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Corban Knight Signs In KHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers won’t be re-signing Corban Knight, as the veteran forward has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana of the KHL. Knight was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his two-year, two-way contract expired with the Flyers.

Knight, 28, played 23 games for the Flyers this season, nearly doubling the total for his career. In 52 games spread out over the last five years, he has just 12 points and has spent most of his time in the minor leagues. Originally selected by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round of the 2009 draft, Knight was a superstar at the University of North Dakota before making his NHL debut in 2013-14 with the Calgary Flames. Unfortunately that wasn’t followed by much production, and he fell out of favor with several organizations.

There was likely nothing but a two-way deal on the table for him again this summer, making the KHL a little more appealing to a player of his talents. The 6’2″ forward is exactly the type of minor league performer that will likely find success overseas, giving him a chance to build up his resume again to try and land an NHL deal next summer if he wants to return to North America.

Harri Sateri Signs In KHL

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The Detroit Red Wings won’t be bringing back Harri Sateri next season. The 29-year old goaltender has signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk in the KHL for the 2019-20 season. Sateri was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his one-year contract with the Red Wings expired.

Sateri was originally a fourth-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2008, but failed to ever make it to the NHL with them during his time in the organization. In 2014 he left for the KHL and played three seasons with Podolsk Vityaz, before returning to try again in North America. Signing this time with the Florida Panthers, Sateri would make his NHL debut in early 2018 and would end up going 4-4 with a .911 save percentage in nine appearances. He signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings last summer, but only suited up for their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. Appearing in 40 games with the Griffins, Sateri posted just an .899 save percentage.

The last time that the Finnish goaltender played in the KHL he was among the best in the league, and could very well find some more success this time around. The one-year deal will allow him to return to North America once again in 2020-21 if he so chooses, but for now he’ll be removed from the list of potential depth signings this summer.

Morning Notes: Zucker, Zaripov, Dunn

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Twice now in the span of a few months the Minnesota Wild have come close to trading away Jason Zucker. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the recent trade talks between Minnesota and the Pittsburgh Penguins which were focused on a Zucker-Phil Kessel swap, and details the situation that the Wild forward now finds himself in. Zucker is obviously on the block as GM Paul Fenton continues to shake things up in Minnesota, and Russo reports that the Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames have all expressed interest of late, while last year the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes had discussed him.

The recent trade proposal from Pittsburgh seems to have been shut down by Kessel himself, but that could change at any minute if he decides to waive his no-trade clause. Either way, it seems like Zucker is destined to play for another team in 2019-20. The 27-year old forward has four years remaining on his current deal which carries a $5.5MM cap hit, and is coming off a 21-goal, 42-point season.

  • Danis Zaripov was once on the radar of NHL teams after receiving a two-year doping ban from the KHL in 2017. That ban was eventually reduced to just six months and Zaripov stayed in Russia, something he’ll be doing once again in 2019-20. The 38-year old forward has signed a one-year extension with Ak Bars Kazan, giving him a chance to add to his outstanding history in the KHL. Zaripov is a legend in Russian hockey, with five Gagarin Cup championships, five World Championship medals, and even a league title from before the KHL formed a decade ago.
  • Vince Dunn took part in the morning skate for the St. Louis Blues today, wearing a regular visor instead of the full cage that he has donned the last few days to protect his injured jaw. Still, he won’t play tonight in game one of the Stanley Cup Final according to head coach Craig Berube. Dunn has developed into a key part of the Blues’ defense corps over the last two seasons, and has an impressive seven points in 16 playoff games so far. Robert Thomas, another young player making an impact for the Blues these playoffs will be in the lineup tonight, Berube confirmed.

Dallas Stars Considering Buying Out Valeri Nichushkin

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The Dallas Stars have quite the to-do list this offseason, but perhaps the most challenging decision it has to make will have to do with its fringe prospects. The team has a number of interesting young forwards who might be ready to take on a full-time role in Dallas, but the last thing they want to do is have some of its fringe players to slow up the development of those prospects.

One key decision the Stars must make is what to do with forward Valeri Nichushkin, who signed a two-year, $5.9MM contract last offseason to return to Dallas after bolting for the KHL earlier in his career. SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks writes that the team must decide whether they are better off without the 24-year-old, who failed to score a goal this year in 57 games, and buy him out.

