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Penguins Notes: Karlsson, Guentzel, O’Connor

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that all is quiet on the Erik Karlsson trade talks, but the Pittsburgh Penguins remain very interested in the reigning Norris Trophy winner. Yohe doesn’t know whether a deal will materialize quickly or if it could drag out all summer, but Mark Madden has one theory on the matter that Tim Benz writes about in the Pittsburgh Tribute-Review. Madden says that his sources have told him that the San Jose Sharks have the Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes’ best offers and everyone is in a holding pattern to see if the Sharks will crack and take one of the deals.

Kyle Dubas and the Penguins would clearly love to complete a deal, but they do have a reasonably good top-4 defensive group should they miss out on landing Karlsson. While trading for Karlsson would dramatically improve the Penguins offense, they do have a good fallback option should he end up elsewhere. At the moment, Pittsburgh has Jeff Petry penciled in on the right side of their second pairing, and while he didn’t play up to his $6.25MM cap hit last year, his pairing with Marcus Pettersson was quite good.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Yohe writes in The Athletic that the Penguins and pending unrestricted free agent forward Jake Guentzel have had no talks on a contract extension for the two-time 40-goal scorer. Yohe doesn’t find this surprising given that acting Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has been busy taking care of other business and adds that he and Guentzel’s agent have a good working relationship. Yohe’s sense is that the Penguins’ veteran players want Guentzel in the fold long-term, and he figures that the two sides will come to an agreement on an extension in the not-too-distant future. Guentzel has scored 76 goals in the past two seasons and has been the most productive winger that Sidney Crosby has played with, however, he is small in stature and will be 30 years old by the time his next contract kicks in. He will also be looking to cash in on what is likely to be the last lucrative long-term deal he will sign.
  • Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now wonders if the outcome of restricted free agent Drew O’Connor’s contract negotiations is tied to the Penguins’ desire to facilitate a trade for a defenseman. O’Connor filed for arbitration a few weeks ago meaning that once his case is settled or he re-signs it will open a second buyout window for the Penguins. Pittsburgh currently sits over the salary cap even with O’Connor unsigned but could buyout one of their undesirable contracts to create space once O’Connor puts pen to paper. The 25-year-old isn’t expected to demand much of a cap hit as he posted just five goals and six assists in 46 games last season and spent a good chunk of the year in the AHL, however, the days after he signs his next deal could send shockwaves through the NHL.

Philadelphia Flyers Loan Aleksei Kolosov To KHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers signed prospect Aleksei Kolosov to a three-year entry-level contract last week after he spent last season playing for Minsk Dynamo in the KHL. Now with the 21-year-old netminder under contract, the Flyers have officially announced that they’ve lent Kolosov back to Minsk for next season. The Belarus-born goaltender has spent his entire KHL career with Minsk dressing in 79 games and putting up a 28-39-7 record with a 2.73 GAA and a .909 save percentage.

Last season, Kolosov had much better numbers than his KHL career average as he went 13-21-5 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. His numbers aren’t exactly sparkling, however at 21 years old he has been playing professional hockey against men for the better part of three seasons and has shown himself to be formidable.

The 2021 third-round pick has NHL potential but will be an undersized netminder at just 6’0” and 185 pounds. In today’s NHL the average goaltender is generally at least 6’2” and 200 pounds, although in recent seasons undersized goaltenders have become much more of a norm. Juuse Saros stands just 5’11” and weighs 180 pounds showing that small netminders can put up elite numbers in the NHL.

Given that Kolosov will be spending his fourth season in the KHL, it’s not unreasonable to think he could be pushing for a job with the Flyers before his entry-level contract expires in 2025-26. His likeliest path will be to play out the year in Minsk before graduating to the Flyers AHL affiliate in year two of his contract.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Ross Colton

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Scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 27th, the Colorado Avalanche and restricted free agent forward Ross Colton decided not to wait. Today, the team announced a four-year contract for Colton, paying him an AAV of $4MM.

To acquire Colton in the first place, the Avalanche originally traded center Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for the Panthers’ first-round selection in 2023, Montreal’s second-round selection in 2023, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother. One day later, Colorado would trade Montreal’s second-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning to acquire the contractual rights to Colton.

In his past three seasons spent the NHL, the Lightning were the only team that Colton had ever known. Another example of Tampa Bay’s ability to churn out NHL talent from seemingly anywhere, Colton had spent his dues in the NCAA and AHL before finally making the jump to professional hockey.

