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Sabres Sign Andrew Hammond

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“The Hamburglar” is making his next appearance in Buffalo. The Sabres have announced a one-year contract with Andrew Hammond worth the NHL minimum $700K. The veteran goalie should slot in as the team’s No. 3 keeper next season.

Buffalo had hoped that this was the year that stud goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen might take over full-time duties in Rochester, but the prospect underwent hip surgery in April which could miss a large chunk of the season and therefore would be better off as a backup option once he returns. Hence the addition of Hammond. The 31-year-old known for impressive streaks, including an incredible run while he was with the Ottawa Senators in the 2014-15 season in which he posted a 1.79 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 24 games for them. Unfortunately for Hammond, he also had just as many streaks where he was unsuccessful, making for a very streaky goaltender.

He has played just 56 total NHL games over his career and spent last season as the third-string option for the Minnesota Wild, but was not able to beat out backup Alex Stalock and served as the starting netminder with the Iowa Wild in the AHL. He played 33 games for Iowa, putting up a 2.81 GAA and a .910 save percentage, but never played a game for Minnesota.

While Buffalo’s goaltending situation looks solid in Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark, neither goalie posted great numbers and if one of them falters, the team might feel comfortable calling up Hammond.

Senators Unlikely To Re-Sign Oscar Lindberg And Brian Gibbons

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  • The Senators aren’t expected to re-sign center Oscar Lindberg and winger Brian Gibbons, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Both players were brought in near the trade deadline and Gibbons in particular finished up quite strong with 14 points in 20 games with Ottawa.  Meanwhile, Lindberg didn’t fare so well but as a 27-year-old pivot with a few decent years under his belt, he should have quite a few suitors on the open market.

Senators Expected To Sign Ron Hainsey And Tyler Ennis

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A pair of former Maple Leafs appear to be on their way to Ottawa.  The Senators are closing in on signing forward Tyler Ennis to a one-year contract, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).  TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds (Twitter link) that defenseman Ron Hainsey is also expected to sign with the Sens.  Financial terms of the contract for Ennis aren’t yet known while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Hainsey’s deal will carry a $3.5MM AAV.

Ennis spent last season with Toronto after being bought out by Minnesota in June of 2018.  He fared relatively well in a limited role, managing to collect 18 points in 51 games despite averaging less than ten minutes a night of playing time, predominantly in a fourth line role.

It’s likely that Ennis will get a larger opportunity with Ottawa as he joins a roster that’s not as deep as Toronto’s.  It could be a good fit for both sides as the 29-year-old looks to prove that he can still be more of an offensive contributor while the Sens could conceivably flip him in a trade later next season to a team looking for more depth for the stretch run.  Ennis slotted in 41st on our Top 50 UFA Rankings.

Meanwhile, Hainsey wound up playing a big role with Toronto last season, averaging over 20 minutes a night on their back end for the second straight year.  While they had hoped to limit his ice time considering his age (38), he wound up spending most of the year in their top four, something that’s likely to be the case with Ottawa.  He’s expected to be a mentor on what’s a very young back end and, like Ennis, he immediately becomes a potential midseason trade candidate.  Hainsey earned the 29th spot in our UFA Rankings.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Nikita Zaitsev

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators have finalized a trade that will see Nikita Zaitsev and Cody Ceci swap teams. The Maple Leafs will send Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone to the Senators in exchange for Ceci, Ben Harpur, Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 third-round draft pick (originally from Columbus). The trade had to wait until today so that Toronto could pay out Zaitsev’s $3MM signing bonus, though technically that also meant he needed to waive the partial no-trade clause that has kicked in.

Zaitsev, 27, has five years left on his current contract and carries a $4.5MM cap hit, something the Maple Leafs needed to get out from under as they continue to work on an extension for restricted free agent Mitch Marner. The Russian defenseman signed a long-term deal with the club after an excellent rookie season in 2017 but saw his offensive numbers regress drastically as head coach Mike Babcock used him more and more in a shutdown role. That role never seemed like a perfect fit for the smooth-skating Zaitsev, who is used much more offensively at the international level with the Russian national team.