The former 10th overall pick in 2013 started his NHL career strong with a 14-goal, 34-point season as a 18-year-old. However, injuries hampered him after that as he saw his playing time cut and Nichushkin opted to return to the KHL after his entry-level deal ran out. While his numbers in the KHL weren’t exactly overwhelming (27 goals over two seasons), the Stars had hoped that bringing him back this year would put him back on course to being a top-six winger for the team. Instead he struggled terribly, putting up just 10 assists in 57 games as he saw a career-low 11:55 of ATOI and also saw him as a healthy scratch for multiple games.

At $2.95MM, Nichushkin is the sixth-highest paid forward on the team and if the team values restricted free agents Brett Ritchie and Mattias Janmark as bottom-six depth options, they may feel it’s better to allow Nichushkin to leave and return to the KHL. If the team opts to buy him out, it would only cost them $700K in 2018-19, while costing them a reasonable $450K in 2020-21. However, with some interesting prospects close to ready to make an impact such as Denis Gurianov, Jason Robertson, Ty Delandrea and Joel L’Esperance, the team needs to make a little room for one or two of them.

Metropolitan Division: Kessel, Martin, Sorokin, Lee

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Just a few days ago, it was leaked that the Pittsburgh Penguins were closing in on a deal to send veteran forward Phil Kessel to Minnesota in a four-player trade. However, that trade hasn’t happened yet, suggesting that Kessel, who has can choose eight teams that he cannot reject a trade to, isn’t interested in playing for the Wild.

This complication could be a major issue for Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, according to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi (subscription required), whose goal was to move Kessel and free up some cap room as early as possible, so the team could begin reshaping its roster. Once that deal was done, Rutherford could concentrate on his checklist that includes finalizing a new contract for goaltender Matt Murray, smoothing things over with Evgeni Malkin, working towards adding more youth throughout its franchise and possibly adding more picks in the early portion of the upcoming draft.

Yet, with Kessel flashing an unwillingness to be cooperative in where he gets traded, Rutherford’s job has gotten quite a bit harder. Rossi points out that Kessel’s value takes a big hit if he has little control on where Kessel goes, which could limit the team’s ability to cut salary this offseason. On top of that, now that everyone knows that Rutherford wants to move Kessel out, it will even be harder to get a good trade in the future.

  • Sticking with the Penguins, TribLive’s Jonathan Bombulie reports that after not getting the head coaching position with the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin will return for a fifth season with the Penguins. That’s good news for Pittsburgh, as he was critical in running the team’s defense and penalty kill. Martin lost out on the Ottawa job to Toronto assistant coach D.J. Smith, while Buffalo hired Ralph Krueger.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that it doesn’t look like the New York Islanders will be signing goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin out of the KHL this season. The team had hoped that Sorokin would buy out his final season of his KHL contract after he led his team to the Gagarin Cup Championships this year and come over to New York a year early. However, Staple writes that the 23-year-old netminder, who posted a 1.16 GAA and a .940 save percentage in the regular season for CSKA Moscow and was equally good in the playoffs, has chosen to finish out his contract, so the earliest New York would see him was the 2020-21 season.
  • The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis writes that now the New York Islanders have locked up center Brock Nelson to a six-year, $36MM deal, the team must now focus their attention on captain Anders Lee, who is rumored to be seeking a seven-year deal at $7MM per season. That may be too much for general manager Lou Lamoriello, but at the same time would leave a huge hole in their lineup if they let him walk, leaving Lamoriello with the task of replacing him with either Jordan Eberle or another underwhelming option.

 

Overseas Notes: Olympics, Jokerit, Nygard

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The qualification rules for the 2022 Olympic hockey tournament have been set, with the top eight ranked countries in the world from 2019 will automatically qualify. Those countries are Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, USA, Germany and Switzerland, meaning others like Slovakia, Denmark and Latvia will have to battle to earn a spot.

Interestingly though, host China will also be given a spot in the tournament without further qualification. The Chinese team is currently ranked 33rd (right between Iceland and Israel) in the world will be the lowest ranked team to ever compete in an Olympic hockey tournament. Still, the NHL is trying desperately to expand their footprint in China and if they end up sending players to the tournament it can only help to have them share the ice with the country’s best players.

  • Jokerit Helsinki will now be fully owned and operated by Finnish nationals, as legendary forward Jari Kurri has taken over as majority owner and Chairman of the Board. Jokerit joined the KHL in 2014 after decades in Finland’s Liiga, and have found great success even in the higher league. The team finished second to CSKA in the Bobrov division this season with a record of 32-19-6. Kurri, a Hall of Fame player from his days skating beside Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton, has served as general manager of Jokerit in the past and is still extremely involved with hockey in Finland.
  • Swedish reports had surfaced that free agent forward Joakim Nygard had picked the Edmonton Oilers as his NHL destination, and Ryan Rishaug of TSN has heard the same. While the team has still not announced a contract, Rishaug notes that the deal will be a one-year entry-level contract and Nygard will be a UFA again after the 2019-20 season. The speedy winger can hopefully step straight into the Oilers lineup and provide some much needed scoring depth on the wing.

