Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Roger, McDonnell
When Boston Bruins center David Krejci officially announced his retirement yesterday, he only confirmed his retirement from the NHL – leaving the door open for a potential return to European or international play. Speaking with reporters, including Patrick Donnelly of the Boston Sports Journal today, Krejci said that was intentional, and he is indeed considering playing in the Czech league next season or, if nothing else, suiting up for his country at the 2024 World Championships. Krejci said the injury he was playing through during the team’s first-round loss to the Florida Panthers would have required surgery to play for Boston in 2023-24, and said he “can’t take the whole season” anymore.
That makes a return to the World Championship makes sense, given he won’t be playing anywhere (if he does return) until the calendar flips to 2024. Krejci’s done quite well for Czechia at the Worlds, even recently – he’s combined for 18 points in 15 games during his last two appearances at the tournament in 2018 and 2022. He last suited up in Czechia for Extraliga club HC Olomouc in 2021-22, leading the team in scoring with 20 goals, 26 assists and 46 points in 51 games. Olomouc has finished under .500 for three consecutive seasons, and their 2023-24 roster lacks any notable names with NHL experience. Even at Krejci’s age, he’d be a large boost to Olomouc’s chances of avoiding relegation next season.
Some other notes from around the Atlantic Division:
- 2021 Ottawa Senators second-round pick Ben Roger isn’t turning pro after completing his junior career last season, instead opting to join the Canadian university circuit with Saint Mary’s. Ottawa no longer holds the 20-year-old defenseman’s NHL rights after they opted not to issue him an entry-level contract before June 15. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, the Roger selection was always a bit of a gamble given his lack of offensive upside and playing experience at the time of the draft. He lost the entire 2020-21 campaign due to COVID regulations, meaning he lost out on a crucial year of development. He completed his OHL career with 140 games split between the London Knights and Kingston Frontenacs, recording five goals, 27 assists, 32 points, and a -4 rating.
- Also joining Saint Mary’s is Tampa Bay Lightning 2020 seventh-round selection Declan McDonnell, who also no longer has a rights agreement with an NHL team due to the same circumstances as Roger. The 21-year-old winger scored 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 63 games with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in his draft year but saw his production zigzag over the following campaigns. Last season, he recorded just 13 goals in 63 games for the Barrie Colts to finish off his junior career.
Bob Baun Passes Away
Four-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Bob Baun has passed away, per an announcement from the NHL Alumni Association. He was 86 years old.
Born in Lanigan, Saskatchewan, in 1936, Baun got his start in hockey in Toronto in his teens. He worked his way up through the junior ranks with the Toronto Marlboros before eventually earning an NHL deal with the Maple Leafs at age 20 in 1956-57. He played in just 20 games during that season, maintaining his rookie status. His first full-time campaign was the following season, where he recorded ten points in 67 games and added 91 penalty minutes, finishing fifth in the 1958 Calder Trophy voting. Over the next few seasons, he became one of the NHL’s most respected defensemen, known for hard but clean hits and stout defensive play, earning the nickname “Boomer.”
The 1960s saw Baun win four Cups in a six-year span with the Maple Leafs, becoming a large part of the last Toronto core to win a championship. It was his third Cup win in 1964, though, that’s cemented Baun in NHL lore. Down 3-2 in the Final series against the Detroit Red Wings, Baun sustained a broken ankle in Game 6 but would leave the game just briefly. He returned on the broken ankle when overtime began and scored just his third career playoff goal in 61 games at the time to tie the series. Toronto would win Game 7 in shutout fashion, 4-0, taking home their third straight Stanley Cup.
Baun would play for many more seasons, finally being forced to retire during the 1972-73 campaign at age 36 after he sustained a broken neck on a hit five games into the season. He finished his NHL career with 224 points and 1,489 penalty minutes in 964 games across 17 seasons, also making brief pit stops with the Oakland Seals and Red Wings.
He was also an influential force off the ice, leading the charge for increased player wages at the dawn of the expansion era and even attempted to organize an alumni association in the years after his retirement, looking to investigate what he believed were issues in the NHL’s pension plan at the time. He received little support from players at the time, but an independent audit later confirmed his suspicions.
Baun’s grandson, Kyle Baun, had a brief professional career in the 2010s that included a five-game stint with the Chicago Blackhawks.
We at PHR extend our deepest condolences to Baun’s family, friends, and former teammates.