A capable penalty killer, he immediately becomes the Senators’ most expensive defenseman and reunites with former Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith who is now the boss in Ottawa. Zaitsev will likely be leaned on heavily for the Senators, who have plenty of inexperience on their blue line at the moment.

If not for this trade Ceci, 25, would have become the highest paid defender for the Senators as he was a year ago. Sitting currently as a restricted free agent he does have the option to file for salary arbitration but could also just elect to accept his $4.3MM qualifying offer. That may be the more prudent decision in this case, as heading to arbitration likely gives the Maple Leafs a chance to walk away from the decision altogether. It’s not clear what Toronto’s plans for Ceci are at this point.

Of the other pieces in the deal, Brown is clearly the most valuable. The bottom-six forward is heading into the final year of his current contract that carries a $2.1MM cap hit but is a useful player that can contribute in various situations. A 20-goal scorer as a rookie in 2016-17, the last two seasons have seen his goal totals drop dramatically as more talent was brought into the Toronto lineup. The sixth-round pick eventually found himself suiting up most nights on the fourth line, though he was still a favorite of Babcock’s on the penalty kill. The 25-year old will likely receive a bigger opportunity in Ottawa and could set himself up for another solid contract next summer with some improved offensive numbers.

Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on his newest players:

“We’re bringing in highly competitive players that we like as long-term fits for our team. Both are the type of true professionals who match with the culture we want to put in place here in Ottawa,. Nikita is a physical right-shot defenceman who defends hard, fills lanes and blocks shots. Connor has scored 20 goals in the league and is excellent on the forecheck and the penalty kill. We feel both players will add to our depth and fit well within the structure we want our team to play.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Eastern Notes: Francis, Payne, Johansson, Reimer, Lehner, Mastrosimone

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One name that hasn’t gotten quite a bit of attention the last year has been that of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis. The former GM has spent the last few months on a management team that put together the roster for Canada at the recent World Championships. Sportsnet’s John Shannon points out that today is the last day that he is under contract with Carolina and could be free to sign with an other NHL team. According to Shannon, His work with Hockey Canada has increased his desire to return to the NHL.

Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland adds that Francis name has come up for a while as a strong candidate for the general manager position in Seattle. Francis help build the Hurricanes roster that eventually eliminated the former Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals last year and reached the conference finals.

  • Ottawa Senators new head coach D.J. Smith will add another key assistant to his staff. After bringing in Jack Capuano to be his associate head coach, the Senators announced today that they have also added former St. Louis Blues head coach Davis Payne as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. The 48-year-old Payne spent the past two years in Ottawa’s division as the associate coach for the Buffalo Sabres and Phil Housley. Before that he spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and helped lead the team to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship. As head coach in St. Louis, he spent parts of three seasons there between 2009 and 2011, finishing with a 67-55-15 record.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that unrestricted free agent forward Marcus Johansson is talking to a number of teams today, but he is no longer talking to the Boston Bruins. The 28-year-old was acquired by Boston at the trade deadline for their playoff run, but reports indicate that his price tag is more than Boston wants to pay. Dreger adds that Boston is totally out of the picture now.
  • News & Observer’s Luke DeCock reports that while the Carolina Hurricanes acquired goaltender James Reimer earlier today, his stay in Carolina could be short. The scribe writes that Carolina isn’t necessarily planning on keeping the goaltender as the team continues to look to make more deals ahead of the opening of free agency on Monday. If they can find a taker, the team may try to flip him to another team.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple adds that the Reimer trade suggests that the Florida Panthers are the leading candidates to sign Sergei Bobrovsky, which means the Islanders could find themselves without a top goalie. He points out there is plenty of time to re-connect with Robin Lehner. The two sides weren’t close in negotiations, but the Islanders may have no choice to change their stance in discussions.
  • The Detroit Red Wings got some bad news Saturday when they learned that recent draft prospect Robert Mastrosimone, the team’s second-round pick this year, suffered broken right ankle during development camp last week, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The injury will require four to six weeks of rehab. Mastrosimone scored 31 goals for the USHL Chicago Steel last season.

