Jakub Jerabek Signs With Edmonton Oilers
Tuesday: According to PuckPedia and CapFriendly, Jerabek’s deal will pay him $1MM this season in Edmonton. That leaves the team with just under $4MM remaining in cap space to sign Nurse and make any other additions necessary.
Monday: Tons of speculation erupted recently about who the Edmonton Oilers would bring in to help replace Andrej Sekera after it was announced he had undergone surgery, and today we got an answer. Jakub Jerabek has signed a one-year contract with the team after splitting last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.
Jerabek signed out of the KHL last summer, and began the year with the Laval Rocket in the AHL. A capable puck-mover and third pairing defender, he eventually found his way up to the Canadiens where he suited up for 25 games. As the Montreal season was out of reach and Jerabek was on only a one-year deal, the Canadiens flipped him to the Capitals at the deadline in exchange for a fifth-round pick. In 11 games down the stretch with the Capitals, Jerabek matched his Montreal total with four points but was asked to play in just two postseason contests as the team fought for the Stanley Cup.
In Edmonton, Jerabek doesn’t perfectly replace Sekera but will give the team another option to battle with the likes of Kevin Gravel and Keegan Lowe for the last few roster spots. It’s unlikely that the 27-year old is given much powerplay time or asked to defend the tough matchups, but at least he represents a bit of upside for minimal cost. The Oilers are pressed right up against the salary cap given that they still have a Darnell Nurse contract to work out, and can’t really afford to acquire any impact defenders—though, Sekera’s status could change that if he’s destined for long-term injured reserve. Regardless, the team will need to find a way to turn this group of defensemen into a playoff caliber blue line in short order, or risk wasting another one of Connor McDavid‘s prime years in mediocrity.
Snapshots: Hanifin, McCarron, Leivo
Kristen Anderson of Postmedia spoke with Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving today, who explained that he’s confident a contract will be worked out with Noah Hanifin before training camp starts in a few weeks. Hanifin is the team’s final unsigned restricted free agent after trading away Hunter Shinkaruk and signing Kerby Rychel earlier today, and could be in line for a long-term deal.
Acquired in the Dougie Hamilton trade earlier this year, Hanifin could be a key part of the Flames rebounding to the playoffs this season. The team is hoping that a shake up on defense as well as several new faces up front and behind the bench will allow a talented group to get back into the postseason hunt. Treliving doesn’t seem concerned about a potential hold out, telling Anderson the contract “will get done, but it’s just not done yet.”
- While the Montreal Canadiens signed Shinkaruk quickly after acquiring him from the Flames today, they have another outstanding restricted free agent left to sign as well. Michael McCarron still doesn’t have a contract for the 2017-18 season, but Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic believes it will be resolved in one way or another soon. Godin didn’t elaborate on whether that meant a contract or a trade, but we’ll likely soon find out. McCarron was a first round pick of the Canadiens in 2013, but to this point has shown almost no offensive ability at the NHL level and has struggled to even stay in the lineup. With just eight points in 70 career NHL contests, the 23-year old may be running out of time in Montreal to make an impact.
- It was recently reported by James Mirtle of The Athletic that Calvin Pickard has been shopped by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he doubled down today in his “State of the Franchise” column (subscription required) saying the goaltender is “being offered around the league” currently. That’s not the only Maple Leafs player available though, as Mirtle also states that depth forward Josh Leivo is “available on the trade market.” That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that Leivo asked for a trade earlier this year due to his lack of playing time, but some believed that the new front office would push to have him inserted into the lineup on a more regular basis. Leivo has produced 22 points in 57 NHL games during his short career, and has done that with extremely limited minutes. If someone does want to take a shot on his offensive upside, the Maple Leafs may be listening.
Montreal Canadiens Trade Kerby Rychel To Calgary Flames
Kerby Rychel is off to another organization, this time traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Hunter Shinkaruk. Interestingly, both players were unsigned restricted free agents and needed new contracts for the season. The Canadiens wasted no time getting Shinkaruk signed, inking him to a one-year two-way contract worth $650K at the NHL level. The Flames followed suit soon after by signing Rychel to a one-year two-way deal worth $725K. Rychel is now on his fourth NHL organization, after being traded by the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs previously.
