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Jesse Puljujarvi Trade Increasingly Unlikely

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When young Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi asked for a trade this summer and threatened to play in Europe if he was not moved, it seemed all but certain that he would be dealt before the start of the new season. However, it has been more than a month since agent Markus Lehto told the media of Puljujarvi’s ultimatum and there has been no move and really no concrete rumors either. The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that the trade offers for Puljujarvi have have been underwhelming and if that trend continues, he believes new GM Ken Holland seems willing to take the risk of holding on to Puljujarvi.

Puljujarvi, 21, has failed to live up to his draft billing as the No. 4 overall pick in 2016, to say the least. The big Finnish winger has recorded 37 points in 139 games since coming over to North America three years ago and his per game production dropped to a new low last season with just nine points in 46 games. Although Puljujarvi showed elite offensive upside before he was drafted, he has failed to capitalize on ample opportunity in Edmonton. Clearly, he and his representation feel a change of scenery could be the key to getting him back on track and one would expect teams to still be intrigued by his potential. However, if the offers have indeed been less than expected, perhaps other teams have been turned off by the young right wing’s showing so far. If that is the case, no one can blame Holland for holding on to his asset rather than giving him away at a discount rate.

With a new head coach in Dave Tippett also in the fold, Staples believes that Puljujarvi can find his change of pace without leaving the team and can still be an effective player for the Oilers, especially considering the opportunity still available in Edmonton for him to be a top-six player. The team has brought in their fair share of new faces up front this off-season, but Puljujarvi still seems likely to slot in on the right side of the second or third line, at least to begin the campaign. If he starts cold yet again, Staples admits that Puljujarvi could head back to the trade block, particularly since the team could use a third-line center.

What Staples doesn’t discuss though is the “what if” of Puljujarvi backing up his claim of jumping to Europe. Staples simply assumes that if he is not traded, Puljujarvi will show up and camp and again try to prove that he is an NHL-caliber player. However, the risk the Oilers are taking is that Puljujarvi simply is not willing to play in Edmonton again and will indeed follow through on his threat to play abroad. Two teams in his native Finland, the KHL’s Jokerit and the Liiga’s Karpat, have previously been linked to Puljujarvi, so if the Oilers do intend on not trading him in the coming months, he very well could suit up outside of the NHL next season.

Ryan Murphy Signs In KHL

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After spending seven years trying to break his way into an NHL lineup, Ryan Murphy, has decided to leave North America. The defenseman has decided to head over to the KHL as Igor Eronko of NHL.com reports that the 26-year-old has agreed to a one-year pact with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Murphy, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, has never managed to earn himself a full-time NHL role. Murphy has only played in 175 NHL contests in his seven years in the league, the most being with Carolina, where he was a part-time player, but always spent a large chunk of his seasons in the AHL. However, he had a rough season this past year after signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Minnesota Wild. Murphy started his season with the Iowa Wild in the AHL and did make two appearances with Minnesota, but was traded after the all-star break to New Jersey. Minnesota, who was desperately looking for defensive depth at this point in the year, didn’t think that Murphy was part of their solution and went out and acquired a number of depth defensemen, including Brad Hunt and Anthony Bitetto, prompting the team to ship out Murphy. He didn’t fare much better in New Jersey. He played just one game for the Devils before sent back to the AHL where he played 23 games for Binghamton, He finished the season there with 10 assists there and a career-worst minus-16 plus-minus rating.

In the KHL, he will join former Iowa Wild teammate Zack Mitchell, who signed with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk earlier this summer, and will hope to play regular minutes for a team that missed out on the playoffs last season.

 

Overseas Notes: Rychel, Enstrom, KHL

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After years of trying to find his place in the NHL, former top prospect turned journeyman Kerby Rychel has decided to take his talents to Sweden. Orebro HK of the SHL announced today that Rychel has signed a one-year contract with the club. Rychel brings with him nearly 300 games worth of AHL experience, as well as 43 NHL games. The 19th overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, Rychel entered the pro level with high expectations as both the son of respected former player and OHL executive Warren Rychel and as a player who had done serious damage on the score sheet at the junior level. Rychel looked to be on his way to becoming an established NHL player when he suited up for 32 games with Columbus in his second pro season, but a trade to Toronto – in exchange for current Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington – altered his trajectory. Rychel never played a single game for the Maple Leafs, spending close to two full seasons with the AHL’s Marlies. He was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens at the tail end of the 2017-18 season as part of the package for rental Tomas Plekanec. Despite performing well in a brief showing with the Habs, Rychel was traded again last summer to the Calgary Flames for Hunter Shinkaruk. Even as he was enjoying the best per-game production of his AHL career with the Stockton Heat, Rychel earned just two appearances with the Flames and the team did not make him a qualifying offer earlier this summer. Putting a tumultuous NHL career behind him, Rychel will now try his hand at the SHL. Orebro struggled last season, finishing tenth out of 14 teams and will be glad to add an experienced talent like Rychel. Between he, fellow new addition Ryan Stoa, and returning top liner Shane Harper, Orebro should pack some more offensive punch next season.

