Wild Rumors

Prospect Notes: Lodnia, Khovanov, Kravtsov, Andersson

January 2, 2021 at 6:07 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

A pair of Minnesota Wild forward prospects currently on loan in Russia will go different ways for the rest of the season. Ivan Lodnia, the team’s third-round pick in 2017, will leave the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk to return to North America in time for the Iowa Wild’s AHL camp later this month, reports The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Lodnia is in his first pro season after five years in the OHL and has seven points through 27 KHL games thus far. The skilled American forward is expected to spend the rest of his season in the AHL, but could push for an NHL look late in the year if he impresses with Iowa. Meanwhile, 2018 third-round pick Alexander Khovanov will stay in Russia for the rest of the year. Currently on loan to the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan, who in turn have loaned him to the minor league VHL, Khovanov has 15 points in 16 VHL games after getting blanked though seven KHL games. Also a first-year pro, Khovanov scored 99 points in the QMJHL last year but is not as far along in his development as Lodnia and can take the rest of the year to work on his game in his native Russia.

As expected, New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton has confirmed to the media that prospect forward Vitali Kravtsov will remain in Russia through the end of the KHL season. Kravtsov is currently on loan to his longtime KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk and he is currently finding success with 12 goals and 17 points in 34 games. Gorton stated that the team felt Kravtsov’s development was better served by letting him play out the KHL season given this success. However, the team will explore bringing Kravtsov back once the KHL season is complete. The 21-year-old Kravtsov, the No. 9 overall pick in 2018, played in 39 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last season but has yet to make his NHL debut.
A teammate of Kravtsov’s in Hartford early last year, Lias Andersson also finished the season in Europe. Andersson tells The Los Angeles Times’ Jack Harris that he had planned to spend the entire 2020-21 season back in Sweden with the SHL’s HV71. However, an off-season trade from the New York Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings changed his mind. Andersson now plans to spend the whole season in North America, regardless of his role within his new organization. For what it’s worth, Andersson notched 11 points in 19 games while on loan to HV71 so far this season and personally feels that his game has improved, so perhaps he can finally carve out a regular NHL role with the young Kings squad.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild

January 1, 2021 at 5:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $78,799,421 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Kirill Kaprizov (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
Kaprizov: $925K

After years of trying to get him to North America, Minnesota was finally successful in convincing Kaprizov to do so although they had to burn one of his two cheap entry-level years last season when he wasn’t eligible to play to get him to sign. Given his success in the KHL, he should jump into an impact role right away and if he’s able to produce as they expect he can, he should hit his bonuses without much trouble and position himself for a big-money deal next offseason.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nick Bjugstad ($2.05MM, UFA)*
F Nick Bonino ($4.1MM, UFA)
F Joel Eriksson Ek ($1.488MM, RFA)
F Kevin Fiala ($3MM, RFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($2.875MM, UFA)
F Ryan Hartman ($1.9MM, RFA)
D Brad Hunt ($700K, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Greg Pateryn ($2.25MM, UFA)

*-Pittsburgh retained $2.05MM on Bjugstad’s deal in a trade this offseason.

Among the restricted free agent forwards, Fiala’s deal is the most pressing one. After struggling following his trade from Nashville, his first full season went much better while he led the team in scoring. If he’s able to pick up where he left off and show that he’s a capable front-line player, he’ll be well-positioned to at least double his current AAV. Hartman came to Minnesota by way of a non-tender as Nashville opted to avoid arbitration back when his price tag wasn’t half of this. Unless he can improve his offensive numbers and move into a more prominent role, another non-tender is certainly on the table, especially with bottom-six forwards feeling the squeeze more than usual in the current cap environment. Eriksson Ek had a career year offensively last season and could push for more top-six minutes this season. Unless his offensive production really spikes, he shouldn’t be able to command a huge raise but he could still double his current price tag.

As for the UFA forwards, it’s largely a collection of role players. Johansson may get an opportunity to play down the middle which would certainly help his cause in free agency but he didn’t have a huge market last time around and he’s coming off a tough year. It’d be surprising if he came close to $4.5MM on his next deal. Bonino was brought in from Nashville this offseason in a draft-day trade and with their lack of depth down the middle, he’ll get a bigger role than he would have had with the Predators. Having said that, even if he gets top-six minutes, he is more of a third liner at this stage of his career. Those centers can still carry some value but he’ll be facing a small dip at the very least. Bjugstad was a cap dump from Pittsburgh after an injury-riddled campaign and he should have an opportunity to restore some value. But even if he has a big season, it’d be hard to imagine that he’d get close to his $4.1MM combined current cost because of the injuries. Foligno is a popular player who plays an energy role but those players didn’t fare well in free agency last year and with the cap not expected to rise, they won’t do well next offseason so a decrease in salary for him seems like a near-certainty.