Snapshots: Thornton, Pavelski, Chelios

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The San Jose Sharks have plenty of tough decisions this summer when it comes to unrestricted free agents, but one of the most interesting will be regarding Joe Thornton. The veteran forward will turn 40 the day after free agency opens but is coming off another solid season with 16 goals and 51 points. Thornton spoke to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic today at the season-ending media availability, and told him that he hadn’t made a decision on his future yet but would only play in San Jose if he does continue his career.

The 39-year old now has 1,478 points in 1,566 games during his long NHL career, but hasn’t been able to lift the Stanley Cup a single time. After two major knee injuries and another disappointing finish, who knows whether he wants to suit it up again in 2019-20. Scheduled to become a UFA, Thornton was operating this season on a one-year, $5MM deal.

  • Meanwhile, Joe Pavelski is also an unrestricted free agent this summer but is “pretty confident” he’ll be back, according to Kurz. Amazingly, Pavelski had hand surgery two weeks ago but continued to suit up in the playoffs despite that and several other serious injuries. The 34-year old captain of the Sharks had an outstanding season with 38 goals, and was the heart and soul of the team once again in the postseason.
  • Jake Chelios won’t be re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings, as he has accepted a two-year contract in the KHL. Chelios is headed to China to play for Kunlun Red Star after making his NHL debut earlier this season. The son of legendary defenseman Chris Chelios, Jake played four seasons at Michigan State University before suiting up in the AHL for the last five years.

Peter Holland Signs In KHL

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It’s the end of the road in North America for Peter Holland, at least for the next two seasons. The minor league forward has signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist in the KHL. Holland played last season entirely in the minor leagues with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rockford IceHogs, the first time in his career that he didn’t suit up at least a handful of times in the NHL.

Holland, 28, was originally selected 15th overall back in 2009 by the Anaheim Ducks, but never did realize his full potential. The 6’2″ center made his debut with the Ducks in 2011-12 but was moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs a few years later. Despite setting career highs in games played, goals and points, Holland still didn’t provide much upside for the Maple Leafs with just 63 points in 174 games even in a sheltered offensive role. He was flipped to the Arizona Coyotes in 2016-17, before finding himself in the Montreal minor league system.

Last playing in 2017-18 with the New York Rangers, Holland’s NHL career may well be over at this point. While he has proved to be an excellent minor league scoring threat, his offensive game disappeared in the NHL and he didn’t provide much at the other end of the rink. Perhaps some success in the KHL will create some intrigue, but that will at least have to wait for two seasons.

Snapshots: Bruins, Roy, Kochetkov

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As the Boston Bruins continue to wait for the Western Conference Final to wrap up, the organization thinks they’ve found a way to stave off lethargy and stay on routine during this long stretch of inactivity. The team has announced that they will hold a public intra-squad scrimmage on Thursday night, exactly one week since they last took the ice for Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. After sweeping Carolina, the Bruins faced an eleven-day break before the start of the Stanley Cup Final series on Monday and have opted to break up that span by simulating a game day. The Bruins, including their AHL depth recalls, will split their available players in half and square off in two 25-minute periods. With fans in the stands and officials on the ice, Boston hopes this will as closely as possible resemble a true game day, but head coach Bruce Cassidy also acknowledged that he will fabricate specific game situations during the scrimmage to ensure that his special teams units also get work in. There is no doubt that any team entering the Stanley Cup Final would rather have more rest than less and the Bruins are no different. With Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Noel Acciari, and John Moore among the players nursing minor injuries, not to mention Chris Wagner hoping he can return to game shape at some point during the series, Boston will gladly take the nearly two weeks off. However, they hope for those trying to stay focused and in game condition that the scrimmage on Thursday will be enough to be ready from the start on Monday night.

