Minor Transactions: 07/27/23
Today has been an active day for player movement across the world of professional hockey, as numerous teams in the many pro leagues of North America and Europe are looking to secure quality players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves made in those minor and foreign leagues.
- 26-year-old defenseman Gabriel Carlsson won the AHL’s Calder Cup in dramatic fashion last month, helping the Hershey Bears to victory in overtime of Game Seven of the league’s final series. Now, he’s likely headed back to his home country of Sweden to play in the SHL for the first time since 2017. Carlsson, a 2015 first-round pick, has reportedly signed a “long-term” contract with the Växjö Lakers, according to Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Rose of Sportbladet, a Swedish news outlet. If this signing ends up finalized, it will move Carlsson from one defending champion to another. It would also mean that Växjö and the Washington Capitals organization have essentially made a trade, swapping Carlsson for Hardy Häman Aktell, Växjö’s top blueliner from last season who left to sign with the Capitals in April. Carlsson played in six games for the Capitals last season, averaging 13:46 TOI per night, and scored 15 points in 59 games as a top-four regular for the Bears.
- The AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms have re-signed 22-year-old second-year netminder Nolan Maier to a one-year AHL contract. Maier is an undrafted Canadian goalie who made his professional debut last season, appearing in 24 games for the Philadelphia Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, and 10 games in the AHL for Lehigh Valley across the regular season and playoffs. Maier posted a 12-8-3 record, 2.89 goals-against-average, and .892 save percentage for the Royals and a 5-2-2-/.2.85/.885 mark in Lehigh Valley. As Cal Petersen and Felix Sanadstrom are likely to take up the vast majority of available AHL starts Maier, the WHL’s all-time leader in wins, is likely to start the year once again in the ECHL.
- The AHL’s Ontario Reign re-signed two depth players, Nikita Pavlychev and Tyler Inamoto to one-year AHL contracts. Each player spent most of the season with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and Pavlychev was one of the team’s best scorers on a points-per-game basis. He potted 25 goals and 45 points in 36 games, his third season on the AHL/ECHL bubble since leaving Pennsylvania State University. For Inamoto, 2022-23 was his first campaign as a professional and the six-foot-two left-shot blueliner played in 36 ECHL games and earned seven games in the AHL.
- Former Moncton Wildcats top scorer and ECHL All-Star Jeremy McKenna re-signed with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for the 2023-24 season, where he will likely resume his role as a premium ECHL scorer and first-choice AHL call-up option. The 24-year-old Alberta native has been an exceptional ECHL player since turning pro in 2020-21, and he has 100 points in 99 career games there. In the AHL, McKenna has struggled (just 26 points in 71 career AHL games) though he has had some moments of success. His recent run in the playoffs with the Firebirds included the most consistent production he’s ever provided in the AHL, and his 12 points in 18 games there should give the Firebirds confidence that he could even compete for a more permanent AHL role in training camp in a few months.
- After a year where he posted the third-highest save percentage in the WHL as the number-two goalie for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Bryan Thomson has earned a contract with an AHL club to begin his pro career. The 21-year-old has signed a two-year AHL contract with the Texas Stars, and will likely end up starting his pro career in the ECHL with the Stars’ affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads. Texas already has Remi Poirier and Matthew Murray set as their tandem for next season, so Thompson will likely factor in at the ECHL level with the hope of sneaking into some AHL starts if he performs well there.
- ECHL All-Star Collin Adams has left the New York Islanders’ farm system to sign with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. The 25-year-old 2016 Islanders draft pick spent most of his rookie pro season in the AHL with the Bridgeport Islanders, but only managed 11 points in 45 games. This past season, Adams spent more time in the ECHL with the Worcester Railers and his numbers began to look more like they were in his final two seasons playing college hockey at the University of North Dakota. Adams posted 32 points in 30 games for the Railers and could end up a top scorer for the Wings playing on this newly-signed contract.
- 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award finalist Patrick Newell has returned to North America, signing an ECHL contract with the Orlando Solar Bears. The 27-year-old was a coveted college prospect at the end of his career at St. Cloud State and signed an entry-level deal with the New York Rangers. He failed to make a real dent in the American League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, just 27 points in 87 games. Newell left to play in Norway at the conclusion of his contract with the Rangers organization and scored 51 points in 42 games there. He split last season between clubs in Hungary and Sweden’s second division and has now decided to try his hand in the ECHL for the first time in his career.