It’s been a tough road for Rychel since he was selected 19th overall in the 2013 draft. After the draft he returned to captain his Windsor Spitfires in the OHL only to be traded by his father, GM and former NHL player Warren Rychel, during the season to the Guelph Storm. Guelph would ultimately win an OHL Championship with the power winger in the fold, as Rychel lead the way with 32 points in 20 playoff games. After that final season in junior he would join the Springfield Falcons of the AHL for the 2014-15 season where he would find some success, and even make his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets just after his 20th birthday.
After 32 more games with the Blue Jackets in the 2015-16 season he was traded to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Scott Harrington, a talented prospect in his own right who hadn’t been able to find full-time NHL work. Rychel never did suit up for the Maple Leafs, instead playing parts of two seasons with the Toronto Marlies but missing out on their Calder Cup-winning performance after being shipped off to Montreal at the deadline.
Shinkaruk has a similar story, after being selected just five spots after Rychel in 2003 by the Vancouver Canucks. The winger would only play a single game for the Canucks before being shipped to Calgary in exchange for Markus Granlund, and he hasn’t found much success in the Flames organization either. Though Shinkaruk is a fine minor league player, he has just 15 NHL games under his belt and has barely shown any reason to think he’ll become an NHL regular going forward. That next step is certainly possible for both players, but this could easily be a swap of minor league talent when all is said and done.
Rychel and Shinkaruk will both require waivers to be assigned to the minor leagues this season, a process they already went through last year.
Influx Of Foreign Talent A Trend In 2018 Off-Season
While the NHL free agent market remains flush with talented veteran players, some now beginning to depart for Europe without any leads around the league, NHL teams have quietly imported a fair amount of foreign talent this off-season. While few of these players are stars or even surefire regulars at the NHL level, the fact remains that those on two-way deals slated for depth roles are nevertheless taking those jobs from the current remnants of the market, who at this point would gladly take an AHL assignment with upside. Teams clearly have felt this off-season that taking a chance on a promising foreign player was a better use of a contract than recycling aging domestic veterans. A total of 36 players who played in Europe last season are now headed to North America, where they will suit up for 24 different organizations – showing the popularity of importing talent this off-season. Here are the foreign free agent signings this summer:
D Ilya Lyubushkin (Arizona Coyotes)
F David Ullstrom (Arizona Coyotes)
F Martin Bakos (Boston Bruins)
D Lawrence Pilut (Buffalo Sabres)
F Yasin Ehliz (Calgary Flames)
D Marcus Hogstrom (Calgary Flames)
F Saku Maenalanen (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Dominik Kahun (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Kevin Lankinen (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Jacob Nilsson (Chicago Blackhawks)
G Pavel Francouz (Colorado Avalanche)
F Valeri Nichushkin (Dallas Stars)*
G Patrik Rybar (Detroit Red Wings)
G Mikko Koskinen (Edmonton Oilers)
D Joel Persson (Edmonton Oilers)
D Bogdan Kiselevich (Florida Panthers)
F Ilya Kovalchuk (Los Angeles Kings)
D Eric Martinsson (Minnesota Wild)
D Michal Moravcik (Montreal Canadiens)
D David Sklenicka (Montreal Canadiens)
F Carl Persson (Nashville Predators)
D Filip Pyrochta (Nashville Predators)
G Miroslav Svoboda (Nashville Predators)
D Egor Yakovlev (New Jersey Devils)
F Jan Kovar (New York Islanders)
D Yannick Rathgeb (New York Islanders)
F Michael Lindqvist (New York Rangers)
F Ville Meskanen (New York Rangers)
D Juuso Riikola (Pittsburgh Penguins)
F Lukas Radil (San Jose Sharks)
F Antti Suomela (San Jose Sharks)
F Par Lindholm (Toronto Maple Leafs)
D Igor Ozhiganov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Brooks Macek (Vegas Golden Knights)
F Juuso Ikonen (Washington Capitals)
F Maximilian Kammerer (Washington Capitals)
F Dennis Everberg (Winnipeg Jets)
While the obvious highlight of this list is the return of Kovalchuk, inking a substantial deal with the L.A. Kings, the rest are far more than just AHL placeholders. Nichushkin, albeit not a true free agent signing since his rights never left the Stars, is back in Dallas and looking to make an impact. Koskinen is set to be the primary backup to Cam Talbot in Edmonton and, while his role was muddied somewhat by the acquisition of Philipp Grubauer, Francouz is sure to see some action in net with Colorado. Kovar was brought in to be a starter in New York, while Ullstrom – a former Islander – will push for a roster spot with Arizona. After a couple of years abroad, Everberg is back in the league and hoping to find a role in Winnipeg. If Simon Despres, on a PTO with the Montreal Canadiens, earns a contract, he could make a difference as well.