Pateryn’s time with the Wild hasn’t gone well. He was actively shopped last summer and then missed 44 games this season due to core muscle surgery and then had back surgery back in June. He’s likely going to battle for number six minutes on the back end and players in that role should be closer to half of his price tag. If he can stay healthy, that’s about what he’d be able to command next summer. Hunt isn’t the strongest in his own end but he is a threat with his point shot as well which has allowed him to hang around the last few years on minimum contracts. He played more of a regular role last season and if he can stay in that sixth spot this season, he could push for a bit more of a raise than the pending jump in the league minimum.

Two Years Remaining

F Jordan Greenway ($2.1MM, RFA)
G Kaapo Kahkonen ($725K, RFA)
F Victor Rask ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Stalock ($785K, UFA)
F Nico Sturm ($725K, UFA)

Rask’s acquisition by then-GM Paul Fenton was a headscratcher and not much has changed in that regard as Rask has struggled mightily with his new team, spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch. In the right situation, he could still play but that’s with a cap hit of under $1MM, not $4MM. Greenway has put up decent numbers the last two seasons despite not seeking a lot of top-six minutes. He should get that opportunity during this deal which will dictate whether he’s a core piece that should get a long-term deal or someone who goes short term again. Sturm, an undrafted college free agent signing, is an option for the fourth line or taxi squad but will need to establish himself as a regular to have a chance to earn more on his next contract.

Stalock received his deal to give him some stability and Minnesota someone to expose in expansion. However, it’s proving to be quite the bargain after he vastly outperformed Devan Dubnyk last season. If he can repeat that performance moving forward, he could easily double that price tag. Unfortunately for him and Minnesota, he’s out indefinitely with an upper-body injury which means Kahkonen could break camp with the Wild. He’s their goalie of the future – it’s no coincidence that his contract expires at the same time as Stalock’s – but a one-year deal two summers from now is most likely as he won’t have the NHL track record to justify a long-term contract.

Three Years Remaining

D Mathew Dumba ($6MM, UFA)
D Carson Soucy ($2.75MM, UFA)
G Cam Talbot ($3.67MM, UFA)

Dumba has long been the subject of trade speculation and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon, especially with expansion looming and three other blueliners on long-term deals carrying no-move clauses. Although he’s coming off a quiet year offensively compared to his previous few seasons, he’s still a right-shot defender that’s capable of logging heavy minutes. Those players still carry a lot of value and impact defensemen still got paid this offseason despite the cap constraints. Dumba will be 29 when he hits unrestricted free agency and if his production rebounds over the next few years, he should be able to command close to a max-term contract with a bit of a raise.

Soucy is one of the rare players that was able to get a sizable contract despite a limited track record this offseason. He was a regular for most of the year but still qualified for Group VI free agency, allowing him to hit the open market early and GM Bill Guerin paid a pretty penny given his role. Clearly, they think he can get to another level by the time the contract is up.

Talbot had a nice rebound season with Calgary which allowed him to fare much better in free agency this time around than a year ago. He enters as the undisputed starter for now but could very well be splitting time with Kakhonen by the end. He’ll also be over 35 for his next contract so Talbot will likely have to go year-to-year from here.

Four Or More Years Remaining

D Jonas Brodin ($4.167MM in 2020-21, $6MM from 2021-22 through 2027-28)
F Zach Parise ($7.538MM through 2024-25)
D Jared Spurgeon ($7.575MM through 2026-27)
D Ryan Suter ($7.538MM through 2024-25)
F Mats Zuccarello ($6MM through 2023-24)

Parise’s contract hasn’t held up particularly well over time but at the same time, he has led the Wild in goals in each of the last two seasons. As he gets older, the last couple of years could sting but for now, he’s overpaid but is still producing at a top-six level. Zuccarello didn’t have a great first season in Minnesota and his ice time dropped sharply by nearly four minutes a night as well. There should be a path to more playing time now but they will need more from him to avoid the potential of this being a negative-value deal.