  • Given the lackluster NHL free agent market this summer, it’s no surprise that few veterans who had previously made the jump to Europe have been able to find a fit back in North America. Count defenseman Tobias Enstrom among that group. The 34-year-old has re-signed with his hometown team, MODO of the Swedish minor league Allsvenkan, the club announced. It is a new one-year deal for the captain, who returned to Sweden last off-season. A career member of the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise, Enstrom found himself without a home for the first time in 11 years last summer as a free agent without a market. He held out hope, waiting for an offer until late August, before opting to head home. In returning to MODO, the team he grew up playing for – albeit in the SHL at that time – Enstrom took on a leadership and also saw a spike in his production. MODO hopes that the strong play continues from their veteran ace, as the team looks to contend for promotion back to the SHL in the upcoming season.
  • The quiet NHL free agent market has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the European leagues, as few players left their respective clubs while talent continues to come over from North America. While Sweden has had a strong off-season in the import business, the winner thus far in terms of NHL additions is unsurprisingly the KHL, considered to be the best of the European leagues. Among the players who have signed in the KHL this off-season are forwards Sven Andrighetto, Ty Rattie, Nikita Soshnikov, Jori Lehtera, Peter Holland, and Lukas Sedlak, defensemen Andrej Sustr, Igor Ozhiganov, Bogdan Kiselevich, and Jakub Jerabek, and goaltender Harri Sateri. It’s a valuable influx of talent for a league that is seeking better competitive balance.

Bruins Sign Pavel Shen To Entry-Level Contract

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Tuesday: The Bruins have officially announced the contract.

Monday: From seventh-round flier to an NHL contract sooner than anyone might have expected, CapFriendly reports that the Boston Bruins have signed forward prospect Pavel Shen to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will carry the maximum $925K AAV, $809K of which is salary and the remainder in bonuses. Shen will join the Bruins immediately for the 2019-20 season.

It was evident early on that the Bruins had found a diamond in the rough in 2018 with Shen, the 212th overall pick. The Russian center fell into the seventh round even after playing 29 games in the KHL as a 17-year-old in his draft year and the Bruins jumped at the opportunity to snag him late, despite limited production at the top level. He immediately showed that there was more to his game with a standout World Junior Championship performance. Shen recorded four points in seven games and was easily Russia’s most effective defensive forward. His regular season was less eventful, as he bounced back and forth between the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa and the MHL’s Tolpar Ufa and failed to produce on the score sheet.

However, the Bruins and others had already seen enough to identify what Shen might bring to the table down the road with his two-way intelligence and raw skill. He entered the team’s recent development camp with high expectations and performed up to par. It was no surprise that he then returned to Russia and negotiated a termination of his contract, allowing him to begin his Bruins career right away. Shen is likely still years away from pushing for any action in Boston, but the AHL’s Providence Bruins look to be a Calder Cup contender this year and Shen should have both the talent and veteran guidance around him to learn the North American game quickly and begin to make an impact. The likeness is not fair just yet, but Bruins fans will hope to soon compare Shen to another well-known late-round Pavel out of Russia.

Snapshots: Gusev, Dotchin, Prospects

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The Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t come to an agreement with Nikita Gusev, but there is coming a time when they’ll need to make a final decision on the restricted free agent. Gusev’s Russian agent Yuriy Nikolayev spoke to Championat and explained (via Google translate) that there is a “certain deadline” when they will turn to negotiate with SKA St. Petersburg, who currently own his rights in the KHL.

Gusev signed his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights just a few months ago and burned through it without actually ever playing a game for the team. The team issued him a qualifying offer as an RFA, but haven’t yet been able to come to an agreement on a new contract. The only bit of leverage Gusev really has in this position is a possible return to the KHL, as he was not eligible for arbitration and cannot sign an offer sheet.