- Avery Winslow, an alternate captain for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion for the last two seasons, is beginning his professional career with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. The soon-to-be 21-year-old left-shot blueliner signed a one-year ECHL contract with the Nailers, heading to West Virginia having concluded his OHL career. He led the Battalion to within one win of the OHL’s championship series earlier this year and scored a combined 19 points in 60 regular season and playoff games in 2022-23 in North Bay.
- One of the ECHL’s more improved players last season was former Merrimack College captain Tyler Drevitch, who improved his production for the Wheeling Nailers from nine points in 45 games to 18 goals and 33 points in 72 games. That improvement earned him a contract with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, who are likely interested in his combination of bruising physicality (he totaled 179 penalty minutes in 2022-23) and goal-scoring touch. He joins his little brother Logan Drevitch, 25, his teammate from Merrimack who scored 37 points in 69 games for Savannah as an ECHL rookie last season and signed an extension with the Ghost Pirates on Monday.
- Victor Hadfield, the 22-year-old grandson of New York Rangers legend Vic Hadfield, re-signed with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen today. This extension makes 2023-24 Hadfield’s third campaign in Duval County, the place he landed in March 2022 after he was traded from the South Carolina Stingrays. Hadfield is a left winger just like his famous grandfather and scored seven goals and 14 points in 44 games last season.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Jeremy Groleau Linked To Sweden
After going unqualified by the New Jersey Devils last month, young defenseman Jeremy Groleau may have found his new home. The 23-year-old has a one-year agreement in place with SHL club Farjestad BK, per Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Sportbladet.
It’s not often we see a North American-born player head to Europe immediately after completing their entry-level contract, but that appears to be Groleau’s choice. He hit the unrestricted free agent market this offseason despite seeing an increased role when in the lineup with the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, but he played just 43 games and was stuck behind many higher-ceiling defenders ahead of him in the organization.
Groleau went undrafted when first eligible in 2018, but it didn’t take him long to find an NHL home. The Devils signed Groleau to a three-year entry-level contract later that summer as a free agent out of the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens, but the deal slid twice as he didn’t get into any NHL action during the first two seasons of the deal.
The Quebec-born defender actually has quite a bit of pro experience for a player his age, appearing in 151 AHL games for the Comets/Binghamton Devils over the past five seasons. This past season was his first real taste of any top-four action in the minors, and he responded with a career-high 10 points and a +14 rating in 43 games.
He could’ve been an intriguing target for some teams to pick up on a minor-league deal, especially given his 6-foot-3 frame and improving defensive play. Instead, he heads to one of Europe’s most successful franchises – Farjestad has won the SHL/Elitserien championship seven times since 1994 and consistently participates in the continental Champions Hockey League.
With seven healthy defenders already signed for next season, though, Groleau will have to slog it out for playing time with his new Swedish teammates. Interestingly, the report from Abrahamsson and Ros suggests Farjestad was interested in retaining NHL veteran defender Brandon Davidson, who instead signed with rival SHL club Rogle BK this morning.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Logan Cooley
What seemed unlikely until the last 24 hours has officially occurred. The Arizona Coyotes have signed their top prospect, center Logan Cooley, to his three-year, entry-level deal, according to a team announcement. CapFriendly reports the structure of his ELC, which carries a $950K cap hit, is as follows: a $850K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $1MM type ‘A’ performance bonus, and $2.5MM type ‘B’ performance bonus. This is the maximum financial compensation Cooley is eligible to receive on his ELC.
Reports from PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman yesterday suggested an official announcement on Arizona signing Cooley could come today or Friday. The news comes after Cooley said earlier this summer he’d return to the University of Minnesota for another year of college hockey in 2023-24.
Cooley, 19, is not just Arizona’s best center prospect – he’s their best prospect overall since selecting star winger Clayton Keller at seventh overall in 2016. Putting up the second-most points of anyone in NCAA hockey last season, Cooley could very well slot in between Keller and Nick Schmaltz and take on first-line duties during his first season in the desert. The product of the Pittsburgh Penguins youth program posted a rather raucous 60 points in 39 games, helping guide Minnesota to the national championship game before conceding to Quinnipiac University in overtime.
As mentioned yesterday, the Coyotes must be happy with their choice to select Cooley at third overall last year over projected first-overall pick Shane Wright, who fell all the way to the Seattle Kraken at fourth overall. While Wright still projects as a promising talent, he’s no longer in a head-and-shoulders tier above the rest of the 2022 class – in fact, Cooley might be the only player you could make that argument for.