Spurgeon has come a long way over the years and has gone from a player deemed unworthy of a contract by the Islanders (who drafted him in 2008) to a largely unheralded top-pairing player with the Wild. He isn’t under the radar as much now thanks to this contract which begins this season but he will be a fixture on their back end for years to come. Suter’s identical deal to Parise has held up better over time; while he isn’t able to log 28 or more minutes a night like he was a few years ago, he’s still a quality top-pairing player. Brodin has never been a big point producer but he has been a quality shutdown defender which helped earn him his big extension back in September. While they won’t get a lot of production for that price tag, they certainly were comfortable with that going into the deal. Perhaps most notable about the extension is that it came with a no-move clause that kicks in right away, meaning that all three of these defensemen are automatic protectees in expansion.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

G Devan Dubnyk ($2.167MM in 2020-21)

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Fiala
Worst Value: Rask

Looking Ahead

Minnesota is in the midst of reshaping their roster and while a lot of teams don’t have flexibility, they certainly do. They have nearly $3MM in cap room for the upcoming season which is more than most and should allow them to easily afford to add someone if they get off to a good start or to retain and/or absorb a contract coming back if they have to sell.

The 2021 offseason is shaping up to be an interesting one for them. With over $24MM coming off the books, Guerin has a real opportunity to remake his roster in a hurry without giving them any long-term cap constraints either. Yes, Fiala will take up a fair-sized chunk of that money but there will still be more than enough left over to make an addition or two of note. There are a lot of players that need to be signed to fill out the roster but the Wild could be a team to watch for next summer on the free agent or trade market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Smith, Sexton, Eichel

January 1, 2021 at 12:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks will start training camp in a few days and, perhaps surprisingly, Zack Smith will be there. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke to Smith’s agent today and reports that Smith is healthy and plans to be in camp this year, fighting for a roster spot with everyone else. The veteran forward hasn’t played in nearly a year, last hitting the ice on February 12, 2020, before back surgery put him on the shelf.

Earlier this week it was also reported that Andrew Shaw is healthy and will be attending camp, meaning suddenly the Blackhawks have a pair of NHL forward that weren’t being penciled into the lineup just a few months ago. That’s good news, especially given the recent losses the team has experienced, with Kirby Dach, Jonathan Toews, and Alexander Nylander all ruled out, perhaps for the entire season. Shaw and Smith are certainly not replacements for those names, but they at least can provide a little depth to a reeling squad.

The Minnesota Wild have hired Randy Sexton as Senior Advisor to the General Manager, where he will re-join former colleague Bill Guerin. The two spent years together with the Pittsburgh Penguins when Guerin was first a development coach, then an AGM, and Sexton the team’s director of amateur scouting. More recently Sexton was an AGM for the Buffalo Sabres, working with Jason Botterill, another former Pittsburgh executive, but was swept out with everyone else when changes were made this summer.
Speaking of Buffalo, things didn’t get off to a good start today, though it’s not time to panic just yet. Jack Eichel missed the first on-ice session of training camp due to an upper-body injury and is listed day-to-day in his recovery. Interestingly, that left Casey Mittelstadt and Riley Sheahan rotating through the first line center spot between Taylor Hall and Victor Olofsson. Sheahan of course is in camp on a PTO trying to make a name for himself, so today was a nice opportunity to make an early impression. The team also didn’t have Linus Ullmark on the ice thanks to an immigration issue that pushed back his quarantine period. Buffalo expects the goaltender to join them in the next few days.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild

December 25, 2020 at 7:39 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

We’ve now made it past Thanksgiving and the holiday season is now upon us. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Wild most thankful for?

Their talented and deep defense corps.

While Mathew Dumba has been in trade speculation dating back to before the entry draft in large part to the looming expansion draft, he remains with Minnesota. Ryan Suter remains a top-pairing blueliner while Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin round out their top four. With the exception of Dumba, they’re all signed for at least the next five years as well. Carson Soucy established himself as a regular last season as well while Greg Pateryn and Brad Hunt have had successful stints in the NHL in recent years as well.

Of course, having as strong of a back end as they do comes at a price as their $30.98MM combined cap hit is the highest of any defense corps in the league. But it’s high-priced for a reason as very quietly, Minnesota’s blueline group is among the strongest in the league and will be a big factor in whether they make the playoffs in the West Division.

Who are the Wild most thankful for?

Kirill Kaprizov.

