Prospect Notes: Beck, Nelson, Lucius, Guhle
Hockey Canada has made some changes to their National Junior Team summer development camp roster, from which the organization will select their contingent for the 2023 World Junior Championship in December. In lieu of San Jose Sharks defense prospect Gannon Laroque being unable to participate due to injury, Hockey Canada has added a pair of 2022 draft-eligible prospects in forward Owen Beck and defenseman Ty Nelson to their list.
Beck, ranked 33rd in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final scouting poll, netted 51 points in 68 games for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2021-22. The public opinion on him is rather skewed, with some listing Beck in the mid-to-late first while some have him deep within the second round. Regardless, he’s one of the better OHLers available in this year’s class. He’ll rely on his strong skating and transitional play to try and improbably work his way onto the final roster. Nelson, who hails from the OHL’s North Bay Battalion, was ranked 50th in McKenzie’s consensus rankings after a 51-point season.
- A second Lucius brother has officially left the University of Minnesota program. 2022-eligible Cruz Lucius, the younger sibling of Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius, has switched his college commitment to rival Wisconsin. Cruz’s draft stock was hurt by injury this season, but he still managed eight points in six games for the U.S. at the U18 World Juniors and 25 points in 33 games with the U.S. National Development Team Program. If McKenzie’s consensus rankings are a proper indication, he’s slated to hear his name called in the mid-to-late third round.
- Anaheim Ducks defense prospect Brendan Guhle won’t be staying in North America for 2022-23 after signing a contract with the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin. Guhle, originally selected 51st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, will still belong to the Ducks organization if they issue the pending restricted free agent a qualifying offer. Guhle has just 65 NHL games to his name at this point, tallying 14 points. He had just seven points in 37 games last season in the AHL with San Diego.
Kings Re-Sign Matt Villalta And Frederic Allard
The Kings have agreed to terms on contracts with two of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signings of Matt Villalta and defenseman Frederic Allard to one-year, two-way deals. Villalta will carry an NHL AAV of $787,500 while Allard’s will be $750K. PuckPedia adds (Twitter links) that Villalta’s AHL salary will be $70K and Allard’s will be $115K.
Villalta was a third-round pick of Los Angeles back in 2017 (72nd overall) and has spent his first three professional years exclusively in the minors although he had his first official recall back in the playoffs as one of their Black Aces. This past season, the 23-year-old played in 46 games with AHL Ontario, compiling a 2.98 GAA along with a .903 SV%. The Kings now have three young netminders that will be battling for playing time with the Reign next season as Villalta will join Jacob Ingham and David Hrenak who will play his first professional season in 2022-23.
As for Allard, he was acquired from Nashville at the trade deadline and immediately reported to Ontario. The change of scenery made a considerable difference as after putting up just five points in 36 games with Milwaukee, the 24-year-old picked up ten points in 15 games with the Reign and chipped in three more in five playoff contests, helping to secure himself another NHL contract. Allard has one career NHL appearance under his belt back in March of 2021.
Los Angeles Kings Acquire, Extend Kevin Fiala
June 30: The team has now officially announced the seven-year extension, which will carry a cap hit of $7.875MM. CapFriendly reported yesterday that the contract includes a no-movement clause in years 2-4 and a limited no-trade clause in years 5-7.
June 29: The Los Angeles Kings have acquired the restricted free agent rights to winger Kevin Fiala from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for their 2022 first-round selection and defense prospect Brock Faber, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Fiala heading to Southern California.
As confirmed by the league just hours earlier, the Los Angeles selection that the Wild are acquiring will be the 19th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Wild now own picks 19 and 24 in the first round.
It’s important to note an extension between the Kings and Fiala still needs to be worked out, but with the Kings having nearly $20MM in projected cap space this summer per CapFriendly (and Fiala having arbitration rights), the contract itself is an eventuality, with TSN’s Chris Johnston reporting there’s a long-term extension in place. Friedman is reporting a cap hit of $7.9MM, and Johnston is reporting a seven-year term.
It’s hard to think that Fiala won’t become a spectacular fit within the Kings organization. The 25-year-old’s 85 points in 2021-22 would have led the Kings by 18, with Anze Kopitar leading them in scoring with 67 points. It’s also hard to think that Fiala won’t join a line with Kopitar (and likely 2022 All-Star Adrian Kempe) as the Kings’ top unit. Suddenly, with a support group behind them that includes Phillip Danault, Viktor Arvidsson, Alex Iafallo, and up-and-comers like Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev, Los Angeles looks poised to build on last year’s playoff appearance and solidify themselves as real players in the Western Conference. Of note, it’s also a reunion between Fiala and Arvidsson, who both were developed and got their starts with the Nashville Predators.
