seasons, he’s still only scored four goals and 21 points in 80 games – all the while finishing at a quite low 4.2% rate.
For a player known for his scoring upside, those underwhelming numbers overshadow the largely positive possession impacts he had in more of a two-way role with the Jackets last season. Labanc had a plus rating for the first time since his rookie season nine years ago, and the 5’11” winger had the shot attempt and possession quality numbers at even strength to back it up.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like it’ll be enough to land him anything more than a two-way contract or another NHL PTO offer as the offseason stretches into August or September. As such, overseas clubs, including CSKA, are beginning to add him to their list of targets.
CSKA already has nearly 800 games’ worth of NHL experience on its roster for 2025-26, mainly stemming from winger Denis Gurianov and defensemen Nikita Nesterov and Nikita Okhotyuk.
International Notes: Vecchione, Andersson, Ratkovic-Berndtsson, Jurmo, Dickinson
Veteran farmhand Mike Vecchione has signed on with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports. The Hershey Bears, where Vecchione had spent the last four seasons on both two-way deals with the Capitals and AHL-only contracts, said Monday that he would be heading overseas.
Vecchione, 32, last played in the NHL in a one-game call-up for Washington in the 2021-22 season. It was just his third career appearance, and he saw just over five minutes of ice time in a shootout win over the Hurricanes late in the year.
After also spending the following season on a two-way deal with the Capitals but not seeing any NHL recalls, Washington opted not to re-sign him. He remained in the organization on AHL contracts with the Bears, though, and finished fifth on the club in scoring last season with a 19-20–39 line in 68 games.
The former Union College standout was never drafted, but after erupting for an NCAA-leading 63 points in 38 games in his senior season at Union, he was the top college free agent in 2017 and made his NHL debut with the Flyers to end the season. Unfortunately, that never turned into anything resembling a full-time NHL role. The 5’10” forward has remained almost exclusively in the AHL ever since, recording 300 points in 473 career games over the last eight years with stops in Lehigh Valley, San Antonio, Colorado, and Hershey.
Vecchione is the second player who spent last season with the Bears to sign with Traktor in the past few days. Pierrick Dube, who was under an NHL contract with Washington for the last two years but was non-tendered last month, signed with them a few days back.
Here’s more from international waters:
- Former lottery pick Lias Andersson has signed a two-year extension with Switzerland’s EHC Biel-Bienne through the 2027-28 season, the team announced. The 2017 No. 7 overall pick by the Rangers headed to the National League club last summer after being non-tendered by the Canadiens and flourished, recording a 15-18–33 scoring line in 40 contests to lead the team in points per game (0.825). He’ll turn 27 in October, and the chances of him ever building on his 110-game NHL career remain slim, but he’s surely happy with the fit after a couple of years of strong AHL production, with few additional NHL chances to show for it.
- The Sabres have until June 1, 2026, to sign 2022 seventh-round pick Joel Ratkovic-Berndtsson before losing his rights, something they don’t appear likely to do based on his development trajectory so far. The 21-year-old just signed a one-year deal with Karlskrona HK, putting him in Sweden’s third-tier pro league – HockeyEttan – for 2025-26. The 6’0″ winger also spent most of last season in that league with Vasterviks IK, where he impressed with 29 points in 28 games, but failing to climb into a regular role in even the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan at this stage of his development is essentially a disqualifier for any NHL potential. He only recorded one assist in nine second-tier games last season while on loan to Tingsryds AIF.
- As expected, former Flames prospect Joni Jurmo has returned home after mutually terminating his entry-level contract earlier this month. The defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Liiga’s Kiekko-Espoo, per a club announcement. He last played in Finland’s top level in 2023-24, limited to five points and a plus-three rating across 46 games for Ilves and KooKoo.
- After being non-tendered by the Blues last month, center Tanner Dickinson is headed to the Slovak Extraliga to play with HC Presov, the team announced on its Facebook page. St. Louis let the 23-year-old become an unrestricted free agent after he scored 15 points in 57 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds last season. A 2020 fourth-round pick who had good scoring numbers in juniors, COVID and injuries completely derailed his development. The Ohio native only played 38 games combined in his first three post-draft seasons, only three of which were professional.
