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Matt Moulson To Be Loaned To Ontario Reign Again

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Sept. 23 — Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports that Moulson has indeed been loaned to the Ontario Reign of the AHL and will cost the team $3.975MM instead of $5MM.

Sept. 7 — The buyout period for the Buffalo Sabres came and went this offseason without Matt Moulson’s name being added to the list, meaning he and his $5MM cap hit are still part of the organization. Moulson hasn’t played a game for the Sabres or their AHL affiliate since December 1st, 2017, instead being loaned to the Ontario Reign upon clearing waivers last season. That agreement looks to be in place again for this season according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, who notes that Moulson is taking part in the Los Angeles Kings informal skates leading up to training camp. Though Rosen notes that the loan would happen if Moulson fails to make the Sabres, Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News adds that the veteran forward isn’t even expected to be in Buffalo training camp.

Moulson, 34, was actually an extremely valuable asset for the Reign last season, scoring 46 points in 48 games and showing why he was once a dominant offensive presence in the NHL. In three consecutive seasons for the New York Islanders between 2009-2012, Moulson recorded 30 or more goals playing alongside John Tavares and other talented forwards. That performance dropped off a cliff in Buffalo though, where he failed to even crack 15 in a single season.

Buying out Moulson wasn’t a very good option for the Sabres, as his actual salary drops to just $3MM this season which included a $1MM signing bonus. Since the Sabres have more than enough cap room to fit him in, spreading out that salary over two years didn’t make much sense. Instead they’ll just swallow their pride and continue to bury him in the minor leagues and in a different organization, and use that added cap space to help re-sign the next wave of talent coming through the system. They will technically need to put him through waivers once again before the season begins, but there is little chance of him being claimed by another team given his hefty cap hit.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/22/18

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Plenty of players were cut from training camps around the league yesterday and today will probably be no different, especially with the waiver wire now open.  We’ll keep track of all the cuts here and will update this post throughout the day.

Note that this list does not cover players placed on waivers today.  Those players can be found here.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

D Terrance Amorosa (to San Diego, AHL)
G Lukas Dostal (to SK Horacka Slavia Trebic, Czech league)
F Alex Dostie (to San Diego, AHL)
D Hunter Drew (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
F Justin Ducharme (released from ATO)
G Olle Eriksson-Ek (to BIK Karlskoga, SHL)
D Chris Forney (to San Diego, AHL)
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Scott Moldenhauer (to San Diego, AHL)
F Antoine Morand (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Julius Nattinen (to San Diego, AHL)
F Kyle Olson (to Tri-City, WHL)
F Tyler Soy (to San Diego, AHL)
F Ben Thomson (to San Diego, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Eric Cornel (to Rochester, AHL)
F Vasily Glotov (to Rochester, AHL)
G Michael Houser (to Rochester, AHL)
F Kevin Porter (to Rochester, AHL)
D Zach Redmond (to Rochester, AHL)
D Devante Stephens (to Rochester, AHL)
G Adam Wilcox (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

G Nick Schneider (to Stockton, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team Twitter)

F Radovan Bondra (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
F Alex Broadhurst (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)
D Andrew Campbell (to Rockford, AHL)
D Dennis Gilbert (to Rockford, AHL)
F Matheson Iacopelli (to Rockford, AHL)
F Graham Knott (to Rockford, AHL)
F Anthony Louis (to Rockford, AHL)
F Jordan Schroeder (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)
D Luc Snuggerud (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (released from PTO; to Rockford, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (via team Twitter)

G Shane Starrett (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Jonathan Ang (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ludwig Bystrom (to Springfield, AHL)
G Chris Driedger (released from PTO, to Springfield, AHL)
F Sebastian Repo (to Springfield, AHL)
F Paul Thompson (to Springfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release; PTO cuts via Sirius XM’s Jonathan Davis)