Several more of these players could wind up winning spots in training camp battles, while even more will earn call-ups throughout the year. It is an extensive list and each and every name bears watching as they begin or continue their North American pro careers. Both the risk and upside of bringing over fresh, foreign talent versus sticking with experienced yet stagnant veterans is apparent. For some teams these gambles will fail, while others may find a diamond in the rough.
Eastern Notes: Carlo, Tkachuk, Dobson, Chaput
The Boston Bruins dealt with numerous injuries over the course of the 2017-18 season, but that didn’t stop the team from getting into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. One injury that truly crippled the team was the loss of defenseman Brandon Carlo right at the end of the season with a broken fibula. While the team is solid on defense, the presence of the 6-foot-5 blueliner has been critical to their team.
Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that Carlo injury is fully healed as x-rays were clean and the 21-year-old has already been skating for more than a month. Not an offensive defenseman, Carlo has had trouble adjusting to the NHL physical game, having spent his rookie campaign next to Zdeno Chara and then being teamed up as the defensive presence to offensive sparkplug Torey Krug. However, Carlo said he’s added close to 10 pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason and is ready to take the bulk of another full campaign in Boston.
“I think last year was good for me in an aspect,” Carlo said, “to learn so much about myself and my game. Coming into this third year, I have really high expectations for myself. I expect to be back on track with helping out in every aspect that I can. I think overall I have to come in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder and have a little more confidence in myself and my overall game.”
- While there are many people who feel that winger Brady Tkachuk, who announced his intention of going pro Saturday, might be better served playing with the OHL London Knights or the AHL’s Belleville Senators next year to continue his development, Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that Tkachuk actually has as good a shot of anyone on the roster to make the NHL squad out of training camp. The team isn’t deep at the left wing position, which includes players such as Ryan Dzingel, Mikkel Boedker, Max McCormick, Magnus Paajarvi, Tom Pyatt and Zack Smith. Not exactly top of the line. Considering that Smith is likely to move to center next year and Pyatt could move to the right side, if needed, there is plenty of space for Tkachuk if he impresses in training camp.
- Historically, players picked at No. 12 in the NHL Draft usually don’t end up with their NHL time right away in their first season, but that could be a possibility when it comes to New York Islanders 2018 first-round pick Noah Dobson. The 18-year-old prospect showed off his skills with a dominant performance at the World Junior Showcase for Canada by posting five goals in three games. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes another impressive showing at training camp in front of coach Barry Trotz could force the team’s hand to keep him, considering the team’s lack of depth on defense.
- While the Montreal Canadiens didn’t make too many waves this offseason, the team did sign several smaller names, including Michael Peca, Xavier Ouellet, Kenny Agostino and Michael Chaput. The 26-year-old Chaput is an interesting case as he’s played 135 NHL games already in his career, but with the exception of a 68-games season back in 2016-17, the center has spent most of his career in the AHL. Now, with many openings potentially available in Montreal, Chaput feels he’s got a great shot a full-time role with Montreal this year, according to NHL.com’s Matt Cudzinowski. “My mindset is to try and make this team. I want to play for the Canadiens. That’s my main goal. That’s what I’m working towards,” said Chaput.
Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Krug, Reinhart, Kotkaniemi
With the last piece of major housekeeping completed in Detroit after the Red Wings signed star Dylan Larkin to a five-year, $30.5MM deal, the team now has to take a look at their salary cap, which they will be over, even after they move forward Johan Franzen to LTIR. General manager Ken Holland told The Athletic’s Craig Custance, they will likely be “in the neighborhood” of $1MM over the cap.