It’s worth noting that Cooley is far from a one-dimensional talent. While he did have some growing pains defensively early on in the collegiate season, he’s shown that his speed can be a factor on the backcheck. He can be caught out of position at times when in the defensive zone, though, something he’ll need to work on with Arizona at the NHL level. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue with head coach Andre Tourigny at the helm, who’s regarded as one of the better development coaches in the league. Unfortunately, Arizona hasn’t had a competitive enough roster during Tourigny’s tenure to showcase his full coaching abilities.
At his peak, Cooley is an electric offense-generating talent who demands attention on the ice, especially when making breaks up the middle through the neutral zone. His ability to catch passes in stride makes him a more-than-ideal complement for a strong playmaking winger.
Michael Dal Colle Signs In Germany
Former New York Islanders forward Michael Dal Colle is extending his stay overseas by signing a one-year deal with the DEL’s Iserlohn Roosters, per an announcement from the German club. The 2014 fifth-overall pick has not suited up in the NHL since a lone appearance with the Islanders in 2021-22.
To say Dal Colle’s career has stagnated since his draft year would be an understatement. He never stuck in the NHL full time, spending most of his pro tenure with the Islanders organization with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. The team cut ties with their former top prospect in the summer of 2022, letting him become a UFA by not issuing him a qualifying offer. With no other NHL offers, Dal Colle signed in Finland with Liiga club TPS, where he registered just four goals in 36 games. However, he did add a respectable 15 assists for 19 points in total.
Still, it’s far below expectations for Dal Colle, who now seems destined to play out the remainder of his pro career in Europe. The 27-year-old winger totaled just 112 NHL appearances for the Islanders across five seasons, scoring eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points. It wasn’t a case of strong minors production not translating to the pros, either. He only had one standout year in the AHL, recording 18 goals and 34 points in 34 games for Bridgeport in 2018-19, but otherwise posted rather pedestrian point totals representative of a middle-six AHL forward.
In Iserlohn, Dal Colle joins a team stuck in the throes of DEL mediocrity – never good enough to advance deep in the postseason nor bad enough to get relegated to the DEL2, Germany’s second-tier pro league. In fact, the current iteration of the Roosters has never been demoted from the DEL since their inception in 2000-01, but they’ve yet to advance past the quarterfinals in the DEL’s postseason. Iserlohn has also missed the playoffs entirely in each of the past two seasons.
Dal Colle will look to regain some scoring confidence in Germany, while Iserlohn will bank on the former top-five pick producing well for them in an extended role. He joins former Tampa Bay Lightning defense prospect Ben Thomas and former Chicago Blackhawks forward Drew LeBlanc as players with NHL experience on Iserlohn’s roster.
Free Agent Profile: Zach Aston-Reese
Outside of the Sebastian Aho signing yesterday, there has been a steady decline in hockey signings for the last week or two. Many management groups are getting ready for vacations before they report back for training camps in September. While most of these people are gearing up for another season, there are still quite a few remaining free agents who don’t know what uniform they will don come October. Today we will look at one of those free agents, Zach Aston-Reese.
Aston-Reese is not unfamiliar with being unsigned through the summer. Last year he was forced to accept a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs before he ultimately signed a one-year in October for $840K. The soon-to-be 29-year-old is one of the players that is really feeling the squeeze of a flat cap world. In many previous summers, a player with his defensive capabilities would have easily found work by the midway point of the summer. But with revenues down during the pandemic, Aston-Reese and his fourth-line peers have been the ones who have been damaged the most by a salary cap squeeze.
Aston-Reese is one of the most unique players to dress in the NHL the past few seasons. His defensive metrics are among the best in the NHL, he is elite in the defensive zone. On offense, he possesses precious little in terms of puck-handling ability or offensive output.
Back in 2016-17, Aston-Reese left Northeastern University and was pursued as a free agent by nearly half of the NHL. He eventually landed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and as a rookie in the 2017-18 season, he dressed in 16 games and put up five goals and two assists. This output gave him a long look in the playoffs as he dressed in nine games and put up a single assist before a questionable hit from Tom Wilson ended his playoffs early. The following season, he dressed in 43 games and posted eight goals and nine assists for a career-high 17 points.