During his time in Tampa, Colton showed the ability to score big goals, throw his body around, play intelligently on both sides of the puck, and become a reliable faceoff taker. Seemingly able to do it all when he is on the ice, the Avalanche rewarded his previous seasons with almost a $3MM raise.

Now joining an immediate Stanley Cup competitor in the Western Conference, Colton’s versatility should help stabilize Colorado’s forward core, one that was greatly lacking in overall depth last season. At the time of the trade, the General Manager of the Avalanche, Chris McFarland, said, “Ross is a hard-working, two-way center with a championship pedigree. “He has physicality to his game, is ultra competitive and his versatility will make him a valuable addition to our lineup in a lot of ways”.

Two seasons ago, Colton was competing as one of the more aggravating players against the Avalanche in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, and will now help the team on their quest for another ring. Already possessing top forward talent such as Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the team, Colton will now tie newly acquired Ryan Johansen as the fifth-highest-paid forward for Colorado.

Calgary Wranglers Hire Trent Cull

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A little under a month ago, now former head coach of the Calgary Wranglers, Mitch Love, took an offer from the Washington Capitals to become an assistant coach, primarily working with the team’s defense. Under two years of Love, both the Stockton Heat and Wranglers experienced success, finishing as the second-best regular season team in his first year, and the best regular season team in his second year.

The Wranglers have now filled the void left by Love, announcing the hiring of Trent Cull as head coach of the team. Previously, Cull had served as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks under Bruce Boudreau and was fired during the season as the team transitioned to the regime of Rick Tocchet.

Cull brings extensive experience both at the OHL and the AHL level. After retiring as a player after the 2003-04 season with the Syracuse Crunch, Cull joined the Guelph Storm as an assistant coach for the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. Although both of those years were meant to be rebuilding ones for the Storm, they made the playoffs twice, being eliminated by the London Knights in both instances.

After his time with the Storm, Cull signed on with his previous team, joining Syracuse as an assistant coach for the next four seasons. At that time, the team was affiliated with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and unfortunately did not experience much success with Cull on the bench. In three of Cull’s four seasons with the team, they only qualified for the playoffs once, losing in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs to the Toronto Marlies in 2008.

Finally, Cull got his first shot as head coach, becoming the 27th head coach in franchise history. Coaching 204 regular season games with the Wolves, he ended with a record of 94-88-11-11, making the postseason in all three seasons. The postseason was not as kind to Cull and the Wolves, as the team failed to progress past the conference semi-finals in each season. After three seasons with the Wolves, Cull once again re-joined the Crunch, serving the team as an assistant coach until the 2017-17 AHL season.

With his last stop before joining the Wranglers, Cull was hired as head coach of the Utica Comets, replacing Travis Green behind the bench for the 2017-18 AHL season. Cull coached four seasons in Utica, and one season with the Abbotsford Canucks posting a total record of 161-116-22-10, once again failing to reach deep into the playoffs.

Cull will have big shoes to fill coming to the Wranglers at the start of the 2023-24 AHL season. Once again, the team had experienced tremendous regular-season success under Love but did not live up to expectations during the playoffs. Since the 2015-16 season, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames has only been able to reach the AHL’s Conference Finals once, coming during the 2021-22 season.

 

Minor Transactions: 7/17/23

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As we inch closer and closer to the dog days of the NHL calendar, many teams across the globe are also putting the finishing touches on finalizing their roster for the upcoming season. More and more teams from the minor leagues in North America, as well as the professional leagues overseas, continue to add to their respective rosters, and we will cover that all here.

  • A five-year veteran of the Bakersfield Condors will be making a move to the DEL in Germany, as forward Luke Esposito will be joining the Augsburger Panther for the 2023-24 season. Esposito originally joined the Grand Rapids Griffins after a standout senior season with Harvard University, but then became a regular in the lineup for the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate only a season later. Now 29 years old, although a return to the AHL is certainly possible in the future, Esposito will end with 35 goals and 81 assists in 320 games for the time being.
  • Also joining Esposito in a move to the DEL will be forward Cole Fonstad previously of the Cleveland Monsters, an AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the upcoming season, Fonstad will suit up for the Straubing Tigers. Former captain of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, Fonstad put together a couple of productive seasons in the AHL. Rostered on the Monsters for three years, Fonstad scored 24 goals and 26 assists in 117 games.
  • Bringing back one of their best players from their run to a Calder Cup trophy in 2023, the AHL’s Hershey Bears have announced a one-year contract with defenseman Logan Day. In his first season with the Bears, Day had a mild scoring year, posting a career-low in points during the regular season with 12. However, during the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, Day became a defenseman that the team leaned upon for their entire run. In 19 playoff games, Day scored three goals and 11 assists, finishing second on the team in scoring, and second in the AHL by all defenders.