2009 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows, with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)
The Conn Smythe winner with the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues is off the board at third overall, becoming the first player taken outside of the first round to appear in our redraft. Notably, he does stay with the team that took him on Day 2 of the 2009 NHL Draft – the Colorado Avalanche, who used their second pick of the draft on O’Reilly after selecting Matt Duchene with the third overall pick. Both players have gone on to produce good offensive totals near the top of the class, although O’Reilly’s taken home more in terms of award hardware with a championship, a Conn Smythe and a Selke Trophy all under his belt. O’Reilly won with 48% of our polling, while Duchene finished second in third-overall voting with just 13% of the vote.
Next up on the draft board is the Atlanta Thrashers at fourth overall. This was their second straight top-five selection after using the third overall pick on defenseman Zach Bogosian in 2008.
This year, however, their big prospect add was forward Evander Kane out of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. While it wasn’t a bad pick at all if you look at his point production throughout his career and his ability to consistently play a top-six role, Kane has had a multitude of off-ice incidents throughout his career, including having his contract terminated by the San Jose Sharks in 2022 for breaching COVID protocols.
Nonetheless, Kane was a solid player for the Thrashers (and Winnipeg Jets) for parts of six seasons until he was moved to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015. He was widely viewed as the best pick available at the time – after all, he had just posted 96 points in 61 games with the Giants while recording 89 penalty minutes to boot, and he’d recorded six points in six games for Canada at that year’s World Junior Championships.
He signed his entry-level contract with Atlanta just weeks after the draft and made the NHL full-time out of the gate in a middle-six role. As an 18-year-old, he recorded 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 66 games, finishing tied in Calder Trophy voting with Hedman that year. By the time the 2012-13 partial lockout rolled around, Kane had a 30-goal season under his belt and was averaging over 20 minutes per game.
After later career stops with the Sabres, Sharks and now Edmonton Oilers, Kane has some well-documented defensive weaknesses but still brings an intriguing blend of shooting ability and physicality to the table. In 853 games, he’s scored 302 goals – third among the 2009 class behind Tavares and Duchene. His 573 career points are sixth in the class.
There’s an argument to be made that the Thrashers made the right pick, but Duchene could have also been a more intriguing option had he been available for the Thrashers to select at fourth overall. They don’t have very long to decide, though, as Atlanta is now on the clock – who should they select with the fourth-overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft? Make your voice heard below:
2009 Redraft: Fourth Overall
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Matt Duchene 30% (247)
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Chris Kreider 15% (126)
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Nazem Kadri 14% (116)
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Mattias Ekholm 12% (100)
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Evander Kane 8% (68)
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Oliver Ekman-Larsson 4% (35)
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Dmitry Orlov 4% (30)
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Brayden Schenn 3% (26)
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Ryan Ellis 3% (25)
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Anders Lee 2% (13)
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Reilly Smith 1% (7)
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Darcy Kuemper 1% (5)
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Robin Lehner 1% (5)
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Mike Hoffman 0% (4)
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Tomas Tatar 0% (4)
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Tyson Barrie 0% (3)
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Marcus Johansson 0% (3)
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Dmitry Kulikov 0% (3)
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Brayden McNabb 0% (3)
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Calvin de Haan 0% (2)
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Nick Leddy 0% (2)
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Sami Vatanen 0% (2)
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Kyle Palmieri 0% (1)
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David Savard 0% (1)
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Jakob Silfverberg 0% (1)
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Craig Smith 0% (1)
Total votes: 833
If you can’t access the built-in poll, click here to vote.
West Notes: Canucks, Yurov, Labanc
Following last week’s signing of Pius Suter, the Canucks find themselves even further above the $83.5MM cap ceiling with more than $88MM in commitments per CapFriendly and with a surplus of forwards. Thomas Drance of The Athletic examines (subscription link) how Vancouver can get cap-compliant even with Tanner Pearson’s potential return from LTIR. It would require carrying a 22-man roster instead of the maximum of 23 and would require at least three players to go on waivers, one of which needs to make at least $1.15MM. That would give them less than $150K in wiggle room, however, so it wouldn’t be surprising if GM Patrik Allvin looks to make a move or two to try to give themselves at least a bit of flexibility.