Since his career high of 17 points in 2018-19, Aston-Reese has never topped 15 points in any one season and up until this past year with the Maple Leafs, he’d never dressed in more than 69 games (this past year, he played 77). His offensive capabilities were also limited, but with the Penguins, he had a home on their defensive-minded fourth line along with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev. However, during the 2021-22 season, Aston-Reese was a pending free agent and was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a package to acquire Rickard Rakell. While he was part of the deal, the main purpose of including Aston-Reese was as a salary dump so Pittsburgh could make the money work. Anaheim let the Staten Island, New York native’s contract expire a short time later, and he didn’t sign another deal until his PTO last summer with the Maple Leafs.
Despite the disappointment of possibly going another summer being unsigned, I do think that Aston-Reese will sign an NHL contract for next season. He did score a career-high 10 goals last season, and as mentioned earlier, he is an elite defensive forward. The biggest issue for Aston-Reese outside of his offensive inability is that while his defensive analytics are great, the eye test doesn’t really demonstrate the little things he does in the defensive zone. The old guard of the NHL may not recognize what it is that Aston-Reese can bring to a lineup and may look elsewhere for help on their fourth line.
Stats
2022-23: 77 GP, 10-4-14, -6 rating, 25 PIMS, 89 shots, 50.0% faceoffs, 46.1% CF, 10:56 ATOI
Career: 307 GP, 42-38-80, +33 rating, 124 PIMS, 440 shots, 39.1% faceoffs, 48.3% CF, 13:00 ATOI
Potential Suitors
Aston-Reese doesn’t have many options at this point, so he is unlikely to be picky. He is from the New York area, which means he would likely prefer to play in the East, but his destination will ultimately be decided by whatever team shows interest in him.
In the East, the last general manager to sign Aston-Reese to a contract is now in Pittsburgh. This is the team that originally signed ZAR out of college back in 2017, and a team that has shown they aren’t afraid to acquire quality depth forwards to fill out their bottom six and AHL roster. Historically. Dubas has liked to sign NHL-caliber forwards to one-way contracts and then stash them in the AHL in case of injuries. It could be something he chooses to do with Aston-Reese as there is familiarity with the player and the team. Head coach Mike Sullivan utilized Aston-Reese an awful lot when he coached him a few years ago and may appreciate having an elite defensive forward to rely on. Especially given the Penguins struggles defensively last season.
Sticking with the East, as mentioned before, the Ottawa Senators could really use some good forward depth. Their bottom six isn’t particularly good, and they are going into the upcoming season expecting a lot of growth from some of their younger forwards. At the very least, Aston-Reese could offer Ottawa a decent 13th forward at league minimum who could also help their penalty kill.
Out West, the Seattle Kraken seems like a team that would fit Aston-Reese perfectly. The Kraken are largely made up of players who have been viewed as castoffs at some point in their careers, not unlike Aston-Reese. There is also a familiarity that Aston-Reese could have with current Kraken fourth-liner Brandon Tanev, who played with him in Pittsburgh. The Kraken has also been a team that has relied on accountability and team defense, something that would gel well with what Aston-Reese brings to the table. The one holdup would be that Seattle already has 12 capable forwards, meaning that Aston-Reese would be on the outside looking in should he sign there.
Projected Contract
Unfortunately for Aston-Reese, he is likely going to have to take another PTO if he would like to continue his NHL career. It is still possible that he gets a one-year contract for around the league minimum from a team that is looking for a strong defensive presence on their fourth line, but a PTO is the likelier scenario. ZAR can still provide a lot to a team for very little cost, but he shouldn’t be counted on or expected to offer up much in the way of offense. His best bet is to use a PTO as an opportunity to demonstrate his skill set and fit with a team as he did last fall with the Maple Leafs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brandon Davidson Signs In Sweden
Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League announced today that they have come to terms with former NHL defenseman Brandon Davidson. The 31-year-old spent parts of seven seasons in the NHL totalling 180 games while wearing seven different uniforms.
Generally regarded as a defensive defenseman, Davidson began his career with the Edmonton Oilers in 2014-15 and during his second season in the NHL, he looked as though he could be a big part of the Oilers blueline moving forward. Davidson dressed in 51 games that year posting four goals and seven assists while logging over 19 minutes of ice time a night.
Unfortunately for Davidson, he fell out of favor in the 2016-17 season and was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais in what seemed to be a change of scenery swap for both players. From there, Davidson never regained his footing and bounced around to six other NHL stops before eventually spending the past two seasons in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and Cleveland Monsters. This past spring Davidson signed a deal in the SHL with Färjestad BK where he played seven games and tallied a goal and an assist.