While it’s no top-five pick like some expected, the Wild get two quality pieces in return for Fiala as well. Faber, a Minnesota native, exploded onto the scene this year as one of the premier two-way defense prospects in the game, notching 14 points in 32 games with the University of Minnesota and getting the call to the United States Olympic team. Just 19 years old, Faber was the 45th overall selection in the 2020 draft by the Kings. The Wild are also likely to receive a high-upside prospect with the 19th overall pick. Some potential selections, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s rankings based on NHL scout surveys, are another Minnesota native in Jimmy Snuggerud (ranked 17th), Czech utility forward Jiri Kulich (ranked 18th), Russian sniper (and cancer survivor) Ivan Miroschnichenko (ranked 19th), sniper and University of Minnesota-Duluth commit Isaac Howard (ranked 20th), or Swedish forwards Liam Ohgren and Noah Ostlund (ranked 21st and 22nd). While none of those likely have the offensive upside of Fiala, combined with the addition of Faber, it seems to be close to fair value at first impression.
Expect this deal to open the floodgates for moves and deals ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft next week.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo was the first to report the full details of the trade.
Saint John Sea Dogs Win 2022 Memorial Cup
For the first time since 2019, the CHL’s Memorial Cup has been awarded, this time to the tournament-host Saint John Sea Dogs, who defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 6-3 this evening to win the 2022 Memorial Cup. Saint John’s run was one of the more interesting ones, the team taking an impressive 44-17-4 regular season record into the playoffs, falling to the Rimouski Oceanic in the first round. As the host, Saint John was nonetheless awarded a spot in the final four of the Memorial Cup, along with the OHL Champion Hamilton Bulldogs, the QMJHL Champion Shawinigan Cataractes, and the WHL Champion Edmonton Oil Kings.
However, after the impressive season, Saint John and GM Trevor Georgie made the decision to fire Head Coach Gordie Dwyer, hiring University of New Brunswick coach Gardiner MacDougall. That choice, met with some question marks, ended up paying dividends for Saint John, who have taken the CHL’s ultimate prize, the first host team to win the tournament since the Windsor Spitfires did so in 2017.
The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player was awarded to Saint John’s William Dufour, who’s seven goals lead the tournament and was one shy for most all-time in a single tournament. This wasn’t Dufour’s first MVP this season, having won the QMJHL’s MVP award for the 2021-22 regular season as well after putting up an incredible 56 goals and 60 assists in just 66 games. A fifth-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2020, Dufour has elevated his prospect status this season and could be destined for a pro debut in the Islanders organization next season after signing his ELC in April.
Vegas Golden Knights Make Coaching Hires
The Vegas Golden Knights announced a series of coaching hires Tuesday night, adding John Stevens as their assistant coach, Sean Burke as their goalie coach and Director of Goaltending, and naming Mike Rosati as Manager of Goaltending Development and Scouting.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon gave the following statement on the hires:
John Stevens is a very respected NHL coach with an extensive resume that adds considerably to our staff. We are excited to add a two-time Stanley Cup winner with head coaching experience. Sean Burke is a great addition to the organization, with tremendous experience as an elite NHL goaltender and an accomplished coach and executive. We are pleased to keep Mike Rosati in an influential role across the organization. With those two and Henderson goaltending coach Fred Brathwaite, we have proven, qualified expertise at the goalie position.
While new head coach Bruce Cassidy won’t get to build the entire bench from scratch, he does get some fresh faces in here to join assistants Ryan Craig and Misha Donskov, who were retained in the wake of Peter DeBoer‘s firing. Stevens comes in to replace both Steve Spott and Ryan McGill as an assistant, who were both fired days after DeBoer. Stevens has been an assistant for the Dallas Stars for the past three seasons, but most hockey fans will remember him as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers (2006-2009) and the Los Angeles Kings (2016-2018). In all, the 56-year-old Stevens has 15 years of NHL coaching experience.
Burke’s hiring isn’t huge news, as it was reported earlier in the week that Vegas would bring him on. Burke was not on an NHL staff during the 2021-22 season, but he spent seven years as the goalie coach of the Arizona Coyotes and a handful of months in 2021 as the goalie coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He replaces Rosati as the goalie coach, who moves to a more behind-the-scenes role in the organization.
Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings
Free agency is now less than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Kings.
Key Restricted Free Agents:
F Brendan Lemieux – After being traded three times in his career, first from the Buffalo Sabres to the Winnipeg Jets, then to the New York Rangers, and finally to the Kings, the known agitator seems to have finally settled in with Los Angeles in a role that fits him. Despite being out of playoff contention in 2020-21, the Kings made the move to acquire Lemieux from the Rangers ahead of the trade deadline, using him to protect their young players and get under the skin of their opponents. Not necessarily known for his scoring, Lemieux has just 60 points in 230 career games, 13 points and 50 games coming this past season, but does carry 410 career penalty minutes, 97 of which came in 2021-22. Coming off a two-year deal that carried a $1.55MM AAV, Lemieux’s next contract may not look much different, but with what he’s brought to the Kings, he presumably won’t have to worry much about getting another NHL deal.
F Adrian Kempe – Besides finding a way to help the organization take the next step in its accelerated rebuild, perhaps the biggest agenda item for Kings’ GM Rob Blake this offseason will be a new contract for the All Star forward. Kempe, who will turn 26 in September, had a sensational breakout season for Los Angeles, finding the back of the net 35 times, adding 19 assists for 54 points in 78 games. Before his breakout, Kempe was most likely going to see a raise over the $2MM AAV he carried the past three seasons, given his average of 31 points per 82 games over the life of that contract. However, by eclipsing that average point total just in goals scored this season, being relatively close to UFA status, and his arbitration eligibility, Kempe could see a major bump in salary this offseason, especially if the Kings are looking at a long-term agreement.
D Sean Durzi – Originally a second-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018 and later traded for defenseman Jake Muzzin, Durzi took some time to make it to the NHL, but has now established himself as a piece of the Kings future on the blueline. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut on November 24th against the team that drafted him, skating in all of the Kings’ final 64 games, recording 27 points and averaging 19:36 in time-on-ice, good for sixth amongst Kings’ skaters. Given his experience, Durzi isn’t yet arbitration eligible, but he could still wind up with a rather significant contract extension due to his age and his emergence as a building block in Los Angeles.
Other RFA’s: F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, F Lias Andersson, F Carl Grundstrom, F Johan Sodergran, F Vladimir Tkachev, F Gabriel Vilardi, D Frederic Allard, D Michael Anderson, G Matt Villalta
Key Unrestricted Free Agents:
F Andreas Athanasiou – The soon-to-be 28-year-old had the unfortunate luck of dealing with injuries throughout his walk-year, playing in just 28 games this season. On the bright side for Athanasiou, he did manage 17 points in that span, the second-highest points-per-game total of his career. After being allowed to leave the Edmonton Oilers following the 2019-20 season, Athanasiou signed a one-year, $1.2MM contract for the shortened 2020-21 season, where he impressed with 23 points n 47 games, earning a one-year, $2.7MM contract for this season. Athanasiou may have been due a higher salary and perhaps additional term this time around, but given his injury issues this season, that may not be the case. Still, given his production when he is in the lineup, the Kings could realistically bring Athanasiou back, and supplement his spot in the lineup with some of their younger players if the injuries persist.
D Alexander Edler – Once seen as a lifetime member of the Vancouver Canucks, Edler wasn’t brought back to Vancouver after the 2020-21 season and ultimately signed a one-year contract worth $3.5MM with Los Angeles. Edler had a solid bounce-back season with the Kings, albeit in limited action, recording 19 points in 41 games, including an impressive plus-18 rating. The 36-year-old defenseman probably won’t be offered the career-high $6MM AAV he carried in 2019-20 and 2020-21, but did show this season that he absolutely still belongs in the NHL if he wants to stay. What Edler chooses to do is still up in the air, as he may not want to venture too far from the west coast where he has spent his entire NHL career, but options may be more limited for an older defenseman who could command at least $3.5MM next year, if not more.
D Olli Maatta – Not the player he was when he burst onto the scene with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013-14, Maatta has revived his career to an extent, showing he can be a reliable player on an NHL team. Though recording just eight points in 60 games with the Kings this season, Maatta did show promise with his plus-17 rating in 18:17 of average time-on-ice. The six-year, $24.5MM contract he just finished is likely not something he will find as a UFA this offseason, but Maatta should be an intriguing option for a number of teams, now marketed as a steady veteran defenseman.