Yes, he hasn’t even played a single game for them yet but he’s listed here for two reasons. First, they’re likely thrilled that the courting to lure him to North America (a process that began before this site even launched which was back in the 2016 offseason) is finally done after he signed his entry-level deal just before the playoffs began back in the summer. Second, he has the potential to become one of their top players right away. Kaprizov has been one of the top players in the KHL the last four years and could very well slide onto Minnesota’s top line almost immediately. They’ll only get the one cheap year out of him having burned the first season of his entry-level deal in the bubble but at this point, they’re just thankful that after years of waiting, he’s under contract and will be able to make an immediate impact when the season starts next month.

What would the Wild be even more thankful for?

Cam Talbot retaining his form from last season. After struggling in Edmonton as the starter, he was much better in Calgary as the 1B option behind David Rittich; he remained in that role for most of the year despite outperforming Rittich during the year. But when it mattered most, the Flames turned to him in the playoffs where he continued to play well, helping to land him a three-year deal back in October.

After Devan Dubnyk’s recent struggles, Wild GM Bill Guerin clearly believes that Talbot is the short-term solution to get things back on track between the pipes. Unfortunately, the pressure will be a little higher at the beginning of the year with Alex Stalock (who quietly had a strong season as Minnesota’s backup in 2019-20) out indefinitely due to an upper-body injury. That pushes youngster Kaapo Kahkonen into the backup role but he has a total of five NHL games under his belt. As a result, a lot will be riding on Talbot’s shoulders early and they will need him to play like he did for Calgary last season.

What should be on the Wild’s holiday wish list?

More scoring help. While Minnesota was a middle of the pack team in terms of scoring last season, three of their top-eight scorers aren’t there anymore (Eric Staal, Kevin Fiala, and Jason Zucker) while Ryan Donato, who was tied for sixth in goals, is now in San Jose. In terms of newcomers being added to fold, Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, and Nick Bjugstad are all coming off of underwhelming seasons offensively. On paper, even if Kaprizov lives up to the hype, getting consistent goal production could be a challenge.

The good news for Guerin and the Wild is that they’re one of the few teams that still has some cap room to work with. While it may not be enough to make a splash (such as going after Mike Hoffman) right away, if they’re able to bank that space early on, they’ll be well-positioned to afford to add a higher-priced addition midseason. That’s something that can’t be said for many of their divisional counterparts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

League Notes: OHL, Stadium Series, Schedule

December 23, 2020 at 12:04 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The OHL has pushed back the start of their season even further, with many now questioning whether it will happen at all. The entire province of Ontario will go into a lockdown on December 26, leading to a decision by the junior league to push things back indefinitely.

If the league does eventually cancel the season, it will be a lost year for many prospects trying to further their development. In that scenario, those that are already under NHL contracts could potentially join the team’s taxi squad or report to the AHL (should there be a minor league season). Those that are not signed could potentially also sign amateur contracts with the AHL like they often do after the CHL season ends, but it appears as though many will just lose an entire year of play. For draft-eligible juniors, that will only confuse their stock even more, perhaps leading to some wildly different evaluations come draft day.

The NHL has postponed the 2021 Stadium Series game that was set to be held at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on February 20. Though that comes as no surprise, it is just another disappointment in a long year of them. The Carolina Hurricanes have never been involved in an outdoor game and will have to wait even longer for their first appearance. The league does say it “intends to return to North Carolina for this signature event in the near future.”
The league will release the full schedule for the upcoming season later today, which is expected to include short baseball-like series between teams. An earlier report even indicated that there could even be four-game segments between teams, though that seems to be the exception, not the rule. Leaks for opening night opponents have continued to spring up, including one recent report from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that indicates the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers could play on January 13.

Minnesota Wild Sign Andrew Hammond

December 16, 2020 at 11:18 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Minnesota Wild have grabbed one of the last few goaltenders on the market with any NHL experience, signing Andrew Hammond to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. The announcement came with some bad news, however, as Alex Stalock is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

Earlier this month our Zach Leach profiled Hammond, making the case for him as the market’s top remaining goaltender. That’s hard to believe given he hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2017-18 season, but here he is just a few weeks later earning himself a contract. Given Stalock’s injury, he may earn himself some time in the NHL as well.

Make no mistake, Hammond isn’t here to become the future in net for Minnesota. The team signed Cam Talbot to a three-year contract in free agency and have top prospect Kaapo Kahkonen waiting in the wings for his chance to take over. If Kahkonen isn’t going to get regular playing time in the NHL though, it makes sense for him to not have to serve as Talbot’s backup, anchoring the AHL’s Iowa Wild instead.