D Kyle Bauman (released from PTO)
F Jamie Devane (released from PTO)
F Mike Eyssimont (to Ontario, AHL)
D Stepan Falkovsky (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sam Herr (released from PTO)
F Boko Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
G Cole Kehler (to Ontario, AHL)
F Matt Luff (to Ontario, AHL)
F Philippe Maillet (released from PTO)
F Brad Morrison (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (to Ontario, AHL)
D Chaz Reddekopp (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
D Matt Roy (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)
D Austin Strand (to Ontario, AHL)
F Brett Sutter (released from PTO)
D Sean Walker (to Ontario, AHL)
F Spencer Watson (to Ontario, AHL)Read more

San Jose Sharks Sign Jacob McGrew To Three-Year Deal

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The San Jose Sharks announced they have signed winger Jacob McGrew to three-year, entry-level contract. McGrew, the team’s sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft, impressed Sharks management during rookie camp enough to garner a NHL contract.

McGrew played with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U16 club team and led the league in goals in 2015-16. Then for his draft year, McGrew signed with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, but on his first day of practice, ran into his goalie, tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL muscles in his knee and was lost for the 2016-17 season. The Sharks opted to take a flier on him in the sixth round that year despite the fact he missed the entire season. However, the 19-year-old rebounded in his first year back from double knee surgery with 19 goals and 19 assists in 65 games for the Chiefs, but also posted six points in seven playoff games that year.

“Jake is an exceptional skater who is a threat to shoot from anywhere on the ice,” said Sharks general manager Doug Wilson. “He always seems to be around the net, ready to outwork his opponent for the puck. The California-born prospect really took his game to the next level during the WHL playoffs last season and carried that into Team USA’s World Jr. Selection Camp this summer before a strong showing in both the rookie tournament in Vegas and our NHL Training Camp this month. He has continued to exceed expectations, both on and off the ice, and we have been very impressed with his development under Spokane head coach Dan Lambert.”

His contract will slide as he will return to Spokane as he isn’t able to play at the minor-league level yet and the contract won’t begin until the 2018-19 season.

CapFriendly was the first to report on the signing. 

Derek Forbort Could Resume Skating With The Kings On Saturday

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  • Although he was classified as week-to-week with a back injury at the start of camp, Kings defenseman Derek Forbort may resume skating with the team as early as Saturday, reports Curtis Zupke of the LA Times (Twitter link). The injury was sustained at some point this past summer but if he’s able to participate in practice over the next few days, he should be on track to be available for the start of the season.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/19/18

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NHL regular season action is just a few weeks away, and as the preseason schedule gets started teams are reducing their training camp rosters. We’ll keep track of all the cuts right here:

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Tyler Steenbergen (to Tucson, AHL)
F Kelly Klima (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jordan Gross (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jacob Graves (to Tucson, AHL)
D Jalen Smereck (to Tucson, AHL)
D Kevin Ekman-Larsson (to Tucson, AHL)
F Liam Kirk (to Peterborough, OHL)
F Nate Schnarr (to Guelph, OHL)
D Kevin Bahl (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Dennis Busby (to Flint, OHL)
D Noel Hoefenmayer (to Ottawa, OHL)
G Ivan Prosvetov (to Saginaw, OHL)
G David Tendeck (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Jan Jenik (to Liberec, Czech Rep.)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Austin Fyten (to Providence, AHL)
F Brett McKenzie (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
D Olivier Galipeau (to Providence, AHL)
D Joel Messner (to Providence, AHL)
D Wiley Sherman (to Providence, AHL)
G Alex Sakellaropoulos (to Providence, AHL)
F Cedric Pare (to Saint John, QMJHL)
D Daniel Bukac (to Brandon, WHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Oshawa, OHL)
D Mark Fayne (released from tryout)
F Marcel Noebels (released from tryout)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Philipp Kurashev (to Quebec, QMJHL)
D Jake Ryczek (to Halifax, QMJHL)
G Alexis Gravel (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Shaw Boomhower (released from tryout)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F J.C. Beaudin (to Colorado, AHL)
F Matthew Boucher (to Colorado, AHL)
F Josh Dickinson (to Colorado, AHL)
F Grayson Downing (to Colorado, AHL)
F Julien Nantel (to Colorado, AHL)
D Turner Ottenbreit (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kevin Davis (to Colorado, AHL)
D Nolan De Jong (to Colorado, AHL)
F Nick Henry (to Regina, WHL)
F Brandon Saigeon (to Hamilton, OHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Trey Fix-Wolansky (to Edmonton, WHL)
F Egor Sokolov (released from tryout)
D Jordan Sambrook (released from tryout)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of NHL.com)