  • According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the Tampa Bay Lightning have reached a settlement with Jake Dotchin on the grievance he filed after seeing his contract terminated last fall. Dotchin allegedly showed up to training camp out of shape, causing the Lightning to place him on unconditional waivers and cut ties with him. He eventually signed with the Anaheim Ducks and played 20 games in the NHL last season, but had filed a grievance through the NHLPA for his lost salary. Smith reports that the two sides settled without having to go to an arbitration, which potentially could have set a precedent for other cases in the future. The details have not been disclosed.
  • Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) has released his top-50 drafted prospect list, and recent first overall selection Jack Hughes comes in on top. The list includes 11 others from the 2019 draft, but is also led by names like Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar who made their NHL debuts at the end of last season. Notably the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers each have two players in the top-10, giving them plenty of hope for the future—and the present, if Makar and Kaapo Kakko have anything to say about it.

Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava

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Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.

  • Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:

F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)

  • HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.

Snapshots: Maroon, Rantanen, Ryczek, Puutio

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Defending Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon tells NHL.com’s Lou Korac that “it’s tough right now” for veterans to find a contract. Given the meager increase of the salary cap and the immense number of restricted free agents still unsigned, there has been a considerable break in unrestricted free agent signings over the past week or two. 14 of PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents still remain available, including Maroon, with little chatter pertaining to any of them. Maroon at least offers a glimmer of hope for his own situation, also informing Korac that he has had discussions with GM Doug Armstrong about a return to his hometown St. Louis Blues, saying that they’ve “had good conversations.” However, the Blues still have four RFA’s to sign, including three potential arbitration cases in Joel Edmundson, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. Maroon will also be looking for fair value from St. Louis after taking a hometown discount last summer and becoming a key contributor for the team down the stretch and in the postseason. An extension won’t come easy for either side, but both parties and fans would surely like to see Maroon back in town next season. He and other unsigned veterans may just have to wait a while longer for offers to finally come through.

  • On the off chance that RFA Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche cannot come to terms on an extension this summer, his KHL rights holder is preparing their pursuit. However, it’s not exactly a Godfather offer. Sport Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Ak Bars Kazan is willing to offer Rantanen a one-year, $4MM contract. While Eronko notes the lower tax rate in Russia and lack of escrow concerns, it’s still a very underwhelming number for a 22-year-old star forward coming off back-to-back 80+ point seasons. The Avalanche would be happy to top that salary, even taking the differences in tax and escrow into consideration. Rantanen is well within his right to be seeking a long-term contract with an AAV of $10MM+ or at least a bridge deal in the $8MM range, so Ak Bars’ offer is unlikely to move the needle toward a return to Europe.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jake Ryczek will have to prove himself in the AHL before earning an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs, the team announced. Ryczek was a 2016 seventh-round pick, expected to be a long-term project developing at Providence College. Instead, Ryczek left the Friars midway through his freshman year and joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. The problem now is that Ryczek has aged out of the junior level with just a year and half of QMJHL experience and is still a raw prospect. Rather than use a limited roster spot to sign an unproven commodity, the Blackhawks will see what he can do in the AHL for the time being. Ryczek remains Chicago’s exclusive property until June 1st of next year.
  • The first overall pick in the CHL Import Draft has signed. Finnish defenseman Kasper Puutio, taken at No. 1 by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in June, has officially joined the team. Puutio began turning heads this past season when he was called up to the top level of Finland’s junior ranks at the age of 16 and performed well to boot. Draft source Future Considerations ranks Puutio as the No. 67 prospect for the 2020 NHL Draft in their early initial rankings, but some have called him a first-round caliber player, and that was before he joined the Canadian junior ranks. If he can continue to grow and produce in the more competitive WHL as a very young prospect, he could easily climb into the top 31 picks next year. Either way, the Broncos hope that they can take advantage of his puck-moving ability and competent defensive game for several years to come.

Morning Notes: Kelly, Rantanen, Penguins

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The Boston Bruins have hired former NHL forward Chris Kelly as a player development coordinator. The 38-year old was with the Ottawa Senators last season as a development coach, and is only just removed from a professional playing career that spanned 17 years, including an appearance at the 2018 Olympics for Team Canada. Kelly suited up 288 times in the regular season for the Bruins, and was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011. The team has also hired long-time pro scout Andrew Dickson, who was most recently with the Detroit Red Wings.