“We’re very tight,” Holland said on Friday of the cap situation. “With this deal, we’re probably a dribble over. Not a lot, but we’re over. We’re going to have to make some decisions moving forward.”
One possibility would be to bury the contracts of Martin Frk and Luke Witkowski in the minors. However, if the team believes that veteran Henrik Zetterberg could end up missing the season as his injuries haven’t improved this summer, the team could place him on LTIR as well and wouldn’t have anything else to worry about. Custance adds, however, that if Zetterberg does return, that likely would end the chances of 2018 first-round pick Filip Zadina of making the roster out of training camp.
- In a mailbag series, Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that with eight quality NHL defenseman on the roster, the team will likely make a trade before the season starts. The team has Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, John Moore, Kevan Miller, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo on the roster. The scribe writes that could mean that the team might be ready to move Krug if the team can get a big return for the blueliner. And they would need to, as Krug is one of the top offensive defensemen in the league as only Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Brent Burns and John Klingberg have more points over the last two seasons. He has 22 goals and 110 points combined in that time.
- The Athletic’s Ryan Stimson (subscription required) wonders where restricted free agent Sam Reinhart should play next year in the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup once he signs. The 22-year-old center has been a decent center for the Sabres in the past, but saw his game blossom once he was moved up and played on the wing next to top-line center Jack Eichel. With the team moving on from Ryan O’Reilly and bringing in prospect Casey Mittelstadt, what should the team do with Reinhart? The scribe breaks down Reinhart’s game and wonders if it would be best for the youngster to take over the team’s No. 2 center position and ease Mittelstadt in.
- The Athletic’s Mitch Brown (subscription required) ranks the Montreal Canadiens’ top five prospects with 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi listed as their top prospect. The young centerman, who flew up the draft boards in the final weeks, anchors a list of prospects that Brown believes is the most exciting in the last five or six years. He has been successful playing in the SM-liiga as an 18-year-old and is expected to fill that long-waited hole in the middle.
Morning Notes: McDavid, Drouin, Bavis
Connor McDavid wants to get some more consistent linemates this season, but is confident that the Edmonton Oilers can get back to their 2016-17 form during the upcoming season. McDavid spoke to reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet at the recent Pro Edge Power training camp in Toronto, where players from all around the league come to work on fine tuning their game in the offseason. Even though the 2017-18 season didn’t go as planned, McDavid found solace in how the team kept fighting until the end of the season.
There’s just got to be a point in time where you get sick of losing, and you just don’t anymore. Guys came together. Guys were sick of how the year was going and came back to playing hockey the way it should be, the way you need to,
Those Oilers haven’t done much to address their biggest weaknesses, but did bring in Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak to help out their offensive group. One other thing that may come of the addition? A stronger locker room, given that McDavid specifically notes Brodziak’s solid reputation as a good teammate and notes that the team could use his help.
- If you thought Jonathan Drouin may end up back on the wing this season for the Montreal Canadiens, he has news for you. After struggling through the transition to center last season, Drouin told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette that he will be back in the middle when training camp opens next month. Drouin admitted that he finally started to have some fun with the position in the second half of the 2017-18 season, which showed on the scoreboard as well. 18 of Drouin’s 46 points came in his final 25 games, including nine in nine to finish the year. If he can find that kind of offensive consistency right from the start of the season, the Canadiens might finally see the player they believed they had acquired for Mikhail Sergachev last summer.
- The Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL have hired Mike Bavis as their new head coach, after losing Mark Dennehy to the AHL a few days ago. Dennehy never actually coached a game for the Nailers, accepting the position only to be poached a few months later. Bavis spent more than a decade as an assistant coach at Boston University, but will get his first head coaching job at the professional level with the Nailers this season. Pittsburgh’s ECHL affiliate missed the playoffs the last two seasons but hasn’t posted a losing record in a decade. Bavis will be tasked with taking the group back to the postseason, while also developing some of Pittsburgh’s more raw or unheralded prospects.
The Return For Jeff Skinner Should Give Montreal Pause In Moving Max Pacioretty
The lower-than-anticipated return that the Hurricanes received for winger Jeff Skinner isn’t going to help the Canadiens in their efforts to move winger Max Pacioretty, suggests Jared Clinton of The Hockey News. The two have been statistically similar over the past three years so while Pacioretty has the stronger long-term track record, it’s going to be challenging for them to justify commanding a significantly better return even though unlike Skinner, he doesn’t have any no-trade protection.