F Riley Damiani (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Brett Davis (to Kootenay, WHL)
F Ty Dellandrea (to Flint, OHL)
F Curtis Douglas (to Windsor, OHL)
F Liam Hawel (to Guelph, OHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (to Kamloops, WHL)
F Jason Robertson (to Kingston, OHL)
D Dawson Barteaux (to Red Deer, WHL)
G Anthony Popovich (released from tryout)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Nolan Vesey (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Ostap Safin (to Saint John, QMJHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Aidan Dudas (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Nathan Dunkley (to London, OHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Mississauga, OHL)
D Michal Ivan (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
D Markus Phillips (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Mark Rassell (released from ATO)
F Akil Thomas (to Niagara, OHL)
G Matthew Villalta (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

F Gabriel Fortier (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Jackson Leppard (to Prince George, WHL)
F Mathew MacDougall (to Windsor, OHL)
F Chase Wouters (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Walter Flower (to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Montana Onyebuchi (to Everett, WHL)
D Radim Salda (to Saint John, QMJHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

C Lucas Elvenes (to Rogle, SHL)
G Dylan Ferguson (to Kamloops, WHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Eric Florchuk (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Kody Clark (to Ottawa, OHL)
F Riley Sutter (to Everett, WHL)
F Alex Kannock-Leipart (to Vancouver, WHL)
D Alexander Alexeyev (to Red Deer, WHL)
D Martin Fehervary (to HV71, SHL)
G Logan Thompson (released from tryout)

Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?

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The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.

Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.

Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:

  1. C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
  2. D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
  3. RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
  4. RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
  5. C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
  6. RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
  7. C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
  8. C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
  9. C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
  10. D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
  11. RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
  12. RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
  13. C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
  14. LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
  15. LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
  16. RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
  17. C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
  18. LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
  19. C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
  20. RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets

Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins

What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?

Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
Pettersson 15.85% (204 votes)
Dahlin 14.37% (185 votes)
Zadina 11.19% (144 votes)
Donato 9.87% (127 votes)
Mittelstadt 6.92% (89 votes)
Heiskanen 6.45% (83 votes)
The Field - comment below 6.14% (79 votes)
Svechnikov 5.75% (74 votes)
Chytil 4.27% (55 votes)
Tkachuk 3.50% (45 votes)
Sikura 2.87% (37 votes)
Vesalainen 2.25% (29 votes)
Strome 1.94% (25 votes)
Yamamoto 1.86% (24 votes)
Tolvanen 1.71% (22 votes)
Steel 1.71% (22 votes)
Cirelli 1.17% (15 votes)
Borgstrom 0.85% (11 votes)
Abramov 0.62% (8 votes)
Necas 0.54% (7 votes)
Zykov 0.16% (2 votes)
Total Votes: 1,287