Other UFA’s: F Martin Frk, D Nelson Nogier, D Troy Stecher, D Austin Strand, D Christian Wolanin, G Garret Sparks
Projected Cap Space:
Los Angeles projects to have just under $20MM in cap space this offseason, $19.863MM to be exact, with only a few semi-expensive moves to make. For one, they will have to give Kempe his predictably large raise and while they may be able to bring Durzi back on a team-friendly cap hit, they may be better off inking the defenseman long-term given his age, but that may create a larger cap hit than necessary for next season. Although $20MM may seem a bit low for a team that is still coming off of a rebuild, when factoring in the fact that the Kings have a bulk of their core signed for multiple seasons, including Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault, and Drew Doughty who are all already signed long-term, the number feels more understandable and workable.
With the remaining space, the King will likely look to add a few pieces to help round out a team that wasn’t necessarily expected to make the playoffs this season, let alone take the Oilers to seven games in the first round, especially considering they got just 39 games total from Doughty, a franchise cornerstone. If the organization wants to create additional cap space, they could look to trade goaltender Jonathan Quick, who carries a $5.8MM cap hit next season, and move onto Calvin Petersen full-time.
Edmonton Oil Kings Eliminated From 2022 Memorial Cup
With the round-robin set to close tomorrow at the 2022 Memorial Cup, one team already knows its fate. The WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings are out of the top Canadian junior tournament, dropping their third game of the round-robin 4-2 against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.
The host Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL will play their league champion, the Shawinigan Cataractes, tomorrow. The winner of that game will advance directly to the 2022 Memorial Cup Final on June 29, while the loser will face Hamilton in the semi-final on Monday.
Edmonton bows out of the tournament without a regulation win. Their two points in the standings came courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win against Saint John.
It’s a shocking exit for the WHL champion, who terrorized the league with a 50-14-4 record during the regular season. But their offense was stricken heavily when it was announced that leading scorer Dylan Guenther, a 2021 first-round selection of the Arizona Coyotes, would miss the tournament due to injury. Still, the squad had a strong core with NHL prospects Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings) in goal, Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens) and Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators) on defense, and Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers) rounding out an all-star lineup. The team’s depth was nothing to scoff at either, with multiple other NHL prospects and WHL veterans playing big roles.
The WHL’s streak of Memorial Cup losses, which dates back now to 2014 with the Oil Kings, will continue.
Offseason Checklist: Los Angeles Kings
With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Los Angeles Kings.
Before the season began, not many people were picking the Kings to make the playoffs, let alone push Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to a deciding game seven. The club had brought in valuable veteran players like Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault but was still considered to be in the early stages of a rebuild, focusing on Quinton Byfield and the rest of the young talent in a deep prospect pool. Not only did the team as a whole exceed expectations but mid-twenties players like Trevor Moore, Adrian Kempe, and Sean Durzi emerged as legitimate difference-makers that could quickly give the Kings depth that will make them a real contender in the Pacific Division.
With that in mind, this offseason could be time for general manager Rob Blake to push some of the chips to the middle and accelerate the plan.
Lock Up The RFAs
Before anything huge can happen, there is a lot of work to be done on the restricted free agent front. Kempe, Durzi, Lias Andersson, Carl Grundstrom, Brendan Lemieux, Gabriel Vilardi, and Mikey Anderson are all without contracts for next season, with at least some of those names deserving of long-term extensions. How much cap space Blake and company have to work with will be directly tied to how many years they include on these RFA contracts, buying out UFA years wherever possible.
Kempe, for instance, is coming off a breakout 35-goal campaign and would qualify for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024. Any long-term extension will be expensive, and drastically affect the spending limits in free agency. Durzi and Anderson are two other key negotiations after having outstanding runs this year, but are ineligible for arbitration at this point and could be extended on short-term deals that keep costs low.
Decide If The Defense Needs A Big Addition
From the moment his name hit the hot stove, Jakob Chychrun has been speculatively linked to the Kings as a “perfect fit.” The question now though is whether Los Angeles even needs to go out and get that kind of impact name, or just allow their young players to develop and grow into bigger roles. Anderson and Durzi have proven they can play at a high level, while Tobias Bjornfot and Jordan Spence still appear to have legitimate upside. Names like Brandt Clarke and Helge Grans are on their way in a couple of years, meaning if they wait, the Kings could have a stable of capable options without making any moves at all.