Maxime Lajoie Signs With Avangard Omsk
July 22: Lajoie has indeed joined Avangard on a one-year contract, the team said.
July 19: Playing time in the NHL has been hard to come by in recent years for unrestricted free agent defenseman Maxime Lajoie. As a result, it appears that he may be changing things up for next season. Artur Khairullin of Sport-Express reports (Telegram link) that the blueliner could be signing with Avangard Omsk of the KHL.
The 27-year-old made a good first impression back in 2018-19. Not really on the NHL radar for Ottawa heading into training camp, he wound up making the team and played in 56 games with them before being sent down late in the season. Unfortunately for him, Lajoie’s playing time at the top level has largely been sparse since then as he has managed just 21 more appearances between Ottawa, Toronto, and Carolina.
Last summer, Lajoie inked a one-year deal with Seattle worth a guaranteed $500K but after he cleared waivers in training camp, he was not brought up the rest of the way. As a result, he spent the full season with AHL Coachella Valley and had a productive year, notching four goals and 34 assists in 70 games, putting him inside the top 20 for points by a defenseman.
That output was largely in line with his AHL production over his career. Across four different organizations over parts of eight seasons, Lajoie has 34 goals and 160 assists in 378 games. Notably, he qualifies as a veteran in the AHL, with teams only being able to play five of those (with more than 320 professional games) on any given night, a rule that has squeezed some capable players out of a job.
It’s unclear if that rule is hindering Lajoie now or if he’s merely looking to try something new since he has been cemented as an AHL regular but it appears he has at least one overseas option available to him now. If he makes it known that he’s open to a move across the pond, Lajoie is someone who could command interest from other leagues as well.
Defenseman Ty Smith Signs With KHL
Former first-round defenseman Ty Smith is heading overseas after signing a one-year deal with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk, per Trib Live reporter Seth Rorabaugh. As Rorabaugh notes, the team announced the deal via Telegram, a popular social media platform in Europe. While Dinamo Minsk competes in the Russian league, the team is based in Belarus.
Smith was selected 17th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2018 draft. He demonstrated strong offensive upside during his time with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, recording 235 points in 240 games from the blue line. That success helped him bypass the AHL altogether, and he made his debut with the Devils to start the 2020-21 season, posting a respectable 23 points in 48 games as a rookie. For his success, Smith was named to the 2020-21 All-Rookie Team, alongside future stars like Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson.
However, he was unable to replicate that success again. In 66 games the following season, Smith put up just 20 points and struggled in the defensive zone, posting a -26 rating. The following offseason, the Devils shipped Smith and a third-round pick to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman John Marino. While in Pittsburgh’s organization, Smith showcased strong stats with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, posting 67 points in 102 games across two seasons. However, he was only able to suit up in nine NHL games with Pittsburgh, posting a goal and three assists.
The Penguins then traded Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Jake Guentzel deal at the 2024 trade deadline. However, a similar pattern followed in Carolina, where he produced well in the AHL but struggled to earn consistent NHL minutes. In 36 games for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves during the 2024-25 season, Smith posted five goals and 28 points. But he only suited up in eight games for the Hurricanes, posting two points while averaging 13:40 of ice time per game.
In 131 NHL games, the Alberta native recorded nine goals and 49 points. Still just 24 years old, Smith has time to rejuvenate his career, and a strong showing overseas could be a meaningful first step.
KHL Notes: Mandolese, Gettinger, Laferriere, Barron, Oligny, Edmonds
Multiple NHL-experienced players have signed on with Russian agency Winners in an effort to land deals in the KHL this summer, the agency announced. Among them is goaltender Kevin Mandolese, who hasn’t seen NHL ice since a three-game stint with the Senators in 2022-23 but has remained on NHL contracts since then.
The 24-year-old Mandolese has shown some promise as a depth netminder. A sixth-round pick by Ottawa in 2018, he did well in his only NHL action and recorded a .916 SV% and 3.29 GAA in that aforementioned trial. He remained in the Senators’ organization until last summer, when the Avalanche acquired his signing rights in a pick swap and subsequently signed him to a two-way deal for 2024-25.