Snapshots: Byron, Lindback, Bettman

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With the departures of Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk this summer, Paul Byron has seen his stock rise in Montreal. After breaking out with a 43-point campaign in 2016-17, Byron was again a top forward for the Canadiens last season with 35 points and a second consecutive 20-goal season. While the team’s trades have brought in the likes of Max Domi and Tomas Tatar, Byron is now one of the elder statesmen in the Habs forward corps and will be looked upon to take another step forward this year. Byron underwent off-season shoulder surgery and is focused on working his way back to full strength in training camp, with the Canadiens certainly hoping that he will be fully prepared for the regular season. One way or another, Byron’s production in 2018-19 will play a major role in Montreal’s season. Some fans see the 28-year-old impending free agent going the way of Pacioretty and being shipped out of town before he can walk next off-season. Others see him as part of the team new core moving forward. The latter philosophy gained some credence today when Sportsnet’s Eric Engels spoke with Byron. Byron stated that his agent and GM Marc Bergevin have had preliminary extension talks, although he admitted that all parties are interested in how his shoulder recovery and resulting scoring ability pan out. Byron added “I want to stay, I think they want to keep me. Hopefully we’ll get something done soon.” It seems that perhaps the Habs are moving on from trading away core pieces and could look to keep a healthy Byron around beyond this season.

  • While yesterday’s signing of Anders Lindback by HC Davos of the Swiss NLA is newsworthy enough – the veteran goaltender spent last year in the AHL and has 130 NHL games to his credit – the team’s reason for signing him will also have reverberations in the NHL. Davos was a playoff team in the NLA last season behind their young tandem of Gilles Senn, 22, and Joren van Pottelberghe, 21, and with both keepers still under contract, there was some question as to why the team felt the need to bring in a third goalie of Lindback’s pedigree. Swiss news source Tages Anzeiger reports that the age and performance of those goalies is the exact reason the team decided to move forward with a new starter. Both Senn and van Pottelberghe are NHL draft picks; Senn was selected as an overage player by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round of 2017, while van Pottelberghe was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round when first eligible in 2015. Given their success, Davos was unable to convince either to abandon their plan of making the jump to North America next season, after their current contracts end, to begin the next stage of their careers. Rather than be left without any experienced goalies heading into next season, Davos decided to sign Lindback to a one-year deal to see if he could instead be their long-term solution. If Lindback meets expectations this year, expect an extension sometime over the course of the season.
  • Elsewhere on the international stage, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is very happy about the league’s growing relationship with China. The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are currently overseas in the second O.R.G. NHL China Games, after the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks squared off last fall. Per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Bettman sees this as just the beginning and has big plans for China. In fact, Bettman stated at a press conference on Friday that he envisions regular season games in China in the future, similar to the games planned in Sweden and Finland this season. With the Chinese government and several large companies committed to building rinks and arenas across the country, it’s fair to say that hockey has already made an impact and will only continue to grow in popularity in the world’s most populous country. Bettman acknowledges that no formal talks have been had about regular season games yet, but more preseason games are being scheduled and the league only stands to benefit from a continued presence in China.

Pacific Notes: Carter, Monahan, Karlsson, Reaves

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The Los Angeles Kings were expecting to have a lot of healthy players returning to the fold this season, most especially Jeff Carter, who went down after six games last season when he was cut with a skate across his left leg, cutting tendons and requiring surgery. The 33-year-old finally returned for a 21-games stint at the end of the season and performed well.

However, Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Carter admitted Friday that he’s still not 100 percent and still needs more time to get his ankle back in shape. Coach John Stevens said that it’s not likely Carter’s ankle will ever return to normal.

“I think he really made good progress in terms of getting back to a state of normalcy with his leg. I don’t think it’s ever going to be like it was, but I think he put a lot of work in this summer,” Stevens said. “I think he made big strides in getting closer back to where he was – a little more explosive out of the hole. He didn’t have as much irritation around the joint that he had before. I think he’s a lot further ahead now than he was when he came back last year and played.”

After returning for 21 regular season games, Carter later admitted that his ankle wasn’t truly ready and needed more rehab. Although he scored 12 goals in that span, he struggled with his ankle and was held scoreless in the four-game playoff series against the Golden Knights. Carter’s success is critical for the team’s playoff run as Carter was coming off a 32-goal season the previous year and the team hopes he can duplicate that this year, which might be more difficult for Carter now.