More from the Western Conference:
- Minnesota is open to trying to turn prospect Danila Yurov into a center down the road, relays NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. The 19-year-old was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Wild last year and is set to remain with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL next season before coming to North America. Generally speaking, teams often allow center prospects to develop on the wing to start so it might take some time before Minnesota determines whether this is an experiment worth pursuing. However, finding and developing an impact young middleman has proven to be a challenge in recent years so if Yurov could be up to the task down the road, he’d help fill a big organizational void.
- With the Sharks adding four forwards to their roster this summer, there aren’t many openings up front for prospects. One idea to open up a spot would be to waive and demote frequent speculative trade candidate Kevin Labanc but Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News believes that option would be a far-fetched one. The 27-year-old is entering the final year of his contract which carries a $4.725MM AAV. Labanc has shown he can still produce after notching 15 goals in 72 games last season although that’s not a great return on their investment. San Jose has one salary retention slot remaining for 2023-24 and burying Labanc in the minors for any period of time would likely hurt their chances of moving him with 50% retention later in the year.
Predators Prospect Alexander Campbell Transfers To Northeastern
Predators prospect Alexander Campbell is on the move. After spending his first three seasons at Clarkson, Northeastern University announced (Twitter link) that the forward will suit up for the Huskies in 2023-24.
The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by Nashville back in 2019 (65th overall) after a strong season with Victoria of the BCHL. Campbell spent the following year with USHL Omaha before making the jump to the collegiate level in 2020-21.
Over his three seasons with Clarkson, Campbell was quite productive. He notched 17 points in just 22 games in his freshman year before following that up with 16 goals and 17 assists in 37 contests in 2021-22. Last year, he wasn’t quite able to reach those numbers but still finished third in team scoring with 14 goals and a dozen helpers in 34 contests.
His success with Clarkson makes it a bit surprising that Campbell has opted to transfer for his senior year. He is one of just two NHL-drafted forwards with Northeastern for the upcoming season so he’ll undoubtedly have a significant role which could be worth his while as he looks to earn an entry-level deal from the Preds by June 1st, 2024.
Flyers Prospect Alex Bump Commits To Western Michigan
While he had originally committed to play at Vermont, Flyers prospect Alex Bump has already transferred before playing a single game. Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now relays that the winger will now play for Western Michigan next season. The reason for the transfer pertained to Vermont dismissing head coach Todd Woodcroft earlier this summer.
The 19-year-old was selected in the fifth round last year (133rd overall) after splitting the season between the Minnesota high school level and Omaha of the USHL. His performance with Prior Lake High earned him USA Today’s Hockey Player of the Year honors that season.
Bump then spent last year with the Lancers for part of the campaign before being dealt to Tri-City back in February. Between the two teams, he picked up 14 goals and 19 assists in 48 games.
It has been a successful summer on the transfer front for the Broncos. Bump is the fourth NHL-drafted player to transfer there in recent months, joining forwards Sam Colangelo (Anaheim), Ethan Phillips (Detroit), and Matteo Costantini (Buffalo).
August Free Agency Update: Atlantic Division
As even most mid-tier free agents are now off the market, it’s a good time to look at how each team has fared on the free agent market this offseason. We’re publishing a list of one-way signings (i.e., likelier to start the season on the NHL roster) by team, per division, to keep you updated on NHL player movement since the new league year began on July 1.