A lot of fringe NHLers have been feeling the squeeze in recent seasons due to the revenue shortages the NHL felt during the pandemic-shortened seasons. However, that is likely not the case with Davidson as he had bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL prior to 2020.
If this is the end of his NHL career Davidson would finish with nine career goals and 14 assists in 180 NHL games.
West Notes: McLeod, Addison, Dunn
The Oilers don’t have a lot of financial flexibility right now. Per CapFriendly, they have around $5.6MM in room at the moment but with defenseman Evan Bouchard and center Ryan McLeod both needing new deals, that might not be enough. To that end, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggested (audio link) that Edmonton might have been the biggest losers from the Philipp Kurashev arbitration award, one that saw the Chicago forward get $2.25MM per season. Seravalli believes that the Oilers were likely hoping to get McLeod’s deal done for a little less than $2MM but that might be hard to do now. McLeod (11 goals, 12 assists in 57 games) is coming off a better platform year than Kurashev (nine goals, 16 assists in 70 contests) so if his case gets to a hearing, it’s safe to say they’ll be using the Kurashev contract as a comparable.
More from the West:
- The Wild are hoping to get defenseman Calen Addison signed for just above the league minimum, Joe Smith and Shayna Goldman of The Athletic note (subscription link). Minnesota tendered him a qualifying offer of $787,500 and it would appear that they’re holding firm to that offer for now. They have around $5.93MM of cap room per CapFriendly with the bulk of that earmarked for goaltender Filip Gustavsson whose arbitration hearing is scheduled next Friday. By pushing for Addison to take a one-year agreement, GM Bill Guerin is hoping to have enough cap space left over after Gustavsson gets his new deal to allow them to have a reasonable-sized cushion for in-season movement.
- Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn met with the media today including Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times following his four-year, $29.4MM contract from last week. The medium-term agreement raised some eyebrows and Dunn acknowledged that a factor was the possibility to try to land another sizable deal when he’s 30 in what should be a bigger salary cap environment. Dunn did make it clear that he has no desire to leave Seattle when his contract expires in the 2027 offseason.
Examining Toronto’s Further Cap-Cutting Options
While today’s news that the Maple Leafs would be placing goaltender Matt Murray on LTIR to start the season helps to alleviate Toronto’s salary cap situation, they still have some work to do. Using CapFriendly’s numbers, they still sit a little more than $2MM above the Upper Limit of the salary cap (even with Jake Muzzin being LTIR-bound himself) which means they have some paring down to do.
The recent arbitration award to Ilya Samsonov has opened up a second buyout window that they can utilize within the next 48 hours. However, there are specific rules in place as to who can be bought out in this second window. The player must make at least $4MM and have been on the roster last season. Most of the other Toronto players that meet the criteria (and there aren’t many) have a zero percent chance of being bought out.
One possible exception is defenseman T.J. Brodie. While they certainly wouldn’t want to part with the 33-year-old, the back-loaded structure of his contract would actually see the Maple Leafs clear the full $5MM AAV off the books for next season, clearing that gap and actually giving them some flexibility to add. On the flip side, it would add $2.5MM onto the books for 2024-25 which certainly isn’t ideal with Auston Matthews and William Nylander needing pricey new deals next summer. Speculatively, if they were open to parting with Brodie, a trade with 50% retention would free up $2.5MM in cap room and could yield a positive-value return, even in a market that doesn’t have a lot of financial wiggle room.
Assuming that’s not a route Toronto wants to take, let’s move on to some of the smaller cost-cutting options, sticking with the defense first. Conor Timmins has a two-year deal that begins next season, one that carries a $1.1MM AAV. While it’s generally viewed as bad form to trade a player that soon after signing an extension, Treliving wasn’t the one that gave him that deal. Even if a trade option isn’t available, the contract can be fully buried in the minors without a lingering cap charge. That might be their best option, actually, allowing them to keep Timmins in the organization a little longer and if another LTIR-eligible injury arises, he could then be brought up.
However, if head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to hold onto Timmins in the NHL, then Timothy Liljegren could become a cost-cutting candidate. Signed for a reasonable $1.4MM next season, the 24-year-old has shown enough that they could get a solid return for his services although it would take another perceived part of their long-term plans out of the system, joining Rasmus Sandin who was moved at the deadline last season.
If Toronto parts with Brodie, it becomes much less likely that they’ll do something with Timmins or Liljegren as they’ll need them in the lineup on a regular basis.