If 2020 seems like it has been a full decade and you can’t remember back to the spring of 2015, you may have forgotten about how Hammond took the NHL by storm. The undrafted goaltender came up for the Ottawa Senators and proceeded to go 20-1-2 down the stretch, posting a .941 save percentage and even earning himself Hart and Vezina Trophy votes. The “Hamburglar” became a folk hero in Ottawa and will always be remembered for that run.

Amazingly, even though he has appeared in just 31 regular season games since that 2014-15 season, Hammond was again forced into playoff work with the Colorado Avalanche in 2018. He appeared in three games against the Nashville Predators and actually posted a .933, but failed to get the Avalanche through to the second round.

It’s those impressive short-term performances that make Hammond such a perfect fit for the Wild as they deal with Stalock’s injury. He can potentially spell Talbot early in the year as the team navigates a condensed schedule, while still allowing Kahkonen to start at the AHL level if the team chooses.

Shawn Boudrias Signs AHL Contract

December 14, 2020 at 10:44 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Though he failed to sign an NHL contract with the Minnesota Wild earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent, Shawn Boudrias will stay with the organization that drafted him. The 21-year-old forward has signed an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild and will start his professional career there after an impressive finish to his junior years.

Boudrias, selected 179th overall by the Wild in 2018, scored 35 goals and 79 points in 59 games with the Cape Breton Eagles last season, trailing only Ottawa Senators second-round pick Yegor Sokolov for the team lead in both categories. That was the cherry on top of a pretty effective QMJHL career which included more than 100 goals and 200 points over parts of five seasons.

In Iowa, the 6’5″ forward can continue to develop his game and attempt to prove that he was worth an entry-level deal after all. What that first AHL season will look like is still unclear, but whenever it starts and whatever it looks like, Boudrias will be there.

Russia Finalizes World Junior Roster

December 12, 2020 at 11:51 am CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

Next up, Russia has submitted a final roster for the upcoming World Junior Tournament in Edmonton later this month. As usual for Russia, the roster contains a number of prospect names familiar to NHL fans, but also has a few players who have made their name in their native country but have not been drafted into the NHL. Below is the 2020 Russian entry:

F Mikhail Abramov (TOR)
F Yegor Afanasyev (NSH)
F Rodion Amirov (TOR)
F Zakhar Bardakov (undrafted)
F Daniil Bashkirov (undrafted)
F Yegor Chinakhov (CLB)
F Vladislav Firstov (MIN)
F Arseniy Gritsyuk (NJD)
F Maxim Groshev (TBL)
F Marat Khusnutdinov (MIN)
F Vasili Podkolzin (VAN)
F Vasili Ponomaryov (CAR)
F Ilya Safonov (undrafted)
F Yegor Spirodonov (SJS)

D Roman Bychkov (BOS)
D Daniil Chayka (2021)
D Semyon Chistyakov (NSH)
D Kirill Kirsanov (2021)
D Artemi Knyazev (SJS)
D Yan Kuznetsov (CGY)
D Shakir Mukhamadullin (NJD)
D Yegor Shekhovstov (undrafted)

G Artur Akhtyamov (TOR)
G Yaroslav Askarov (NSH)
G Vsevolod Skotnikov (undrafted)

This is a deeper Russian roster compared to some more recent entries, especially on defense – often a weak area – where arguably every player will be an NHL draft pick by this time next year. The team contains 18 existing NHL selections from 11 different clubs. The Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs lead the way with three prospects apiece, including several of the team’s best players. The Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks each have two different members of the squad.

Unsurprisingly, all but four of Russia’s selections are currently playing in the country, participating at various levels including the KHL, VHL, and MHL. Abramov and Ponomaryov are currently playing in the QMJHL. Interestingly, the University of Connecticut notes that teammates Firstov and Kuznetsov are the first ever NCAA selections to Russia’s WJC roster.