Asterisked players denote a restricted free agent. Double-asterisked players denote the contract starts in the 2024-25 season. First up is the Atlantic Division:
Boston Bruins
*G Jeremy Swayman (one year, $3.475MM cap hit)
*F Trent Frederic (two years, $2.3MM cap hit)
F Morgan Geekie (two years, $2MM cap hit)
D Kevin Shattenkirk (one year, $1.05MM cap hit)
F James van Riemsdyk (one year, $1MM cap hit)
F Milan Lucic (one year, 35+ contract, $1MM cap hit)
F Patrick Brown (two years, $800K cap hit)
*D Ian Mitchell (one year, $775K cap hit)
F Jesper Boqvist (one year, $775K cap hit)
Buffalo Sabres
D Connor Clifton (three years, $3.333MM cap hit)
D Erik Johnson (one year, 35+ contract, $3.25MM cap hit)
F Tyson Jost (one year, $2MM cap hit)
Detroit Red Wings
*F Alex DeBrincat (four years, $7.875MM cap hit)
F J.T. Compher (five years, $5.1MM cap hit)
D Shayne Gostisbehere (one year, $4.125MM cap hit)
D Justin Holl (three years, $3.4MM cap hit)
F Klim Kostin (two years, $2MM cap hit)
F Daniel Sprong (one year, $2MM cap hit)
G James Reimer (one year, 35+ contract, $1.5MM cap hit)
F Christian Fischer (one year, $1.125MM cap hit)
D Gustav Lindström (one year, $950K cap hit)
G Alex Lyon (two years, $900K cap hit)
Florida Panthers
F Evan Rodrigues (four years, $3MM cap hit)
**F Eetu Luostarinen (three years, $3MM cap hit)
D Niko Mikkola (three years, $2.5MM cap hit)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (one year, $2.25MM cap hit)
G Anthony Stolarz (one year, $1.1MM cap hit)
D Mike Reilly (one year, $1MM cap hit)
D Dmitry Kulikov (one year, $1MM cap hit)
F Kevin Stenlund (one year, $1MM cap hit)
*F Grigori Denisenko (two years, $775K cap hit)
Montreal Canadiens
*F Alex Newhook (four years, $2.9MM cap hit)
*F Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (two years, $1.1MM cap hit)
Ottawa Senators
F Vladimir Tarasenko (one year, $5MM cap hit)
G Joonas Korpisalo (five years, $4MM cap hit)
*D Erik Brännström (one year, $2MM cap hit)
D Travis Hamonic (two years, $1.1MM cap hit)
*D Jacob Bernard-Docker (two years, $805K cap hit)
F Zack MacEwen (three years, $775K cap hit)
Tampa Bay Lightning
*F Tanner Jeannot (two years, $2.665MM cap hit)
F Conor Sheary (three years, $2MM cap hit)
F Josh Archibald (two years, $800K cap hit)
F Luke Glendening (two years, $800K cap hit)
G Jonas Johansson (two years, $775K cap hit)
D Calvin de Haan (one year, $775K cap hit)
Toronto Maple Leafs
F Tyler Bertuzzi (one year, $5.5MM cap hit)
D John Klingberg (one year, $4.15MM cap hit)
*G Ilya Samsonov (one year, $3.55MM cap hit)
F Max Domi (one year, $3MM cap hit)
F Ryan Reaves (three years, 35+ contract, $1.35MM cap hit)
G Martin Jones (one year, $875K cap hit)
F Dylan Gambrell (one year, $775K cap hit)
Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly
Minor Transactions: 08/14/23
NHL signings are slowing to a grinding halt as we enter the middle of August, but there’s still a handful of notable AHL and European transactions to sift through as rookie camps draw closer. Here’s a listing of noteworthy minor transactions for August 14, 2023:
- 2013 Columbus Blue Jackets fourth-round pick Nick Moutrey is on the move in Europe for a third straight season, signing a one-year deal with French club Angers in the Ligue Magnus, according to an Instagram post from the team. Moutrey never did make his NHL debut but played six seasons and over 250 games in the AHL, last suiting up in North America for the Texas Stars in 2020-21. Since then, he’s played in Finland and Denmark, where he recorded seven goals, nine assists and 16 points in 18 games for Rungsted Seier Capital in 2022-23. In France, he joins a name Montreal Canadiens fans will recognize – 2014 first-round pick Nikita Scherbak is suiting up for Angers next season after splitting the last two campaigns between Czechia and Slovakia.
- The AHL’s San Diego Gulls signed a pair of players to minor-league deals today, per a team release. The first is defenseman Andy Carroll, who spent the last five games of 2022-23 on a tryout with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, recording one assist. He just wrapped up a five-year tenure with Minnesota State University Mankato, where he recorded 25 points in 39 games last season. The 26-year-old is a likely candidate for an ECHL assignment with the Tulsa Oilers, given the multitude of Ducks prospects slated for ice time in San Diego next season.
- San Diego also signed forward Kyle Crnkovic, who was a member of last season’s Seattle Thunderbirds team that won the WHL championship. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent actually saw his stock dip significantly last season on a deep Thunderbirds team, posting 68 points in 67 games after exploding for 94 points in 68 games with the Saskatoon Blades the year before. He’ll need to try and build out his 5-foot-7, 165-pound frame if he wants to make a mark in the pros.