New York Islanders Re-Sign Oliver Wahlstrom

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The New York Islanders have taken care of business with their last notable restricted free agent, re-signing forward Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year deal. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that Wahlstrom agreed to his qualifying offer, which would carry a cap hit of just $874,125 next season.

The 23-year-old sniper went 11th overall to the Islanders in the 2018 NHL Draft, but he’s yet to really hit his stride as a pro hockey player. Last season certainly didn’t help matters – a lower-body injury kept him out past the new year and limited him to just 35 games.

He’s played 161 NHL games thus far in his career, notching decent production with 32 goals and 61 points, but he hasn’t cemented himself in a top-six role yet. That’s what he was drafted to do, and he’ll need to impress in his standard third-line minutes in order to move up a famously rigid Islanders depth chart.

He should get some help playing alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau, one of the better third-line centers in the league, but he’ll likely need some more power play opportunities under head coach Lane Lambert to get his goal-scoring confidence back after a trying couple of campaigns.

This is an important signing for the Islanders to get done in salary cap terms. They had very little flexibility, and getting Wahlstrom to agree to his qualifying offer leaves them with just enough space to remain cap-compliant to start the season with a full 23-player roster with no corresponding moves. However, it won’t be much – likely less than $500K of cap space on opening night.

If the Islanders are to reach the playoffs again in a competitive Eastern Conference, Wahlstrom’s depth scoring will likely be a big part of it. He’s set to be a restricted free agent again next summer.

Florida Panthers Agree To Terms With Casey Fitzgerald

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The defending Eastern Conference champions have made their second signing of the day. Defenseman Casey Fitzgerald is running it back with the Florida Panthers on a one-year, two-way contract after testing the open market, the team announced today. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Fitzgerald hit unrestricted free agency this summer under Group VI rules. This special designation applies to players with significant professional experience who don’t meet the standard eligibility guidelines for unrestricted free agency but have played less than 80 NHL games, allowing them perhaps to find a more significant role with another team earlier in their career. However, the 26-year-old Fitzgerald liked his fit in the Panthers organization, and he’s opted to return for another season.

The son of New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald found his way to the Sunshine State via waivers in January, heading south to the Panthers after the Buffalo Sabres attempted to assign him to the minors. He would play quite sparingly, though, playing just four out of 40 Panthers regular-season games after the claim and two out of 21 playoff games. All in all, that’s 55 healthy scratches for Fitzgerald in 61 games he’s been rostered for as a Panther.

A puck-mover by trade, Fitzgerald’s been adequate in limited NHL action but hasn’t demonstrated enough to push into an everyday spot in the lineup. The right-shot defender has nine assists in 63 games of NHL experience between the Sabres and Panthers but is still looking for his first NHL goal.

Buffalo’s third-round selection in 2016, Fitzgerald likely remains in a press-box role to start the season, even with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour out with injuries. The team went bargain bin shopping on the back end, and their earlier UFA additions of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola, and Mike Reilly likely push him down the depth chart. He could very well be waived again later on in the season and, if he clears, would be assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

Snapshots: Pekarcik, ECHL, Hurricanes

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One St. Louis Blues 2023 draft choice has found a playing home for next season. 76th overall pick Juraj Pekarcik will be heading stateside to the USHL, committing to the Dubuque Fighting Saints for 2023-24 after spending his career until now in his native Slovakia.

This is a rather consequential choice for the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who just used the second overall pick on Pekarcik in this year’s CHL Import Draft. However, the USHL has had quite the influx of Slovak talent in recent seasons, and it makes sense Pekarcik would choose to go to a league where he knows what the development experience will be like. The 6-foot-2 winger doesn’t turn 18 until September and registered 20 points in 16 games with HK Nitra’s junior club in the Slovak U-20 circuit last season. He also added ten points in seven games for Slovakia at last year’s IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship.