Toronto’s Nikita Zaitsev Likely Heading To Ottawa

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to find a way to unload the contract of defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, who still has five years remaining at $4.5MM. It looks like the Maple Leafs have found a trade partner as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Toronto is working with the Ottawa Senators on a trade, while Sportnet’s Chris Johnston adds that it likely will involve a swap of defensemen as Cody Ceci could find himself heading back to Toronto.

The deal may take a couple of days as it’s likely Ottawa is waiting until July 1 so that Toronto is forced to pay Zaitsev his $3MM signing bonus before pulling the trigger on the trade. Ceci will be a restricted free agent and could become an unrestricted free agent in one year. Ceci and the Senators have been trying to work out a long-term deal, but haven’t been able to come to terms, and in fact haven’t even been close, with recent rumors suggesting that Ottawa has been considering shopping him now instead.

A trade with Ottawa could be interesting as TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Zaitsev has Ottawa on his 10-team modified no-trade list. However, the 27-year-old does have a relationship with new Senators head coach D.J. Smith, who has been an assistant coach in Toronto. That could be enough for Zaitsev to waive his no-trade clause and head to Ottawa. He has already requested a trade in the first place in hopes of getting a new opportunity somewhere else after struggling the past two years after an impressive rookie campaign. In Ottawa, he would likely take a significant role, especially if Ceci is headed the other way. The Senators do have Thomas Chabot as a top-four option and they have veteran Mark Borowiecki, but little else that is established yet, which should give Zaitsev the opportunity he is looking for.

Ceci, could be the defenseman they are looking for. The team has been looking to upgrade its defense without having to pay out any substantial money since they are up against the cap with a number of key free-agents to sign. Ceci should give Toronto that top-four defensive presence the team is looking for at a similar cost to that of Zaitsev, although it would give the team another restricted free agent that it would have to deal with this summer. Ceci finished last year with seven goals and 26 points. The team must decide whether it would want to sign Ceci to a long-term deal or allow him to go to arbitration with the possibility of losing him next season, although the team would have accomplished their goal of shedding the contract of Zaitsev, which may be the priority for Toronto at this point.

There is also the possibility that Toronto is taking on the contract with the idea of letting Ceci go to arbitration and then possibly walking away from Ceci without signing the contract, making him a free agent to free up the cap room. The team could also attempt to flip Ceci to another team as well.

Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Jack Rodewald

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The Ottawa Senators have signed depth forward Jack Rodewald to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2019-20 season. The deal is worth $725K at the NHL level, and will keep him in the organization for at least one more year. Rodewald will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in at least 70 NHL games this season.

Rodewald, 25, hasn’t been handed much in his professional career. Even his junior career got off to a terrible start when he recorded just 26 points through his first two seasons for the Regina Pats, before he eventually turned himself into a prime offensive option for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Undrafted, he needed to prove that ability again at the minor league level, but his first real opportunity wouldn’t come in the AHL. Instead Rodewald played his first full professional season with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, scoring 47 points in 62 games. He would impress at the Ottawa Senators training camp the following year and earn a spot in their minor league system. It still took until fall of 2017 to sign his first NHL contract, a deal that was now set to expire with just ten games played for Ottawa.

Still looking for his first NHL point, Rodewald nevertheless has developed himself into an excellent AHL performer just as he did at every level previous. Last season he recorded 23 goals and 47 points in 59 games for the Belleville Senators, trailing only top prospect Drake Batherson in scoring. While bringing that scoring touch to the NHL is still another huge step, it’s hard to write off a player who has come so far in such a short time. With another NHL contract in hand, he’ll push for a spot in Ottawa out of training camp, a team that should have plenty of opportunity available.

Coaching Notes: Schultz, Blues, Senators

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The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Nick Schultz as a player development coach, beginning his transition from a playing career that only ended a couple of seasons ago. The former Flyers defenseman retired in 2017 after 1,069 games in the NHL, most of which were spent in a Minnesota Wild uniform. Originally selected in the second round by the Wild in 2000, he carved out a career as a stay at home defender that could be relied on in the toughest situations. He released a statement on his new position:

It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to working with the guys, helping [director of player development] Kjell Samuelsson with the defensemen, and getting to know the kids and their game a little bit. I’m looking forward to working with them throughout the year, watching them play and helping them make it to the next step, and ultimately one day become a Flyer.

