Minor Transactions: 01/02/22
The new year has brought with it a flurry of activity between NHL and AHL rosters. However, the top North American leagues are not alone in a noticeable uptick in transactions. Elsewhere, several other familiar names are making moves. With European leagues closing in on their postseasons prior to the stretch run in the NHL, expect these transactions to appear with greater frequency in the coming weeks, too.
- Former AHL MVP Daniel Carr has finally found some consistency in his career. The skilled forward played for four different NHL teams over the past four seasons and was never able to hold down a roster spot despite his impressive minor league numbers, especially after leaving the Montreal Canadiens. He opted to leave North America last season, inking a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League. Carr only played in eight games for the team in 2020-21, but was a point-per-game player all the same. This year, he has 13 points in 12 games, continuing to make a major impact albeit in limited action. Lugano has decided to reward Carr’s strong play in hopes that he can be a core piece of the team moving forward and Carr has jumped at some long-term stability in his career. The team has announced a new three-year extension for Carr, which will keep him in Switzerland through the 2024-25 season and into mid-thirties. This likely marks the end of Carr’s NHL career, but he could be a superstar in the National League through the duration of his new deal.
- When goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis left North America in 2018, it initially seemed like the right move. Gudlevskis had an excellent first season in the KHL, recording a 2.37 GAA for his hometown team, Dinamo Riga. However, the following season got off to a horrific start and Gudlevskis ended up leaving midseason to play in Germany and then split last year between Austria and Slovakia. Well, Gudlevskis finally found his stride once again in Slovakia between late last season and early this year and now he is elevating back to another top European league. Brynas IF of the SHL has announced a contract with Gudlevskis for the remainder of this season. The former Tampa Bay Lightning net minder will now have a chance to show what he can do at the top level in Sweden in hopes that it leads to another contract with a top club. At 29 and with connections still in North America, a return to the AHL and perhaps even the NHL at some point can’t be ruled out if he continues to perform. His newest gig with Brynas will tell a lot about his ability to play at an elite level.
- Yevgeni Oksentyuk is moving on from his stint in the ECHL, at least for now. The Dallas Stars prospect has played almost exclusively at the “AA” level in his first pro season in North America, but the AHL’s Texas Stars have recalled him from Idaho Steelheads. Oksentyuk, a 2020 sixth-round pick out of Belarus, has nine goals and 16 points in 17 ECHL games this season and appears ready for the next level. The undersized forward will always have to work hard to excel against bigger, stronger competition in North America, but has found success so far in the ECHL and the OHL before that and could continue to develop for the Stars.
Minor Transactions: 11/12/21
Early November is not exactly a prime time for transactions – trades, signings, and loans alike – but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any at all. In fact, a few notable players are on the move, all from different levels and for different reasons.
- Cody Goloubef and the Ottawa Senators can’t seem to stay away from one another. The veteran defenseman, an Ontario native, was first acquired by the Senators in a trade with the Boston Bruins in 2018-19. He re-signed with the club for the the 2019-20 season, though he was dealt away to Detroit late in the year. Goloubef then turned around and signed another one-year deal with Ottawa and served as a veteran leader for AHL Belleville last season. After 29 NHL games and 61 AHL games with the organization over the past three years, Goloubef did not re-sign with the team this summer and seemed that he could either be heading elsewhere or perhaps retiring. As it turns out, the answer was neither. Goloubef has signed a PTO with Belleville, the club announced, and that may just be the beginning. Given the ongoing depth issues that the Senators entire system is facing on the blue line, Goloubef could just be getting his legs under him in the AHL before signing with Ottawa. Either way, this tryout seems to be a precursor to yet another contract with the Senators. Goloubef, 31, has a decade of pro experience, including 160 NHL games, not to mention Olympic experience, so the club could do far worse with an in-season signing.
- By all accounts, Daniel D’Amato is not officially a Vegas Golden Knights prospect, but the team is treating him like one. D’Amato was a training camp standout for the Knights this fall, but left both Vegas and Henderson camps without a contract, returning to the OHL’s Erie Otters. Yet, after a strong start to his junior season with seven points in 11 games, D’Amato was suddenly making his pro debut last knight for the AHL’s Silver Knights. With some reports calling this a call-up but no record of a contract, it remains unclear under what conditions D’Amato has joined the Knights organization. What is certain is that the club likes the two-way winger and he could be in play for an entry-level contract before too long.