He was recalled sparingly as injuries necessitated throughout the season, only getting into game action with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He fared decently well there but only got into 19 games, posting a 2.87 GAA and .903 SV% with an 11-6-0 record. Presumably looking for more stability than a two-way contract or an AHL deal for next season would provide him, Mandolese is now turning his attention toward overseas offers with some runway ahead of him to make an NHL return if he impresses.
Other names eyeing KHL moves:
- Also on Winners’ list is veteran winger Timothy Gettinger. The 27-year-old was a longtime farmhand for the Rangers and became a semi-frequent call-up option for them a few years ago, recording one assist in 16 NHL games between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons. The 6’6″, 216-lb forward hasn’t reached the top level since, though. Now an unrestricted free agent, his offensive numbers in the AHL have been on the decline. He’s spent the last two seasons on two-way deals for the Red Wings, recording 41 points in 109 games for AHL Grand Rapids – including just seven goals in 54 games last season.
- Winners also now represents some players without NHL experience but who were still under contract with a club last season. One of them is 25-year-old forward Mathias Laferriere. He was a sixth-round pick of the Blues back in 2018 and has spent the vast majority of his four pro seasons in the AHL. The Penguins acquired him midway through last season in a swap of depth forwards, but he didn’t work his way up their depth chart and became a Group VI UFA. He managed 18 points in 55 AHL games last year between Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
- After spending the last four seasons in the Coyotes/Utah organization, winger Travis Barron is now looking for a KHL contract. A 2016 seventh-round pick of the Avalanche, Barron played out his entry-level contract with them but did so primarily with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He wasn’t qualified upon expiry in 2021 and instead signed an AHL deal with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he played for two years before signing an NHL contract with their Arizona parent. He signed another two-way contract with Utah last summer but is now a Group VI UFA, and the Mammoth don’t appear interested in retaining him. The nephew of longtime NHLer Andrew Cassels had 23 points in 67 games for the Roadrunners last year.
- Longtime AHLer Jimmy Oligny already made the jump overseas last summer but is now looking for tougher competition in Russia. The 5’11” defenseman was a frequent farmhand for the Jets, although not on an NHL contract. He was the captain of their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, from 2021-24 in a reduced role. His only NHL contract came in 2018-19 on a two-way deal with the Golden Knights. A veteran of 473 AHL games, the 32-year-old spent last year in Slovakia with HKM Zvolen and Austria with the ICEHL’s Graz 99ers.
- Winger Lucas Edmonds was non-tendered by the Rangers last month following the expiry of his entry-level contract and is now looking at opportunities in Russia. The 24-year-old was a third-round pick by the Lightning in 2022 as an overager out of OHL Kingston, where he exploded for 113 points in 68 games in his final junior-eligible season. He never gained a true foothold in the AHL after turning pro, though, and was traded to New York midway through last year. He finished 2024-25 with only 11 points in 40 AHL games between Syracuse and Hartford.
Grigori Denisenko Linked To KHL
Once viewed as a key prospect for Florida, Grigori Denisenko’s stock has slid in recent years, even after a move to Vegas. Now, it appears the unrestricted free agent could be heading back home as Artur Khairullin of Sport-Express reports (Telegram link) that the winger is in contract talks with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.
The 25-year-old was a first-round pick by the Panthers back in 2018, going 15th overall after showing promise in Yaroslav’s minor league system at the MHL level. Denisenko made the jump to the KHL level the following year and spent two seasons there before coming to North America.
Denisenko spent most of his time with Florida in the minors, notching 63 points in 101 games over parts of three seasons while also getting into 26 games with the Panthers. However, they waived him in training camp in 2023 with Vegas putting in a claim, picking up the two seasons of his one-way contract in the process.
The change of scenery didn’t help Denisenko stay in the NHL for long as just one day later, he was back on waivers with Florida declining to place a claim to take him back.
Denisenko played in just seven games for the Golden Knights over those two years, with only one of those coming last season. He notched 10 goals and 14 assists in 42 games with AHL Henderson in 2024-25 before being moved to Nashville for future considerations back in February. But the change of scenery didn’t yield any NHL playing time as Denisenko stayed in the minors, picking up 15 points in 23 games with Milwaukee.