Overseas Notes: Guskov, Kochetkov, Postma

December 8, 2020 at 7:16 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

Minnesota Wild prospect Matvey Guskov has reversed course on his development plan, and in a big way. The 19-year-old Russian forward, a fifth-round pick in 2019, has spent the past two seasons in the OHL with the London Knights. Even after an off-season trade to the North Bay Battalion, there was no indication that Guskov planned to leave North America. Whether due to the delayed start to the OHL season or for some other reason, that has now changed. Guskov has signed with the KHL’s CSKA Moscow, the top team of the program that he grew up in. However, this is not just until the OHL season resumes or even just for the 2020-21 season. CSKA has announced a three-year contract with Guskov, keeping him in Russia – and away from Minnesota – until at least 2023. The Wild are no strangers to playing the waiting game with Russian prospects; the club was finally able to sign 2015 pick turned KHL superstar Kirill Kaprizov this year. CSKA is one of the KHL’s best clubs and Guskov could very well beneift from his time spent there. However, it has to be frustrating for Minnesota to have another talented player skip out of team control and into the Russian void, especially one that seemed committed to the North American development route.

Since he was selected in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes, things have not gone according to plan for goaltender Petr Kotchetkov. The Hurricanes were happy to take the overager early in the second round in 2019 after he dominated the Russian minor league VHL and looked strong in a pair of KHL starts. However, he failed to take a step forward last season; his VHL numbers improved, but he struggled in his KHL opportunities and was eventually traded away by powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg. His play improved somewhat with Vityaz Podolsk, but he was still demoted to the junior-level MHL for some time as well, where he continued to struggle. So far this season, Kotchetkov had played exclusively on the KHL with Vityaz, however his play has again failed to live up to expectations. As a result, Kotchektov has been demoted to the VHL. He is headed back to HK Ryazan, the same team he made his name with in his draft year, showing full circle how the prospect has failed to improve since then. With a very weak pipeline in net and questions at the NHL level in the immediate future, the Hurricanes need to decide whether Kotchetkov, 21, is still their potential goalie of the future and if so may need to bring him over to North America soon to try to get him back on track.
Defenseman Paul Postma has been unable to stay in one place for very long since leaving the NHL and is on the move again. The veteran over more than 200 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins, Postma left North America 2017-18 after he was used sparingly by the Bruins. He landed with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan, where he was an All-Star and one of the best defensemen in the league in 2018-19. He jumped to Metallurg Magnitogosk last summer on a lucrative one-year deal, but ended up leaving the club early in the season. He eventually signed with HC Lugano of the Swiss NLA where he was again a productive player on the blue line. Yet, Postma opted not to stay in Switzerland either. Possibly waiting for an NHL offer, Postma has remained a free agent well into the seasons of many European leagues. He has finally landed with Austrian club Klagenfurter AC, where he should again be a dominant presence on a one-year deal. What happens after this contract expires is anyone’s guess, but Postma should have his pick in Europe if the interest in North America continues to be underwhelming.

Mats Zuccarello Out Indefinitely Following Surgery

December 4, 2020 at 5:14 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Whenever the upcoming NHL season actually gets underway, the Minnesota Wild will be without one of their veteran forwards. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Mats Zuccarello will not be ready for the start of the season and “may be out a good bit longer” after surgery on his right arm. The procedure was weeks ago, but he has flown from Norway to Minnesota to see the team doctors.

Zuccarello, 33, broke that right arm two seasons ago and Russo reports that though not necessarily related, it was discovered to have a torn ligament. The veteran forward played last season through discomfort, which potentially could be why his numbers declined quite drastically in his first year with Minnesota. In 65 games the undersized winger scored 15 goals and 37 points, which was the first time he failed to crack the 40-point mark in a year where he played at least 48 games. In Minnesota’s four postseason contests, he recorded just a single assist.

The five-year, $30MM contract that the Wild signed Zuccarello to in 2019 has been a disaster so far, especially given Paul Fenton, the GM at the time, was fired just a few weeks later. When combined with Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Wild have more than $20MM in cap space committed through at least 2023-24 to a trio of players already in their mid-thirties. For a club trying to find their way under a new coaching staff and front office, that doesn’t bode well for the future.

Perhaps of course Zuccarello will be able to return at full strength and once again assume his place as one of the league’s top playmakers, but it’s now been several years since that 44-assist season in 2016-17. If he is out for a long period of time the Wild could potentially put his $6MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve in order to bring in a replacement—notably, Minnesota fan favorite Mikael Granlund remains unsigned—but it also could mean more opportunity for the young players in the system. Jordan Greenway still hasn’t reached the ceiling he has flashed as a top power forward, while first-round draft pick Marco Rossi will be battling for an NHL spot after returning from the World Juniors. Kirill Kaprizov was already guaranteed a spot, but this could mean even more responsibility and ice time lands on his shoulders as he makes the transition to the NHL.

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