- The Buffalo Sabres’ minor-league affiliate added some forward depth today as the Rochester Americans signed center Christopher Brown to a minor-league deal. The son of long-time NHL forward Doug Brown and the brother of Boston Bruins center Patrick Brown, the 27-year-old has secured his first AHL contract since 2019-20 after spending the last three seasons primarily in the ECHL with the Jacksonville Icemen. He led the team in scoring last season with 24 goals, 40 assists and 64 points in 72 games. If he fails to crack the Rochester roster, he’ll be assigned back to Jacksonville, as they’ve entered a new affiliation agreement with Buffalo and Rochester this season.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Rodion Amirov Passes Away At 21
Tragically, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Rodion Amirov has passed away at the age of 21 after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor two years ago. His agent, Dan Milstein, announced the news Monday afternoon.
“From the moment he received the news, he refused to speak in the negative, determined to enjoy every day, facing it with the same positive attitude he showed during his hockey career,” Milstein said. “We will always remember his courage, his desire, his will, his smile, all of the great things about him. We’d like to thank his doctors, who took great care of him. We’d like to thank the Toronto Maple Leafs and his KHL – Salavat Yulayev Ufa team. Both did everything possible to help in any way, do whatever was necessary for Rodion and the Amirov family. And we’d like to thank hockey fans all over the world who sent notes of encouragement and best wishes over the past two years. They meant so much to the Amirov family.”
Born in Salavat, Russia, Amirov developed through the Yulayev Ufa system, culminating in a strong draft year in 2019-20. There, he registered two assists through 21 KHL games during his first pro experience and excelled in the Russian junior circuit, scoring 22 points in 17 games for Salavat’s MHL affiliate, Tolpar Ufa. It culminated in a first-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft, and Toronto took him off the draft board with the 15th overall pick. He gained a more extensive KHL role the following season, scoring nine goals, four assists and 13 points in 39 games for Ufa in 2020-21. He also was named to Russia’s roster for the 2021 World Juniors, where he served as an alternate captain and led the team in scoring with six points in seven games. After the strong post-draft showing, Toronto signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract the following summer.
After playing ten games with Salavat to open the 2021-22 campaign, however, Amirov sustained an unrelated injury, and he developed further symptoms during the recovery period. The Maple Leafs then announced in February 2022 that Amirov had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, ending his season as he underwent treatment in Germany.
Amirov then recovered enough to travel to Toronto for last season’s Hockey Fights Cancer night in November, appearing during the pre-game ceremonies. Unfortunately, after the event, Amirov had to pause training and undergo additional treatments. He had been working out that summer with both Salavat and Toronto, aiming to return to play sometime during 2022-23 – a true testament to the positive outlook Milstein referenced in his statement.
We at PHR are incredibly saddened by this news and extend our deepest condolences to the Amirov family and anyone inside or outside the hockey community affected by cancer.
Snapshots: Senators, Southeast Rookie Showcase, Makar
The sale of the Ottawa Senators to Toronto billionaire Michael Andlauer is in its final stages, with the $950MM deal set to be completed by next month, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The NHL aims to have the agreement signed by the end of this month or early September. Andlauer, 57, is expected to meet with the NHL’s executive committee, led by Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, for approval, followed by a conference call with the NHL’s board of governors which requires a two-thirds majority vote but is expected to be unanimous, says Garrioch. His partners in the deal include Anna and Olivia Melnyk, local businessman Jeff York, the Ottawa real estate-based Malhotra family, Toronto-based investment group Yorkville Asset Management, and others.
Once approved, Andlauer’s ownership of the Senators is expected to be a smooth transition – per Garrioch, he’s kept in continuous contact with Senators governor Sheldon Plener and has kept in touch with Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion throughout the sale process. Garrioch also expects former Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson to have a role in the team’s player development post-sale. There’s additional speculation about former Senators president Cyril Leeder returning to the role, as Anthony LeBlanc recently resigned as the club’s president of business operations.
Elsewhere from around the NHL this morning:
- Another rookie showcase-type tournament before training camps start has been confirmed. The Florida Panthers are hosting a four-team tournament including themselves, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Nashville Predators from September 15 to 18 at the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, home of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. While not set in stone nor publicized, players with less than three seasons of pro experience and less than 50 NHL games under their belts are generally eligible to participate in rookie tournaments, although eligibility rules are set individually league-wide by tournament organizers.
- Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is landing on the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 24, set for release in October. It’s the first such nod for the 2022 Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe winner. The 24-year-old is the first defenseman on the game’s cover in five years – Nashville Predators defender P.K. Subban was the last one, appearing on the NHL 19 cover. He becomes the third Avalanche to get the nod, succeeding Peter Forsberg on NHL 98 and Joe Sakic on NHL 2004.