More notes from around the league…

  • The KHL rights for Mikko Rantanen have been traded, as the league prepares for the possibility of a potential NHL work stoppage. Even though Rantanen still doesn’t have a contract with the Colorado Avalanche, the acquisition by Ak Bars Kazan should not be considered an indication that he is heading overseas. Rantanen has developed into one of the premiere offensive wingers in the entire world, and should a work stoppage actually occur in the coming years teams all over the world will be scrambling for his (temporary) services.
  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) still believes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will make another trade before the end of the offseason, and has updated his look at the likelihood of that for each roster player. Yohe continues to list Nick Bjugstad, Bryan Rust and Tristan Jarry in the “favorite” category, though examines everyone else thoroughly (okay, Sidney Crosby’s blurb is anything but thorough). The Penguins re-signed Teddy Blueger recently and are now have less than $1MM in cap space remaining with Zach Aston-Reese and Marcus Pettersson still sitting as restricted free agents. While there is certainly some ways to wiggle around the cap issue, the team would still be pushed right to the ceiling all season and limited to what they can do to improve the club. A trade to free up some more cash does seem likely, though how long it will take for that to happen is unclear.

Overseas Notes: Ikonen, Bochenski, Lapierre

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Juuso Ikonen’s time in North America did not last very long. Ikonen signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals last year after establishing himself as a budding young star at the pro level in Finland and Sweden. Yet, he was placed on unconditional waivers and had his contract terminated in May, only twelve months after the deal was signed. Ikonen had struggled in the AHL, posting only 14 points in 54 games, but it was his first season in the league and some setbacks were expected. His release from the Capitals prompted some speculation that perhaps there was more to it than just poor results in year one. However, it appears that either no other NHL team was willing to give Ikonen a second chance or he simply didn’t look for one. The Swedish Hockey League’s HV71 announced that they have signed Ikonen to a two-year deal, bringing him back across the Atlantic. Ikonen recorded 26 points in 49 games when last he played in the SHL, so it’s clearly a more comfortable fit for a player who seemingly wasn’t enamored with the pursuit of an NHL career.

  • Brandon Bochenski has called it a career at 37 years old. Although many may not remember Bochenski’s efforts in North America, he has been one of the more decorated foreign players in the KHL over the last decade and has been the face of hockey in Kazakhstan. After a dominant stint in the NCAA at the University of North Dakota, Bochenski entered the pro ranks with high expectations in 2004. However, while he showed flashes of brilliance at times, Bochenski failed to stick with any team for more than two seasons, making stops in Ottawa, Chicago, Boston, Anaheim, Nashville, and Tampa Bay. Only when he moved to the KHL, signing with Barys Astana in 2010, did Bochenski find some consistency in his scoring ability. The winger proceeded to record seven straight seasons of at least 40 points, including a career high 61 points just a few short years ago in 2015-16. Bochenski was a multi-time KHL All-Star, the captain of Barys Astana for several seasons, and eventually earned his Kazakhstan citizenship and was a force on the international stage as well. In what proved to be his final season this year, Bochenski recorded 34 points in 44 games for Barys Astana and four points in four games for Kazakhstan at the Division 1A World Championships. Brad E. Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herland now reports that Bochenski will hang up his skates and has plans to return to where it all began in Grand Forks, home of the University of North Dakota.
  • Maxim Lapierre is not quite ready to end his playing career just yet. The 34-year-old has not played in the NHL since 2015, spending much of the last few years with HC Lugano of the Swiss NLA. However, with his production slipping slightly last season, Lapierre was sent searching for a new opportunity and has found it with Eisbaren Berlin of the German DEL. The Polar Bears announced a two-year deal with Lapierre and are excited to add the veteran leader who still has a scoring touch. The long time Montreal Canadien is not done yet.

Slava Voynov To Sign In The KHL

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Monday: The deal has officially been announced. Voynov will return to the KHL for one season.

Sunday: While Slava Voynov was hoping to return to the NHL for the upcoming season, that won’t be the case.  Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports (Twitter link) that the defenseman has agreed to a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the KHL.

It will be his first action since 2017-18 as Voynov sat out all of last season while he tried to get back into the NHL.  That never came to fruition and back in April, he was suspended for the entirety of the 2019-20 season as additional punishment from his domestic abuse incident back in 2014; that initial conviction was dismissed three years later.  Meanwhile, his suspension was cut in half back in May.

The Kings continue to hold Voynov’s NHL rights and have indicated that they have no intentions of trying to bring him back.  It appears that no other team wanted to trade for those rights so Voynov will now return home for next season.  It’s worth noting that out clauses are not permissible in KHL deals so don’t expect him to try to catch on with an NHL team midseason once his suspension is up.  It appears that his return, if there’s ever going to be one, won’t be until 2020-21 at the earliest.

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