- Nico Gross was once considered an up-and-coming NHL prospect. The Swiss defenseman was a standout on the international stage and impressed by making the jump from the Swiss juniors to the OHL and producing right away. The New York Rangers used a fourth-round pick on the talented blue liner in 2018 and at the time it was regarded as a high-ceiling selection. However, by 2020 Gross had flatlined in his development and the Rangers opted not to extend him an entry-level contract. Despite some speculation that perhaps another team might sign him, Gross returned to Switzerland and signed a two-year deal with powerhouse NLA club EV Zug in 2020. This was considered a safe play with the 2020-21 AHL season in doubt and Gross needing consistent ice time at 21. Again though, the young defenseman has failed to improve. Rather than using two years in Europe to prepare for another run at the NHL, Gross has done little through 64 games and was even demoted for nine games last season. The team clearly still believes in his potential, as Gross has signed a two-year extension, the team announced. What the move really says though is that Gross does not believe he can land a deal in North America and it’s starting to seem like maybe he never will.
Snapshots: Rask, Housley, Carrier
TSN’s Chris Johnston notes on Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading that free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask is working his way back after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and could be ready to return to game action as soon as January. Johnston notes specifically that Rask could be an option for Team Finland at the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, potentially a huge boost to an already strong Finnish program. While Johnston reports that Rask’s main focus in his “mind and his heart” remains with the Boston Bruins, the door isn’t completely closed on other options, either. Regardless, it’s good to see one of the league’s best goalies of his generation working his way back to health for what could be his last chance at a championship.
More notes from around the league:
- Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Phil Housley has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, per the team’s public relations department. He won’t travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. He’ll miss three games, including a back-to-back set against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators this Friday and Saturday. Arizona’s next home game is a week from today against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and pending test results, Housley could be available to return then.
- According to the team, Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is out for Thursday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an upper-body injury. The Predators note that he’ll be evaluated further when the team returns home. Carrier blocked a shot that hit him up high during Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Stars and did not return.
Minor Transactions: 09/12/21
With NHL training camps opening up later this month, those unsigned players who aren’t willing to wait around for a PTO will have to start making tough decisions. That could mean settling for a contract in the minors, making the move overseas, or perhaps even retiring. Keep up with all of those moves for familiar names right here:
- Former NHL forward Jordan Caron has called it a career. The 30-year-old has retired “surprisingly”, reports the ICEHL’s Vienna Capitals, who only signed Caron in July. The team reports that he has decided to return home to Quebec for personal reasons. A first-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2009, Caron was never more than a depth asset in the NHL with Boston, Colorado, and St. Louis, with highs of 48 games and 15 points set early in his career. However, he has been a much more dominant scorer over the past five years in Europe, playing Germany, Russia, Switzerland, and Austria.
- For the first time since leaving the NHL in 2018, Christoph Bertschy is on to a new team, though not making a return to North America (any time soon). The Swiss forward is staying at home, but moving on from the NLA’s Lausanne HC to HC Fribourg-Gotteron. This is not a small commitment, either. Gotteron has announced a whopping seven-year contract with Bertschy, who was considered one of the top names on the Swiss market. At 27 years old with three seasons of strong production in the NLA before missing most of last season, Bertschy has proven himself a valuable asset and Gotteron stated that he will play a “central role”. The former Minnesota Wild may have been a candidate to return to the NHL if he continued to excel in Switzerland, but seems content to likely play out his career in his native country.
- After playing on an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild last season but only seeing ECHL action with the Allen Americans, veteran journeyman forward Jesse Mychan has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks, the team announced. A former WHL standout power forward who has produced at a high level in the ECHL and proved himself valuable as an enforcer in the AHL, Mychan’s career has also taken him to the UK, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Denmark.