More from across the league today:

  • The Buffalo Sabres confirmed the Jacksonville Icemen as their next ECHL affiliate today, as expected. It amounts to a swap of affiliates between the Sabres and New York Rangers, now affiliated with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Buffalo’s previous affiliate in the second-tier minor league. The current Sabres team does have one connection to the Icemen – assistant coach Jason Christie, who coached the Icemen for four seasons before heading to the Sabres in 2021 and remains the ECHL’s all-time leader in games coached.
  • Without an AHL affiliate to store their prospects next season, the Carolina Hurricanes have loaned a trio of Finnish prospects back to their home country, per team reporter Walt Ruff. 20-year-old defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi will head back to Assat, where he’s spent the past two seasons on loan from Carolina after they selected him 44th overall in 2021. Right wing Tuukka Tieksola, their 2019 fourth-round pick, is heading back to Finland with Lukko after recording 24 points in 52 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last year. Lastly, forward Ville Koivunen is heading back to Karpat, where he’s played most of his career to date after recording 28 points in 52 games with them last season. Doing this early in the summer gives Carolina less to worry about when figuring out where to assign their prospects closer to the start of the season.

Florida Panthers Sign John Ludvig

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The Florida Panthers announced today they’ve agreed to terms with restricted free agent defenseman John Ludvig on a two-year, two-way contract. The team did not disclose financial details.

The 22-year-old left-shot defender will be a restricted free agent again at the end of his new deal and will likely be eligible for arbitration at that point. After COVID and injuries significantly limited Ludvig’s playing time since turning pro in 2020, he finally put together a full-time pro campaign last year with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, skating in 54 games and recording 17 points.

It really was a strong first impression for Ludvig, who worked his way into Charlotte’s top four with solid defensive awareness and a good bit of physicality to his game. Born in Canada to Czech parents, Ludvig went to the Panthers with the 69th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and 213 pounds, Ludvig still needs another season or two before he’s ready for NHL action considering his delayed development, but it does look like there’s some NHL upside there. He flashed solid offensive instincts in his post-draft season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, serving as the team’s captain in 2019-20 and exploding for 62 points in 60 games before turning pro the following year.

Connor Bedard Signs Entry-Level Contract With Blackhawks

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9:08 a.m.: Chicago has now made the deal official, confirming the maximum cap hit of $950K for Bedard on his three-year ELC. CapFriendly provides the full breakdown of the deal, which carries the same structure in all three seasons: an NHL salary of $855K, a $95K signing bonus, a Schedule ’A’ performance bonus worth $1MM, and a Schedule ’B’ performance bonus worth $2.5MM.

8:09 a.m.: 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard has agreed to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks on his three-year entry-level contract today, The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports.

The surely multi-million dollar commitment from Chicago to Bedard on his 18th birthday is quite the present. Signing Bedard to his ELC officially paves the way for him to suit up in a Blackhawks uniform on opening night in a few months, as expected.

Labeled the best prospect since Connor McDavid in 2015 and Auston Matthews in 2016, Bedard will look to make a splash with the Blackhawks next season after dominating the WHL with the Regina Pats, notching 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in just 57 games. His 2.51 points per game tied him for the highest rate in a single season for a 17-year-old with former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rob Brown, who had 173 points in 69 games with Kamloops in 1985-86.

With that in mind, Bedard is expected to assume a first-line center role in the Windy City out of the gate, a glimpse into the team’s long-term future after an aggressive roster restructuring. The Blackhawks made multiple roster moves this offseason with Bedard in mind, acquiring a former Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall and retaining some skill for the top-six in Andreas Athanasiou to give Bedard at least some talent to play with in a Chicago forward group devoid of much to write home about.

Bedard’s six-figure cap hit could be the biggest bargain bin deal in the league by its conclusion in 2025-26, at which point he’ll be able to sign quite a lucrative second deal with the salary cap expected to rise north of $92MM by that point.

Among U-25 forwards in Chicago’s top-six next season, he’ll likely be joined by 2020 17th overall pick Lukas Reichel, who’s coming off a pair of excellent campaigns in the minors with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs and added 15 points in 23 games with the Blackhawks last year. Those two are the shining stars at forward of a prospect pool that’s quickly grown into one of the league’s best, including a pair of top-20 picks in Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore still to come.

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