With that in mind, it’s fair to wonder if they would be better served holding onto their captain to start the season despite their reported desire to move him as soon as possible. While that would create a media frenzy, it would give Pacioretty a chance to rebuild his value as he enters a contract year while giving the Canadiens time to see if something happens elsewhere that gives them the opportunity to potentially leverage a better return.
Kyle Baun Signs In Northern Ireland
Former NHLers, including a few 2018 free agents, continue to pop up in leagues around the globe and another has now signed in an nontraditional landing spot. Kyle Baun has signed with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the team announced today. The EIHL is the pro league of the United Kingdom, with the Giants as the token Northern Ireland team.
Baun, 26, was a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer after bouncing around between several teams that past couple of seasons. The former Colgate University star signed with the Chicago Blackhawks out of college in 2015 and even suited up for five games with the team early on in his pro career. While Baun was later relegated to full-time AHL play for the next season and a half, he nevertheless signed a two-year extension with Chicago in 2016. However, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens before the start of that second year, 2017-18, in a one-for-one swap for Andreas Martinsen. The Canadiens then flipped Baun to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline alongside Tomas Plekanec. Despite the apparent demand for his services as a depth player, Baun has not seen any NHL action since his early days with Chicago. Now, it appears he couldn’t even find a two-way contract in North America.
By signing in the EIHL, Baun stands a good chance of becoming one of the league’s top players. A big right winger with a scoring touch, Baun was a good all-around player in the college and minor league ranks and should be able to elevate his game even further against lesser talent in the UK. He also joins a team that has focused in on North American talent this off-season; Belfast also announced that they had signed AHLer Francis Beauvillier today and just last week added veteran forward and long-time Carolina Hurricane Patrick Dwyer.
The Giants also have the honor of being the last pro team that TheoFleury suited up for, back in 2005-06. The EIHL has hosted some former NHLers from time-to-time since it was founded in 2003, but Baun and company are a sign of greater interest in playing in the United Kingdom. The selection of Liam Kirk, the first homegrown British player to be picked in the NHL Draft, has definitely piqued some interest in the league and Baun could now become a poster boy for the movement.
Snapshots: Hughes, Hanrahan, Hunter
While Quinn Hughes has decided to head back to the University of Michigan for another year, he won’t be joined by brother Jack Hughes this season. The younger of the two, Jack, is expected to be the first-overall selection next June and according to Mike Morreale of NHL.com will spend his draft year playing with the US National Team Development Program once again. That likely means he’ll never be heading to the collegiate ranks, as he’s widely expected to step right into the NHL for the 2019-20 season given his incredible talent.
The two will get a chance to play together on a big stage at the World Junior Championship in late December, as both are basically locks for a team that is exploding with talent. The pair are currently playing at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Kamloops, British Columbia before Quinn returns to Michigan and Jack takes his place with the NTDP.
- Ryan Poehling meanwhile won’t play in any of the Summer Showcase games according to Morreale, after he underwent surgery on July 7th. Poehling had tonsilitis and a deviated septum dealt with, and instead is skating on his own at the tournament getting ready for his junior year at St. Cloud State. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick will likely be a returnee for the US World Junior squad, after recording three points in seven games during their bronze medal run last time around. Poehling is another one of the Montreal center prospects that will try to solve their lengthy struggles down the middle, and could easily be playing professional hockey by the end of the 2018-19 season.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have named Barry Hanrahan Vice President, in addition to his current title of Assistant General Manager. Hanrahan has been with the club for more than two decades filling various roles, and is a key part of their front office.
- Mark Hunter is now eligible to be hired by any team in the league, after the Toronto Maple Leafs deal with him ended on July 15, but as Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) writes, it makes sense that he’s taking his time. Custance spoke to one of Hunter’s former colleagues in Lindsay Hofford—recently hired by the Arizona Coyotes—who extolled the virtues and successes of Hunter over the years. There’s an obvious desire from Hunter to become an NHL GM, something even Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas explained when he was given the job, but no clear openings right now. Whether he’ll accept another role as an assistant isn’t clear, but he remains a strong candidate.