  • After the report earlier that both the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers were close to naming their new head coaches, The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Senators GM Pierre Dorion was spotted in Montreal with Patrick Roy today. Roy interviewed for Ottawa’s head coach position on Monday, only to again meet with Dorion and Assistant GM Peter MacTavish today. According to witnesses, the trio left a hotel together in Montreal this afternoon after what can only be assumed is a follow-up meeting about the vacancy. This new obviously vaults Roy, who is the seventh known person to interview for the head coach position, as the clubhouse leader. Roy, who last coached in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016, left the post due to his lack of input in player personnel decisions. With the Senators known to also be looking for a President of Hockey Operations, it could be that Dorion also spoke to Roy today about taking on some front office responsibilities as well as coaching duties if hired.
  • Although passed up in the NHL Draft prior, 19-year-old Russian goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov was ranked as the top European goalie in this draft class by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings. Kochetkov was lights out for Russia at the World Juniors earlier this year, named the tournament’s Best Goaltender behind a .953 save percentage and 1.45 GAA. He also performed extremely well in the VHL, the KHL’s minor league, and looked comfortable in two KHL games with HK Sochi. As impressive a season as he had this year, Kochetkov has a chance to accomplish even more next season. KHL powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg announced today that they have acquired Kochetkov and the teen keeper is expected to serve as the primary backup to NHL veteran Magnus Hellberg next season. Even though he is an over-ager, Kochetkov was always likely to stick around in Europe for a few years before making the jump to North America, so his commitment to SKA next season and beyond won’t deter interested NHL teams. To the contrary, Kochetkov has a great opportunity to grow and learn in St. Petersburg with one of the top teams in the KHL and when he does arrive in the NHL could be a very promising and polished prospect.

Golden Knights Notes: Salary Cap, Gusev, Gambling

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Trusted salary cap database CapFriendly has rolled over their site to the 2019-20 season already and one of the most eye-grabbing results is just how much trouble the Vegas Golden Knights are already in. Using a projected salary cap ceiling of $83MM, up $3.5MM from this season, at the top of the projected salary list is Vegas, who are already $125K over the cap with more than $83MM committed to just 19 players. A further inspection reveals that the Knights have just one goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, and six defensemen signed as of now, with no room to make any further additions. GM Kelly McCrimmon and company will have no choice but to shed salary this summer, at the very least just to re-sign restricted free agents like William Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Jimmy Schuldt, and Malcolm Subban. Any free agent signings beyond that will require further sacrifice. Despite being just two years into their existence, Vegas has already accumulated an incredible amount of salary, mostly due to major contracts handed out to the likes of Mark Stone, Nate Schmidt, Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, and Fleury, all signed since this time last year. Golden Knights fans should be prepared for some tough moves, as solving this problem won’t be as easy as simply placing David Clarkson on the injured reserve. Inaugural Knights like Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Cody Eakin, and Colin Miller are among the most likely casualties.

  • Even in the midst of his new team’s cap crunch, Nikita Gusev is expecting and hoping to re-sign with Vegas. Gusev, whose rights were acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, finally jumped to the NHL late this season after a decorated career in the KHL. The 26-year-old forward burned his one-year entry-level contract, despite not playing, and is now a restricted free agent. He tells Russian hockey source Sport-Express, as translated by The Sin Bin, that he likes Las Vegas and feels he owes it to the team to re-sign with them if made a reasonable offer. Gusev acknowledges that he will likely receive other offers, either from KHL clubs overseas or in the form of an NHL offer sheet, but he will wait for Vegas’ initial offer before making any decisions. What might it cost the Knights to retain their newfound weapon? The interviewer suggested to Gusev that a $4MM AAV could be the ballpark price and he did not disagree. He would only confirm that he expects a one-way deal, but did not talk specific finances. Overall, Gusev sounded very flexible about getting a deal done and even acknowledged that he would be open to playing in the AHL if that is what is asked of him. That seems like an unlikely route for Vegas to take, but Gusev’s attitude at least implies that this negotiation process and first full year in North America should go smoother than it did for Vadim Shipachyov. If (when) the Golden Knights are forced to sell off scoring this off-season, Gusev could be an ideal candidate to take on a major role next season.
  • Speaking at a conference today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman projected the successful growth of betting on hockey by using the Golden Knights as an example, per TSN’s Rick Westhead. In Nevada, where sports gambling is legalized, hockey bets grew by 60% in Vegas’ inaugural season and again by 40% this season. While Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular, is the unofficial gambling capital of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA last summer allows all states to decide for themselves whether or not to allow for legalized gambling. Many states already have sports books up and running and many more will soon follow. If the growth exhibited in Nevada in regards to betting on hockey is replicated by other states, it will be a key growth factor for the game and the NHL and one that Bettman will surely try to take advantage of as best he can.

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