Up front, there are presently 14 forwards on their projected roster. They only need 12 so some savings can come from here. Nicholas Robertson is coming off another shoulder injury and is waiver-exempt so his $797K is an easy one to pare down.
The other one isn’t as easy. Sam Lafferty ($1.15MM) could be a luxury they could no longer afford and his contract could be fully buried in the minors if he was to clear waivers. With the year he had, there could be a taker in training camp but with several capable role players still unsigned, his trade value right now would be limited. Dylan Gambrell ($750K) is someone who might pass through unclaimed but he’d yield the fewest cap savings. Pontus Holmberg ($800K) and Matthew Knies ($925K) are waiver-exempt and would save a bit more money than Gambrell but in a perfect world, they’re both in the opening lineup.
The other possible cap casualty could be winger Calle Jarnkrok. At $2.1MM, his cap hit is hardly above market value but it might be a value that they can’t afford anymore while moving him outright would get them back into compliance. However, the trade market for him might not be the best right now with other bottom-six players available in free agency and not necessarily needing the three years that Jarnkrok has left on his deal.
As you can see, there are certainly multiple paths that the Maple Leafs can take to get compliant. But one way or the other, they will need to either part with some serviceable veterans or carry a minimum-sized roster to get there. Treliving has added some pieces this summer including veterans John Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi but some subtraction should now be coming.
Snapshots: Comtois, Johnson, Hockey Canada
Max Comtois remains unsigned nearly four weeks into free agency after being non-tendered by Anaheim who opted not to give him a $2.445MM qualifying offer. Speaking with TVA Sports’ Louis Butcher, the 24-year-old called the parting of ways a mutual decision. Back in 2021-22, Comtois looked to have a breakout year, picking up 16 goals and 17 assists in 55 games but has struggled offensively since then, tallying just 15 goals and 20 helpers in 116 contests over the last two years.
Despite the struggles, Comtois revealed that a handful of teams have shown interest in him thus far, giving him confidence that he’ll have a place to play when training camps open up in mid-September. While he wouldn’t reveal which ones have shown interest, he did indicate that his hometown Canadiens are not among the teams that have reached out to his camp to express any interest in signing him.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Free agent winger Luke Johnson has decided to try his hand overseas as Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL announced they’ve signed the 28-year-old to a one-year deal. Johnson, a veteran of 32 NHL games dating back to 2018-19, has spent most of his professional career in the minors, suiting up in 333 AHL contests. That plus his NHL time now qualifies him for veteran status in the AHL – teams are capped with how many veteran-status players they can dress per game – so it’s not entirely surprising to see Johnson look elsewhere. Last season, he had 18 points in 67 games with San Jose’s farm team.
- Hockey Canada didn’t hold an in-person summer evaluation camp as they often do but they revealed the list of players that took part in their virtual meetings. The majority of the 45 players on the list have already been drafted while 2024 top prospect Macklin Celebrini is also on there. Canada’s roster in the December World Juniors will likely be comprised of many players on this list.
Avalanche Sign, Loan Nikolai Kovalenko
Jul 26: After officially signing him to a two-year entry-level contract worth $896,250 per season yesterday, CapFriendly confirms Colorado has loaned Kovalenko back to Torpedo for next season.
Jul 22: It appears that Colorado will soon be signing one of their prospects. Torpedo of the KHL announced on their Twitter account that the Avalanche will be signing winger Nikolai Kovalenko to an entry-level contract but will loan him back to Torpedo for the upcoming season.
The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Avs back in 2018 (171st overall) and has certainly outperformed his draft stock since then. Last season, he had a breakout year in his first season with Torpedo, notching 21 goals and 33 assists in 56 games. For context, his previous career best in points in the KHL was 21. That performance put him third in the league in points per game.
That performance appears to have landed Kovalenko on the NHL radar. His contract will be a two-year agreement, meaning he’ll be able to suit up full time in North America in 2024-25 or when his KHL playoffs come to an end this season. The KHL regular season ends in late February so it’s quite possible that Kovalenko will be available to Colorado late in the 2023-24 campaign.
If he’s able to have a repeat of his 2022-23 performance next year, Kovalenko could be an interesting addition to the Avs down the stretch this coming year, giving them a low-cost addition to their forward group where he’d likely start in their bottom six. Regardless of whether he suits up for the Avalanche next season, his contract will count against their limit of 50.