  • After four surgeries this summer, there were a lot of questions whether Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan would truly be healthy at the start of the season. However, the Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes that Monahan looked good to go as Monahan potted a goal in their preseason opener Saturday morning against Boston. Despite struggling through a season with numerous nagging injuries, including issues with his wrist, Monahan still managed to post 31 goals last season. Now with a healthy wrist, among other things, he looks ready to improve on that. “I liked his game. I really liked it,” said teammate Mark Giordano. “He had a deadly shot with a half a wrist. So now that he’s fully healed, his hips are good, his groins are good, his wrist is good … I’m excited.”
  • While there was never any rumors surrounding Erik Karlsson and the Edmonton Oilers, many fans around the league were quite outraged when they saw Karlsson headed to division-foe San Jose instead. Considering their desperate need for a dominant defenseman and the fact that the Sharks didn’t give up any significant roster players in the trade, the Oilers were never in any negotiations, because Karlsson had no interest in going there, according to the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples. “You know, he’d be nice to have here,” said Chiarelli. “We weren’t on his list. It was really a non-starter from the beginning. But they got one puck over there, they got a lot of good defenceman. So we’ll see what happens there. But that’s a heckuva ‘d’ over there now.”
  • Las Vegas Sun’s Jesse Granger reports that Vegas Golden Knights’ bruiser Ryan Reaves suffered a skate to the face Friday near his left eye, requiring 20 stitches. The injury was very close to his left eye, making him a lucky man. The 31-year-old winger was signed to a two-year deal this offseason at $2.78MM AAV despite only posting four goals and 10 points between Pittsburgh and Vegas last season. Reaves, however, blended well into Vegas’ locker room and provided an impact on the team’s energy line. He was already back on the ice Saturday.

 

Training Camp Notes: Kings, Gionta, Tryouts

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When the Los Angeles Kings begin training camp tomorrow, they will be without three notable players. The team announced today that starting defenseman Derek Forbort, top prospect Gabriel Vilardi, and first-year pro Austin Strand will not be full participants when camp opens. Forbort, who is entering his fourth season as a Kings regular, is the least concern. A back injury will keep Forbort from taking part in team drills, but he is well enough to skate and is considered day-to-day. Regardless, Forbort has his top-six role locked in to begin this year and will likely resume playing with Dion Phaneuf after the two found chemistry late last year. The same can’t be said for Vilardi and Strand, who are fighting for roster spots in camp but at this point are considered week-to-week. Vilardi, the eleventh overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, is also suffering from a back injury and is completely sidelined for now. The young center could play a major role for L.A. this year, but has to first get on the ice this month and prove he is ready for the NHL. Strand, an undrafted free agent inked by the Kings last season, is hoping to get a shot on the blue line at some point this season. However, the standout from the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds must first get over the concussion symptoms that are currently keeping him from practice and game action. In the meantime, the Kings revealed their camp roster with some extra bodies invited to perhaps make up for these injuries. Junior players Nathan Dunkley, Mark Rassel, and Michal Ivan – one from each of the three CHL leagues – are set to join the team on tryouts.