- A former OHLer and longtime ECHL player, Matt Carter has opted to continue his career with the Fife Flyers in the EIHL after taking the 2020-21 campaign off. Carter has been playing professionally since 2011-12 after the now 34-year-old forward finished his college career with the University of Prince Edward Island. Undrafted after scoring 30 goals in 2007-08 for the Owen Sound Attack, Carter was a true journeyman, playing ECHL contests for the Phoenix Roadrunners, Cincinnati Cyclones, San Francisco Bulls, Las Vegas Wrangles, Elmira Jackals, and Fort Wayne Komets. He’s spent the majority of his career in the EIHL and French Ligue Magnus since going overseas in 2014-15.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Dominik Kahun Signs In Swiss League
September 6th: Kahun’s three-year deal with SC Bern was made official by the team this morning. Oilers reporter Jim Matheson reports that Kahun’s deal includes an out clause every offseason if Kahun wishes to return to the NHL.
August 26th: After his rookie season, free agent forward Dominik Kahun looked like he’d be a decent secondary player in the NHL but things haven’t gone well for him since then. As a result, it appears that he could be heading overseas as a report from Blick in Switzerland has the 26-year-old nearing a three-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA.
Kahun was somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by Buffalo last fall after the Sabres acquired him from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. After waiting the market out, he was able to catch on with Edmonton who eyed reuniting him with fellow countryman Leon Draisaitl in the hopes of having Kahun provide some depth scoring for a low cost.
Unfortunately for Kahun and the Oilers, that didn’t exactly happen. He managed just nine goals and six assists in 48 games (after notching more than 30 points in each of his first two years) and wound up working his way down the lineup and eventually in the press box as he only suited up in two of their four playoff games.
With the year he had, Kahun may have been hard-pressed to land a one-way NHL contract on the open market this time around – a PTO may have been his likeliest scenario – so opting to head overseas certainly makes sense and if he’s able to land a three-year deal, that’s a lot more security than he’d have received going year-to-year in North America.
Maxim Chudinov And The NHL’s Forgotten Prospects
When a player like Maxim Chudinov becomes available, as he did yesterday upon being terminated by the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, it always raises some intriguing questions. What if the 2010 Boston Bruins draft selection had attempted to make it to the NHL earlier in his career? Better yet, after a long and successful career overseas, what if he finally decided to join the Bruins after all these years? Chudinov is not alone either; a number of European NHL draft picks never venture to North America and their rights are held in perpetuity by their drafting team. What could have been if these players had made a different decision in their careers? And could they still make the jump long after being drafted?
Though the list is long, the 31-year-old Chudinov is actually one of the most interesting players in this group. He has long been one of the more dependable stay-at-home defenders in Russia, in the KHL and on the international stage. In 571 games in the KHL, Chudinov has recorded 198 points, a +75 rating, and 545 PIM. Even though his offense has fallen off in recent years, it would be fascinating to see the veteran defenseman try his hand in the NHL.
Perhaps the most intriguing case though is 38-year-old Vasili Koshechkin (TBL).Though extremely unlikely to jump to the NHL at this point, the veteran goaltender is still at the top of his game. One of the best goalies in the KHL for the entirety of his 13-year career as a starter, Koshechkin has a stunning .928 save percentage and 2.08 GAA in 570 career games, with absolutely no fall-off despite his advanced age. The Lightning may be set in net now, but its fascinating to think what the decorated keeper could have done in the NHL in his prime, surely outplaying his eighth-round status.
Other standouts on the list include Swiss forward Julian Walker (MIN), a physical power forward who has accumulated 214 points and 655 PIM in 701 career games in the NLA and at 34 may still have gas in the tank. Defenseman Mikhail Pashnin (NYR) is another interesting name, especially since he is 32. An effective defensive blue liner in the KHL, Pashnin has recorded 75 points and 712 PIM in 514 career games. Could the 2009 selection still join the Rangers at some point? Mikhail Yunkov (WSH) is another active KHLer with good career numbers. The 35-year-old has 139 points in 542 games, including 11 in 52 this year.
Other reserve list players who remain active in Europe long after they were drafted into the NHL include Yuri Trubachev (CGY), Sergei Gimayev (OTT), Kirill Lyamin (OTT), and Dmitry Megalinsky (OTT) in the KHL, Victor Bobrov (ARI) and Igor Ignatushkin (WSH) in the VHL, Anton Kyrsanov (ARI) in Ukraine, Dmitri Pestunov (ARI) in Belarus, Evgeny Skachkov (STL) in Romania, and Andrei Pervyshin (STL) in Turkey.
