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.
Ty Smith Signs With KHL’s Dinamo Minsk
After watching his opportunity in the NHL pass him by over the last few years, defenseman Ty Smith is going to try his luck overseas. According to a team announcement, Dinamo Minsk of the KHL has signed Smith to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 KHL season.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Smith was considered one of the better defensive prospects in the NHL. After an impressive year with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs in which he scored 14 goals and 73 points in 69 games with a +44 rating, the New Jersey Devils selected Smith 17th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Smith spent a few more years in Spokane before jumping directly to the NHL for the 2020-21 season. Despite having relatively high expectations, Smith performed well in his rookie season, scoring two goals and 23 points in 48 games with a -9 rating, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. That year was good enough for a spot on that year’s All-Rookie Team, and for seventh in Calder Trophy voting.
Unfortunately, Smith’s fall from grace was relatively rapid. He scored five goals and 20 points in 66 games the following year, watching his average ice time drop closer to 17 minutes. His -26 rating was the worst on the team that year, and his 87.7% on-ice save percentage was second-to-last among defensemen, behind Dougie Hamilton.
Having a potent desire to upgrade, the Devils packaged Smith and a 2023 third-round pick in a deal to acquire John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Believing that he needed to take a step back in his developmental process, the Penguins stashed Smith with their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for much of the 2022-23 season.
Still, the AHL Penguins is where he’s had the most success in his professional career, scoring nine goals and 43 points in 63 games during the 2023-24 AHL season. Regardless, the Penguins dealt Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes at that year’s trade deadline in the Jake Guentzel trade.
Being his last year in North America for the time being, Smith scored five goals and 28 points in 36 games for the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, during the 2024-25 season. He registered an additional eight contests at the NHL level, scoring one goal and one assist.
He’ll join a Dinamo Minsk team that advanced beyond the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup playoffs for the first time in four years, losing to Traktor Chelyabinsk in the semifinals. He’ll join fellow countrymen Chris Tierney and Xavier Ouellet in Belarus.
Kuznetsov Willing To Take Bonus-Laden Contract For NHL Return
On this week’s rendition of Hello Hockey with Shawn Belle and Tom Gazzola, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period spoke briefly about Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s desire to return to the NHL. To ensure a return to the sport’s top league, Pagnotta indicated that Kuznetsov would be willing to sign a low AAV deal with performance bonuses.
It’s been a few years since Kuznetsov has been a highly relevant NHL center. He was a point-per-game scorer during the 2021-22 season with the Washington Capitals, recording 24 goals and 78 points in 79 games with a +7 rating, while averaging 20:17 of ice time per night.
Unfortunately, things began slipping the following season, as Kuznetsov finished the 2022-23 campaign with 12 goals and 55 points in 81 games with a -26 rating, seeing his average ice time drop to 18:04. It wasn’t necessarily bad production from a second-line center — but it was a far cry from what Kuznetsov had been able to do even a year earlier.
Things completely unraveled during the 2023-24 campaign. He had a dreadful start to the year with Washington, mustering six goals and 17 points in 43 games with a -11 rating. After spending a month in the NHL Player Assistance Program, the Capitals waived Kuznetsov in early March, sending him to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, after clearing.
His time with the Capitals in late January of 2024 ended up being the last moments of his time with the team. Washington traded Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline for a mid-round draft pick. He finished the year with two goals and seven points in 20 games for the Hurricanes, adding another four goals and six points in 10 postseason contests.
Having little desire to retain him for the 2024-25 campaign, Carolina placed Kuznetsov on unconditional waivers for a mutual termination of Kuznetsov’s contract, allowing the Chelyabinsk, Russia native to return home to continue his professional career. A few weeks later, Kuznetsov signed a four-year deal with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg.
There’s a decent chance some of his offensive value has been rebuilt after a strong year with St. Petersburg. Kuznetsov scored 12 goals and 37 points in 39 games with a +13 rating. Pursuing another chance in the NHL, Kuznetsov and SKA mutually parted ways in April, leaving us where we are now.
Although it seemed like a natural fit, it’s already been reported that the Montreal Canadiens wouldn’t pursue Kuznetsov this offseason, and they seemingly filled their need for center depth yesterday by signing Joe Veleno. Additionally, other reports have indicated that a reunion with the Capitals isn’t on the table.
After briefly looking through projected rosters for the 2025-26 season, and assuming Kuznetsov is open to a bottom-six role, the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins could all use additional depth, especially at the center position.