Denisenko has actually seen NHL action in five straight years, his only five seasons in North America. But the total of those outings was only 33 appearances, meaning that Denisenko qualified for Group Six unrestricted free agency this summer. Rather than try to land a two-way deal with another NHL team in the hopes of earning an in-season recall while injuries arise, it appears he has decided that returning home to the program he had success with earlier in his career makes the most sense.
East Notes: Panarin, Senators, Prokhorov
Players in the final year of a multi-year contract are now eligible to sign contract extensions. A few have but most of the headline names in the 2026 UFA class have yet to do so, including Rangers winger Artemi Panarin. Vincent Z. Mercogliano of the Rockland/Westchester Journal News argues that New York should hold off on trying to get the 33-year-old locked up to a new deal right away, wondering if there might be an opportunity to get a younger top-liner on the open market next summer when they will have a significant amount of cap space. Panarin saw his production drop considerably last season after putting up a career-high 120 points in 2023-24 but he still managed 37 goals and 52 assists in 80 games to lead New York in scoring once again. Panarin has a $11.643MM cap charge and given that he’ll be 34 when his next deal starts, he’ll be in tough to match that price tag at that time.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- The Senators are making significant progress on securing the land agreement at LeBreton Flats as the site for their next arena, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The team has been in discussions for this parcel of land for several years now and signed an agreement in principle to buy the land last September, assuming that an agreement on the price could be reached. After both sides had separate land valuations done that were well apart in value, there was still a gap to be bridged which apparently, progress is being made on. The belief is that even if this is finalized, the Sens will remain in their current arena for at least the next five years.
- Sabres prospect Yevgeni Prokhorov has signed a tryout deal with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, per a team announcement on its Telegram page. The netminder was a seventh-round pick last month after spending last season in Dinamo’s MHL program where he posted a 2.19 GAA and a .903 SV% in 28 games. Prokhorov was a first-round pick in last month’s CHL Import Draft, going 23rd overall to OHL Flint, leading to some speculation that he could come to North America but it appears that isn’t on the table at the moment.
Hurricanes Promote Daniel Bochner Among Multiple Staff Changes
The Carolina Hurricanes have announced multiple staff and structure changes across their hockey operations and management departments. Most notably, they’ve hired Daniel Bochner as a full-time development coach, after he spent the last two seasons in a part-time coaching role with both the Hurricanes and the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. Bochner will move to Raleigh, from Russia, for this hire and work with both the NHL and AHL lineups.
Bochner has built up a rich career across the hockey world. He was originally born in Toronto, but began playing for Israel’s U18 club at the age of 15. He joined the club in their debut at the World Junior Championship Division-III tournament in 2001, and debuted with the country’s men’s roster at the World Championship Division-II tournament later that year. Bochner continued to be a fixture of Israel’s national roster through 2011, and racked up three points across 13 total appearances at the World Championship.
Bochner retired from his playing career in 2011, and turned towards head coaching with the Don Mills Flyers’ AAA club in 2013. He led the Flyers’ 2000-birth year through their 14U, 15U, and 16U seasons. Current Utah Mammoth forward Jack McBain served as the team’s captain in all three seasons. Bochner left Don Mills for a youth coach role with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in 2016, briefly returned to coach the Vaughan Kings 14U AAA team in 2017, then moved full-time into a development coach role with SKA St. Petersburg in 2018.
His role with SKA included serving as a development coach for the KHL and MHL (junior) clubs, as well as with Russia’s National Men’s roster. He also served as an assistant coach for the KHL club from 2020 to 2023. Bochner’s role spanned some impressive rosters, and allowed him to work closely with top NHL skaters and prospects – including Yaroslav Askarov, Ivan Demidov, Matvei Michkov, Kirill Marchenko, and Hurricanes prospect Timur Kol. Bochner will now leave seven years with SKA behind to work full-time with Carolina’s top two rosters.
The Hurricanes have also announced that CBA-specialist Earl Schwartz has been promoted to the role of CBA and Salary Cap Analyst. He will the title of Compliance Assistant after three years in the role. Schwartz began his niched career publicly, writing CBA-related analysis for LeafsNation and a personal newsletter. Now, he’ll take another step forward in a Hurricanes organization that’s seen multiple staff take unconventional paths into their roles.