The odds of any of these players, all aged 30 and above, playing in the NHL are slim to none, even if some like Chudinov or Pashnin may even have the ability to do so. It is still fascinating to think that they all remain NHL property and to imagine what their careers may have been like had they decided to make the jump to North America and, against all odds, to think about an established veteran finally making good on his NHL selection.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Janis Moser
Saturday: The Coyotes have officially announced the signing of Moser. The financial terms were not revealed.
Friday: The Arizona Coyotes have worked quickly to get a recent overage draft choice under contract and ready to transition to the North American game. Swiss defenseman Janis Moser has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the ‘Yotes, according to his most recent club, the NLA’s EHC Biel-Bienne. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Moser, 21, was selected in the second round last month in his final year of NHL Draft Eligibility. Having already aged out of junior eligibility and with his prior pro experience removing him from NCAA consideration, the next step in Moser’s development was either to remain in Switzerland or instead try his hand in the AHL. The two sides seemingly have chosen the latter, as not only did Biel-Bienne announce Moser’s signing, but also wished him luck “in the NHL” and announced that they will begin looking for his replacement. Moser appears headed for the Tuscon Roadrunners next season, at least to begin the year.
Though still a very young player, Moser was actually the captain for Biel-Bienne last season. A native of the city, Moser has played his entire hockey career in the Biel-Bienne system to this point, including previous stints as captain of their U-17 and U-20 junior teams. In 2020-21, already his third full season at the top pro level in Switzerland, Moser was given the honor of captaining his hometown team. Not only that, he also led the team in assists and plus/minus and led all club defensemen in scoring, which included former NHLers Petteri Lindbohm and Yannick Rathgeb. Moser is a mature, well-rounded player with the intangibles that are often underestimated. He could surprise people with his NHL upside, especially given his quick entry into the league.
Minor Transactions: 06/20/21
While the NHL rumor mill has certainly been heating up of late, it may still be some time before major moves start to drop and calendar draws closer to the Expansion Draft, Entry Draft, and opening of free agency. In the meantime, there has still been a fairly consistent flow of minor moves out of the minor leagues and European ranks as the off-season has started early for some familiar names. Keep up with all of those transactions right here:
- A 2021 NHL Draft prospect has cemented his development path. Finnish defenseman Jimi Suomi, who many rankings believe could go as early as the third round next month, will likely be considered a project player anyway. That project will be monitored from afar, as Suomi has decided to stay in Finland. Liiga club TPS has announced a three-year contract with the young blue liner, who spent this past season with the U-20 team for Jokerit. The move is significant, as Suomi had been drafted into the USHL and was on NCAA radars. Instead, he will go the pro route and try to crack TPS’ Liiga roster next season.
- Another name staying in Europe, perhaps also to the surprise of some, is veteran forward Nick Shore. Shore, 28, has signed a one-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, the team announced. The younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Drew Shore and older brother of Harvard forward Baker Shore, Nick is a veteran of nearly 300 NHL games. However, he played this past season in Europe, starting the year in Slovakia and then jumping to Switzerland when the NLA re-opened. He recorded 37 points in 27 games across the two leagues, one of the better offensive seasons of his pro career. It is unclear if Shore spent the year in Europe due to financial and convenience concerns due to the COVID pandemic or if there was simply no NHL interest. He has played in 63 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets the season prior, so it at least seemed as if he was still valued in North America. However, his early decision to sign in the KHL rather than test the NHL market could be indicative to the contrary.
- T.J. Brennan is another NHL veteran staying overseas. The journeyman defenseman left for Switzerland this season after four consecutive seasons in the AHL without any NHL action. He found success with HC Thurgau, recording 24 points in 22 games and leading the team to the playoffs. He will try again next season in Austria, signing a one-year contract with EC Salzburg of the IceHL. The team’s release notes his previous scoring success in the AHL and touts him as a major addition to the roster.