The Flyers made a pair of other promotions in the hockey operations staff as they continue to transition under relatively new GM Chuck Fletcher. Some other coaching notes from around the league:

  • Not only is Craig Berube sticking around as St. Louis Blues head coach after agreeing to a multi-year contract this week, but the entire coaching staff. St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong announced that all of the current assistants would be returning next season, though the team may add another one because of the vacancy left when they promoted Berube during the year. Mike Van Ryn and Steve Ott currently serve as assistants for Berube.
  • Another team that is looking for assistants is the Ottawa Senators, and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that candidates for the job include Stu Barnes, Kris Knoblauch, Dave Lowry, Davis Payne and Manny Viveiros. If it were Knoblauch, who served as an assistant with the Flyers the last two seasons, it would be a meeting of former enemies as Senators head coach D.J. Smith was behind the bench of the Oshawa Generals when they defeated Knoblauch’s Erie Otters in the 2015 OHL Championship. Smith already brought in Jack Capuano to serve as an associate coach and lend some experience to the staff.

Stefan Elliott Signs With KHL’s Dinamo Minsk

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Stefan Elliott surprised many when he left North America as a restricted free agent 2016 and signed with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan. The Canadian defenseman had just finished a season in which he played in 21 NHL games, the second most of his career, and looked like he might be a fit as a depth option for the Nashville Predators after they had acquired him mid-season from the Arizona Coyotes. This time around, coming off a return home that yielded just three NHL appearances, it comes as less of a shock that Dinamo Minsk of the KHL has announced that they have signed Elliott to a one-year contract.

Elliott, 28, was an impending unrestricted free agent with his one-year deal signed last summer with the Pittsburgh Penguins expired. After two years abroad, in Russia and Sweden respectively, the Penguins brought Elliott in as a potential minor league leader and deep blue line depth option. A 2009 second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Elliott had always been very successful in the AHL and Pittsburgh hoped for the same and possibly more. Instead, Elliott got off to a slow start with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was traded to the Ottawa Senators in a swap of minor pieces. Elliott got to play in three games with Ottawa and also put up strong numbers with AHL Belleville.

Regardless, even with the Senators there did not seem to be long-term opportunity for Elliott to play a significant role, so a move back to Europe seemed like a strong possibility. The ongoing UFA discussion window likely confirmed Elliott’s doubts of finding a suitable NHL offer. He thus returns to the KHL, where he recorded 11 points in 31 games a few years ago, but joins a new team in Minsk. The club is excited about the addition, but so too should be Elliott, who could very likely be the team’s top player next season. Teemu Pulkkinen, Quinton Howden, and Patrick Wiercioch have departed and the aging Kostitsyn brothers, Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Kostitsyn, and former collegiate and minor leauge defender Oleg Yevenko are the only other notable players on the roster. As the go-to guy, Elliott could be in for a productive season that once again sparks interest back in North America.

Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Cody Goloubef

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The Ottawa Senators have re-signed defenseman Cody Goloubef to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $800K at the NHL level and $425K in the AHL. Goloubef was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but will now remain with the team through the 2019-20 season.

Goloubef, 29, has experienced what it’s like to be a professional hockey journeyman the last few seasons, playing for seven different NHL or AHL teams since the start of the 2016-17 season. Last year he suited up 16 times for the Providence Bruins before a trade took him to Ottawa in early January in exchange for Paul Carey. With the Senators organization Goloubef still spent the majority of the time in the minor leagues, but got a taste at the NHL level and could be used as an injury replacement again next season.

While his 134 NHL games are something to be proud of, Goloubef received the opportunity of a lifetime when he suited up for Team Canada at the 2018 Olympics. With the NHL not participating, players like him were able to represent their country on the highest stage. Goloubef and Canada took home a bronze medal at the tournament, something he’ll never forget.

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