Carolina has further promoted Jorge Alves into the role of head equipment manager. He will take over for Bob Gorman, who has worked with the Hurricanes since 1976 and will continue to support the team in a reduced role. Alves will be joined by Patrick Budds, who has been promoted to assistant equipment manager from his role of equipment assistant. Filling that latter role will be CJ Reif, who worked with the Chicago Wolves last season.
The Hurricanes have also hired Zach Ellenthal and Dennis King as pro scouts. Ellenthal spent the last four seasons with the SHL’s Rogle BK, while King previously served in the Edmonton Oilers’ analytics department. King will join former Oilers peer Tyler Dellow in Carolina.
Carolina rounds out the hires with changes in their athletic training and nutrition rooms. Koryd Lavimoniere will step into an assistant trainer role after serving as the head trainer of the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds last season; and Kristin Pirigyi will move into a newly-created, full-time nutritionist role after previously serving as a nutrition consultant.
Photo courtesy of David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports.
Chase Priskie Signs In Russia
Free agent defenseman Chase Priskie is headed to Russia on a one-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, per a team announcement.
Priskie, 29, heads overseas for the first time. His signing rights were dealt from the Capitals to the Wild in a draft-day trade that sent fellow rearguard Declan Chisholm to Washington, but Minnesota only had a few days to sign him before he became a UFA, and they opted not to do so.
The South Florida native only has four games of NHL experience, all with his hometown Panthers in the 2021-22 season. He did not record a point but had a plus-two rating, four shots on goal, and three hits while averaging 14:00 of time on ice.
While Priskie was a sixth-round pick by Washington in 2016, he did not sign with them after graduating from Quinnipiac in 2019 and instead signed with Florida as a free agent. He spent his first two full professional seasons in their system, primarily with AHL Syracuse and Charlotte, before splitting 2022-23 between the AHL Rochester and San Diego while under contract with the Sabres and Ducks.
He returned to the team that drafted him in free agency two years ago, where the 6’0″ righty has since served as a high-end offensive rearguard for the AHL’s Hershey Bears. He was particularly impactful in their run to the 2024 Calder Cup, leading AHL defensemen in playoff assists in 12 and tying for the league lead in points with 14 in 20 games.
Last season, Priskie scored a career-high 12 goals and 35 points in 61 games for Hershey, but the Caps were more interested in letting some younger prospects like Ryan Chesley and Vincent Iorio have more of a role on the farm in 2025-26. As such, he moves on to a Sibir squad that also recently added former NHL netminder Louis Domingue.
Louis Domingue Signs With KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk
July 17: Domingue has officially signed a one-year deal with Novosibirsk, the club announced.
July 15: While the annual goalie carousel didn’t feature as much movement as usual, many netminders have found contracts in North America for the upcoming season. One who hasn’t, however, is veteran Louis Domingue. It appears he’s now exploring his overseas options as Sport-Express’ Artur Khairullin reports (Telegram link) that Domingue could be signing with Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL.
The 33-year-old has been a bit of a journeyman in North America, spending time with seven different NHL teams and seven AHL organizations over his 12-year professional career.
Last season, Domingue was in the Rangers’ system, his third year with them. He played in 28 games with AHL Hartford and had somewhat of a down season, putting up a 3.32 GAA with a .896 SV% in those outings. He also got into one appearance with New York, a 25-save victory in early January.
Domingue has played in 144 NHL games over his career, the bulk of which came with the Coyotes who drafted him in the fifth round back in 2010. All told, he has a 61-60-10 record at the top level with a 3.01 GAA, a .906 SV%, and two shutouts. His longevity has earned him a little over $10MM in career earnings, per PuckPedia.
Meanwhile, Domingue has had a busier workload in the minors, spanning 226 outings. He also has had a bit more success, amassing a 101-89-27 record to go with a 2.81 GAA, a .907 SV%, and 10 shutouts.
At this point, most teams have their AHL tandems intact for the upcoming season and while Domingue could be a candidate to land a PTO as injury insurance heading into training camp, it would also make sense to see if there are other opportunities out there. It appears he at least has one in the KHL if he ultimately decides that the time is right to give playing overseas a try.