Still, the temptation will be there to cash in one or two of those prospects to improve the club for the start of next season and add another experienced, effective option to the top four. There will be names outside of Chychrun that appear on the block this summer, ones that can provide improvement now and still be good enough to contribute for years to come.
Sign Moore To An Extension
Unless you think it was a mirage, Moore is going to be an important player in the NHL for a long time, with his enviable brand of speed, energy, and tenacity. He showed exactly what kind of player he can be in the playoffs, adding five points in seven games while being given brutal defensive deployment against some of the best players in the world.
He’ll also be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning an extension could be in line before he even gets close to the open market. The Kings have plenty of young players coming but it’s difficult to replace a heart-and-soul player like Moore at the best of times, and his exit would likely be felt even more dramatically now that Dustin Brown is out of the picture.
Fix Cal Petersen
The saying “goalies are voodoo” was felt nowhere more than Los Angeles this season, when their two netminders both experienced the complete opposite of what was expected of them. While Jonathan Quick had a rebound year that saw him post his best save percentage since 2018, Cal Petersen crumbled and made his three-year, $15MM extension that kicks in next season look extremely worrying. An .895 save percentage and nearly -12 goals saved above average was a huge dip for a goaltender who was expected to take over the lion’s share of the work, and now it’s unclear what the Kings will have in net once the 36-year-old Quick is out of the picture.
If he has another down season it will be almost impossible to get rid of his $5MM cap hit, making this an interesting summer for the Kings in regards to goaltending. Do they move one or the other and get another netminder capable of stepping into the starter role on a long-term basis? Do they put faith in Petersen to bounce back, and hope Quick can stave off father time a little longer?
It’s a tricky situation and one that could drag down a potential Stanley Cup contender over the next few years. They only have to look at the team that beat them for an example of young talent being held back by inconsistent goaltending. It’s not an experiment they will want to test.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
USA Hockey Names National Junior Evaluation Camp Roster
With the significantly delayed 2022 World Junior Championship just around the corner, national organizations are beginning to announce their preparatory rosters for the tournament. Sweden did so earlier today, and now it’s the United States’ turn.
The eligibility rules for this postponed event are the same, but with the tournament taking place during the offseason, expect a higher-than-normal level of talent released to national teams for the occasion. The full U.S. roster (link here) will have that same luxury.
Highlighting the team’s forward core are San Jose Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau, Calgary Flames prospect Matt Coronato, and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matt Knies. Knies had the luxury of going to the 2022 Winter Olympics, playing at the most prestigious level of international hockey for the United States. On defense, New Jersey Devils prospect Luke Hughes and Los Angeles Kings prospect Brock Faber will take hold.
The most noteworthy part, though, like Sweden’s, is the amount of 2022-eligible choices who will now be under consideration for the final roster. There’s a strong group of forwards in that regard in addition to Logan Cooley, who made the team the first time around. Also under consideration are forwards Cutter Gauthier, Isaac Howard, Jack Hughes, Cam Lund, Rutger McGroarty, Frank Nazar III, and Jimmy Snuggerud. On defense, there’s Seamus Casey, Ryan Chesley, and Lane Hutson headlining the potential 2022 class.
There’s a very solid mix of youth, high-end skill, and veteran leadership on this United States team, who remain one of the favorites to capture a medal.
Vladimir Tkachev Signs In KHL
After just one season in North America, Vladimir Tkachev has gone back to the KHL. The Los Angeles Kings restricted free agent has signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk, his hometown club.
Tkachev, 26, signed with the Kings last spring as an undrafted free agent but ended up spending most of the year in the minor leagues. He appeared in just four NHL games, recording two points in the process. For the Ontario Reign, where he was stationed for the majority of the season, the undersized forward added seven goals and 29 points in 41 regular season games.
Though the Kings can technically retain his exclusive rights by issuing him a qualifying offer this summer, those rights will expire when Tkachev turns 27. Since that happens in October, it means he’ll become an unrestricted free agent once again next year when this one-year KHL deal ends.
Whether he will consider a return at that point is unclear, though it should be noted this wasn’t his first time trying to carve out a career in North America. Tkachev also spent two seasons in the QMJHL as a young player, even coming within one goal of the league championship while playing for the Quebec Remparts.
If he does decide to come back, he would be able to once again negotiate with the entire league.