  • The New York Islanders weren’t willing to give Stephen Gionta a contract extension last summer, but the team ended up re-signing the veteran forward in December. This time around they are still unwilling to give Gionta a guaranteed contract, but they are willing to give him a shot at earning a spot in camp. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reports that Gionta will join the team on a PTO in camp as he works to play a 13th pro season. Gionta, the younger brother of Brian Gionta, played for the New Jersey Devils organization for parts of eleven seasons, but has suited up for the Islanders and their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, for the past two years.
  • Gionta and the Kings’ junior tryouts are far from the only camp invitees across the league. As teams have announced their camp rosters, many previously unannounced PTO’s have been revealed. The defending champion Washington Capitals have invited Canadian collegiate forward Mark Simpson and WHL goalie Logan Thompson to camp. Their Stanley Cup competitors, the Vegas Golden Knights, will have junior forwards Raphael Harvey-Pinard and Ryan Chyzowski among their participants. The Anaheim Ducks will take a look at QMJHLers Justin Ducharme and Simon Benoit. The Edmonton Oilers add yet another PTO in former Detroit Red Wings prospect forward Luke Esposito. The Nashville Predators have just one additional skater in camp in WHL center Alex Overhardt. The Montreal Canadiens bring in some nearby QMJHL talent with keeper Samuel Harvey and forward Joel Teasdale. The New Jersey Devils will give ECHL goaltender Colton Phinney a shot, as well as junior blue liner Jeremy Groleau. The Detroit Red Wings host six junior players, as well as two of their ECHL affiliate’s players: defensemen Mackenze Stewart and Brenden Kotyk. The Minnesota Wild will also have a large group of tryouts, including twin forwards Drake and Darian Pilon. Finally, the Calgary Flames have invited surprise undrafted OHL defenseman Merrick Rippon to camp, while the Chicago Blackhawks will evaluate his Ottawa 67’s team mate, forward Shaw Boomhower. 

Pacific Notes: Toffoli, Giordano, Goldobin, Pettersson

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While the Los Angeles Kings did add Ilya Kovalchuk to their roster and have a healthy dose of veterans around, one key for the Kings will be whether the team can get Tyler Toffoli to show off more of his offensive prowess. The 26-year-old rebounded from a 13-goal season in 2016-17 to post a 24-goal season, but that’s still a far cry from the 31-goal season back in 2015-16 when he was considered one of the upcoming goal scorers in the league.

The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required) writes that Toffoli feels that the team and especially coach John Stevens feel that it’s time for him to take that next step in his development.

“He obviously wants me to score more goals,” Toffoli said. “He said I didn’t have a bad season. Scoring 24 goals is not bad. He thinks that’s just something I need to focus on, bearing down on opportunities and not worrying about having the ups and downs.”

Many feel that Toffoli struggled over the last couple of years due to the lack of having Milan Lucic in 2016-17 as well as a healthy Jeff Carter playing alongside him last season. However, consistency has also been a problem as he tallied 11 goals in the first two months of the season and then struggled at different times to put numbers up, including one goal in January and just three goals in the Kings’ final 18 games, including going scoreless in the playoffs.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Kruikshank (subscription required) looks into the fitness level of Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. The team’s top defender just turned 34 and remains in the best shape of his career. Giordano’s conditioning is one of the main reasons for his success. He has ranked first, first, first and second (last year to Michael Frolik) over the last four camps, despite his age. “I want to keep my speed as I get older,” Giordano says. “So I do a lot of strengthening of my hips and groins, working on some ankle-mobility stuff. Little things to keep my skating up to par. Speed and conditioning are the two things I like to focus on the most. But you need that strength out there, too.”
  • Jason Brough of The Athletic (subscription required) wonders who will win the final spot on the Vancouver Canucks first line with Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat. The scribe says the team has three candidates in mind for that final spot, including veteran Sven Baertschi as well as Brendan Leipsic and Nikolay Goldobin. While Baertschi might sound like a logical candidate as he got some time with them last season, Brough wonders whether the team is giving every opportunity to Goldobin or Leipsic to seize the spot, which would allow Baertschi to play on the second line. The team has been hoping Goldobin, in particular, is capable of breaking out this season. He tallied eight goals in 38 games last season.
  • The Vancouver Canucks got a flash of their upcoming future when top prospects Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen combined for three goals, three assists in Friday’s first game of the Young Stars Classic, according to Ed Willes of the Vancouver Sun. The two Swedes showed a chemistry together that suggests they could play together for a long time. Pettersson potted two goals, while Dahlen added a third. The two played together for parts of three years in the Timra system.

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