- Texas Stars free agent Derek Barach is leaving the AHL for Europe. The 26-year-old forward has signed with Liiga club Assat on a two-year deal. A productive college player at Mercyhurst, Barach is still trying to find his footing in the pros after stops with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and the Stats this past season.
Oilers Forward Gaetan Haas Signs In Switzerland
Edmonton center Gaetan Haas has decided to head back home. After spending the last two years with the Oilers, EHC Biel-Bienne of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed Haas to a five-year contract.
The 29-year-old decided to try his hand in North America in 2019 following a pair of strong offensive seasons with SC Bern in Switzerland. However, while Haas was a capable checker in Edmonton, he didn’t produce much offensively in his first NHL season, notching just five goals and five assists in 58 games. Still, he did enough to earn a second chance, inking a one-year, $915K one-way contract back in April.
But things didn’t go any better this past season. While he got to spend some time in Bern where his offensive production returned, it failed to carry over when he returned to Edmonton. As a result, he managed only two goals and one assist in 34 games in 2020-21 despite averaging over 11 minutes a game in ice time.
While Haas could have returned to the open market and tried his hand at catching on somewhere else, this seems like the wiser course of action for him as he now returns to his hometown team. In the meantime, the Oilers will be looking for cheap depth to round out their roster and could look to free agency to find a replacement although Ryan McLeod has certainly made a case for a full-time roster spot next season and could slide into Haas’ role to start with an eye on quickly moving up the depth chart.
Minor Transactions: 05/27/21
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are front and center right now, especially with Round Two now on the schedule, but there still continue to be some meaningful moves made elsewhere around the hockey world. Here are some of those recent notable minor transactions:
- After a mutual termination of his contract was completed earlier this month, former Boston Bruins prospect Pavel Shen has found his new team; well, a new, old team. After playing with the KHL’s HK Sochi on loan to begin the 2020-21 season, Shen has opted to return to the club on a more permanent basis. Sochi has signed Shen to a one-year deal for next season. Where his career takes him after that remains unknown. Shen flashed good two-way ability in his pair of seasons with AHL Providence and seemed like he was on his way to becoming a solid depth option – a good value for a 2018 seventh-round pick. However, if Boston felt he had long-term NHL upside they would not have terminated his contract so easily. Shen seems destined to spend his career at home in Russia, but continued development could put him back on NHL radars.
- After a 15-year pro career, including eight seasons in the NHL with six different teams, Andrew Ebbett has decided to hang up his skates. However, he won’t be leaving the game behind just yet. Swiss club SC Bern, where Ebbett spent five seasons following his NHL career, has announced that they have hired the veteran as their “sports director” i.e. general manager. Ebbett brings plenty of experience, including a number of years in the NLA, to the position. He also expanded his knowledge of the European game while playing his final season this year with EHC Munich of the German DEL. A versatile, two-way player and locker room presence throughout his career, Ebbett is well suited to lead the club.
- In an uncommon move for today’s day and age, U.S. National Team Development Program forward Liam Gilmartin has decided to switch development paths and join the OHL’s London Knights next season. Gilmartin, a 2021 NHL Draft product, was expected to follow the collegiate path like nearly all USNTDP products, having committed to Providence College. Instead, he will forego his NCAA eligibility and join the major junior ranks. A big winger with high-end stick skills, Gilmartin is expected to be drafted as early as the late second round in July after finishing among the top-six scoring forwards for the U-18 team this year. How this development decision impacts his draft stock remains to be seen.
- The USHL held their Phase I Draft for all 2005 players on Wednesday and the more intriguing Phase II Draft for all other uncommitted prospects on Thursday. While there were many players selected in both drafts with familiar names to past NHL players and executives alike, some of the most interesting picks were those that seem hardly likely to pan out. Presumptive 2022 and 2023 NHL Draft first overall picks, Shane Wright and Connor Bedard respectively, were each selected in the later rounds of the Phase II draft. While neither seems like to abandon their current teams – Wright with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and Bedard with the WHL’s Regina Pats – this year saw a number of Canadian major junior players jump to the USHL with their own leagues on hold. The Chicago Steel (Wright) and Dubuque Fighting Saints (Bedard) would certainly be excited if their late-round waivers panned out somehow. For a full list of USHL Draft selections, follow this link.